1999 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1999 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
total: 510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area--comparative
land area about 15 times the size of the US
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
356,000 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m
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
Environment--international agreements
selected international environmental agreements are included under the Environment--international agreements entry for each country and in the Selected International Environmental Agreements appendix
Irrigated land
2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.)
Land boundaries
the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Land use
arable land: 10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 32% other: 31% (1993 est.)
Map references
World, Time Zones
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, 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
Natural hazards
large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
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, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Terrain
the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 30% (male 934,816,288; female 884,097,095) 15-64 years: 63% (male 1,905,701,066; female 1,861,265,079) 65 years and over: 7% (male 179,094,601; female 230,570,707) (1999 est.)
Birth rate
22 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate
9 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate
56 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 63 years male: 61 years female: 65 years (1999 est.)
Population
5,995,544,836 (July 1999 est.)
Population growth rate
1.3% (1999 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.8 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
266 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Data code
none; there is no FIPS 10-4 country code for the World, so the Factbook uses the "W" data code from DIAM 65-18 "Geopolitical Data Elements and Related Features," Data Standard No. 3, March 1984, published by the Defense Intelligence Agency; see the Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes appendix
Legal system
all members of the UN (excluding Yugoslavia) plus Nauru and Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Economy
Debt--external
$2 trillion for less developed countries (1998 est.)
Economic aid--recipient
traditional worldwide foreign aid $50 billion (1995 est.)
Economy--overview
Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) dropped to 2% in 1998 from 4% in 1997 because of continued recession in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in the Russian economy. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity, growing at 3.9% in 1998, and accounted for 22% of GWP. Western Europe's economies grew at roughly 2.5%, not enough to cut deeply into the region's high unemployment; these economies produced 21% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its rapid growth and accounted for 11% of GWP. Japan posted a decline of 2.6% in 1998 and its share in GWP dropped to 7.4%. As usual, the 15 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations experienced widely different rates of growth. Russia's national product dropped by 5% whereas the nations of central and eastern Europe grew by 3.4% on average. The developing nations varied widely in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up 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 finds its control over resources slipping 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 more than 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, 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. In 1998, serious financial difficulties in several high-growth East Asia countries cast a shadow over short-term global economic prospects. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999 poses serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 1998, see the individual country entries.)
Electricity--consumption
12.3427 trillion kWh (1994)
Electricity--production
12.3427 trillion kWh (1994)
Electricity--production by source
fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA%
Exports
$5 trillion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports--commodities
the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports--partners
in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
GDP
GWP (gross world product)--purchasing power parity?$39 trillion (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector
agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
GDP--per capita
purchasing power parity?$6,600 (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate
2% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports
$5 trillion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports--commodities
the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports--partners
in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries
Industrial production growth rate
5% (1997 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
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
all countries 25%; developed countries 2% to 4% typically; developing countries 10% to 60% typically (1998 est.) note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World countries
Labor force
NA
Labor force--by occupation
NA
Unemployment rate
30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 5%-12% unemployment (1998 est.)
Communications
Radio broadcast stations
AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios
NA
Telephone system
domestic: NA international: NA
Telephones
NA
Television broadcast stations
NA
Televisions
NA
Transportation
Highways
total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km Ports and harbors: Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Merchant marine
total: 28,310 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 495,299,489 GRT/764,129,056 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 23, bulk 5,745, cargo 8,766, chemical tanker 1,326, combination bulk 319, combination ore/oil 227, container 2,615, liquefied gas tanker 802, livestock carrier 60, multifunction large-load carrier 90, oil tanker 4,521, passenger 392, passenger-cargo 126, railcar carrier 19, refrigerated cargo 1,067, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1,117, short-sea passenger 484, specialized tanker 118, vehicle carrier 493 (1998 est.)
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
Military and Security
Military branches
ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels of technology
Military expenditures--dollar figure
aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1998 remained at approximately the 1997 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1998 est.)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP
roughly 2% of gross world product (1998 est.)