Legend:
 Definition
 Field Listing
 Rank Order
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Background:
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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 decline 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). |
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Map references:
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Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time
Zones of the World |
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Area:
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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 |
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Area - comparative:
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land area about 16 times the size of the US |
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Land boundaries:
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the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared
boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other
countries
note: 43 nations and other areas are landlocked, these 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; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan,
are doubly landlocked |
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Coastline:
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356,000 km
note: 98 nations and other entities are islands that border no
other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and
Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain,
Baker Island, Barbados, Bassas da India, Bermuda, Bouvet Island,
British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde,
Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling)
Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus,
Dominica, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe
Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands,
Glorioso Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and
McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan,
Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Juan de Nova Island, Kingman
Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Isle of Man, Marshall
Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of
Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New
Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana
Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn
Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis,
Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore,
Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly
Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago,
Tromelin Island, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin
Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan |
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Maritime claims:
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a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the
following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described
in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12
nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm;
additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf
resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with
neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing
or economic zones to a full 200 nm |
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Climate:
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two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow
temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical
climates |
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Terrain:
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the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the
Pacific Ocean |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana
Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the
Pacific Ocean
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
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Natural resources:
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the rapid depletion 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 |
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Land use:
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arable land: 10.73%
permanent crops: 1%
other: 88.27% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural
disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just
about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe |
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Population:
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6,379,157,361 (July 2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 28.2% (male 925,276,767; female 875,567,830)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 2,083,789,165; female 2,033,226,759)
65 years and over: 7.2% (male 203,286,504; female 257,705,851)
note: some countries do not maintain age structure information,
thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population
and the total for world age structure (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.14% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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20.24 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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8.86 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 50.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.17 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 48.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 64.05 years
male: 62.48 years
female: 65.7 years (2004 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.62 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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NA |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA |
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Religions:
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Christians 32.71% (of which Roman Catholics 17.28%, Protestants 5.61%,
Orthodox 3.49%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.67%, Hindus 13.28%,
Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.23%, other religions 13.05%,
non-religious 12.43%, atheists 2.41% (2002 est.) |
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Languages:
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Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%,
Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German,
Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77%
male: 83%
female: 71% (1995 est.) |
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Economy - overview:
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Global output rose by 3.7% in 2003, led by China (9.1%), India (7.6%),
and Russia (7.3%). The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the
other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent
growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers,
in the 5%-7% range of growth. Growth results posted by the major
industrial countries varied from a loss by Germany (-0.1%) to a strong
gain by the United States (3.1%). The developing nations also varied
in their growth results, with many countries facing population
increases that erode 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, in Iraq,
in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is
losing decision-making powers to international bodies. 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. 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 economic
risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political
differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on
the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to
global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of
resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening
of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new
uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the coalition
victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost
of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems
that continue into 2004. |
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GDP:
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GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $51.48 trillion
(2004 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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3.8% (2004 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2004 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 4%
industry: 32%
services: 64% (2004 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60%
typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases,
from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third
World countries (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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NA |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
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Unemployment rate:
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30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many
non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12%
unemployment |
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Industries:
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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 |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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3% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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14.93 trillion kWh (2001 est.) |
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Electricity - consumption:
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13.94 trillion kWh (2001 est.) |
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Oil - production:
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75.34 million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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75.81 million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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1.025 trillion bbl (1 January 2002) |
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Natural gas - production:
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2.578 trillion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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2.555 trillion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - exports:
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712 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - imports:
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697.5 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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161.2 trillion cu m (1 January 2002) |
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Exports:
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$6.421 trillion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
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Exports - partners:
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US 16.4%, Germany 7.9%, UK 5.2%, France 5.1%, China 5%, Japan 4.6%
(2003) |
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Imports:
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$6.531 trillion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
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Imports - partners:
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US 9.9%, Germany 9.4%, China 7.9%, Japan 6.7%, France 4.7% (2003) |
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Debt - external:
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$2 trillion for less developed countries (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion |
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Railways:
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total: 1,115,205 km
broad gauge: 257,481 km
standard gauge: 671,413 km
narrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003) |
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Highways:
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total: NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km |
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Ports and harbors:
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Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait),
New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama |
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Disputes - international:
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stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 322 international land
boundaries separate the 192 independent states and 70 dependencies,
areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities;
ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states
into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain,
political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and
imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed limits and have so
far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development
zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for national security
at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary
in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; most
disputes over the alignment of political boundaries are confined to
short segments and are today less common and less hostile than
borderland, resource, and territorial disputes; undemarcated,
indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage
illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and
confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or
cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition;
ethnic clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial
fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in
rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary
conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and
mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land;
nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their international
boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource disputes
peacefully; regional discord directly affects the sustenance and
welfare of local populations, often leaving the world community to
cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment,
deforestation, and desertification |
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Illicit drugs:
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cocaine: worldwide, coca is grown on an estimated 173,450
hectares-almost exclusively in South America with 70% in Colombia;
potential cocaine production during 2003 is estimated at 728 metric
tons (or 835 metric tons of export quality cocaine); coca eradication
programs continue in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru; 376 metric tons of
export quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2003, and
26 metric tons disrupted (jettisoned or destroyed); consumption of
export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 800 metric tons
opiates: cultivation of opium poppy occurred on an estimated
137,944 hectares in 2003-mostly in Southwest and Southeast Asia-with
44% in Afghanistan, potentially produced 3,775 metric tons of opium -
which conceivably could be converted to the equivalent of 429 metric
tons of pure heroin; opium eradication programs have been undertaken
in Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and
Vietnam |
This page was last updated on 30 November, 2004
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