China is a former national and geographic entity that existed on the planet Earth, from circa 2070 BCE until roughly 2145. One notable nation that existed within its territory was the People's Republic of China which existed from 1949 until 2049. At the time of its transition to democracy, the PRC was the longest-reigning communist nation in the world. For much of the first half of the 21st century, China was considered the world's superpower having surpassed the United States after 2030. The PRC was also notable for boasting the second of the world's two largest populations on the planet Earth for much of the 21st century.