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.

Map reference: Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total: total: 510.072 million km²; land: 148.94 million km² water area: 361.132 million km²

Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 250,883.64 km (not

Coastline: 356,000 km; contiguous zone: 24 nm claimed by most but can vary; continental shelf: 200 m depth claimed by most or to the 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

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

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: arable land: 10%; permanent crops: 1%; meadows and pastures: 24%; forest and woodland: 31%; other: 34%

Irrigated land: NA km²

Population
Growth rate: 1.6% (1993 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.6% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 25 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Environment
Current 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

Infant mortality rate: 66 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 62 years; male: 60 years; female: 64 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.2 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) combined: 74%; male: 81%; female: 67%

Administrative divisions: 265 sovereign nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries

Legal system: varies by individual country; 182 are parties to the United; Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ or World Court)

Economy overview: Real global output--gross world product (GWP)--rose one-half of 1% in 1992, with results varying widely among regions and countries. Average growth of 1.5% in the GDP of industrialized countries (62% of GWP in 1992) and average growth of 5% in the GDP of less developed countries (30% of GWP) were offset by a further 15-20% drop in the GDP of the former Soviet-East European area (now only 8% of GWP). The United States accounted for 23% of GWP in 1992; the 12-member European Community, which established a single internal market on 1 January 1993, accounted for another 23%, and Japan accounted for 10%. These are the three "economic superpowers" presumably destined to compete for mastery in international markets on into the 21st century. In general, growth in the industrialized countries was sluggish in 1992, with unemployment typically at 7-11%. As for the less developed countries, China, India, and the Four Dragons--South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore--posted good records; however, many other countries, especially in Africa, suffered bitterly from drought, rapid population growth, and civil strife. The continued plunge in production in practically all the former Warsaw Pact economies strained the political and social fabric of these newly independent nations, in particular in Russia. The addition of nearly 100 million people 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 the specific economic problems of each country, see the individual country entries in this volume.)

Real gdp growth rate: 0.5% (1992 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $4,600 (1992 est.) developed countries: 5% (1992 est.) developing countries: 50% (1992 est.)

Agriculture 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 for food imports; conditions are especially bad in Africa where drought in recent years has intensified the consequences of overpopulation

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 -1% (1992 est.)

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

Unemployment rate: developed countries typically 7-11%; developing countries, extensive unemployment and underemployment (1992)

Exports: $3.64 trillion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
Commodoties: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Partners: in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries

Imports: $3.82 trillion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
Commodoties: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Partners: in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries

Electricity
Production: 2,864,000,000 kW capacity; 11,450,000 million kWh produced, 2,150 kWh per capita (1990)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: $1.0 trillion, 4% of total world output; decline of 5-10% (1991 est.)

Merchant marine: 23,943 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 397,225,000; GRT/652,025,000 DWT; includes 347 passenger-cargo, 12,581 freighters, 5,473 bulk carriers, and 5,542 tankers (January 1992)