Map of World | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 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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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Physical Map of the World Political Map of the World Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
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 16 times the size of the US

Land boundaries
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

Coastline
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

Maritime claims: 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

Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form 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
Extremes 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
Extremes highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)

Natural resources: 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

Land use
Arable land: 10.73%
Permanent crops: 1%
Other: 88.27% (2001)

Irrigated land: 2,714,320 km² (1998 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
Note: 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: 6,379,157,361 (July 2004 est.)
Growth rate: 1.14% (2004 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages
Note: percents are for 'first language' speakers only

Religions: 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.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
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) 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.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.14% (2004 est.)

Birth rate: 20.24 births/1000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate: 8.86 deaths/1000 population (2004 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/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male/female
Total population: 1.01 male/female (2004 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 50.31 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 52.17 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 48.33 deaths/1000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 64.05 years
Male: 62.48 years
Female: 65.7 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.62 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 77%
Male: 83%
Female: 71% (1995 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type

Capital

Administrative divisions: 271 nations dependent areas and other entities

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system: all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the 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 description

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 3.8% (2003 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2003 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4%
Industry: 32%
Services: 64% (2004 est.)

Agriculture products

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: 3% (2002 est.)

Labor force: NA
By occupation: agriculture NA industry NA services NA

Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA
Highest 10: NA

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 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.)

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: $6.421 trillion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Partners: US 16.4% Germany 7.9% UK 5.2% France 5.1% China 5% Japan 4.6% (2003)

Imports: $6.531 trillion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Partners: US 9.9% Germany 9.4% China 7.9% Japan 6.7% France 4.7% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $2 trillion for less developed countries (2002 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


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Electricity
Production: 14.93 trillion kWh (2001 est.)
Consumption: 13.94 trillion kWh (2001 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 2.578 trillion m³ (2001 est.)
Consumption: 2.555 trillion m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 712 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 697.5 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Proven reserves: 161.2 trillion m³ (1 January 2002)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 843,923,500 (2003)
Mobile cellular: NA

Telephone system
General assessment: NA
Domestic: NA
International: NA

Broadcast media

Internet
Users: 604,111,719 (2002 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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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.)
Percent of gdp: roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways
Total: 1,115,205 km
Broad gauge: 257,481 km
Standard gauge: 671,413 km
Narrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003)

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: stretching over 250,000 km the world's 325 international land boundaries separate the 192 independent states and 72 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs
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