World

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

ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels of technology

$1.1 trillion, 5.3% of GWP (1990 est.)

males 15-49, 1,412,502,000; NA fit for military service

cereals (wheat, maize, rice), sugar, livestock products, tropical crops, fruit, vegetables, fish

NA

2,864,000,000 kW capacity; 11,450,000 million kWh produced, 2,150 kWh per capita (1990)

$3.33 trillion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services; partners--in value, 74% of exports from industrial countries

$1.0 trillion for less developed countries (1990 est.)

$20.9 trillion, per capita $3,930; real growth rate 1.0% (1990 est.)

$3.45 trillion (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services; partners--in value, about 75% of imports by the industrial countries

growth rate 3% (1990 est.)

chemicals, energy, machinery, electronics, metals, mining, textiles, food processing

developed countries 5%; developing countries 100%, with wide variations (1990 est.)

In 1990 the world economy grew at an estimated 1.0%, considerably lower than the estimated 3.0% for 1989 and the 3.4% for 1988. The technologically advanced areas--North America, Japan, and Western Europe--together account for 67% of the gross world product (GWP) of $20.9 trillion; these developed areas grew in the aggregate at 2.3% in 1990. In contrast, output in the USSR and Eastern Europe fell an average of 5.2%; these countries account for 15% of GWP. Experience in the developing countries continued mixed, with the newly industrializing economies generally maintaining their rapid growth, and many others struggling with debt, rampant inflation, and inadequate investment. This third group contributed 18% of GWP and grew on average 2.3% in 1990; output in this group is probably understated because of lack of data and the method of calculation used. The year 1990 witnessed continued political and economic upheavals in the USSR and Eastern Europe, which are in between systems, lacking both the rough discipline of the command economy and the institutions of the market economy. As for prospects in the 1990s, the addition of nearly 100 million people a year to an already overcrowded globe will exacerbate the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine.

NA%

two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates

359,000 km Contiguous zone: generally 24 nm, but varies from 4 nm to 25 nm; Continental shelf: generally 200 nm, but some are 200 meters in depth; Exclusive fishing zone: most are 200 nm, but varies from 3 nm to 200 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; only the Maldives varies from 35-310 nm; Territorial sea: generally 12 nm, but varies from 3 nm to 50 nm; note--32 nations and miscellaneous areas are landlocked and include Afghanistan, Andorra, Austria, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Swaziland, Switzerland, Uganda, Vatican City, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe

land area about 16 times the size of the US

major international land boundary disputes--Argentina-Uruguay, Bangladesh-India, Brazil-Paraguay, Brazil-Uruguay, Cambodia-Vietnam, Chad-Libya, China-India, China-USSR, Ecuador-Peru, Egypt-Sudan, El Salvador-Honduras, Ethiopia-Somalia, French Guiana-Suriname, Guyana-Suriname, Guyana-Venezuela, Israel-Jordan, Israel-Syria, North Korea-South Korea, Oman-UAE, Oman-Yemen, Qatar-UAE, Saudi Arabia-Yemen

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

442,000 km

arable land 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 24%; forest and woodland 31%; other 34%; includes irrigated 1.6%

the oceans represent the last major frontier for the discovery and development of natural resources

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

510,072,000 km2; 361,132,000 km2 (70.8%) is water and 148,940,000 km2 (29.2%) is land

170 sovereign nations plus 72 dependent, other, and miscellaneous areas

there are 159 members of the UN

varies among each of the entities; 162 are parties to the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court

26 births/1,000 population (1991)

9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

66 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

2.2 billion (1991)

61 years male, 65 years female (1991)

74% (male 81%, female 67%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

NA

5,419,643,132 (July 1991), growth rate 1.7% (1991)

3.3 children born/woman (1991)