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Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
Globally, the 20th century
was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression
of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances
in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between
the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in
living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased
concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of
energy and water, the drop in biological diversity, and air pollution;
(h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of
the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues
to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in
1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For
the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and
technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears
(e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). |
| Map
references: |
World, Time Zones |
| Area: |
total: 510.072
million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km
water: 361.132 million sq km
note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land |
| Area
- comparative: |
land area about 16 times the
size of the US |
| Land
boundaries: |
the land boundaries in the
world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice) |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous zone:
24 NM claimed by most, but can vary
continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth
of exploitation; others claim 200 NM or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM claimed by most, but can
vary
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM claimed by most, but can
vary
territorial sea: 12 NM claimed by most, but can vary
note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent
many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full
200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include
Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic,
Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San
Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West
Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Climate: |
two large areas of polar
climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide
equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates |
| Terrain: |
the greatest ocean depth is
the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
| Natural
resources: |
the rapid using up of
nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and
wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the
deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe,
the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that
governments and peoples are only beginning to address |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 26%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 31% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
large areas subject to severe
weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides,
tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) |
| Environment
- current issues: |
large areas subject to
overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain,
toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation,
desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion,
erosion |
| Population: |
6,157,400,560 (July 2001
est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
29.6% (male 933,647,850; female 886,681,514)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,975,418,386; female
1,931,021,694)
65 years and over: 7% (male 188,760,223; female
241,449,691) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.25% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
21.37 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
8.93 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
52.61 deaths/1,000 live
births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
63.79 years
male: 62.15 years
female: 65.51 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.73 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Administrative
divisions: |
267 nations, dependent areas,
other, and miscellaneous entries |
| Legal
system: |
all members of the UN plus
Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court |
| Economy
- overview: |
Growth in global output
(gross world product, GWP) rose to 4.8% in 2000 from 3.5% in 1999,
despite continued low growth in Japan, severe financial difficulties in
other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in several
transition economies. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained
prosperity, growing at 5% in 2000, although growth slowed in fourth
quarter 2000; the US accounted for 23% of GWP. The EU economies grew at
3.3% and produced 20% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the
world, continued its strong growth and accounted for 10% of GWP. Japan
grew at only 1.3% in 2000; its share in GWP is 7%. As usual, the 15
successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations
experienced widely different rates of growth. The developing nations
also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing
population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the
nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily
losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and
technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control
over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically
based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor
states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India,
and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult
political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in
order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek
employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already
overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution,
desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of
their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries
devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas
of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are
becoming further marginalized. Continued financial difficulties in East
Asia, Russia, and many African nations, as well as the slowdown in US
economic growth, cast a shadow over short-term global economic
prospects; GWP probably will grow at 3-4% in 2001. The introduction of
the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January
1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses
serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural
and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific
economic developments in each country of the world in 2000, see the
individual country entries.) |
| GDP: |
GWP (gross world product) -
purchasing power parity - $43.6 trillion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
4.8% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$7,200 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 32%
services: 64% (1999 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
all countries 25%; developed
countries 1% to 3% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically
(2000 est.)
note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual
cases, from stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of
Third World countries |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agricultue NA%, industry NA%,
services NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
30% combined unemployment and
underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed
countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2000 est.) |
| Industries: |
dominated by the onrush of
technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and
medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in
OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded
in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated
development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is
complicating already grim environmental problems |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
6% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA%
nuclear: NA%
other: NA% |
| Exports: |
$6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
the whole range of industrial
and agricultural goods and services |
| Exports
- partners: |
in value, about 75% of
exports from the developed countries |
| Imports: |
$6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
the whole range of industrial
and agricultural goods and services |
| Imports
- partners: |
in value, about 75% of
imports by the developed countries |
| Debt
- external: |
$2 trillion for less
developed countries (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
traditional worldwide foreign
aid $50 billion (1997 est.) |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
NA |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
NA
domestic: NA
international: NA |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
NA |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
10,350 (2000 est.) |
| Internet
users: |
407.1 million (2000 est.) |
| Railways: |
total: 1,201,337
km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which
147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in
Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note -
fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe
Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV)
- Atlantique line
broad gauge: 251,153 km
standard gauge: 710,754 km
narrow gauge: 239,430 km |
| Highways: |
total: NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki,
Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York,
Rotterdam, Yokohama |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
aggregate real expenditure on
arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about
three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
roughly 2% of gross world
product (1999 est.) |
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