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- .GEOGRAPHY OF THE WORLD
- TOTAL AREA: 510,072,000 sq km (196,954,200 sq mi); land area:
- 148,940,000 sq km (57,510,232 sq mi); water area: 361,132,000 sq
- km (139,443,970)
- COMPARATIVE AREA: land area about 16 times the size of the U.S.
- LAND BOUNDARIES: 442,000 km (274,654 mi)
- COASTLINE: 359,000 km (223,078 mi)
- 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 (29,029
- feet) and lowest elevation is the Dead Sea at 392 meters (1,286
- feet) below sea level; greatest ocean depth is in the Marianas
- Trench at 10,924 meters (35,840 feet)
- 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
-
- .PEOPLE OF THE WORLD
- POPULATION: 5,143,031,893 (July 1988), average annual growth rate
- 1.7%
- NATIONALITY: noun--Earthling(s); adjective--Earthling
- INFANT MORTALITY RATE: 27.3/1,000 (1984)
- LIFE EXPECTANCY: 58 men, 60 women (1984)
- LITERACY: 77% men; 66% women (1980)
- LABOR FORCE: 1,939,000,000 (1984)
-
- .GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD
- OFFICIAL NAME: World
- TYPE: varies among each of the entities
- ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: 248 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
-
- .ECONOMY OF THE WORLD
- GWP: $16.8 trillion, $3,382 per capita; 2.4% growth rate (1986)
- INFLATION RATE (consumer prices): 8.6% (1986)
- NATURAL RESOURCES: the oceans represent the last major frontier
- for the discovery and development of natural resources
- AGRICULTURE: cereals (wheat, maize, rice), sugar, livestock
- products, tropical crops, fruit, vegetables
- FISHING: 82.8 million metric tons (1984)
- INDUSTRIES: agriculture, chemicals, energy, machinery,
- electronics, equipment, manufacturing, metals, mining
- ELECTRIC POWER: 9,390 billion kWh produced; 1,890 kWh per capita
- (1986) ▄j ▄îEXPORTS: $1,989 billion (f.o.b., 1986)
- IMPORTS: $2,066 billion (c.i.f., 1986)
- NOTE: in terms of dollar values, about 75% of exports and imports
- are from the industrialized countries; external debt for less
- developed countries is $905.7 billion (1986)