An Overview of Tibet

This text is taken from the Tibetan Government in Exile's Web Site. The contents have not been altered.

SIZE	2.5 million sq. km.
CAPITAL	Lhasa
POPULATION	6 million Tibetans and an estimated 7.5 million Chinese, most of whom are in Kham and Amdo.
LANGUAGE	Tibetan (of the Tibeto-Burmese language family). The official language is Chinese.
STAPLE FOOD	Tsampa (roasted barley flour)
NATIONAL DRINK	Salted butter tea
TYPICAL ANIMALS	Wild yak, Bharal (blue) sheep, Musk deer, Tibetan antelope, Tibetan gazelle, Kyang (wild ass), Pica
TYPICAL BIRDS	Black necked crane, Lammergeier, Great crested grebe, Bar-headed goose, Ruddy shel duck, Ibis-bill
MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS	Rampant deforestation in Eastern Tibet, poaching of large mammals
AVERAGE ALTITUDE	14,000 ft.
HIGHEST MOUNTAIN	Chomo Langma (Mt. Everest) 29, 028 ft.
AVERAGE RAINFALL	Varies widely. In the west it is 1 mm in Jan. to 25 mm in July. In the east, it is 25-50 in Jan. and 800 in July
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE	July 58 f; Jan. 24 f.
MINERAL DEPOSITS	Borax, uranium, iron, chromite, gold
MAJOR RIVERS	Mekong, Yangtse, Salween, Tsangpo, Yellow
ECONOMY	Tibetans: predominantly in agriculture and animal husbandry. Chinese: predominantly in government, commerce and the service sector.
PROVINCES	U-Tsang (Central Tibet), Amdo (N.E. Tibet), Kham (S.E. Tibet)
BORDERING COUNTRIES	India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China
NATIONAL FLAG	Snow lions with red and blue rays. Outlawed in Tibet.
POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS LEADER	The 14th Dalai Lama. In exile in Dharamsala, India.
GOVERNMENT IN EXILE	Parliamentary
GOVERNMENT	Communist
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE P.R.C.	Colonial
LEGAL STATUS	Occupied