World

World as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 43 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

Area510,072,000 km2
1992

Every edition of World

Populationas each edition published it
5.52 billion July 1992 · 5.32bn in 1990
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 1.6% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 27.6 yrs in 2005
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 62 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
3.3 children per woman 1992 · 3.4 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
63 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 70 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $4,600 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition 0.5% in 1993

Geography

12 fields
Total area
510,072,000km2
Comparative area: land area about 16 times the size of the US
Coastline
356,000km

Land area

148,940,000 km2 (29.2%)

Maritime claims

  • range from 3 to 200 nm;
  • 1 claim is rectangular;
  • 112 states claim a 12 nm limit;
  • note - boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm;
  • 41 nations and other areas are landlocked and include
    • Afghanistan,
    • Andorra,
    • Armenia,
    • Austria,
    • Azerbaijan,
    • Belarus,
    • Bhutan,
    • Bolivia,
    • Botswana,
    • Burkina,
    • Burundi,
    • Central African Republic,
    • Chad,
    • Czechoslovakia,
    • Hungary,
    • Kazakhstan,
    • Kyrgyzstan,
    • Laos,
    • Lesotho,
    • Liechtenstein,
    • Luxembourg,
    • Macedonia,
    • Malawi,
    • Mali,
    • Moldova,
    • Mongolia,
    • Nepal,
    • Niger,
    • Paraguay,
    • Rwanda,
    • San Marino,
    • Swaziland,
    • Switzerland,
    • Tajikistan,
    • Turkmenistan,
    • Uganda,
    • Uzbekistan,
    • Vatican City,
    • West Bank,
    • Zambia,
    • Zimbabwe
Contiguous zone:
39 states claim contiguous zone, 33 of which have 24 nm limits
Continental shelf:
approximately 78 states have specific continental shelf claims, the limit of 42 claims is based on depth (200 m) plus exploitability, 21 claims define the continental shelf as 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive fishing zone:
23 claims with limits ranging from 12 nm to 200 nm
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ):
83 states claim an EEZ, with most limits being 200 nm
Territorial sea:
  • claims range from 3 to 200 nm, 112 states claim a 12 nm limit;
  • note - 41 nations and miscellaneous areas are landlocked and comprise Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Byelarus, Central African Republic, Chad, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macebia, Zimbabwe

Disputes

major international land boundary or territorial diputes - Bahrain-Qatar, Chad-Libya, China-India, China-Russia, Ecuador-Peru, El Salvador-Honduras, Israel-Jordan, Israel-Syria, Japan-Russia, North Korea-South Korea, Saudi Arabia-Yemen, South China Sea

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%;
  • meadows and pastures 24%;
  • forest and woodland 31%;
  • other 34%;
  • includes irrigated 1.6%

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

People

9 fields
Population
5,515,617,484
(July 1992), growth rate 1.7% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth
26Death
9
Labor force
2.24billion
(1992)
Literacy
74%
(male 81%, female 67%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

63 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth

61 years male, 65 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate

3.3 children born/woman (1992)

Government

3 fields

Administrative divisions

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

Diplomatic representation

there are 178 members of the UN

Economy

Aggregate world output in 1991 increased by 1.3%, in contrast to estimated | 2% growth in 1990 and 3% growth in 1989.

12 fields
Inflation, consumer prices
5%
developed countries · developing countries 50%, with wide variations (1991 est.)
External debt
$1.0trillion for less developed countries
(1991 est.)

Overview

Aggregate world output in 1991 increased by 1.3%, in contrast to estimated 2% growth in 1990 and 3% growth in 1989. In 1991, the developed countries grew by 2.5% and the LDCs by 3.5%, these gains being offset by a 10-15% drop in the former Communist-dominated areas of the USSR and Eastern Europe.

As usual, results among individual countries differed widely. In the developed group, Japan led with 4.5%, the West European members averaged 1.2%, and the recession-plagued United States lagged,with GDP down 0.7%. As for the 15 former Soviet republics and the seven nations of Eastern Europe, output plummeted in many economic sectors because of fundamental changes in the rules of the game and in the channels of production and exchange.

China and the Four Dragons performed well in 1991 but many of the other developing countries are mired in poverty and political instability. For the world as a whole, the addition of nearly 100 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe will exacerbate the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine.

GWP (gross world product)

purchasing power equivalent - $25 trillion, per capita $4,600; real growth rate 1.3% (1991 est.)

Exports

$3.34 trillion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)

commodities:
the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
partners:
in value, about 75% of exports from developed countries

Imports

$3.49 trillion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)

commodities:
the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
partners:
in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries

Industrial production

growth rate 3% (1990 est.)

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 exacerbated the consequences of all other factors

Communications

4 fields

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

  • 23,596 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 386,736,000 GRT/637,493,000 DWT;
  • includes 348 passenger-cargo, 12,441 freighters, 5,446 bulk carriers, and 5,361 tankers (January 1991)

Civil air

14,500-16,000 major transport aircraft with gross take-off weight of 9,000 kg (20,000 lbs) or more (1992 est.)

Defense Forces

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

3 fields
Defense expenditures
$1.0trillion
4% of total world output; decline of 5-10% (1991 est.)

Branches

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

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 1,400,000,000; NA fit for military service

Central Intelligence Agency. “World.” The World Factbook 1992. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/world/1992.

How to cite ← 1991 edition 1993 edition →