Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/261.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 9.3 KB | 289 lines

@node Geography (World)
@section Geography (World)

@display

Map references:
  Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  510.072 million km2
 land area:
  148.94 million km2
 water area:
  361.132 million km2
 comparative area:   land area about 16 times the size of the US
 note:
  70.8% of the world is water, 29.2% is land
Land boundaries:
  the land boundaries in the world total 250,883.64 km (not counting shared
  boundaries twice)
Coastline:
  356,000 km
Maritime claims:
 contiguous zone:
  24 nm claimed by most but can vary
 continental shelf:
  200 m depth claimed by most or to the 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; 42 nations and
  other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia,
  Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi,
  Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican
  City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein,
  Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger,
  Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan,
  Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe
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 depression is
  the Dead Sea at 392 meters below sea level; greatest ocean depth is the
  Marianas Trench at 10,924 meters
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 and
  the former USSR) pose serious long-term problems that governments and
  peoples are only beginning to address
Land use:
 arable land:
  10%
 permanent crops:
  1%



@end display

@node Geography (World 2. usage)
@section Geography (World 2. usage)

@display

 meadows and pastures:
  24%
 forest and woodland:   31%
 other:
  34%
Irrigated land:
  NA km2
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



@end display

@node People (World)
@section People (World)

@display

Population:
  5,554,552,453 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  1.6% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  25 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  9 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  66 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  62 years
 male:
  60 years
 female:
  64 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  3.2 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
 combined:
  74%
 male:
  81%
 female:
  67%
Labor force:
  2.24 billion (1992)
 by occupation:
  NA



@end display

@node Government (World)
@section Government (World)

@display

Digraph:
  XX
Administrative divisions:
  265 sovereign nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Legal system:
  varies by individual country; 182 are parties to the United Nations
  International Court of Justice (ICJ or World Court)



@end display

@node Economy (World)
@section Economy (World)

@display

Overview:
  Real global output--gross world product (GWP)--rose one-half of 1% in 1992,
  with results varying widely among regions and countries. Average growth of
  1.5% in the GDP of industrialized countries (62% of GWP in 1992) and average
  growth of 5% in the GDP of less developed countries (30% of GWP) were offset
  by a further 15-20% drop in the GDP of the former Soviet-East European area
  (now only 8% of GWP). The United States accounted for 23% of GWP in 1992;
  the 12-member European Community, which established a single internal market
  on 1 January 1993, accounted for another 23%, and Japan accounted for 10%.
  These are the three "economic superpowers" presumably destined to compete
  for mastery in international markets on into the 21st century. In general,
  growth in the industrialized countries was sluggish in 1992, with
  unemployment typically at 7-11%. As for the less developed countries, China,
  India, and the Four Dragons--South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and
  Singapore--posted good records; however, many other countries, especially in
  Africa, suffered bitterly from drought, rapid population growth, and civil
  strife. The continued plunge in production in practically all the former
  Warsaw Pact economies strained the political and social fabric of these
  newly independent nations, in particular in Russia. The addition of nearly
  100 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. (For the specific economic problems of each country, see the
  individual country entries in this volume.)
National product:
  GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power equivalent - $25.6 trillion
  (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  0.5% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $4,600 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
 developed countries:
  5% (1992 est.)
 developing countries:
  50% (1992 est.)
 note:
  these figures vary widely in individual cases
Unemployment rate:
  developed countries typically 7-11%; developing countries, extensive
  unemployment and underemployment (1992)
Exports:
  $3.64 trillion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
 partners:   in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Imports:
  $3.82 trillion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
 partners:
  in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries
External debt:
  $1 trillion for less developed countries (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate -1% (1992 est.)



@end display

@node Economy (World 2. usage)
@section Economy (World 2. usage)

@display

Electricity:
  2,864,000,000 kW capacity; 11,450,000 million kWh produced, 2,150 kWh per
  capita (1990)
Industries:
  industry worldwide is 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, and the technological gap between the industrial
  nations and the less-developed countries continues to widen; the rapid
  development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating
  already grim environmental problems
Agriculture:
  the production of major food crops has increased substantially in the last
  20 years; the annual production of cereals, for instance, has risen by 50%,
  from about 1.2 billion metric tons to about 1.8 billion metric tons;
  production increases have resulted mainly from increased yields rather than
  increases in planted areas; while global production is sufficient for
  aggregate demand, about one-fifth of the world's population remains
  malnourished, primarily because local production cannot adequately provide
  for large and rapidly growing populations, which are too poor to pay for
  food imports; conditions are especially bad in Africa where drought in
  recent years has intensified the consequences of overpopulation
Economic aid:
  NA



@end display

@node Communications (World)
@section Communications (World)

@display

Railroads:
  239,430 km of narrow gauge track; 710,754 km of standard gauge track;
  251,153 km of broad gauge track; 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 only 4,160 km in
  North America; fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by
  France's SNCF TGV-Atlantique line
Ports:
  Mina al Ahmadi (Kuwait), Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, New
  Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Merchant marine:
  23,943 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 397,225,000 GRT/652,025,000 DWT;
  includes 347 passenger-cargo, 12,581 freighters, 5,473 bulk carriers, and
  5,542 tankers (January 1992)



@end display

@node Defense Forces (World)
@section Defense Forces (World)

@display

Branches:
  ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels of technology
Defense expenditures:
  $1.0 trillion, 4% of total world output; decline of 5-10% (1991 est.)



@end display