World

contiguous zone:

24 nm claimed by most but can vary

continental shelf:

200-m depth claimed by most or to 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; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Real global output-gross world product (GWP)-rose an estimated 4.0% in 1997. And, once more, results varied widely among regions and countries. With its solid 3.8% growth, the US again accounted for 21% of GWP in 1997. Western Europe grew at 2.5%, not enough to cut into its high unemployment, and accounted for another 21% of GWP. Japan's faltering economy grew at only 0.9% with its share of GWP at 8%. The advanced countries as a whole accounted for an estimated 53% of GWP, with overall growth at 3.0%. The 15 former Soviet republics and the countries of Eastern Europe posted growth of 1.8%, reversing the long downturn that followed the collapse of communism.

Growth varied widely among these countries, e.g., Ukraine at a negative 3.2%, Russia at a positive 0.4%, and the Baltic countries at a strong 7%. The area as a whole accounted for 5% of global output. China and India, with a combined population of 2.2 billion or 37% of the world total, grew at 8.8% and 5%, respectively.

(China's official GDP statistics probably are overstated.) The developing countries as a whole contributed 42% to GWP with an overall growth rate of 5.7%. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology.

Internally, the central government in a number of cases is losing control over resources as separatist regional movements-typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment.

The addition of more than 80 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.

Toward the end of 1997 and on into 1998, serious financial difficulties in several high-growth East Asia countries cast a shadow over short-term global economic prospects. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999 will pose serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 1997, see the individual country entries.)