for the first fifteen years of its existence, the communist party was almost completely inactive outside of the politburo. the 100 person central committee rarely met and the first regular party congress was held ten years after its founding. in 1969, membership of the party was only 55,000 (0.7% of the population), making the pcc the smallest ruling communist party in the world. by the time of the first party congress in 1975, the party had grown to just over two hundred thousand members. by 1980, the party had grown to over 430,000 members and it grew further to 520,000 by 1985.