TOTAL AREA: 510,072,000 sq km (196,701,500 sq mi); 361,132,000 sq km (139,264,670 sq mi) (70.8%) is water and 148,940,000 sq km (57,436,445 sq mi) (29.2%) is land
COMPARATIVE AREA: land area about 16 times the size of the US
LAND BOUNDARIES: 442,000 km (274,646 mi)
COASTLINE: 359,000 km (223,072 mi)
MARITIME CLAIMS:
CONTIGUOUS ZONE: generally 24 nm, but varies from 4 nm to 24 nm
CONTINENTAL SHELF: generally 200 nm, but some are 200 meters in depth
EXCLUSIVE FISHING ZONE: most are 200 nm, but varies from 12 nm to 200 nm
EXTENDED ECONOMIC ZONE: 200 nm, only Madagascar claims 150 nm
TERRITORIAL SEA: generally 12 nm, but varies from 3 nm to 200 nm
DISPUTES: 13 international land boundary disputes--Argentina-Uruguay, Bangladesh-India, Brazil-Paraguay, Brazil-Uruguay, Cambodia-Vietnam, China-India, China-USSR, Ecuador-Peru, El Salvador-Honduras, French Guiana-Suriname, Guyana-Suriname, Guyana-Venezuela, Qatar-UAE
CLIMATE: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
TERRAIN: highest elevation is Mt. Everest at 8,848 meters and lowest elevation is the Dead Sea at 392 meters below sea level; greatest ocean depth is the Marianas Trench at 10,924 meters
NATURAL RESOURCES: the oceans represent the last major frontier for the discovery and development of natural resources
LAND USE: 10% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 24% meadows and pastures; 31% forest and woodland; 34% other; includes 1.6% irrigated
ENVIRONMENT: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions), industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife resources, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
INFANT MORTALITY RATE: 71 deaths/1,000 live births (1989)
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH: 60 years male, 64 years female (1989)
TOTAL FERTILITY RATE: 3.5 children born/woman (1989)
LITERACY: 77% men; 66% women (1980)
LABOR FORCE: 1,939,000,000 (1984)
ORGANIZED LABOR: NA
.GOVERNMENT OF WORLD
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: 247 nations, dependencies, and geographic entities
LEGAL SYSTEM: varies among each of the entities; 162 are parties to the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION: there are 159 members of the UN
.ECONOMY OF WORLD
OVERVIEW: In 1988 the world economy grew at an estimated 3.4%, nearly double the average annual rate of 1.8% in the period 1986-87. This growth was dominated by the technologically advanced countries--the United States, Japan, and those of Western Europe--which together account for three-fifths of the gross world product (GWP) of $18.5 trillion; these countries, led by Japan, grew in the aggregate at about 4.0%. In contrast, the Soviet Union grew at 1.5% and Eastern Europe (including Yugoslavia) at 1.6%. Experience in the developing countries was mixed, with the newly industrializing countries generally continuing their rapid progress, and others struggling with debt, inflation, and inadequate investment. The year 1988 witnessed a marked reduction in world tensions, which could yield sizable economic benefits in the 1990s. However, the addition of nearly 100,000,000 people a year to an already overcrowded globe will exacerbate the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, and poverty.
GWP (gross world product): $18.5 trillion, per capita $3,600; real growth rate 3.4% (1988 est.)
INFLATION RATE (CONSUMER PRICES): 10.9% (1987)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: NA%
EXPORTS: $2,358 billion (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--NA; partners--in value, about 70% of exports from industrial countries
IMPORTS: $2,410 billion (c.i.f., 1987); commodities--NA; partners--in value, about 75% of imports by the industrial countries
EXTERNAL DEBT: $1,008 billion for less developed countries (1988 est.)
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: growth rate 5.4% (1987)
ELECTRICITY: 2,771,613,200 kW capacity; 10,977,966 million kWh produced, 2,135 kWh per capita (1988)
