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).

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: 44 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, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked

Coastline
Note: 94 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, 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, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, 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 Barthelemy, 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, 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: a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two large areas of cold and dry polar 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

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: 13.31%
Permanent crops: 4.71%
Other: 81.98% (2005)

Irrigated land: 2,770,980 km² (2003)

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 13.7-billion-year age estimated for the universe

Population: 6,602,224,175 (July 2007 est.)
Growth rate: 1.167% (2007 est.)

Languages
Note: percents are for 'first language' speakers only and therefore do not add to 100%

Religions: Christians 33.03% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33% Protestants 5.8% Orthodox 3.42% Anglicans 1.23%) Muslims 20.12% Hindus 13.34% Buddhists 5.89% Sikhs 0.39% Jews 0.23% other religions 12.61% non-religious 12.03% atheists 2.36% (2004 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 27.4% (male 931,551,498/female 875,646,416)
15-64 years: 65.1% (male 2,174,605,518/female 2,124,494,703)
65 years and over: 7.5% (male 217,451,123/female 278,474,917) (2007 est.)

Median age
Total: 28 years
Male: 27.4 years
Female: 28.7 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.167% (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 20.09 births/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 8.37 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

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; global warming becoming a greater concern

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.064 male/female
15-64 years: 1.024 male/female
65 years and over: 0.781 male/female
Total population: 1.014 male/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 43.52 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 46.32 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 40.52 deaths/1000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 65.82 years
Male: 63.89 years
Female: 67.84 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.59 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 82%
Male: 87%
Female: 77%
Note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)

Administrative divisions: 265 nations dependent areas and other entities

Legal system: all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court

Economy overview: Global output rose by 5% in 2006 led by China (10.5%) India (8.5%) and Russia (6.6%). The 14 other 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 7%-10% range of growth. Growth results posted by the major industrial countries varied from no gain for Italy to a strong gain by the United States (3.4%). 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 decisionmaking powers to international bodies notably the EU. 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 an 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 accentuated 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 continued through 2006.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: GWP (gross world product): $65.96 trillion (2006 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 5.3% (2006 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $10,200 (2006 est.)

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

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% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 3.001 billion (2005 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 40.9%
By occupation industry: 20.6%
By occupation services: 38.5% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2006 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.5%
Highest 10: 30.2% (2002 est.)

Inflation rate consumer prices: developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 20% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in one Third World countries (Zimbabwe); inflation rates have declined for most countries for the last several years held in check by increasing international competition from several low wage countries (2005 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $43.64 trillion (2005)

Exports: $12.03 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Partners: US 15.1% Germany 7.4% China 5.9% France 4.6% UK 4.5% Japan 4.4% (2006)

Imports: $11.95 trillion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Partners: China 9.8% Germany 8.8% US 8.5% Japan 5.6% (2006)

Debt external
Note: this figure is the sum total of all countries' external debt, both public and private (2004 est.)

Electricity
Production: 17.42 trillion kWh (2005 est.)
Consumption: 15.81 trillion kWh (2005 est.)
Exports: 619.8 billion kWh (2005)
Imports: 633.2 billion kWh (2005)

Natural gas
Production: 2.769 trillion m³ (2005 est.)
Consumption: 2.811 trillion m³ (2005 est.)
Exports: 818.1 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Imports: 785.8 billion m³ (2005)
Proven reserves: 166.8 trillion m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 1,263,367,600 (2005)
Mobile cellular: 2,168,433,600 (2005)

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

Internet
Users: 1,018,057,389 (2005)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: roughly 2% of gross world product (2005 est.)

Airports: 49,024 (2006)

Heliports: 1359 (2007)

Railways
Total: 1,370,782 km (2006)

Roadways
Total: 32,345,165 km
Paved: 19,403,061 km
Unpaved: 12,942,104 km (2002)

Waterways: 671,886 km (2004)

Disputes international: stretching over 250,000 km the world's 319 international land boundaries separate 193 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; most maritime states have claimed limits that include territorial seas and exclusive economic zones; overlapping limits due to adjacent or opposite coasts create the potential for 430 bilateral maritime boundaries of which 209 have agreements that include contiguous and non-contiguous segments; boundary borderland/resource and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; undemarcated indefinite porous and unmanaged boundaries tend to 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 and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation and internal displacement of the estimated 6.6 million people and cross-border displacements of 8.6 million refugees around the world as of early 2006; just over one million refugees were repatriated in the same period; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially hydrocarbon) resources fisheries and arable land; armed conflict prevails not so much between the uniformed armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees hunger disease impoverishment and environmental degradation

Refugees and internally displaced persons: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that in December 2005 there was a global population of 8.4 million registered refugees the lowest number in 26 years and as many as 23.7 million IDPs in more than 50 countries; the actual global population of refugees is probably closer to 10 million given the estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees displaced throughout the Middle East (2006)

Illicit drugs
Cocaine: worldwide coca leaf cultivation in 2005 amounted to 208,500 hectares; Colombia produced slightly more than two-thirds of the worldwide crop, followed by Peru and Bolivia; potential pure cocaine production rose to 900 from 645 metric tons in 2005 - partially due to improved methodologies used to calculate levels of production; Colombia conducts aggressive coca eradication campaign, but both Peruvian and Bolivian Governments are hesitant to eradicate coca in key growing areas; 551 metric tons of export-quality cocaine (85% pure) is documented to have been seized or destroyed in 2005; US consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been in excess of 380 metric tons
Opiates: worldwide illicit opium poppy cultivation reached 208,500 hectares in 2005; potential opium production of 4,990 metric tons was only a 9% decrease over 2004's highest total recorded since estimates began in mid-1980s; Afghanistan is world's primary opium producer, accounting for 90% of the global supply; Southeast Asia - responsible for 9% of global opium - saw marginal increases in production; Latin America produced 1% of global opium, but most was refined into heroin destined for the US market; if all potential opium was processed into pure heroin, the potential global production would be 577 metric tons of heroin in 2005