The People's Republic of China, sometimes referred to as Mainland China (but in the present publication shall be referred to simply as China ) has a land mass of 3,705,393 square miles and a population approaching 1.2 billion people. As such, China is the most populous country in the world and ranking third in land mass, behind Russia and Canada. Despite having an economy based primarily on agriculture, only 10% of the land is arable.

1.Overview of the Educational System.
2.The Categories Within the Educational System
3.Educational System Chart.
4.Grading Scale.
5.Administration.
6.Institutions directly under the SEC.
7.Institutions under local control.
8.Institutions under major cities.
9.Key Schools.

Footnotes
1.Educational Atlas of China, Shanghai Scientific & Technical Publishers, 1995, p. 12.
2.Article 12 of the Education Law of the People's Republic of China, which went into effect on September 1, 1995, stipulates Putonghua as the language of instruction, but in cases in which minority ethnic groups form the majority, the spoken and written language of the majority ethnic group or of common use by the local ethnic groups may be used for instruction.
3.Educational Atlas. Here, semi-illiteracy is defined as being able to recognize some characters, but unable to read simple books or newspapers or to write.
4.Educational Atlas.
5.Basic Education in China, SEC, 1994.
6.David Marr and Stanley Rosen, ``Chinese and Vietnamese Youth in the 1990s,'' in preparation. A SEC study of five provinces revealed an average total fee assesment of 10,000 yuan per school to support a variety of projects and activities, ranging from training the local militia to a mandatory donation of funds for the Three Gorges Dam Project.
7. Ran Er, ``Reckless Fee Collection: Is it Reckless in Where it Comes From or Where it Goes?,'' Beijing qingnian bao (\061\061\076\051\107\140\104\152\061\050), February 22, 1995.
8.Occasionlly a graduate from senior middle school will enroll in a vocational or technical middle school.
9.Exclusive of Taiwan and Hong Kong.