The char data type in Java is a 16-bit unsigned integer that is used to represent characters in the Unicode character set. Unlike some other programming languages where char might be an 8-bit type, Java's char type can hold any character from the Unicode standard, which includes all the characters used in modern languages, special symbols, and more. The char type in Java ranges from 0 to 65535. This range corresponds to the numeric values assigned to each character in the Unicode standard, allowing for 65,536 different characters. The lower end of the range (0) represents the null character, while the upper end (65535) represents the maximum value that can be held by a 16-bit unsigned integer. This wide range makes the char type suitable for internationalization and working with a diverse set of characters and symbols beyond the ASCII character set.