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China

Demographics

In the past decade, China's cities expanded at an average rate of 10% annually. The country's urbanization rate increased from 17.4% to 41.8% between 1978 and 2005, a scale unprecedented in human history. 80 to 120 million migrant workers work part-time in the major cities and return home to the countryside periodically with their earnings.

Today, the People's Republic of China has dozens of major cities with one million or more long-term residents, including the three global cities of Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Major cities in China play key roles in national and regional identity, culture and economics.

The figures below are the 2001 estimates for the ten largest urban populations within administrative city limits; a different ranking exists when considering the total municipal populations (which includes suburban and rural populations). The large floating populations of migrant workers make conducting censuses in urban areas difficult; the figures below do not include the floating population, only long-term residents.

Education

In 1986, China set the long-term goal of providing compulsory nine-year basic education to every child. As of 1997, there were 628,840 primary schools, 78,642 secondary schools and 1,020 higher education institutions in the PRC. In February 2006, the government advanced its basic education goal by pledging to provide completely free nine-year education, including textbooks and fees, in the poorer western provinces. As of 2002, 90.9% (male: 95.1%; female: 86.5%) of the population over age 15 are literate. China's youth (age 15 to 24) literacy rate is 98.9% (99.2% for males and 98.5% for females) in 2000. In March 2007, China announced the decision of making education a national "strategic priority", the central budget of the national scholarships will be tripled in two years and 223.5 billion Yuan (28.65 billion US dollars) of extra funding will be allocated from the central government in the next 5 years to improve the compulsory education in rural areas.

The quality of Chinese colleges and universities varies considerably across the country. The consistently top-ranked universities in mainland China are Peking and Tsinghua in Beijing; Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and East China Normal University in Shanghai; Xi'an Jiaotong University in Xi'an; Nanjing University in Nanjing; the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei; Zhejiang University in Hangzhou and Wuhan University in Wuhan.

Many parents are highly committed to their children's education, often investing large portions of the family's income on education. Private lessons and recreational activities, such as in foreign languages or music, are popular among the middle-class families who can afford them.

Public health

The Ministry of Health, together with its counterparts in the provincial health bureaus, oversees the health needs of the Chinese population. An emphasis on public health and preventative treatment characterized health policy since the early 1950s. At that time, the party started the Patriotic Health Campaign, which was aimed at improving sanitation and hygiene, as well as attacking several diseases. This has shown major results as diseases like cholera, typhoid, and scarlet fever were nearly eradicated.

With economic reform after 1978, the health of the Chinese public improved rapidly because of better nutrition despite the disappearance, along with the People's Communes, of much of the free public health services provided in the countryside. Health care in China became largely private fee-for-service. By 2000, when the World Health Organization made a large study of public health systems throughout the world, The World Health Report 2000 Health Systems: Improving Performance the Chinese public health system ranked 144 of the 191 UN member states ranked.

The country's life expectancy jumped from about 41 years in 1950 to almost 73 years in 2006, and infant mortality went down from 300 per thousand in the 1950s to about 23 per thousand in 2006. Malnutrition as of 2002 stood at 12 percent of the population according to United Nations FAO sources.

Despite significant improvements in health and the introduction of western style medical facilities, the PRC has several emerging public health problems, which include respiratory problems as a result of widespread air pollution and millions of cigarette smokers,[100] a possible future HIV/AIDS epidemic, and an increase in obesity among urban youths.[101][102] Estimates of excess deaths in China from environmental pollution (apart from smoking) are placed at 760,000 people per annum from air and water pollution (including indoor air pollution).[103] China's large population and close living quarters has led to some serious disease outbreaks in recent years, such as the 2003 outbreak of SARS (a pneumonia-like disease) which has since been largely contained.[104]

Culture

For centuries, opportunity for economic and social advancement in China could be provided by high performance on Imperial examinations. The literary emphasis of the exams affected the general perception of cultural refinement in China, such as the belief that calligraphy and literati painting were higher forms of art than dancing or drama. China's traditional values were derived from various versions of Confucianism and conservatism. A number of more authoritarian and rational strains of thought have also been influential, such as Legalism. There was often conflict between the philosophies, such as the individualistic Song Dynasty neo-Confucians, who believed Legalism departed from the original spirit of Confucianism. Examinations and a culture of merit remain greatly valued in China today. In recent years, a number of New Confucians have advocated that democratic ideals and human rights are quite compatible with traditional Confucian "Asian values."[105]

The first leaders of the People's Republic of China were born in the old society but were influenced by the May Fourth Movement and reformist ideals. They sought to change some traditional aspects of Chinese culture, such as rural land tenure, sexism, and a Confucian education, while preserving others, such as the family structure and obedience to the state. Many observers believe that the period following 1949 is a continuation of traditional Chinese dynastic history, while others say that the CPC's rule has damaged the foundations of Chinese culture, especially through political movements such as the Cultural Revolution, where many aspects of traditional culture were labeled 'regressive and harmful' or 'vestiges of feudalism' by the regime. They further argue that many important aspects of traditional Chinese morals and culture, such as Confucianism, Chinese art, literature, and performing arts like Beijing opera, were altered to conform to government policies and propaganda at the time. One example being Chinese character simplification, since traditional characters were blamed for the country's low literacy rate at the time.[106] However, simplified Chinese characters are not used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.[106]

Today, the PRC government has accepted a great deal of traditional Chinese culture as an integral part of Chinese society, lauding it as an important achievement of the Chinese civilization and emphasizing it as vital to a Chinese national identity. Since the Cultural Revolution has ended, various forms of traditional Chinese art, literature, music, film, fashion and architecture have seen a vigorous revival,[107][108] and folk and variety art in particular have gained a new found respectability, and sparked interest nationally and even worldwide.[109]

The majority of Chinese people follow Buddhism (between 660 million, 50%, and over 1 billion, 80%[117][118]) and/or Taoism (400 million, 30%[119][120]).

Number of adherents to these religions can be overlaid in percentage due to the fact that some Chinese consider themselves both Buddhist and Taoist.[121][122][123] Buddhists are mostly nominal adherents because only a small proportion of the population (over 8% or over 100 million [124][125]) may have taken the formal step of going for refuge.[126][127] Mahayana (, Dacheng) and its subsets Pure Land (Amidism), Tiantai and Zen are the most widely practiced denominations of Buddhism. Other forms, such as Theravada and Tibetan, are practiced largely by ethnic minorities along the geographic fringes of the Chinese mainland.[128]

Minority religions are Christianity (between 40 million, 3%[129], and 54 million, 4%[130]), Islam (20 million, 1.5%), Hinduism, Dongbaism, Bon, and a number of new religions and sects (particularly Xiantianism and Falun Gong).

A government official recently suggested that there are 16 million Christians.[131] However, an independent survey by East China Normal University estimated the Christian population at 40 million, much higher than the government's numbers but much lower than numbers favored by some Western observers.[132] Official figures also indicate that there are about 20 million Muslims.[133]

According to the surveys of Phil Zuckerman on Adherents.com; in 1993, 59% (over 700 million)[134] of the Chinese population was irreligious but in the newest survey (same author) in 2005, it was only 14% (over 180 million).[135][136]

China has one of the oldest sporting cultures in the world, spanning the course of several millennia. There is, in fact, evidence that a form of football (soccer) was first played in China in ancient times, leading many historians to believe that the popular sport originated from China.[137] Besides soccer,[138] some of the most popular sports in the country include martial arts, table tennis, badminton, swimming, basketball, and more recently, golf and rugby. Board games such as Go (Weiqi), and Xiangqi (Chinese chess) and recently Chess are also commonly played and have organized competitions.

Physical fitness is widely emphasized in Chinese culture. Morning exercises are a common activity and often one can find the elderly practicing qigong and tai chi chuan in parks or students doing stretches on school campuses. Young people are especially keen on basketball, especially in urban centers with limited space and grass areas. The NBA has a huge following among Chinese youths, with Yao Ming being the idol of many.[139] The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing, and as a result the country has put even more emphasis on sports.

Many traditional sports are also played. The popular Chinese dragon boat racing () occurs during the Dragon Boat Festival. In Inner Mongolia, sports such as Mongolian-style wrestling and horse racing are popular. In Tibet, archery and equestrianism are a part of traditional festivals.[140]

Copenhagen

Recreation and Culture

Copenhagen and the surrounding counties have 3 beaches with a total of approx. 8km of sandy beaches within 30 minutes bicycling from the city centre. This includes Amager Strandpark, a 2 km long artificial island which opened in 2005 and is located just 15 minutes by bicycle from the city centre.

Economy

Copenhagen is a center for business and science, not only in Denmark, but also in the Oresund Region and Scandinavia. Thus the Copenhagen Capital Region had both the highest GDP per capita and economic growth in the whole of Denmark in 2005. In a 2006 survey of the richest cities in the world, Copenhagen was ranked 9th, and along with the Norwegian capital Oslo the highest gross wages were paid in Copenhagen, but the high taxes mean that wages are reduced after mandatory deduction. Furthermore, Copenhagen has in several surveys been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the World. In a newly released survey by the Swiss bank UBS AG, the second largest bank in Europe by market capitalisation, Copenhagen had the highest gross wages in the World, and the average wage earner in Copenhagen earned somewhat 40% more than the average person in New York, considering the 14 most prevalent crafts , but when considering the tax level and generel prices, Copenhagen drops down to a 6th place in the survey and in a calculation of the hourly domestic puchasing power, with the most common average expenses and rent included, Copenhagen only reaches a 16th place, behind cities such as Zurich, Munich and Oslo.

Several international companies have established their regional headquarters in Copenhagen, e.g. Microsoft. Maersk, the world's largest container shipping company, has their world headquarters in Copenhagen. A substantial number of Danish pharmaceuticals such as Novo Nordisk, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Bavarian Nordic also operate in the area, having placed their headquarters in or close to Copenhagen.

Science, Research and Education

Copenhagen is home to the oldest and largest university in Denmark, the University of Copenhagen founded in 1479. The University does renowned research within science, health, law, social sciences, theology and the humanities and forms part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), which is a collaboration between high-ranking universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Yale and the University of California at Berkeley. The University attracts app. 1500 international and exchange students every year.

Transport

The greater Copenhagen has a very well stablished tranportation infrastructure making it a hub in Northern Europe. By a quality service of roads, railways, airports and harbours has earned Denmark a top ranking in the IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook and in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report for several consecutive years

Copenhagen has a large network of toll-free highways and public roads connecting different municipalities of the citiy together and to Northern Europe . As in many other cities in Europe traffic is increasing in Copenhagen. The radial arterial roads and highways leading to the Copenhagen city center are critical congested during peak hours .

The city's bicycle paths are extensive and well-used. Bicycle paths are often separated from the main traffic lanes and sometimes have their own signal systems. Copenhagen is known as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, with up to 32% of people commuting to work by bicycle and is a center of bicycle culture. The city provides public bicycles which can be found throughout the downtown area and used with a returnable deposit of 20 kroner.

Copenhagen's well-developed bicycle culture has given rise to the term 'copenhagenize'. This is the practice of other cities adopting Copenhagen-style bike lanes and bicycle infrastructure.

The harbour of Copenhagen, since 2001 merged with Malmö to Copenhagen-Malmö Port, has several functions but its main function today is a major cruise destination.

Cruise Copenhagen Network was established in 1992 as a partnership between the Port of Copenhagen, the City of Copenhagen and 45 professional suppliers, in order to strengthen and develop Copenhagen as the most successful home port for cruises in Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea. The trade magazine Dream World Cruise Destinations recently polled the cruise lines, who voted Copenhagen no. 1 in several categories: Most Responsive Port and Best Destination Experience for Independent Sightseeing. World Travel Awards has several years in a row awarded Copenhagen Port as the number one cruise destination in Europe as well as the best port in the world.[citation needed]

Copenhagen has two airports, Kastrup (the large international airport) and Roskilde Lufthavn (a smaller international and general aviation airport). Kastrup, also known as Copenhagen Airport, is Europe's 17th busiest airport and has four times won the award as being "The best airport in Europe", and two times as "The best airport in the world".

The public transportation system of Copenhagen consists of commuter trains (called "S-trains" (S-tog)), buses, and a metro. The S-trains form the basis of the transportation network, stretching to most areas of metropolitan Copenhagen, with their main hub at Copenhagen Central Station (København H). Regional trains supplement the S-train services with lines extending further such as to the Copenhagen Airport, Elsinore, and Malmö. The Danish State Railways' Intercity network has its eastern terminus and main hub at Copenhagen, with most trains extending to Copenhagen Airport.

The fare system is based on 95 zones covering the capital area. Tickets are transferable from one means of transport to another within a time limit. The more zones a ticket is valid for, the longer its time validity with a maximum of two hours. Discount cards (punch cards, klippekort) and period cards are available. Ticket prices are high and have increased substantially in recent years leading to a decrease in passenger numbers.[citation needed] In fact, the percentage of trips made on public transportation in Copenhagen is quite low by northern European standards.[citation needed]

Denmark

Religion

According to official statistics from January 2006, 83.0% of Danes are members of the Lutheran state church, the Danish National Church (Den Danske Folkekirke), also known as the Church of Denmark. According to article 6 of the Constitution, the Royal family must belong to this Church. 3% of the Danish population adhere to Islam, and other religions in Denmark include non-Lutheran Christian denominations. The oldest state recognised religious societies and churches are:

Religion, religious societies and churches do not need to be state-recognised in Denmark and can be granted the right to perform weddings etc. without this recognition.

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 31% of Danish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 49% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 19% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". According to a 2005 study by Zuckerman, Denmark has the third highest proportion of atheists and agnostics in the world, estimated to be between 43% and 80%.

After Iceland, Denmark is the 2nd most acceptant country of the theory of biological evolution.

Education

The Danish education system provides access to primary school, secondary school and most kinds of higher education (universities etc.). About 99% of the general population attend compulsory elementary school (lasting 9 to 10 years); 86% attend secondary school and 41% pursue further education. By law, all college education in Denmark must not charge tuition or fees.

Primary school in Denmark is "den Danske Folkeskole" (translated: "the Danish Public School"). It goes from 1st-10th grade (10th grade is optional, as is the introductory børnehaveklasse ("kindergarten class")). In Denmark one can also go to Friskole ("free school") or Privatskole ("private school"): i.e. schools that are not under the administration of the municipalities; e.g. Christian schools or Waldorf Schools. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Denmark's education as the 24th best in the world, being neither significantly higher nor lower than the OECD average.

Following graduation from Folkeskolen, there are several other educational opportunities, including Gymnasium (academically oriented upper secondary education), Higher Preparatory Examination (HF) (similar to Gymnasium, but one year shorter), Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX) (with focus on Mathematics and engineering), and Higher Commercial Examination Programme (HHX) (with a focus on trade and business), as well as vocational education, training young people for work in specific trades by a combination of teaching and apprenticeship.

Gymnasium, HF, HTX and HHX aim at qualifying students for higher education in universities and colleges.

Denmark has several universities; the largest and oldest are the University of Copenhagen (founded 1479) and University of Aarhus(founded 1928).

Folkehøjskolerne, ("Folk high schools") introduced by politician, clergyman and poet N.F.S. Grundtvig in the 19th century, are social, informal education structures without tests or grades but emphasising communal learning, self-discovery, enlightenment, and learning how to think.

Culture

Hans Christian Andersen is known beyond Denmark for his fairy tales, such as The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, and The Ugly Duckling. Karen Blixen (pen name: Isak Dinesen), Nobel laureate author Henrik Pontoppidan, Nobel laureate physicist Niels Bohr, the comedic pianist Victor Borge and the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard have also made a name for themselves outside Denmark.

The capital city of Copenhagen includes the Tivoli gardens, the Amalienborg Palace (home of the Danish monarchy), and The Little Mermaid sculpture.

The second biggest city in Denmark is Aarhus. Aarhus is an old Viking Age city and one of the oldest cities in the country. The biggest cathedral in Denmark and the second biggest cathedral in Northern Europe is Aarhus Cathedral.

Historically, Denmark, like its Scandinavian neighbors, has been one of the most socially progressive cultures in the world. For example, in 1969, Denmark was the first country to legalize pornography. And in 1989, Denmark enacted a registered partnership law, being the first country in the world to grant same-sex couples nearly all of the rights and responsibilities of marriage.

A locally popular film genre is the charmingly simplistic "folkekomedie" (folk comedy), which originated in the 1930s and gained widespread dominance from the 1950s until the 1970s, usually scorned by critics and loved by the audience. Notable folkekomedie-films include Barken Margrethe (1934), De røde heste (1950), Far til fire (1953) and Olsen-banden (1968).

Since the 1980s, Danish filmmaking has been almost completely controlled by the state through The Danish Film Institute, which was founded in 1972. This has resulted in a much criticized lack of innovation (Dogme95 happened in spite of strong resistance from the Film Institute) and frequent accusations of nepotism and cronyism, but also a high level of professionalism even if more or less reserved for a few selected genres and production companies (mainly Nordisk Film, Zentropa and Nimbus Film).

Danish cinema remains highly respected internationally, and Danish films (today almost exclusively consisting of social realist dramas, social realist comedies, children's films and documentaries) receive many awards at major international film festivals.

The most popular sport in Denmark is football (soccer). Sailing and other water sports are popular, as are indoor sports such as badminton, handball and various forms of gymnastics. In Denmark there is also a small group of people doing motorsport, but with some success. The most successful driver on the 24 Hours of Le Mans race ever, with seven 1st places is Tom Kristensen, who comes from Denmark. In speedway Denmark has won several World Championships. Other notable Danish sportspeople include American football's National Football League all-time leading scorer Morten Andersen, cyclists Bjarne Riis, Rolf Sørensen, and Michael Rasmussen, badminton-player Peter Gade and Camilla Martin, table tennis-player Michael Maze, poker Hall of Fame player Gus Hansen and football players Michael and Brian Laudrup and Peter Schmeichel. Teenager Caroline Wozniacki is rising up the rankings on the WTA tennis tour. Denmark is also the home and birthplace of former WBA & WBC Supermiddleweight boxing champion, Mikkel Kessler.

Denmark has long been a center of cultural innovation. Its capital, Copenhagen, and its multiple outlying islands have a wide range of folk traditions, while an extensive recording industry has produced pop stars and a host of performers from a multitude of genres. The famous drummer Lars Ulrich from Metallica is from Denmark. Among other names, the '90's pop band Aqua as well as current (March 2008) US hitlist top name Ida Corr also come from Denmark.

The cuisine of Denmark, like that in the other Nordic countries (Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden), as well as that of northern Germany, its neighbour to the south, consists mainly of meat and fish. This stems from the country's agricultural past, as well as its geography and climate of long, cold winters.

Traditional Danish food includes frikadeller (fried meatballs, often served with potatoes and various sorts of gravy), karbonader/krebinetter (another sort of fried meatballs), steaks and so on, usually eaten with potatoes. Fish is also widely eaten, especially on the west coast of Jutland. A traditionally favourite condiment, remoulade, is eaten with french fries, on fried plaice, on salami or roast beef sandwiches. Smoked fish dishes (herring, mackerel, eel) from local smoking houses or røgerier, especially on the island of Bornholm, are increasingly popular.

One of the most interesting aspects of Danish food is the wide variety of attractive open rugbrød (Rye-bread) sandwiches or smørrebrød traditionally served for the mid-day meal or frokost. This usually starts with fish such as marinated herring, smoked eel or hot fried breaded plaice. Then come meat sandwiches such as cold roast beef with remoulade and fried onions, roast pork and crackling with red cabbage, hot veal medallions, Danish meat balls (frikadeller) or liver paté with bacon and mushrooms. Some typically Danish items are Sol over Gudhjem, literally 'sun over Gudhjem', consisting of smoked herring, chives and with raw egg yolk (the "sun") on top; or Dyrlægens natmad, 'vet's late-night bite', with liver paté, saltmeat (corned veal), onions and jellied consommé. Finally cheese is served with radishes, nuts or grapes. Lager beer accompanied by small glasses of snaps or aquavit are the preferred drinks for a Danish frokost.

Military

Denmark's armed forces are known as the Danish Defence Force (Danish: Det Danske Forsvar). During peacetime, the Ministry of Defence (FM) in Denmark employs, in four branches, 15,460 in the Royal Danish Army, 5,300 in the Royal Navy, 6,050 in the Danish Air Force and more than 55,000 in the Danish Home Guard (Danish: Hjemmeværnet) following completion of their conscript service.

The Danish army has 350-450 soldiers in Kosovo and around 600 in Afghanistan. Between 2003 and 2007, there were approx. 450 soldiers in Iraq. Seven Danish soldiers were killed during the deployment in Iraq, which at the end of July, 2007 saw the force reduced to a small fleet of support helicopters.