Situated at 36º40'N and 117º00'E, Jinan is near Mount Tai to the south and neighbors the Yellow River on the north. The terrain of Jinan slopes down from south to north and its landforms vary with hills, plains in front of the mountains and the alluvial plains of the Yellow River. There are two major water systems in Jinan-- the Yellow River and the Xiaoqing River. Daming Lake and Baiyun Lake are the major lakes. 

Jinan belongs to the warm temperate zone with a continental monsoon climate. It has four distinct seasons and sufficient sunlight. Its annual average temperature is 13.6ºC. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of -1.9ºC, and July the hottest with an average temperature of 27ºC. The annual rainfall is 614 mm.

By the end of the year 2005, the permanent population of Jinan is 5.974 million, an increase of 12.5‰. The temporary population is 558,000. Of all the 56 nationalities in China, there are 48 nationalities in Jinan. 98.16% of the people here are of the Han Nationality, and the minority nationalities account for 1.84% of the population.

In 2005, the increase value of modern service industry is 35.8 billion yuan, an increase of 13% which makes up 40.7% of that of the tertiary industry.

The software industry has a sales income of 9.5 billion yuan, an increase of 21.8%. By the end of 2005, the fixed telephones are 43.9 per 100 persons, an increase of 2%; the mobile phones are 44 per 100 persons, an increase of 10.9%.

The scale of investment in fixed assets is expanding. The total investment in fixed assets is 85.69 billion yuan, an increase of 31.6%. Foreign trade keeps on developing. The exports and imports amount to 3.762 billion US dollars, an increase of 23.5% compared with 2004. The exports amount to 1.778 billion US dollars, an increase of 29.5%.

Foreign investment is increasing. 148 foreign investment projects are ratified. The contract foreign investment is 1.121 billion US dollars, an increase of 63.6%; the practically used foreign investment is 510 million US dollars, an increase of 60.7% which includes 351 million US dollars of direct foreign investment, an increase of 91.9%.

Foreign economic and technological cooperation has made new progress. Foreign contracts reach 230 million US dollars, an increase of 10.7% and the turnover is 320 million US dollars, an increase of 23.5%.