Size does matter. Ask any primary student the land area of China and chances are she or he will answer by heart that China occupies 9.6 million sq km and is the third-biggest country in the world.
But apparently not, if you can believe the CIA. The figure entrenched in the minds of generations of students is about 274,000 sq km over the mark, it says.
The World Factbook in the US agency's website says China's total area is 9,596,960 sq km, including 9,326,410 sq km of land and 270,550 sq km of water. It is 'slightly smaller than the US', the website says, leaving China the fourth largest country in the world after Russia, Canada and the US.
The CIA says the total area of the US is 9,631,418 sq km. The calculation includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia, the site says.
But China's government website says: 'With a land mass of 9,600,000 sq km, China is the third-largest country in the world.' It also calculates its water area as 4.73 million sq km.
A China State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping spokesman said the bureau would not comment on the difference in figures 'given by the other country'.