Statistical information World 1997World

Map of World | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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World - Introduction 1997
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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.


World - Geography 1997
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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map referenceWorld, Time Zones

Area
Total: total:510.072 million km²; land:148.94 million km²; water:361.132 million km²; note:70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Comparative: land area about 15 times the size of the US

Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)

Coastline: 356,000 km

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, Kazakstan, 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 Marianas Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean

Elevation
Extremes: lowest point:Dead Sea -408 m; highest point:Mount Everest 8,848 m

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 and the former USSR) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Land use

Land use: arable land:10%; permanent crops:1%; permanent pastures:26%; forests and woodland:32%; other:31% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 2,481,250 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)

Geography


World - People 1997
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Population: 5,849,699,041 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 1.4% (1997 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religions

Demographic profile
Age structure

Age structure: 0-14 years:31% (male 922,447,462; female 877,221,909); 15-64 years:63% (male 1,856,697,495; female 1,808,219,116); 65 years and over:6% (male 166,513,212; female 218,599,847)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.4% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 23 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio: at birth:1.06 male(s)/female; under 15 years:1.05 male(s)/female; 15-64 years:1.03 male(s)/female; 65 years and over:0.76 male(s)/female; total population:1.01 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 59 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population:63 years; male:61 years; female:64 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


World - Government 1997
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Country name

Government type

Capital

Administrative divisions: 266 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system: varies by individual country; 186 (not including Yugoslavia) are parties to the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ or World Court)

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag descriptionflag of World

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


World - Economy 1997
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Economy overview: Real global output - gross world product (GWP) - rose an estimated 3.6% in 1996, with the newly industrializing Third World countries again setting the pace. And once more, results varied widely among regions and countries. Average growth of 2.3% in the GDP of industrialized countries (55% of GWP in 1996) and average growth of 6.5% in the GDP of less developed countries (39% of GWP) were partly offset by a 2% drop in the GDP of the former USSR/Eastern Europe area (only 6% of GWP). With the notable exception of Japan at 3%, unemployment was typically 6%-12% in the industrial world. The US accounted for 21% of GWP in 1996; Western Europe accounted for 20%; and Japan accounted for 8%. These are the three "economic superpowers" presumably destined to compete for mastery in international markets on into the 21st century. As for the less developed countries:China, India, and the Four Dragons - South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore - once again posted records of 5% growth or better; however, many other countries, especially in Africa, continued to suffer from drought, rapid population growth, inflation, and civil strife. Central Europe and the 15 successor states to the USSR generally made progress in moving toward "market-friendly" economies, but output in Russia and Ukraine continued to fall. 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 in a number of cases is losing control over resources as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in 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 nearly 100 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, the industrialized countries have inadequate resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. (For specific economic developments in each country, see the individual country entries.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 3.6% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,200 (1996 est.)

Gross national saving
Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: the whole gamut of crops, livestock, forest products, and fish

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: 5% (1996 est.)

Labor force: total:2.24 billion (1992); by occupation:NA
Labor force

Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 6%-12% unemployment (1996 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: total value:$4.6 trillion (f.o.b., 1996 est.); commodities:the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services; partners:in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries

Imports: total value:$4.7 trillion (c.i.f., 1996 est.); commodities: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 gold

Debt external: $2 trillion for less developed countries (1996 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


World - Energy 1997
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Electricity
Capacity: 4 billion kW (1994)
Production: 12.34268 trillion kWh (1994)
Consumption per capita: 1,996 kWh (1995 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


World - Communication 1997
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Telephones: NA

Telephone system: domestic:NA; international:NA

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


World - Military 1997
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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1996 remained at about the 1995 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars in money terms (1996 est.)
Percent of gdp: roughly 2% of gross world product (1996 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


World - Transportation 1997
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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports

Heliports

Pipelines

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

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine: total:25,521 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 442,276,527 GRT/701,647,274 DWT; ships by type:barge carrier 22, bulk 5,308, cargo 8,089, chemical tanker 920, combination bulk 307, combination ore/oil 279, container 1,938, liquefied gas tanker 709, livestock carrier 52, multifunction large-load carrier 62, oil tanker 4,320, passenger 298, passenger-cargo 117, railcar carrier 21, refrigerated cargo 1,022, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1,034, short-sea passenger 484, specialized tanker 81, vehicle carrier 458 (1995 est.)

Ports and terminals


World - Transnational issues 1997
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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs


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