Statistical information World 1992

World map
World - Introduction 1992
top of pageBackground: 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.
top of pageLocationGeographic coordinatesMap referenceAreaTotal: 510,072,000 km²; Land area: 148,940,000 km² (29.2%); Comparative area: land area about 16 times the size of the US
Land boundaries: 442,000 km
Coastline: 356,000 km
Maritime claims: range from 3 to 200 nm; 1 claim is rectangular; 112 states claim a 12 nm limit; note - boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm; 41 nations and other areas are landlocked and include; Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,; Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad,; Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho,; Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia,; Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Swaziland, Switzerland,; Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, West Bank,; Zambia, Zimbabwe; Contiguous zone: 39 states claim contiguous zone, 33 of which have 24 nm limits; Continental shelf: approximately 78 states have specific continental shelf claims, the limit of 42 claims is based on depth (200 m) plus exploitability, 21 claims define the continental shelf as 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin; Exclusive fishing zone: 23 claims with limits ranging from 12 nm to 200 nm; Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): 83 states claim an EEZ, with most limits being 200 nm; Territorial sea: claims range from 3 to 200 nm, 112 states claim a 12 nm limit; note - 41 nations and miscellaneous areas are landlocked and comprise; Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Bolivia,; Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Byelarus, Central African Republic, Chad,; Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho,; Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macebia, Zimbabwe; Disputes: major international land boundary or territorial diputes -; Bahrain-Qatar, Chad-Libya, China-India, China-Russia, Ecuador-Peru, El; Salvador-Honduras, Israel-Jordan, Israel-Syria, Japan-Russia, North; Korea-South Korea, Saudi Arabia-Yemen, South China Sea
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: highest elevation is Mt. Everest at 8,848 meters and lowest depression is the Dead Sea at 392 meters below sea level; greatest ocean depth is the Marianas Trench at 10,924 meters
ElevationNatural 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 and the former USSR) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Land use: arable land: 10%; permanent crops: 1%; meadows and pastures 24%; forest and woodland 31%; other 34%; includes irrigated 1.6%
Irrigated landMajor riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographytop of pagePopulation: 5,515,617,484 (July 1992), growth rate 1.7% (1992)
NationalityEthnic groupsLanguagesReligionsDemographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rateBirth rate: 26 births/1000 population (1992)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1000 population (1992)
Net migration ratePopulation distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions), overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife resources, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 63 deaths/1000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 65 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate: 3.3 children born/woman (1992)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: 74% (male 81%, female 67%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameGovernment typeCapitalAdministrative divisions: 187 sovereign nations plus 72 dependent, other, and miscellaneous areas
Dependent areasIndependenceNational holidayConstitutionLegal system: varies by individual country; 182 are parties to the; United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ or World Court); Diplomatic representation: there are 178 members of the UN
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrageExecutive branchLegislative branchJudicial branchPolitical parties and leadersInternational organization participationDiplomatic representationFlag description
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: Aggregate world output in 1991 increased by 1.3%, in contrast to estimated 2% growth in 1990 and 3% growth in 1989. In 1991, the developed countries grew by 2.5% and the LDCs by 3.5%, these gains being offset by a 10-15% drop in the former Communist-dominated areas of the USSR and Eastern; Europe. As usual, results among individual countries differed widely. In the developed group, Japan led with 4.5%, the West European members averaged 1.2%, and the recession-plagued United States lagged,with GDP down 0.7%. As for the 15 former Soviet republics and the seven nations of Eastern Europe, output plummeted in many economic sectors because of fundamental changes in the rules of the game and in the channels of production and exchange. China and the Four Dragons performed well in 1991 but many of the other developing countries are mired in poverty and political instability. For the world as a whole, the addition of nearly 100 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe will exacerbate the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine.; GWP (gross world product): purchasing power equivalent - $25 trillion, per capita $4,600; real growth rate 1.3% (1991 est.)
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rateReal gdp per capitaGross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: the production of major food crops has increased substantially in the last 20 years. The annual production of cereals, for instance, has risen by 50%, from about 1.2 billion metric tons to about 1.8 billion metric tons; production increases have resulted mainly from increased yields rather than increases in planted areas; while global production is sufficient for aggregate demand, about one-fifth of the world's population remains malnourished, primarily because local production cannot adequately provide for large and rapidly growing populations, which are too poor to pay for food imports; conditions are especially bad in; Africa where drought in recent years has exacerbated the consequences of all other factors
Industries: industry worldwide is 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, and the technological gap between the industrial nations and the less-developed countries continues to widen; the rapid development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Industrial production growth rate: growth rate 3% (1990 est.)
Labor force: 2.24 billion (1992); Organized labor: NA
Unemployment rate: NA%
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudgetTaxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal yearInflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $3.34 trillion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Partners: in value, about 75% of exports from developed countries
Imports: $3.49 trillion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Partners: in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt externalStock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange ratestop of pageElectricityProduction: 2,864,000,000 kW capacity; 11,450,000 million kWh produced, 2,150 kWh per capita (1990)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitaWorld - Communication 1992
top of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresPercent of gdp: $1.0 trillion, 4% of total world output; decline of 5-10% (1991 est.)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupsWorld - Transportation 1992
top of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirportsHeliportsPipelinesRailwaysRoadwaysWaterwaysMerchant marine: 23,596 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 386,736,000; GRT/637,493,000 DWT; includes 348 passenger-cargo, 12,441 freighters, 5,446 bulk carriers, and 5,361 tankers (January 1991); Civil air: 14,500-16,000 major transport aircraft with gross take-off weight of 9,000 kg (20,000 lbs) or more (1992 est.)
Ports and terminalsWorld - Transnational issues 1992
top of pageDisputes internationalRefugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs