166 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
166 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
WORLD
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 510,072,000 km2; 361,132,000 km2 (70.8%) is water and
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148,940,000 km2 (29.2%) is land
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Comparative area: land area about 16 times the size of the US
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Land boundaries: 442,000 km
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Coastline: 359,000 km
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Maritime claims:
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Contiguous zone: generally 24 nm, but varies from 4 nm to 25 nm;
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Continental shelf: generally 200 nm, but some are 200 meters
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in depth;
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Exclusive fishing zone: most are 200 nm, but varies from
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3 nm to 200 nm;
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Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; only the Maldives varies from
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35-310 nm;
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Territorial sea: generally 12 nm, but varies from 3 nm to 50 nm;
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note--32 nations and miscellaneous areas are landlocked
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and include Afghanistan, Andorra, Austria, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana,
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Burkina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czechoslovakia,
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Hungary, Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein,
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Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda,
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San Marino, Swaziland, Switzerland, Uganda, Vatican City, West Bank,
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Zambia, Zimbabwe
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Disputes: major international land boundary
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disputes--Argentina-Uruguay, Bangladesh-India, Brazil-Paraguay,
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Brazil-Uruguay, Cambodia-Vietnam, Chad-Libya, China-India, China-USSR,
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Ecuador-Peru, Egypt-Sudan, El Salvador-Honduras, Ethiopia-Somalia,
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French Guiana-Suriname, Guyana-Suriname, Guyana-Venezuela,
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Israel-Jordan, Israel-Syria, North Korea-South Korea, Oman-UAE,
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Oman-Yemen, Qatar-UAE, Saudi Arabia-Yemen
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Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather
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narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to
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subtropical climates
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Terrain: highest elevation is Mt. Everest at 8,848 meters and
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lowest depression is the Dead Sea at 392 meters below sea level; greatest
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ocean depth is the Marianas Trench at 10,924 meters
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Natural resources: the oceans represent the last major frontier for
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the discovery and development of natural resources
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Land use: arable land 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
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24%; forest and woodland 31%; other 34%; includes irrigated 1.6%
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Environment: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical
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cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic
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eruptions), overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water,
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acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing,
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deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife resources, soil
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degradation, soil depletion, erosion
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PEOPLE
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Population: 5,419,643,132 (July 1991), growth rate 1.7% (1991)
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Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 66 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 65 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 3.3 children born/woman (1991)
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Literacy: 74% (male 81%, female 67%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1990 est.)
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Labor force: 2.2 billion (1991)
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Organized labor: NA
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GOVERNMENT
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Administrative divisions: 170 sovereign nations plus 72 dependent,
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other, and miscellaneous areas
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Legal system: varies among each of the entities; 162 are parties
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to the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
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Diplomatic representation: there are 159 members of the UN
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ECONOMY
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Overview: In 1990 the world economy grew at an estimated 1.0%,
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considerably lower than the estimated 3.0% for 1989 and the 3.4% for
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1988. The technologically advanced areas--North America, Japan, and
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Western Europe--together account for 67% of the gross world product (GWP)
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of $20.9 trillion; these developed areas grew in the aggregate at 2.3%
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in 1990. In contrast, output in the USSR and Eastern Europe fell an
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average of 5.2%; these countries account for 15% of GWP. Experience
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in the developing countries continued mixed, with the newly
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industrializing economies generally maintaining their rapid growth,
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and many others struggling with debt, rampant inflation, and inadequate
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investment. This third group contributed 18% of GWP and grew on
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average 2.3% in 1990; output in this group is probably understated
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because of lack of data and the method of calculation used. The year 1990
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witnessed continued political and economic upheavals in the USSR and
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Eastern Europe, which are in between systems, lacking both the rough
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discipline of the command economy and the institutions of the market
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economy. As for prospects in the 1990s, the addition of nearly 100
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million people a year to an already overcrowded globe will exacerbate the
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problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics,
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and famine.
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GWP (gross world product): $20.9 trillion, per capita $3,930;
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real growth rate 1.0% (1990 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): developed countries 5%;
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developing countries 100%, with wide variations (1990 est.)
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Unemployment rate: NA%
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Exports: $3.33 trillion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--the whole range of industrial and agricultural
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goods and services;
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partners--in value, 74% of exports from industrial countries
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Imports: $3.45 trillion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
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commodities--the whole range of industrial and agricultural
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goods and services;
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partners--in value, about 75% of imports by the industrial
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countries
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External debt: $1.0 trillion for less developed countries
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(1990 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1990 est.)
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Electricity: 2,864,000,000 kW capacity; 11,450,000 million kWh
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produced, 2,150 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: chemicals, energy, machinery, electronics, metals,
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mining, textiles, food processing
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Agriculture: cereals (wheat, maize, rice), sugar, livestock
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products, tropical crops, fruit, vegetables, fish
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Economic aid: NA
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Ports: Mina al Ahmadi (Kuwait), Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe,
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Marseille, New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels of
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technology
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,412,502,000; NA fit for
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military service
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Defense expenditures: $1.1 trillion, 5.3% of GWP (1990 est.)
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