2000 Edition

Area

land

148.94 million sq km

note

70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land

total

510.072 million sq km

water

361.132 million sq km

Area - comparative

land area about 16 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

highest point

Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)

lowest point

Dead Sea -408 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

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%

forests and woodland

32%

other

31% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

1%

permanent pastures

26%

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 economic zone

200 nm claimed by most, but can vary

exclusive fishing zone

200 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

territorial sea

12 nm claimed by most, but can vary

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 29.92% (male 932,832,913; female 885,970,165) 15-64 years: 63.17% (male 1,942,402,264; female 1,898,479,062) 65 years and over: 6.91% (male 184,072,470; female 235,017,660) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

22 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

9 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate

54 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

female

65 years (2000 est.)

male

62 years

total population

64 years

Population

6,080,671,215 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

1.3% (2000 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population

1.01 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.8 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Administrative divisions

267 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 Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court

Debt - external

$2 trillion for less developed countries (1999 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

traditional worldwide foreign aid $50 billion (1997 est.)

Economy - overview

Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) rose to 3% in 1999 from 2% in 1998 despite continued recession in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in several transition economies, notably Russia. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity, growing at 4.1% in 1999, and accounted for 23% of GWP. Western Europe's economies grew at roughly 2%, not enough to cut deeply into the region's high unemployment; the EU economies produced 20% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its strong growth and accounted for 12% of GWP. Japan grew at only 0.3% in 1999; its share in GWP is 7%. As usual, the 15 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations experienced widely different rates of growth. 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 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, 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 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. Continued financial difficulties in East Asia, Russia, and many African nations 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, while strengthening prospects for an integrated economic powerhouse, 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 1999, see the individual country entries.)

Electricity - consumption

12,342.7 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - production

12,342.7 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

NA%

hydro

NA%

nuclear

NA%

other

NA%

Exports

$5.6 trillion (f.o.b., 1999 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 - $40.7 trillion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

NA%

industry

NA%

services

NA%

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $6,800 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$5.6 trillion (f.o.b., 1999 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

NA%

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 1% to 3% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (1999 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

agricultue NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate

30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (1999 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

13,119 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios

NA

Telephone system

domestic

NA

international

NA

Telephones - main lines in use

NA

Telephones - mobile cellular

NA

Television broadcast stations

NA

Televisions

NA

Highways

paved

NA km

total

NA km

unpaved

NA km

Ports and harbors

Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama

Railways

broad gauge

251,153 km

narrow gauge

239,430 km

standard gauge

710,754 km

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

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.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

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

YEMEN