Peoples Republic of China worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. -- Covering approximately 9.

.6 million square kilometres. It is the worlds second-largest country by land area. -- It is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. -- It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities, and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions. -- Its capital is Beijing -- Its national anthem is entitled March of the Volunteers. -- The terrain of western China is rugged and elevated. -- Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies, known as dynasties, beginning with the semi-mythological Xia of the Yellow River basin and ending with the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. -- China has become the worlds fastest-growing major economy. As of 2012, it is the worlds second-largest economy, after the United States, and is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. Largest City Shanghai Official Languages Standard Chinese Official written language Vernacular Chinese Official Script Simplified Chinese Demonym Chinese Government: President: Hu Jintao Congress Chairman: Wu Bangguo Premier: Wen Jiabao Conference Chairman: Jia Qinglin Legislature: National Peoples Congress Currency: Renminbi (yuan) -- The word China is derived from Cin, a Persian name for China popularized in medieval Europe by the account of the 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco Polo. -- Archaelogical evidence suggests that early hominids inhabited China between 250,000 and 2.24 million years ago. -- The first Chinese dynasty that left historical records, the loosely feudal Shang, settled along the Yellow River in eastern China from 17th to the 11th century BC.

State of Japan An island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan; China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. -- The characters that make up Japans name mean sun-origin, which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the Land of the Rising Sun -- Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. -- The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japans land area. -- Japan has the worlds tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. -- The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents. -- Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. -- The first written mention of Japan is in Chines history texts from the 1st century AD. -- In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the RussoJapanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. -- The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -- Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with and emperor and elected legislature called the Diet since 1947. -- Japan has the worlds third-largest economy. -- It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer. -- Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military force in self-defense and peacekeeping roles. -- After Singapore, Japan has the lowest homicide rate in the world. -- According to both UN and WHO estimates, Japan has the longest life expectancy of any country in the world. -- According to UN, it has the third lowest infant mortality rate. Capital: Tokyo Official Languages: None National Language: Japanese Demonym: Japanese Government: Unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy Emperor: Akihito Prime Minister: Yoshihiko Noda Legislature: Diet Upper House: House of Councillors Lower House: House of Representatives Currency: Yen

Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea It is commonly referred to as North Korea -- It is a country in East Asia, located in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula -- Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. -- The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea. -- The Amnok River, or Yalu River, and the Tumen River form the international border between North Korea and the Peoples Republic of China. -- The Korean peninsula was governed by the Korean Empire from the th th late 19 century to early 20 century, until it was annexed by the Empire of Japan, following the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1910. -- The Korean peninsula was divided into two occupied zones in 1945, the northern half of the peninsula being occupied by the Soviet Union, and the southern half of the peninsula being occupied by the United States, in a move that was opposed by nearly all Koreans. -- North Korea refused to participate in a United Nationssupervised election held in the south in 1948, which led to the creation of separate Korean governments for the two occupation zones. -- North Korea and South Korea both claimed sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula, which led to the start of the Korean War in mid-1950. -- North Korea is a single-party state under a united front led by the Korean Workers Party. -- The countrys government follows the Juche ideology of self-reliance, developed by the countrys first and only President, Kim Il-sung. After his death, Kim Il-sung was declared the countrys Eternal President. -- With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, North Korea lost a major trading partner, and an important strategic ally. -- This, combined with a series of natural disasters, led to the North Korean famine, which lasted from 1994 to 1998, killing an estimated 800,000 and 3,500,000 people through starvation. -- Facing these circumstances, North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Il adopted Songun, or a military-first policy in order to strengthen the country and its government. -- Many outside organizations describe North Korea as a totalitarian, Stalinist dictatorship with an elaborate cult of personality around the Kim family and one of the lowest-ranking human rights records of any country. Capital: Pyongyang Official Language: Korean Official scripts: Choson gul Ethnic groups: Korean Demonym: North Korean Government: Juche unitary single-party state First Chairman of the Defence Commission: Kim Jong-un First Secretary of the Workers Party: Kim Jong-un Supreme Commander of the Peoples Army: Kim Jong-un Chairman of the Presidium of Assembly: Kim Yong-nam Premier: Choe Yong-rim

Legislature: Supreme Peoples Assembly Currency: North Korean Won

Republic of Korea It is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. -- The name Korea is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages. -- Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the Korea Strait to the south. -- South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. -- It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometres and has a population of almost 50 million -- The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304. -- Archaeological findings show that the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the Lower Paleolithic period. -- Korean history begins with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary Dan-gun. -- After the invasion of South Korea by forces from the North on June 25, 1950, the resulting war between the two Koreas ended with an Armistice Agreement, but the border between the two nations is the most heavily fortified in the world. -- After the war, the South Korean economy grew significantly and the country was transformed into a major economy, a full democracy, and a regional power in East Asia. -- South Korea is a presidential republic consisting of sixteen administrative divisions and is a developed country with a very high standard of living. -- The economy is export-driven, with the production focusing on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics. Capital: Seoul Official Languages: Korean Official scripts: Hangul and Hanja Ethnic groups: Korean Demonym: South Korean Government: Unitary presidential Constitutional republic President: Lee Myung-bak Prime Minister: Kim Hwang-sik Speaker: Jeong Eui-hwa Legislature: National Assembly Currency: South Korean Won

Mongolia It is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. -- It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. -- Ulan Bator, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the population. -- Its political system is a parliamentary republic. -- The area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Gokturks and others. --- The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206. -- In the 16th and 17th centuries, Mongolia came under the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. -- During the collaps of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, but had to struggle until 1921 to firmly establish de facto independence from the Republic of China, and until 1945 to gain international recognition. -- In 1924, the Mongolian Peoples Republic was declared, and Mongolian politics began to follow the same patterns as the Soviet politics of the time. -- Mongolia saw its own Democratic Revolution in early 1990, which led to a multi-party system, a new constitution in 1992, and transition to a market economy -- At 1,564,116 square kilometres, Mongolia is the 19th largest and the most sparsely populated independent country in the world, with a population of around 2.75 million people -- It is also the worlds second-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan. -- The country contains very little arable land, as much of its area is covered by steppes, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. -- The predominant religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism. Capital: Ulan Bator Official Languages: Mongolian Official scripts: Mongolian Cyrillic and Mongolian Script Demonym: Mongol or Mongolian Government: Parliamentary republic President: Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj Prime Minister: Sukhbaataryn Batbold Legislature: State Great Khural Currency: Togrog

Taiwan It is officially a part of the Republic of China -- It is a state in East Asia. -- It was formerly known as Formosa. -- Neighboring states include the Peoples Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. -- Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural center of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city. -- The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. -- In the 1980s and early 1990s, Taiwan evolved into a multi-party democracy with universal suffrage. -- It has experience rapid economy growth and industrialization during the latter half of the 20th century and is now an advanced industrial economy. Capital: Taipei Largest City: New Taipei Official Languages: Mandarin Official Scripts: Traditional Chinese Demonym: Taiwanese or Chinese Government: Unitary semi-presidential republic President: Ma Ying-jeou Vice-President: Wu Den-yih Premier: Sean Chen President of the Legislative Yuan: Wang Jin-pyng President of the Judicial Yuan: Rai Hau-min President of the Control Yuan: Wang Chien-shien President of the Examination Yuan: Kuan Chung Legislature: Legislative Yuan Currency: New Taiwan Dollar