China by the Numbers

• Population: 1.34 billion (approximately 20% of the world's population)
• GNI per capita: $2,360
• China has about $1 trillion in personal savings and a savings rate of close to 50%. The U.S. has about $158 billion in personal savings and an average savings rate of only about 2%.
• Shanghai boasts 4,000 skyscrapers -- double the number in New York City. Still, 17% of the entire Chinese population lives on $1 a day. Only about 300 million people in China, or 23% of the population, are considered middle-class.
• In China, the 40-richest people are worth a collective $26 billion, up from $18 billion last year. China has 10 billionaires, up from three last year.
• Internet usage in China continues to grow, and the latest figures released by the Chinese government’s Web research organization show that the total number of online users, at 338 million, surpasses the population of the United States. The impressive statistics which reflect a 13.4 percent jump from 2008. In September, there were 62 people jailed for violating Chinese Internet laws, up from three in 2001. The word 'democracy' is banned in online chat rooms.
• Over the past decade, Russia and Israel have been China's main foreign sources of weapon systems and military technology. Russia has supplied more than 85% of all of China's arms imports since early 1990.