TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso/time/world/definits

Text File | 1991-05-08 | 18KB | 354 lines

Definitions:

Administrative divisions: The numbers, designatory terms, and
first-order administrative divisions are generally those approved by
the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) as of 5 April 1990.
Changes that have been reported but not yet acted upon by BGN are
noted.

Area: Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited
by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the
aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or
coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers).
Comparative areas are based on total area equivalents. Most entities
are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states. The smaller
entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 km2, 69 miles2) or
The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 km2, 0.23 miles2, 146 acres).

Birth rate: The average annual number of births during a year
per 1,000 population at midyear. Also known as crude birth rate.

Contributors: Information was provided by the Bureau of the
Census (Department of Commerce), Central Intelligence Agency,
Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of
State, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Navy Operational
Intelligence Center and Maritime Administration (merchant marine
data), Office of Territorial and International Affairs (Department of
theInterior), United States Board on Geographic Names, United States
Coast Guard, and others.

Dates of information: In general, information available as of 1
January 1990 was used in the preparation of this edition. Population
figures are estimates for 1 July 1990, with population growth rates
estimated for mid-1990 through mid-1991. Major political events have
been updated through 30 March 1990. Military age figures are average
annual estimates for 1990-94.

Death rate: The average annual number of deaths during a year
per l,000 population at midyear. Also known as crude death rate.

Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic
relations with 162 nations. There are only 144 US embassies, since
some nations have US ambassadors accredited to them, but no physical
US mission exists. The US has diplomatic relations with 149 of the
159 UN members--the exceptions are Albania, Angola, Byelorussia
(constituent republic of the Soviet Union), Cambodia, Cuba, Iran,
Vietnam, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen {Yemen (Aden) or South
Yemen}, Ukraine (constituent republic of the Soviet Union) and,
obviously, the US itself. In addition, the US has diplomatic relations
with 13 nations that are not in the UN--Andorra, Federated States of
Micronesia, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru,
San Marino, South Korea, Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Vatican
City. North Korea is not in the UN and the US does not have diplomatic
relations with that nation. The US has not recognized the
incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Soviet Union
and continues to accredit the diplomatic representatives of their last
free governments.

Disputes: This category includes a wide variety of situations
that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral
claims of one sort or another. References to other situations may
also be included that are border- or frontier-relevant, such as
maritime disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues.
However, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance
or recognition by the US Government.

Entities: Some of the nations, dependent areas, areas of special
sovereignty, and governments included in this publication are not
independent, and others are not officially recognized by the US
Government. Nation refers to a people politically organized into a
sovereign state with a definite territory. Dependent area refers to a
broad category of political entities that are associated in some way
with a nation. Names used for page headings are usually the short-form
names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names. The
long-form name is included in the Government section and an entry
of "none" indicates a long-form name does not exist. In some
instances, no short-form name exists--then the long-form name must
serve for all usages.

There are 249 entities in the Factbook that may be categorized as
follows:

NATIONS

157 UN members (there are 159 members in the UN, but only 157 are
      included in The World Factbook because Byelorussia and Ukraine
      are constituent republics of the Soviet Union);
 15 nations that are not members of the UN--Andorra, Federated States
      of Micronesia, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands,
      Monaco, Namibia, Nauru, North Korea, San Marino, South Korea,
      Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vatican City;

OTHER

  1 Taiwan

DEPENDENT AREAS

  6 Australia--Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island,
      Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and
      McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island;
  2 Denmark--Faroe Islands, Greenland;
 16 France--Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island,
      French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic
      Lands, Glorioso Islands, Guadeloupe, Juan de Nova Island,
      Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Reunion, St. Pierre and
      Miquelon, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna;
  2 Netherlands--Aruba, Netherlands Antilles;
  3 New Zealand--Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau;
  3 Norway--Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard;
  1 Portugal--Macau;
 16 United Kingdom--Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean
      Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland
      Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey,
      Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St. Helena, South Georgia and the
      South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands;
 15 United States--American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island,
      Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands,
      Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll,
      Puerto Rico, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau),
      Virgin Islands, Wake Island.

MISCELLANEOUS

  7 Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone,
      Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara.

OTHER ENTITIES

  4 oceans--Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean;
  1 World.

===
249 total

Notes: The US Government has not recognized the incorporation of
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Soviet Union as constituent
republics during World War II. Those Baltic states are not members of
the UN and are not included in the list of nations. The US Government
does not recognize the four so-called "independent" homelands of
Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, and Venda in South Africa.

Gross domestic product (GDP): The value of all goods and services
produced domestically.

Gross national product (GNP): The value of all goods and services
produced domestically, plus income earned abroad, minus income earned
by foreigners from domestic production.

GNP/GDP methodology: GNP/GDP dollar estimates for the OECD countries,
the USSR, Eastern Europe, and a portion of the developing countries,
are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations rather
than from conversions at official currency exchange rates. The PPP
methods involve the use of average price weights, which lie between
the weights of the domestic and foreign price systems; using these
weights, US $100 converted into German marks by a PPP method will buy
an equal amount of goods and services in both the US and Germany. One
caution: the proportion of, say, military expenditures as a percent
of GNP/GDP in local currency accounts may differ substantially from
the proportion when GNP/GDP is expressed in PPP dollar terms, as, for
example, when an observer estimates the dollar level of Soviet or
Japanese military expenditures. Similarly, dollar figures for exports
and imports reflect the price patterns of international markets rather
than PPP price patterns.

Growth rate (population): The annual percent change in the population,
resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths and the
balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be
positive or negative.

Illicit drugs: There are five categories of illicit drugs--narcotics,
stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, and cannabis.
These categories include many drugs legally produced and prescribed
by doctors as well as those illegally produced and sold outside
medical channels.

  Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is the common hemp plant, provides
hallucinogens with some sedative properties, and includes marijuana
(pot, Acapulco gold, grass, reefer), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC,
Marinol), hashish (hash), and hashish oil (hash oil).

  Coca (Erythroxylon coca) is a bush and the leaves contain the
stimulant cocaine. Coca is not to be confused with cocoa which comes
from cacao seeds and is used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa
butter.

  Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush.

  Depressants (sedatives) are drugs that reduce tension and anxiety
and include chloral hydrate, barbiturates (Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal,
phenobarbital), benzodiazepines (Librium, Valium), methaqualone
(Quaalude), glutethimide (Doriden), and others (Equanil, Placidyl,
Valmid).

  Drugs are any chemical substances that effect a physical, mental,
emotional, or behavioral change in an individual.

  Drug abuse is the use of any licit or illicit chemical substance
that results in physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral impairment
in an individual.

  Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking, self-
awareness, and emotion. Hallucinogens include LSD (acid, microdot),
mescaline and peyote (mexc, buttons, cactus), amphetamine variants
(PMA, STP, DOB), phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust, hog), phencyclidine
analogues (PCE, PCPy, TCP), and others (psilocybin, psilocyn).

  Hashish is the resinous exudate of the cannabis or hemp plant
(Cannabis sativa).

  Heroin is a semisynthetic derivative of morphine.

  Marijuana is the dried leaves of the cannabis or hemp plant
(Cannabis sativa/Cannabis indica).

  Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain, often induce sleep, and
refer to opium, opium derivatives, and synthetic substitutes. Natural
narcotics include opium (paregoric, parepectolin), morphine
(MS-Contin, Roxanol), codeine (Tylenol w/codeine, Empirin w/codeine,
Robitussan A-C), and thebaine. Semisynthetic narcotics include heroin
(horse, smack), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid). Synthetic narcotics
include meperidine or Pethidine (Demerol, Mepergan), methadone
(Dolophine, Methadose), and others (Darvon, Lomotil).

  Opium is the milky exudate of the incised, unripe seedpod of the
opium poppy.

  Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is the source for many natural and
semisynthetic narcotics.

  Poppy straw concentrate is the alkaloid derived from the mature
dried opium poppy.

  Qat (kat, khat) is a stimulant from the buds or leaves of Catha
edulis that is chewed or drunk as tea.

  Stimulants are drugs that relieve mild depression, increase energy
and activity, and include cocaine (coke, snow, crack), amphetamines
(Desoxyn, Dexedrine), phenmetrazine (Preludin), methylphenidate
(Ritalin), and others (Cylert, Sanorex, Tenuate).

Infant mortality rate: The number of deaths to infants under one year
of age in a given year per l,000 live births occurring in the same
year.

Land use: Human use of the land surface is categorized as arable
land--land cultivated for crops that are replanted after each harvest
(wheat, maize, rice); permanent crops--land cultivated for crops that
are not replanted after each harvest (citrus, coffee, rubber); meadows
and pastures--land permanently used for herbaceous forage crops;
forest and woodland--land under dense or open stands of trees; and
other--any land type not specifically mentioned above (urban areas,
roads, desert). The percentage figure for irrigated refers to the
portion of the entire amount of land area that is artificially
supplied with water.

Leaders: The chief of state is the titular leader of the country who
represents the state at official and ceremonial funcions but is not
involved with the day-to-day activities of the government. The head
of government is the administrative leader who manages the day-to-day
activities of the government. In the UK, the monarch is the chief
of state and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US,
the President is both the chief of state and the head of government.

Life expectancy at birth: The average number of years to be lived
by a group of people all born in the same year, if mortality at each
age remains constant in the future.

Maritime claims: The proximity of neighboring states may prevent
some national claims from being fully extended.

Merchant marine: All ships engaged in the carriage of goods. All
commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which
excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc. Also, a
grouping of merchant ships by nationality or register.

     Captive register--A register of ships maintained by a territory,
possession, or colony primarily or exclusively for the use of ships
owned in the parent country. Also referred to as an offshore register,
the offshore equivalent of an internal register. Ships on a captive
register will fly the same flag as the parent country, or a local
variant of it, but will be subject to the maritime laws and taxation
rules of the offshore territory. Although the nature of a captive
register makes it especially desirable for ships owned in the parent
country, just as in the internal register, the ships may also be owned
abroad. The captive register then acts as a flag of convenience
register, except that it is not the register of an independent state.

     Flag of convenience register--A national register offering
registration to a merchant ship not owned in the flag state. The major
flags of convenience (FOC) attract ships to their register by virtue
of low fees, low or nonexistent taxation of profits, and liberal
manning requirements. True FOC registers are characterized by having
relatively few of the ships registered actually owned in the flag
state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for ships under a
given set of circumstances, an FOC register is one where the majority
of the merchant fleet is owned abroad. It is also referred to as an
open register.

     Flag state--The nation in which a ship is registered and which
holds legal jurisdiction over operation of the ship, whether at home
or abroad. Differences in flag state maritime legislation determine
how a ship is manned and taxed and whether a foreign-owned ship may
be placed on the register.

     Internal register--A register of ships maintained as a subset of
a national register. Ships on the internal register fly the national
flag and have that nationality but are subject to a separate set of
maritime rules from those on the main national register. These
differences usually include lower taxation of profits, manning by
foreign nationals, and, usually, ownership outside the flag state
(when it functions as an FOC register). The Norwegian International
Ship Register and Danish International Ship Register are the most
notable examples of an internal register. Both have been instrumental
in stemming flight from the national flag to flags of convenience and
in attracting foreign-owned ships to the Norwegian and Danish flags.

     Merchant ship--A vessel that carries goods against payment of
freight. Commonly used to denote any nonmilitary ship but accurately
restricted to commercial vessels only.

     Register--The record of a ship's ownership and nationality as
listed with the maritime authorities of a country. Also, the
compendium of such individual ships' registrations. Registration of
a ship provides it with a nationality and makes it subject to the
laws of the country in which registered (the flag state) regardless
of the nationality of the ship's ultimate owner.

Money figures: All are expressed in contemporaneous US dollars
unless otherwise indicated.

Net migration rate: The balance between the number of persons
entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons
(based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the
country is referred to as net immigration (3.56 migrants/1,000
population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net
emigration (-9.26 migrants/1,000 population).

Population: Figures are estimates from the Bureau of the Census
based on statistics from population censuses, vital registration
systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past, and on
assumptions about future trends.

Total fertility rate: The average number of children that would be
born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing
years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each
age.

Years: All year references are for the calendar year (CY) unless
indicated as fiscal year (FY).


Source: "The World Factbook 1990," Central Intelligence Agency,
         Washington, DC.