Tibet lies at the center of Asia, with an area of 2.5 million square kilometers. The earth's highest mountains, a vast arid plateau and great river valleys make up the physical homeland of 6 million Tibetans. It has an average altitude of 14,000 feet above sea level.

Tibet is comprised of the three provinces of Amdo (now split by China into the provinces of Qinghai and part of Gansu), Kham (largely incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan), and U-Tsang (which, together with western Kham, is today referred to by China as the Tibet Autonomous Region).

The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) comprises less than half of historic Tibet and was created by China in 1965 for administrative reasons. It is important to note that when Chinese officials and publications use the term "Tibet" they mean only the TAR.
Tibetans use the term Tibet to mean the three provinces described above, i.e., the area traditionally known as Tibet before the 1949-50 invasion.

Despite over 40 years of Chinese occupation of Tibet, the Tibetan people refuse to be conquered and subjugated by China. The present Chinese policy, a combination of demographic and economic manipulation, and discrimination, aims to suppress the Tibetan issue by changing the very character and the identity of Tibet and its people.

Today Tibetans are outnumbered by Han Chinese population in their own homeland.

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, Butan, Burma, China

NATIONAL FLAG: Snowlions with red and blue rays. Outlawed in Tibet

POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS LEADER: The 14th Dalai Lama. In exile in Dharmsala, India.

GOVERNMENT IN EXILE: Parliamentary

GOVERNMENT: Communist

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE P.R.C . Colonial

LEGAL STATUS: Occupied