National Post

2022-04-24 07:41:05 By : Mr. Lytton Popnow

Did you know that China's railway lines could loop around earth twice? Read on for more facts about the economy that could soon eclipse the U.S.

The vast scale of China’s landmass and its population means that China produces and consumes copious amounts of natural resources and food.

It also means that China houses a large chunk of the world’s billionaires.

We dug around to find some interesting statistics. Did you know that China’s railway lines could loop around earth twice?

Here are some interesting facts about the world’s second-largest economy, which could soon eclipse the U.S. to become the world’s largest this year.

China goes through 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks a year. The chopsticks are 1cm-by-0.5 centimeters (cms) and 20 cms long and can cover Tiananmen Square over 360 times. The trees that are cut down are around 20 years old.

Source: South China Morning Post

From Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, The Lost Worlds Of Planet Earth

The northern ice cap creeps over earth.

China’s railway length, under operation, totals 93,000 kilometers. The Earth, meanwhile,  is 40,075 kilometers in circumference.

At 115 billion tons, China has the world’s third-largest proven coal reserves. A blue whale, the largest animals to have lived, are believed to weigh 200 tons or more. China accounts for 46% of global coal production and 49% of global coal consumption.

Source: British Petroleum, Global Post

China is the world’s largest cement producer and it produces and consumes about 60% of global cement.

That’s more than the entire population of Cyprus (~865,000). The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050, smoking will kill 3 million Chinese each year.

At 109.3 trillion cubic feet, China has the world’s 13th-largest proven natural gas reserves. An Olympic-size swimming pool reportedly has a volume of 88,000 cubic feet.

China consumed 42.5 billion packs of instant noodles in 2011. Algeria has a population of 38.7 million people.

A vendor cuts up a piece of pork in her stall at a market in Beijing, January 11, 2013.

China consumed 52 million tons of pork in 2012 and 51.6 million tons in 2011. The Eiffel Tower is reported to weigh 10,000 tons.

Hungary has a nominal GDP of $124 billion.

A man smokes at the door of his cave-room in Yuncheng, Shanxi province.

Many of China’s cave-dwellers live in the Shaanxi province. Chinese president Xi Jinping reportedly lived in a cave when he was exiled to Shaanxi province during the Cultural Revolution.

Datang, Zhuji produces 8 billion pairs of socks a year, which is equivalent to about a pair of socks per person on the planet in 2011.

China has a suicide rate of about 22.2 deaths per 100,000 people. This compares to 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people in the U.S.

Beijing Standard Time is China’s only time zone. China used to have five different time zones, but in 1949, Chairman Mao decided to have just one to promote national unity. This means that in parts of China the sun can rise as late as 10 a.m..

“China’s total farm output, a broad measure of food churned out, has tripled since 1978. The ramp-up in livestock production in particular is even more dizzying—it rose by a factor of five,” reports Tom Philpott at Mother Jones.

Chinese consumer spending is projected to rise from $2.03 trillion in 2010 to $6.18 trillion annually in 2020. China will be the top global luxury market at $245 billion.

China is the world’s largest pork consumer, so it’s no surprise that 475 million, or half of the world’s pigs reside there.

Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Financial Post Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4

© 2022 Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.