OCTOBER 23, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 16

The Next Generation
Brace yourself: there are more than 600 million young people in China. This staggering demographic group is pushing the boundaries of the People's Republic with its numbers, needs and ambitions

POPULATION
China's total: 1.2 billion

Under the age of 24: 630.5 million

North America, Australia and Russia combined: 622 million

Communist Youth League members in China: 68.5 million

Communist party members: 54 million

California, New York and Texas combined: 64.8 million

Young Republican members in the U.S.: 324,000

EDUCATION
Primary and Secondary students in China, in 1997: 211.8 million

Primary and Secondary students in the U.S., in 1997: 51.9 million

University students in China, in 1997: 6.1 million

University students in the U.S., in 1997: 12.6 million

Students among China's total population: 17%

Share of GDP China spends on education: 0.75%

Share of GDP the U.S. spends on education: 3.5%

Total education spending in China: $35.5 billion

Total education spending in the U.S.: $619 billion

Total revenue for K mart, in 1999: $35.9 billion

INTERNET
Chinese PCs connected to the Net in mid-1998 (est.): 0.5 million

In mid-2000 (est.): 6.5 million

Average hours spent online per week in China: 16

Average hours spent online per week in the U.S.: 20

Internet service providers in China: 3

ISPs in the U.S.: 7,600

DRUGS
Registered drug addicts in China: 681,000

Drug users in China (est.): 12 million

Beijing drug addicts under 35 years of age: 79%

China's HIV carriers infected through intravenous drug injections: 72%

In the U.S.: 33%

Ecstasy pills seized in Shanghai in 1999: 9,800

Ecstasy pills seized in Brussels bound for Shanghai in March 2000: 128,000

Drug traffickers executed across China in the week surrounding international anti-drugs day, June 26, 2000: 52

People executed in the state of Texas since January: 33

Amount of heroin a smuggler must be caught with to face the death penalty in China: 50 grams

Weight of 150 aspirin pills (325 mg each): 48.8 grams

TELEVISION
Viewers in China: 1.1 billion

Households with access to MTV: 47 million

People who practice Falun Gong (est.): 10 million

TV broadcasting channels in China: 3,000

TV broadcasting channels in the U.S.: 1,500

Minutes Chinese aged 15-24 watch TV each day on average: 162

In the U.S.: 171

Beijingers who watched the final episode of the Qing-era costume drama Princess Huanzhu, in July 1999: 46%

Beijingers who watched the National Day celebration, on Sept. 30, 1999: 23%

Sources: Chinese Embassy to U.S., Taylor Nelson Sofres, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Xinhua News Agency, Young Republican National Federation, unesco, U.S. National Center for Education Statistics, cia World Factbook, U.S. National Education Association, Fortune, China Internet Network Information Center, Washington Post, China National Statistics Bureau, AFP, AC Nielsen Media International, British Ministry of Health, New York Times, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, CVSC-Sofres Media, MTV

Write to TIME at mail@web.timeasia.com

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