1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Coastline
359,000 km
Comparative area
land area about 16 times the size of the US
Disputes
major international land boundary disputes--Argentina-Uruguay, Bangladesh-India, Brazil-Paraguay, Brazil-Uruguay, Cambodia-Vietnam, Chad-Libya, China-India, China-USSR, Ecuador-Peru, Egypt-Sudan, El Salvador-Honduras, Ethiopia-Somalia, French Guiana-Suriname, Guyana-Suriname, Guyana-Venezuela, Israel-Jordan, Israel-Syria, North Korea-South Korea, Oman-UAE, Oman-Yemen, Qatar-UAE, Saudi Arabia-Yemen
Environment
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
Land boundaries
442,000 km
Land use
arable land 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 24%; forest and woodland 31%; other 34%; includes irrigated 1.6%
Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: generally 24 nm, but varies from 4 nm to 25 nm; Continental shelf: generally 200 nm, but some are 200 meters in depth; Exclusive fishing zone: most are 200 nm, but varies from 3 nm to 200 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; only the Maldives varies from 35-310 nm; Territorial sea: generally 12 nm, but varies from 3 nm to 50 nm; note--32 nations and miscellaneous areas are landlocked and include Afghanistan, Andorra, Austria, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Swaziland, Switzerland, Uganda, Vatican City, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Natural resources
the oceans represent the last major frontier for the discovery and development of natural resources
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
Total area
510,072,000 km2; 361,132,000 km2 (70.8%) is water and 148,940,000 km2 (29.2%) is land
People and Society
Birth rate
26 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate
66 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
2.2 billion (1991)
Life expectancy at birth
61 years male, 65 years female (1991)
Literacy
74% (male 81%, female 67%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Organized labor
NA
Population
5,419,643,132 (July 1991), growth rate 1.7% (1991)
Total fertility rate
3.3 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
170 sovereign nations plus 72 dependent, other, and miscellaneous areas
Diplomatic representation
there are 159 members of the UN
Legal system
varies among each of the entities; 162 are parties to the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Economy
Agriculture
cereals (wheat, maize, rice), sugar, livestock products, tropical crops, fruit, vegetables, fish
Economic aid
NA
Electricity
2,864,000,000 kW capacity; 11,450,000 million kWh produced, 2,150 kWh per capita (1990)
Exports
$3.33 trillion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services; partners--in value, 74% of exports from industrial countries
External debt
$1.0 trillion for less developed countries (1990 est.)
GWP (gross world product)
$20.9 trillion, per capita $3,930; real growth rate 1.0% (1990 est.)
Imports
$3.45 trillion (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services; partners--in value, about 75% of imports by the industrial countries
Industrial production
growth rate 3% (1990 est.)
Industries
chemicals, energy, machinery, electronics, metals, mining, textiles, food processing
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
developed countries 5%; developing countries 100%, with wide variations (1990 est.)
Overview
In 1990 the world economy grew at an estimated 1.0%, considerably lower than the estimated 3.0% for 1989 and the 3.4% for 1988. The technologically advanced areas--North America, Japan, and Western Europe--together account for 67% of the gross world product (GWP) of $20.9 trillion; these developed areas grew in the aggregate at 2.3% in 1990. In contrast, output in the USSR and Eastern Europe fell an average of 5.2%; these countries account for 15% of GWP. Experience in the developing countries continued mixed, with the newly industrializing economies generally maintaining their rapid growth, and many others struggling with debt, rampant inflation, and inadequate investment. This third group contributed 18% of GWP and grew on average 2.3% in 1990; output in this group is probably understated because of lack of data and the method of calculation used. The year 1990 witnessed continued political and economic upheavals in the USSR and Eastern Europe, which are in between systems, lacking both the rough discipline of the command economy and the institutions of the market economy. As for prospects in the 1990s, the addition of nearly 100 million people a year to an already overcrowded globe will exacerbate the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Ports
Mina al Ahmadi (Kuwait), Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Military and Security
Branches
ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels of technology
Defense expenditures
$1.1 trillion, 5.3% of GWP (1990 est.) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 1,412,502,000; NA fit for military service