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- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
The 2006 CIA World Factbook serves as a comprehensive resource, detailing the geography, people, government, economy, and infrastructure of over 200 countries and territories. Written in an accessible yet informative style, the book presents data and insights that reflect the geopolitical landscape of the early 21st century. Each entry combines analytical descriptions with statistical data, allowing readers to glean a multifaceted understanding of global dynamics, making it an indispensable reference for scholars, policymakers, and students alike. The 2006 edition also offers valuable context regarding international relations, economic trends, and social development amid a post-9/11 world. Produced by the Central Intelligence Agency, the compendium is a product of the agency'Äôs expertise in gathering, analyzing, and disseminating information. The CIA's mission to provide national security intelligence and inform governmental decision-making underscores the significance of this work. The inclusion of rigorous data and the commitment to accuracy showcase the agency's ongoing adaptation to the complexities of global politics and the importance of informed citizenship. For anyone interested in a profound understanding of the world's nations, The 2006 CIA World Factbook is an essential read. Its reliable data and clear presentation make it a vital tool for educators, researchers, and anyone seeking clarity in the often convoluted narrative of global affairs, ensuring its relevance across disciplines. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
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The 2006 CIA World Factbook
Table of Contents
Introduction
This collection brings together the contents of The 2006 CIA World Factbook, prepared by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. It is presented here as a single-author volume in the institutional sense: one agency responsible for a unified reference work with a consistent purpose and editorial approach. The scope is global and encyclopedic, aiming to assemble essential, standardized information about countries and territories within one annually issued compendium. Read as a whole, it offers a snapshot of how a U.S. government intelligence organization organized public-facing factual material in 2006, and how it sought to make wide-ranging data comparable across political and geographic boundaries.
The purpose of gathering these materials is completeness and usability. This collection is not an anthology of separate literary pieces but an integrated reference text designed for consultation, comparison, and overview. The Factbook’s value lies in its method: presenting many entities under a common template so that readers can move from one entry to another without relearning the structure each time. By reproducing the work as a single continuous text, the collection preserves the internal logic of its compilation, including the way categories recur across entries, and how the publication’s form itself functions as a tool for organizing complex information.
The text type represented is government reference writing: an officially produced compendium rather than narrative prose. Its genre conventions emphasize clarity, consistency, and a neutral, factual register suited to public information. The Factbook is typically approached as a sourcebook—something read in sections, consulted for particular topics, or used to orient readers to unfamiliar places. In that role, it belongs to a tradition of handbooks and almanacs that prioritize structured presentation over argument or storytelling. This collection therefore highlights institutional authorship, editorial standardization, and the practical constraints of producing a single reference work meant to serve many audiences.
Because the Factbook is built around recurring categories, it is also a study in classification. The work’s organizing principle is to break down the world into manageable, repeatable topics that can be reported in the same order for each entry. That approach creates an implicit map of what information counts as essential in this context: the selection of categories, the balance among them, and the expectation that each place can be described through a stable set of descriptors. The collection preserves those choices as they appeared in 2006, enabling readers to see the publication not only as a store of facts but as a system for arranging them.
A unifying theme across the volume is comparability. The Factbook’s standardized format encourages cross-reading: the reader is invited to place entries alongside one another and observe similarities and differences through the same lenses. This is not an artistic unity, but a functional one, achieved through a consistent editorial voice and a uniform architecture of information. The text’s coherence comes from repetition with variation—identical headings and categories filled by differing details. In this way, the work turns the world’s diversity into a dataset-like panorama, where context is conveyed through stable, repeated frames.
Another theme is the interplay between geography and human organization. The Factbook is anchored in the idea that places can be described through physical setting and through social, political, and economic characteristics presented as factual summaries. Its approach encourages readers to think about how territory, population, and institutions sit together within a single entry. Without relying on narrative arcs, it nonetheless conveys an overarching sense that global affairs are legible through organized reference knowledge. The 2006 edition, in particular, provides a time-specific compilation that reflects what the agency chose to present publicly at that moment.
Stylistically, the work is defined by its controlled, informational tone. The language is designed to be direct and serviceable, minimizing rhetorical flourish in favor of concise statements. Even when readers approach it as continuous reading rather than consultation, the same qualities dominate: a steady cadence of categories, a compressed syntax of factual description, and an emphasis on definitional clarity. The CIA’s institutional voice is most visible in this commitment to uniformity, where the individual entry is less a standalone essay than a unit in a coordinated series. The result is a text that reads as an engineered product of editing and compilation.
The collection also illustrates how institutional reference works rely on continuity across editions. A year-labeled volume implies periodic renewal and revision, and the 2006 Factbook belongs to that annual cadence. Although this collection focuses on a single edition, it is shaped by the notion of update: information assembled, checked, and arranged to be current for its publication year. Preserving the 2006 volume intact allows readers to treat it as a historical document of what was presented as authoritative, publicly distributed world reference information at that time, without requiring any claims about changes before or after.
As a single-author collection, the volume is especially useful for understanding authorship beyond the individual. The Central Intelligence Agency stands as the named creator, and the text’s unity depends on collective processes: compilation, editing, and standardization carried out under a shared mandate. The Factbook thus foregrounds editorial policy over personal perspective. It demonstrates how a governmental organization constructs a readable, consistent public resource, and how such a resource carries the imprint of institutional priorities through its structure. Reading it as a whole emphasizes the disciplined repetitiveness that makes the work functional and widely usable.
The lasting significance of this work, taken as a complete text, lies in its role as a widely recognized point of reference. A single volume that attempts to cover the world in a uniform way becomes a baseline tool for general orientation, for comparative reading, and for contextual understanding. The 2006 edition, preserved here, serves as a record of that baseline for its year. Its significance is not tied to plot or character but to coverage and method: the effort to make many kinds of information available in one place, in a stable form, and in a style intended for broad consultation.
At the same time, the Factbook’s form invites careful reading of its categories and assumptions, precisely because it is a reference work. The selection of what to include, and how to arrange it, is integral to how the text functions for readers. The collection offers an opportunity to observe how a government-produced handbook conveys a sense of the world through organized descriptors rather than narrative explanation. This is valuable both for readers seeking information and for readers interested in the mechanics of summary and comparison. Presenting the work as a collection underscores the integrity of its internal design.
Ultimately, The 2006 CIA World Factbook in collected form is best approached as a unified, systematic portrait of global entities as compiled by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Its genre is informational, its style is standardized, and its themes are those of coverage, comparability, and classification. The collection’s purpose is to preserve a complete edition as it was issued, enabling both targeted consultation and sustained reading across entries. In doing so, it highlights the enduring importance of reference texts in shaping how readers access world knowledge, and how institutional authorship can produce a coherent work through structure and consistency.
Author Biography
Introduction
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is not an author in the usual sense but a United States government agency whose public-facing “works” are primarily official publications, historical studies, and declassified records released for legal, educational, or institutional reasons. Established in 1947 in the early Cold War, the CIA’s mission has centered on foreign intelligence collection, analysis, and covert action under U.S. presidential direction and statutory oversight. Its written output therefore reflects bureaucratic and national-security constraints rather than individual literary ambition. In publishing, the agency is historically significant for shaping how intelligence is communicated—through estimative analysis, lessons-learned histories, and selective disclosure—while also being the subject of extensive public controversy and scholarly scrutiny.
Because the provided collection lists only “Text” and does not specify particular CIA-titled books, this biography addresses the CIA’s authorship in a general, verifiable way rather than attributing specific volumes that cannot be confirmed from the collection. CIA-authored materials that are widely recognized include analytic reports (such as National Intelligence Estimates produced within the U.S. Intelligence Community), internal histories later declassified, and research pieces disseminated through official channels. These texts are typically collaborative, unsigned or institutionally credited, and produced under strict classification controls that govern what can be written, archived, and later released. As a result, the agency’s “oeuvre” is best understood as a corpus shaped by process, oversight, and secrecy rather than by personal style.
Education and Literary Influences
The CIA does not have an education history, but its writers—analysts, historians, and subject-matter specialists—have typically been recruited from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds, including area studies, economics, political science, history, engineering, and languages. The agency’s writing culture has been influenced by the practical needs of policymaking: clarity under time pressure, explicit handling of uncertainty, and the translation of complex foreign developments into actionable judgments. In that sense, its “influences” are less literary than methodological, drawing on traditions of evidence assessment, structured argumentation, and institutional review that aim to minimize error and make assumptions visible.
Intellectually, the CIA’s public and semi-public writings have been shaped by Cold War strategic thought, evolving concepts of deterrence and geopolitical competition, and later by the demands of counterterrorism, counterproliferation, and transnational threat analysis. Influences also include the broader U.S. national-security architecture and standards for interagency coordination, which affect how intelligence products are framed and caveated. Another major influence is the legal and archival environment—especially declassification rules and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)—which determines what historical materials can enter the public record and when. These constraints influence not only content but also tone, with an emphasis on institutional accountability and controlled disclosure.
Literary Career
The CIA’s “literary career” is inseparable from its institutional evolution. In its early decades, most writing served classified consumers, with public releases typically limited to occasional statements, heavily controlled histories, and later declassified documents. Over time, the agency expanded its public information practices, including the release of curated historical collections and the publication of analyses intended to educate a general audience about intelligence tradecraft and historical episodes, without disclosing operational secrets. Where specific titles are known, they are usually presented as agency histories or documentary compilations rather than narrative nonfiction. This body of work tends to prioritize evidentiary framing and procedural transparency—what can be said, what cannot, and why.
Even when not directly named as “books,” the CIA’s declassified writings function like a continuing series: periodic releases of historical studies, analytical assessments, and reference materials that chart shifting priorities from Cold War rivalry to post–Cold War regional conflicts and, later, global terrorism and cyber-related concerns. Stylistically, these texts are characterized by institutional voice, careful sourcing when permissible, and the frequent use of estimative language that distinguishes between confirmed information and assessed likelihoods. Critical reception is mixed: some historians and former officials value the material for opening archives and clarifying institutional thinking, while critics argue that selective declassification can privilege certain narratives and leave key controversies unresolved.
Because the collection provided does not identify particular CIA books, it is not possible to summarize individual volumes responsibly. What can be said with confidence is that the agency’s most consequential written products have often been those that shaped decision-making inside government—analyses that, when later reviewed or declassified, became part of public debates about intelligence accuracy and accountability. The CIA has also supported institutional memory through internal histories that may later be released in redacted form, contributing to scholarship on U.S. foreign policy and intelligence practice. Across this work, the hallmark is not plot or personal expression but structured argument under constraint, with content calibrated to protect sources and methods.
Beliefs and Advocacy
As a government agency, the CIA does not hold “beliefs” in the personal sense; it operates under U.S. law, presidential directives, and congressional oversight, and it advances U.S. national-security objectives as defined by elected leadership. The public-facing themes that appear in CIA writing therefore tend to emphasize institutional missions such as foreign intelligence collection, analytic support to policymakers, counterintelligence, and—historically—covert action. At different times, CIA publications and declassified materials have been used to explain or justify the agency’s role, outline reforms, and document organizational changes. The agency’s advocacy, where present, is typically for the value of intelligence analysis, tradecraft standards, and secrecy protections deemed necessary to safeguard operations.
Public debate about the CIA’s record has also shaped what the agency chooses to write about and release. Controversies over covert operations, surveillance, interrogation and detention practices, and intelligence failures have led to investigations, reforms, and historical reassessments, some of which are reflected indirectly in declassified documentation and institutional histories. In this context, CIA-authored texts can function as a form of accountability narrative—bounded by classification and legal review—aimed at demonstrating lessons learned and compliance structures. At the same time, external critics, journalists, and scholars frequently challenge the completeness of these accounts, arguing for broader transparency. The resulting tension between secrecy and public trust is a central feature of the CIA’s published record.
Final Years & Legacy
The CIA is an ongoing institution rather than a person with final years, so its “later phases” are best understood as periods of adaptation. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the agency’s writing and disclosures evolved alongside changing threats and technologies, including the growth of open-source information, digital archiving, and heightened public expectations for transparency. Declassification initiatives and online reading rooms have made more historical material accessible, allowing researchers to examine past analytic judgments and institutional decision-making. These developments have expanded the CIA’s indirect literary footprint: not as a conventional author, but as a producer of documents that later become core primary sources for historians of international relations and intelligence.
The CIA’s legacy as an authorial entity is therefore paradoxical. Its most influential texts were often written for a narrow classified audience, yet many eventually entered public debate through declassification, litigation, or official release. The agency’s written output has helped standardize modern intelligence communication—structured assessments, explicit uncertainty, and collaborative drafting—while also illustrating the limits of institutional narrative when secrecy is paramount. In the absence of specific titles in the provided collection, the enduring impact can be stated in broad terms: CIA publications and declassified records remain central to understanding how the United States has perceived external threats, justified certain policies, and revised its methods over time. They function simultaneously as historical evidence and as instruments of institutional self-description.
Historical Context
The 2006 edition of The CIA World Factbook sits within the long arc of U.S. intelligence and state information-gathering that expanded markedly after the Second World War. The Central Intelligence Agency, created in 1947, developed analytic products to support policymakers navigating a rapidly changing international system. While the Factbook is not an intelligence estimate, its compilation culture reflects the same postwar emphasis on standardized, comparative country data for strategic planning. The work also belongs to a wider twentieth-century tradition of official statistical yearbooks and geopolitical handbooks, shaped by modern bureaucratic states, mass data collection, and the professionalization of area studies and international relations in the United States.
The Factbook’s roots extend to the early Cold War, when U.S. agencies needed consolidated reference materials about countries, borders, economies, and political structures. Versions circulated internally before a public-facing Factbook emerged later, and by the late twentieth century it became a widely cited baseline reference. Its characteristic format—short, comparable entries across all recognized states and selected territories—mirrors the era’s belief that systematic facts could clarify geopolitical complexity. The CIA’s role, though often associated with covert action, also included open-source analysis and synthesis. The Factbook exemplifies that analytic side by assembling public and semi-public data into a standardized narrative of global conditions.
By 2006 the Factbook was produced in an environment shaped by the end of the Cold War and the emergence of a U.S.-led unipolar moment, followed by new security concerns. The Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991 redrew Europe and Central Asia, creating new states and ongoing disputes over borders, minorities, and resources that reference works had to track carefully. The 2006 volume reflects that post-1991 geopolitical map, including the proliferation of newly independent countries and the institutional expansion of international organizations. It also captures how globalization accelerated in the 1990s and early 2000s, with economic integration, supply chains, and financial flows becoming central to comparative national profiles.
The September 11, 2001 attacks profoundly altered U.S. national security priorities, and the early-to-mid 2000s were dominated by counterterrorism, military operations, and debates over intelligence reform. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 and the establishment of the Director of National Intelligence in 2004 reflected attempts to restructure how the United States collected and shared information. In that climate, authoritative baseline country information gained renewed value for journalists, educators, and the public seeking context for conflicts and alliances. The 2006 Factbook, though not a policy argument, is situated within a moment when the public closely scrutinized state capacity, instability, transnational networks, and the geographic settings of war and diplomacy.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq formed a central backdrop to the mid-2000s international discourse. Afghanistan’s post-2001 reconstruction and Iraq’s post-2003 occupation, insurgency, and state-building efforts were recurrent topics in global media and policy circles. A reference work detailing demographics, terrain, infrastructure, and governance provides essential context for understanding why particular regions experienced logistical constraints or political fragmentation. The Factbook’s standardized sections on economy, transportation, and military can be read as part of a broader trend toward quantifying state capacity. Its country-by-country structure also highlights how conflict zones were embedded in regional systems involving neighbors, refugee flows, and cross-border trade.
Energy geopolitics was another defining force shaping the early 2000s. Oil and natural gas markets were affected by Middle Eastern instability, rising global demand, and the increasing importance of producers in Russia and Central Asia. The Factbook’s entries on natural resources, pipelines, exports, and industrial sectors reflect the era’s attention to energy security and the strategic significance of chokepoints and transit states. These concerns were not new—energy crises in the 1970s had already tied hydrocarbons to foreign policy—but in 2006 they were intertwined with post-9/11 security and the rapid industrial growth of China and India. The Factbook format supports comparative analysis of producers, consumers, and vulnerable import-dependent economies.
The 2006 volume also corresponds to a period of expanding international institutions and integration projects, especially in Europe. The European Union’s major enlargement in 2004 brought multiple Central and Eastern European states into a common political and economic framework, while debates over an EU constitution and the future of integration were prominent in 2005–2006. Such developments increased demand for clear summaries of member states’ economies, populations, and administrative structures. The Factbook’s treatment of transnational affiliations and international agreements captures how sovereignty increasingly interacted with supranational governance. It also reflects the ongoing relevance of NATO, the OSCE, and UN agencies as reference points for a world organized through networks of treaties and organizations.
At the same time, the mid-2000s saw accelerating shifts in the global balance of power. China’s rapid growth following market reforms and WTO accession in 2001 made its economic indicators, trade relationships, and regional ambitions central to global analysis. India’s economic expansion and demographic weight drew similar attention. The Factbook’s comparative statistics on GDP, labor force, and communications can be situated in this context of emerging multipolarity. Rather than focusing on diplomatic narratives, it presents the measurable conditions—urbanization, education, infrastructure—associated with national influence. Readers in 2006 often approached such data as evidence for broader debates about competitiveness, development models, and the long-term distribution of power.
Technological change shaped both the Factbook’s production and its subject matter. By 2006 the internet had become a dominant platform for disseminating reference information, and the Factbook had long been widely accessed online. This shift altered expectations of currency, searchability, and public availability for government-produced information. It also influenced the indicators that mattered: communications infrastructure, mobile phone penetration, and internet usage became routine measures of modernization and connectivity. The 2006 Factbook’s inclusion of these categories reflects how technology had become a key dimension of national capacity, economic development, and social change. The work thus captures a world in which digital connectivity was increasingly central to commerce, governance, and civic life.
The post–Cold War period also elevated development discourse centered on measurable targets and comparative benchmarks. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals, adopted in 2000, encouraged states and international organizations to track poverty, education, health, and environmental sustainability. While the Factbook is not an MDG report, its demographic and social statistics align with the broader global turn toward indicators-based governance. Entries on infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy, and HIV/AIDS prevalence reflect the era’s priority on public health and human development as components of stability. In 2006, major donors and NGOs routinely relied on such measures, reinforcing the cultural authority of quantified social facts in policy and public debate.
Global public health events in the early 2000s further reinforced the importance of cross-national health data. The HIV/AIDS pandemic continued to shape social and economic outcomes in many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, while concerns about SARS (2003) and avian influenza heightened attention to transborder disease risks. The Factbook’s health and demographic metrics helped readers situate these concerns within national contexts of healthcare capacity, urbanization, and population structure. In the same period, rising life expectancy in some regions and persistent inequality in others became salient themes in development and security discussions. The 2006 edition, by summarizing such indicators, reflects how health was increasingly understood as a dimension of national resilience.
Migration, refugees, and diaspora politics were also prominent in the mid-2000s, driven by conflict, economic disparity, and expanding global labor markets. Wars in the Middle East and Central Asia contributed to displacement, while long-standing patterns of economic migration linked Latin America, Africa, and Asia to Europe and North America. The Factbook’s data on population, urbanization, and in some cases ethnic or linguistic composition provided context for debates over social cohesion, remittances, and border policy. In Europe, immigration became central to domestic political debates, while the United States faced ongoing policy disputes over unauthorized migration. Reference data supported these debates by grounding claims in comparative demographic realities.
Environmental concerns increasingly entered mainstream policy agendas around this time, shaped by scientific assessments and visible impacts. The Kyoto Protocol entered into force in 2005, intensifying international attention to emissions, energy use, and environmental governance. The Factbook’s environmental sections and natural resource listings sit within a broader shift toward treating ecological conditions as elements of national interest. Issues such as desertification, water scarcity, and deforestation were recognized as stressors that could influence development and conflict. In 2006, extreme weather events and climate-related discussions were fostering public interest in how geography and resources constrained states. The Factbook’s geographic emphasis thus intersects with an era of rising environmental consciousness and policy negotiation.
The early-to-mid 2000s also witnessed contested questions of statehood, sovereignty, and territorial status that posed challenges for any global reference. Disputes in places such as the Balkans and the post-Soviet space, as well as enduring conflicts like Israel–Palestine, kept borders and recognition politics in the foreground. The Factbook’s need to list entities, dependencies, and contested regions demonstrates how factual cataloging can intersect with diplomatic sensitivities. Its standardized approach reflects established U.S. government positions and international recognition patterns, illustrating how even “reference” works operate within political frameworks. For readers, the inclusion or categorization of territories can reveal the institutional realities of international law, recognition, and administrative control.
Economic orthodoxy and the policy language of reform were influential in the 1990s and continued into the 2000s, shaping how countries were compared. Privatization, liberalization, and integration into global markets were often treated as hallmarks of progress, even as critics highlighted inequality and vulnerability. The Factbook’s focus on macroeconomic indicators, trade balances, and sectoral composition aligns with a policy environment that privileged measurable economic performance. In 2006, global growth was relatively strong, preceding the 2008 financial crisis, and many countries were experiencing rapid credit expansion or commodity booms. The Factbook thus captures a snapshot of globalization’s apparent momentum and the comparative framing through which it was commonly interpreted.
The format of the 2006 Factbook reflects intellectual shifts toward data-driven governance and managerial statecraft. The late twentieth century saw widespread adoption of performance metrics in public administration and international development, along with growing reliance on large datasets. The Factbook condenses complex realities into comparable fields—government type, economic structure, demographic pressures—encouraging a particular way of seeing the world as a set of standardized units. This approach can help readers identify patterns, but it also demonstrates the limits of quantification when applied to culture, political legitimacy, or informal economies. The work is historically situated within a period that increasingly treated information as strategic infrastructure, essential for both governmental decision-making and public understanding.
As a public product of an intelligence agency, the Factbook also reflects evolving norms of transparency and civic access to government information. The rise of online distribution, the popularity of open data initiatives, and the growth of digital literacy made such compilations more visible and more easily scrutinized. In the mid-2000s, public debate about intelligence credibility and sources—intensified by controversies surrounding Iraq—encouraged readers to distinguish between raw facts, analytic judgments, and policy claims. The Factbook’s emphasis on descriptive categories offered a form of institutional authority grounded in compilation rather than argument. Its widespread use in classrooms, newsrooms, and by travelers shows how official reference materials could become embedded in everyday information practices beyond their original governmental context.
Synopsis (Selection)
The 2006 CIA World Factbook (Text)
This reference work compiles standardized country-by-country profiles, presenting a comparative snapshot of the world through concise entries on geography, people and society, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues. Its central “argument” is implicit: that complex national realities can be rendered legible through consistent categories, metrics, and summaries that support cross-national comparison. The tone is formal and data-forward, recurring in its focus on boundaries, resources, demographics, and geopolitical relationships, with an emphasis on clarity, uniform structure, and global coverage.
The 2006 CIA World Factbook
I
Iceland Iles Eparses India Indian Ocean Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy
J
Jamaica Jan Mayen Japan Jarvis Island Jersey Johnston Atoll Jordan Juan de Nova Island
K
Kazakhstan Kenya Kingman Reef Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan
L
Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg
M
Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique
N
Namibia Nauru Navassa Island Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway
O
Oman
P
Pacific Ocean Pakistan Palau Palmyra Atoll Panama Papua New Guinea Paracel Islands Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico
Q
Qatar
R
Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda
S
Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Southern Ocean Spain Spratly Islands Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria
T
Taiwan entry follows Zimbabwe Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tromelin Island Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu
U
Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges Uruguay Uzbekistan
V
Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands
W
Wake Island Wallis and Futuna West Bank Western Sahara
Y
Yemen
Z
Zambia Zimbabwe
Taiwan European Union
Field Listings
Code Field Description
2001 GDP (purchasing power parity) 2002 Population growth rate (%) 2003 GDP - real growth rate (%) 2004 GDP - per capita (PPP) 2006 Dependency status 2007 Diplomatic representation from the US 2008 Transportation - note 2010 Age structure (%) 2011 Geographic coordinates 2012 GDP - composition by sector (%) 2013 Radio broadcast stations 2015 Television broadcast stations 2018 Sex ratio (male(s)/female) 2019 Heliports 2020 Elevation extremes (m) 2021 Natural hazards 2022 People - note 2023 Area - comparative 2024 Military service age and obligation (years of age) 2025 Manpower fit for military service 2026 Manpower reaching military service age annually 2028 Background 2030 Airports - with paved runways 2031 Airports - with unpaved runways 2032 Environment - current issues 2033 Environment - international agreements 2034 Military expenditures - percent of GDP (%) 2038 Electricity - production (kWh) 2042 Electricity - consumption (kWh) 2043 Electricity - imports (kWh) 2044 Electricity - exports (kWh) 2046 Population below poverty line (%) 2047 Household income or consumption by percentage share (%) 2048 Labor force - by occupation (%) 2049 Exports - commodities 2050 Exports - partners (%) 2051 Administrative divisions 2052 Agriculture - products 2053 Airports 2054 Birth rate (births/1,000 population) 2055 Military branches 2056 Budget 2057 Capital 2058 Imports - commodities 2059 Climate 2060 Coastline (km) 2061 Imports - partners (%) 2062 Economic aid - donor 2063 Constitution 2064 Economic aid - recipient 2065 Currency (code) 2066 Death rate (deaths/1,000 population) 2067 Military expenditures - dollar figure 2068 Dependent areas 2070 Disputes - international 2075 Ethnic groups (%) 2076 Exchange rates 2077 Executive branch 2078 Exports 2079 Debt - external 2080 Fiscal year 2081 Flag description 2085 Roadways (km) 2086 Illicit drugs 2087 Imports 2088 Independence 2089 Industrial production growth rate (%) 2090 Industries 2091 Infant mortality rate (deaths/1,000 live births) 2092 Inflation rate (consumer prices) (%) 2093 Waterways (km) 2094 Judicial branch 2095 Labor force 2096 Land boundaries (km) 2097 Land use (%) 2098 Languages (%) 2100 Legal system 2101 Legislative branch 2102 Life expectancy at birth (years) 2103 Literacy (%) 2105 Manpower available for military service 2106 Maritime claims 2107 International organization participation 2108 Merchant marine 2109 National holiday 2110 Nationality 2111 Natural resources 2112 Net migration rate (migrant(s)/1,000 population) 2113 Geography - note 2115 Political pressure groups and leaders 2116 Economy - overview 2117 Pipelines (km) 2118 Political parties and leaders 2119 Population 2120 Ports and terminals 2121 Railways (km) 2122 Religions (%) 2123 Suffrage 2124 Telephone system 2125 Terrain 2127 Total fertility rate (children born/woman) 2128 Government type 2129 Unemployment rate (%) 2137 Military - note 2138 Communications - note 2140 Government - note 2142 Country name 2144 Location 2145 Map references 2146 Irrigated land (sq km) 2147 Area (sq km) 2149 Diplomatic representation in the US 2150 Telephones - main lines in use 2151 Telephones - mobile cellular 2153 Internet users 2154 Internet country code 2155 HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate (%) 2156 HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS 2157 HIV/AIDS - deaths 2172 Distribution of family income - Gini index 2173 Oil - production (bbl/day) 2174 Oil - consumption (bbl/day) 2175 Oil - imports (bbl/day) 2176 Oil - exports (bbl/day) 2177 Median age (years) 2178 Oil - proved reserves (bbl) 2179 Natural gas - proved reserves (cu m) 2180 Natural gas - production (cu m) 2181 Natural gas - consumption (cu m) 2182 Natural gas - imports (cu m) 2183 Natural gas - exports (cu m) 2184 Internet hosts 2185 Investment (gross fixed) (% of GDP) 2186 Public debt (% of GDP) 2187 Current account balance 2188 Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2193 Major infectious diseases 2194 Refugees and internally displaced persons 2195 GDP (official exchange rate) 2196 Trafficking in persons
Rank Orders
Guide to Rank Order Pages
Rank Order pages are presorted lists of data from selected Factbook data fields. Rank Order pages are generally given in descending order -highest to lowest - such as Population and Area. The two exceptions are Unemployment Rate and Inflation Rate, which are in ascending - lowest to highest - order. Rank Order pages are available for the following 47 fields in six of the nine Factbook categories.
Geography
Area - total
People
Population Birth rate Death rate Infant mortality rate Life expectancy at birth - total Total fertility rate HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS - deaths
Economy
GDP (purchasing power parity) GDP - real growth rate GDP - per capita Labor force Unemployment rate Inflation rate (consumer prices) Investment (gross fixed) Public debt Industrial production growth rate Electricity - production Electricity - consumption Oil - production Oil - consumption Oil - exports Oil - imports Oil - proved reserves Natural Gas - production Natural Gas - consumption Natural Gas - exports Natural Gas - imports Natural Gas - proved reserves Current account balance Exports Imports Reserves of foreign exchange and gold Debt - external
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use Telephones - mobile cellular Internet hosts Internet users
Transportation
Airports Railways - total Roadways - total Waterways Merchant marine - total
Military
Military expenditures - dollar figure Military expenditures - percent of GDP
Factbook fields with Rank Order pages are easily identified with a small bar chart icon to the right of the data field title.
Not all Rank Order pages include the same number of entries because information for a particular field is not available for all countries. In addition, not all data fields are suitable for displaying as Rank Order pages, such as those containing textual information. Textual information is more readily viewed by clicking on the Field Listing icon next to the Data field title. The other icon next to the data field title provides the definition of the field.
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Median age Literacy Population below the poverty line
This page was last updated on 4 April, 2006
Appendixes
Appendix A - Abbreviations
Appendix B - International Organizations and Groups
Appendix C - Selected International Environmental Agreements
Appendix D - Cross-Reference list of Country Data Codes
Appendix E - Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Data Codes
Appendix F - Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names
Appendix G - Weights and Measures
Notes and Definitions
Along with regular information updates, The World Factbook features several new or revised fields. In the Economy category, the Factbook is now reporting national GDP figures in US dollars converted at Official Exchange Rates (OER) in addition to GDP at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) rates, since both measures contain information useful to our readers. Traditionally, only PPP-converted GDP values had been reported. In the Transportation category, the former Highways entry is now Roadways, while Ports and harbors has been retitled Ports and terminals.
Abbreviations
This information is included in Appendix A: Abbreviations, which includes all abbreviations and acronyms used in the Factbook, with their expansions.
Acronyms
An acronym is an abbreviation coined from the initial letter of each successive word in a term or phrase. In general, an acronym made up solely from the first letter of the major words in the expanded form is rendered in all capital letters (NATO from North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an exception would be ASEAN for Association of Southeast Asian Nations). In general, an acronym made up of more than the first letter of the major words in the expanded form is rendered with only an initial capital letter (Comsat from Communications Satellite Corporation; an exception would be NAM from Nonaligned Movement). Hybrid forms are sometimes used to distinguish between initially identical terms (WTO: for World Trade Organization and WToO for World Tourism Organization.)
Administrative divisions
This entry generally gives the numbers, designatory terms, and first- order administrative divisions as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been reported but not yet acted on by BGN are noted.
Age structure
This entry provides the distribution of the population according to age. Information is included by sex and age group (0-14 years, 15-64 years, 65 years and over). The age structure of a population affects a nation's key socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations (high percentage under age 15) need to invest more in schools, while countries with older populations (high percentage ages 65 and over) need to invest more in the health sector. The age structure can also be used to help predict potential political issues. For example, the rapid growth of a young adult population unable to find employment can lead to unrest.
Agriculture - products
This entry is an ordered listing of major crops and products starting with the most important.
Airports
This entry gives the total number of airports or airfields recognizable from the air. The runway(s) may be paved (concrete or asphalt surfaces) or unpaved (grass, earth, sand, or gravel surfaces) but may include closed or abandoned installations. Airports or airfields that are no longer recognizable (overgrown, no facilities, etc.) are not included. Note that not all airports have accomodations for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control.
Airports - with paved runways
This entry gives the total number of airports with paved runways (concrete or asphalt surfaces) by length. For airports with more than one runway, only the longest runway is included according to the following five groups - (1) over 3,047 m, (2) 2,438 to 3,047 m, (3) 1,524 to 2,437 m, (4) 914 to 1,523 m, and (5) under 914 m. Only airports with usable runways are included in this listing. Not all airports have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control.
Airports - with unpaved runways
This entry gives the total number of airports with unpaved runways (grass, dirt, sand, or gravel surfaces) by length. For airports with more than one runway, only the longest runway is included according to the following five groups - (1) over 3,047 m, (2) 2,438 to 3,047 m, (3) 1,524 to 2,437 m, (4) 914 to 1,523 m, and (5) under 914 m. Only airports with usable runways are included in this listing. Not all airports have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control.
Appendixes
This section includes Factbook-related material by topic.
Area
This entry includes three subfields. 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). Water area is the sum of the surfaces of all inland water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, as delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines.
Area - comparative
This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.
Birth rate
This entry gives the average annual number of births during a year per 1,000 persons in the population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate. The birth rate is usually the dominant factor in determining the rate of population growth. It depends on both the level of fertility and the age structure of the population.
Budget
This entry includes revenues, expenditures, and capital expenditures. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
Capital
This entry gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
Climate
This entry includes a brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
Coastline
This entry gives the total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
Communications
This category deals with the means of exchanging information and includes the telephone, radio, television, and Internet host entries.
Communications - note
This entry includes miscellaneous communications information of significance not included elsewhere.
Constitution
This entry includes the dates of adoption, revisions, and major amendments.
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
UTC is the international atomic time scale that serves as the basis of timekeeping for most of the world. The hours, minutes, and seconds expressed by UTC represent the time of day at the Prime Meridian (0ş longitude) located near Greenwich, England as reckoned from midnight. UTC is calculated by the Bureau International des Poids et Measures (BIPM) in Sevres, France. The BIPM averages data collected from more than 200 atomic time and frequency standards located at about 50 laboratories worldwide. UTC is the basis for all civil time with the Earth divided into time zones expressed as positive or negative differences from UTC. UTC is also referred to as "Zulu time." See the Standard Time Zones of the World map included with the Reference Maps.
Country data codes
see Data codes
Country map
Most versions of the Factbook provide a country map in color. The maps were produced from the best information available at the time of preparation. Names and/or boundaries may have changed subsequently.
Country name
This entry includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
Crude oil
See entry for oil.
Currency (code)
This entry identifies the national medium of exchange and, in parenthesis, gives the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 4217 alphabetic currency code for each country.
Current account balance
This entry records a country's net trade in goods and services, plus net earnings from rents, interest, profits, and dividends, and net transfer payments (such as pension funds and worker remittances) to and from the rest of the world during the period specified. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
Data codes
This information is presented in Appendix D: Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes and Appendix E: Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Data Codes.
Date of information
In general, information available as of 1 January 2006, was used in the preparation of this edition.
Daylight Saving Time (DST)
This entry is included for those entities that have adopted a policy of adjusting the official local time forward, usually one hour, from Standard Time during summer months. Such policies are most common in mid-latitude regions.
Death rate
This entry gives the average annual number of deaths during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude death rate. The death rate, while only a rough indicator of the mortality situation in a country, accurately indicates the current mortality impact on population growth. This indicator is significantly affected by age distribution, and most countries will eventually show a rise in the overall death rate, in spite of continued decline in mortality at all ages, as declining fertility results in an aging population.
Debt - external
This entry gives the total public and private debt owed to nonresidents repayable in foreign currency, goods, or services. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
Dependency status
This entry describes the formal relationship between a particular nonindependent entity and an independent state.
Dependent areas
This entry contains an alphabetical listing of all nonindependent entities associated in some way with a particular independent state.
Diplomatic representation
The US Government has diplomatic relations with 188 independent states, including 187 of the 192 UN members (excluded UN members are Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and the US itself). In addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 1 independent state that is not in the UN, the Holy See, as well as with the EU.
Diplomatic representation from the US
This entry includes the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing address, telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
Diplomatic representation in the US
This entry includes the chief of mission, chancery, telephone, FAX, consulate general locations, and consulate locations.
Disputes - international
This entry includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international terrestrial and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the US Department of State. References to other situations involving borders or frontiers may also be included, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues; however, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance or recognition by the US Government.
Distribution of family income - Gini index
This index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country. The index is calculated from the Lorenz curve, in which cumulative family income is plotted against the number of families arranged from the poorest to the richest. The index is the ratio of (a) the area between a country's Lorenz curve and the 45 degree helping line to (b) the entire triangular area under the 45 degree line. The more nearly equal a country's income distribution, the closer its Lorenz curve to the 45 degree line and the lower its Gini index, e.g., a Scandinavian country with an index of 25. The more unequal a country's income distribution, the farther its Lorenz curve from the 45 degree line and the higher its Gini index, e.g., a Sub- Saharan country with an index of 50. If income were distributed with perfect equality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the 45 degree line and the index would be zero; if income were distributed with perfect inequality, the Lorenz curve would coincide with the horizontal axis and the right vertical axis and the index would be 100.
Economic aid - donor
This entry refers to net official development assistance (ODA) from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations to developing countries and multilateral organizations. ODA is defined as financial assistance that is concessional in character, has the main objective to promote economic development and welfare of the less developed countries (LDCs), and contains a grant element of at least 25%. The entry does not cover other official flows (OOF) or private flows. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
Economic aid - recipient
This entry, which is subject to major problems of definition and statistical coverage, refers to the net inflow of Official Development Finance (ODF) to recipient countries. The figure includes assistance from the World Bank, the IMF, and other international organizations and from individual nation donors. Formal commitments of aid are included in the data. Omitted from the data are grants by private organizations. Aid comes in various forms including outright grants and loans. The entry thus is the difference between new inflows and repayments. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
Economy
This category includes the entries dealing with the size, development, and management of productive resources, i.e., land, labor, and capital.
Economy - overview
This entry briefly describes the type of economy, including the degree of market orientation, the level of economic development, the most important natural resources, and the unique areas of specialization. It also characterizes major economic events and policy changes in the most recent 12 months and may include a statement about one or two key future macroeconomic trends.
Electricity - consumption
This entry consists of total electricity generated annually plus imports and minus exports, expressed in kilowatt-hours. The discrepancy between the amount of electricity generated and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is accounted for as loss in transmission and distribution.
Electricity - exports
This entry is the total exported electricity in kilowatt-hours.
Electricity - imports
This entry is the total imported electricity in kilowatt-hours.
Electricity - production
This entry is the annual electricity generated expressed in kilowatt- hours. The discrepancy between the amount of electricity generated and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is accounted for as loss in transmission and distribution.
Elevation extremes
This entry includes both the highest point and the lowest point.
Entities
Some of the independent states, dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and governments included in this publication are not independent, and others are not officially recognized by the US Government. "Independent state" refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory. "Dependencies" and "areas of special sovereignty" refer to a broad category of political entities that are associated in some way with an independent state. "Country" names used in the table of contents or for page headings are usually the short-form names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names and may include independent states, dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty, or other geographic entities. There are a total of 272 separate geographic entities in The World Factbook that may be categorized as follows:
INDEPENDENT STATES
193 Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, NZ, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, UAE, UK, US, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
OTHER
2 Taiwan, European Union
DEPENDENCIES AND AREAS OF SPECIAL SOVEREIGNTY
6 Australia - Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
2 China - Hong Kong, Macau
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, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Tromelin Island*, Wallis and Futuna (* consolidated in Iles Eparses entry)
2 Netherlands - Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
3 New Zealand - Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
3 Norway - Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
17 UK - Akrotiri, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dhekelia, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
14 US - American Samoa, Baker Island*, Guam, Howland Island*, Jarvis Island*, Johnston Atoll*, Kingman Reef*, Midway Islands*, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll*, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island (* consolidated in United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges entry)
MISCELLANEOUS
6 Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara
OTHER ENTITIES
5 oceans - Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Southern Ocean
1 World
272 total
Environment - current issues
This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
Acidification - the lowering of soil and water pH due to acid precipitation and deposition usually through precipitation; this process disrupts ecosystem nutrient flows and may kill freshwater fish and plants dependent on more neutral or alkaline conditions (see acid rain).
Acid rain - characterized as containing harmful levels of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide; acid rain is damaging and potentially deadly to the earth's fragile ecosystems; acidity is measured using the pH scale where 7 is neutral, values greater than 7 are considered alkaline, and values below 5.6 are considered acid precipitation; note - a pH of 2.4 (the acidity of vinegar) has been measured in rainfall in New England.
Aerosol - a collection of airborne particles dispersed in a gas, smoke, or fog.
Afforestation - converting a bare or agricultural space by planting trees and plants; reforestation involves replanting trees on areas that have been cut or destroyed by fire.
Asbestos - a naturally occurring soft fibrous mineral commonly used in fireproofing materials and considered to be highly carcinogenic in particulate form.
Biodiversity - also biological diversity; the relative number of species, diverse in form and function, at the genetic, organism, community, and ecosystem level; loss of biodiversity reduces an ecosystem's ability to recover from natural or man-induced disruption.
Bio-indicators - a plant or animal species whose presence, abundance, and health reveal the general condition of its habitat.
Biomass - the total weight or volume of living matter in a given area or volume.
Carbon cycle - the term used to describe the exchange of carbon (in various forms, e.g., as carbon dioxide) between the atmosphere, ocean, terrestrial biosphere, and geological deposits.
Catchments - assemblages used to capture and retain rainwater and runoff; an important water management technique in areas with limited freshwater resources, such as Gibraltar.
DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane) - a colorless, odorless insecticide that has toxic effects on most animals; the use of DDT was banned in the US in 1972.
Defoliants - chemicals which cause plants to lose their leaves artificially; often used in agricultural practices for weed control, and may have detrimental impacts on human and ecosystem health.
Deforestation - the destruction of vast areas of forest (e.g., unsustainable forestry practices, agricultural and range land clearing, and the over exploitation of wood products for use as fuel) without planting new growth.
Desertification - the spread of desert-like conditions in arid or semi- arid areas, due to overgrazing, loss of agriculturally productive soils, or climate change.
Dredging - the practice of deepening an existing waterway; also, a technique used for collecting bottom-dwelling marine organisms (e.g., shellfish) or harvesting coral, often causing significant destruction of reef and ocean-floor ecosystems.
Drift-net fishing - done with a net, miles in extent, that is generally anchored to a boat and left to float with the tide; often results in an over harvesting and waste of large populations of non-commercial marine species (by-catch) by its effect of "sweeping the ocean clean".
Ecosystems - ecological units comprised of complex communities of organisms and their specific environments.
Effluents - waste materials, such as smoke, sewage, or industrial waste which are released into the environment, subsequently polluting it.
Endangered species - a species that is threatened with extinction either by direct hunting or habitat destruction.
Freshwater - water with very low soluble mineral content; sources include lakes, streams, rivers, glaciers, and underground aquifers.
Greenhouse gas - a gas that "traps" infrared radiation in the lower atmosphere causing surface warming; water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, hydrofluorocarbons, and ozone are the primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere.
Groundwater - water sources found below the surface of the earth often in naturally occurring reservoirs in permeable rock strata; the source for wells and natural springs.
Highlands Water Project - a series of dams constructed jointly by Lesotho and South Africa to redirect Lesotho's abundant water supply into a rapidly growing area in South Africa; while it is the largest infrastructure project in southern Africa, it is also the most costly and controversial; objections to the project include claims that it forces people from their homes, submerges farmlands, and squanders economic resources.
Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) - represents the 145,000 Inuits of Russia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland in international environmental issues; a General Assembly convenes every three years to determine the focus of the ICC; the most current concerns are long-range transport of pollutants, sustainable development, and climate change.
Metallurgical plants - industries which specialize in the science, technology, and processing of metals; these plants produce highly concentrated and toxic wastes which can contribute to pollution of ground water and air when not properly disposed.
Noxious substances - injurious, very harmful to living beings.
Overgrazing - the grazing of animals on plant material faster than it can naturally regrow leading to the permanent loss of plant cover, a common effect of too many animals grazing limited range land.
Ozone shield - a layer of the atmosphere composed of ozone gas (O3) that resides approximately 25 miles above the Earth's surface and absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation that can be harmful to living organisms.
Poaching - the illegal killing of animals or fish, a great concern with respect to endangered or threatened species.
Pollution - the contamination of a healthy environment by man-made waste.
Potable water - water that is drinkable, safe to be consumed.
Salination - the process through which fresh (drinkable) water becomes salt (undrinkable) water; hence, desalination is the reverse process; also involves the accumulation of salts in topsoil caused by evaporation of excessive irrigation water, a process that can eventually render soil incapable of supporting crops.
Siltation - occurs when water channels and reservoirs become clotted with silt and mud, a side effect of deforestation and soil erosion.
Slash-and-burn agriculture - a rotating cultivation technique in which trees are cut down and burned in order to clear land for temporary agriculture; the land is used until its productivity declines at which point a new plot is selected and the process repeats; this practice is sustainable while population levels are low and time is permitted for regrowth of natural vegetation; conversely, where these conditions do not exist, the practice can have disastrous consequences for the environment .
Soil degradation - damage to the land's productive capacity because of poor agricultural practices such as the excessive use of pesticides or fertilizers, soil compaction from heavy equipment, or erosion of topsoil, eventually resulting in reduced ability to produce agricultural products.
Soil erosion - the removal of soil by the action of water or wind, compounded by poor agricultural practices, deforestation, overgrazing, and desertification.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation - a portion of the electromagnetic energy emitted by the sun and naturally filtered in the upper atmosphere by the ozone layer; UV radiation can be harmful to living organisms and has been linked to increasing rates of skin cancer in humans.
Water-born diseases - those in which bacteria survive in, and are transmitted through, water; always a serious threat in areas with an untreated water supply.
Environment - international agreements
This entry separates country participation in international environmental agreements into two levels - party to and signed, but not ratified. Agreements are listed in alphabetical order by the abbreviated form of the full name.
Environmental agreements
This information is presented in Appendix C: Selected International Environmental Agreements, which includes the name, abbreviation, date opened for signature, date entered into force, objective, and parties by category.
Ethnic groups
This entry provides an ordered listing of ethnic groups starting with the largest and normally includes the percent of total population.
Exchange rates
This entry provides the official value of a country's monetary unit at a given date or over a given period of time, as expressed in units of local currency per US dollar and as determined by international market forces or official fiat.
Executive branch
This entry includes several subfields. Chief of state includes the name and title of the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day-to-day activities of the government. Head of government includes the name and title of the top administrative leader who is designated to manage the day-to-day activities of the government. For example, 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. Cabinet includes the official name for this body of high-ranking advisers and the method for selection of members. Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election. Election results includes the percent of vote for each candidate in the last election.
Exports
This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
Exports - commodities
This entry provides a rank ordering of exported products starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
Exports - partners
This entry provides a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
Fiscal year
This entry identifies the beginning and ending months for a country's accounting period of 12 months, which often is the calendar year but which may begin in any month. All yearly references are for the calendar year (CY) unless indicated as a noncalendar fiscal year (FY).
Flag description
This entry provides a written flag description produced from actual flags or the best information available at the time the entry was written. The flags of independent states are used by their dependencies unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed and other areas do not have flags.
Flag graphic
Most versions of the Factbook include a color flag at the beginning of the country profile. The flag graphics were produced from actual flags or the best information available at the time of preparation. The flags of independent states are used by their dependencies unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed and other areas do not have flags.
GDP (official exchange rate)
This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at offical exchange rates (OER) is the home-currency-denominated annual GDP figure divided by the bilateral average US exchange rate with that country in that year. The measure is simple to compute and gives a precise measure of the value of output. Many economists prefer this measure when gauging the economic power an economy maintains vis- ŕ-vis its neighbors, judging that an exchange rate captures the purchasing power a nation enjoys in the international marketplace. Official exchange rates, however, can be artifically fixed and/or subject to manipulation - resulting in claims of the country having an under- or over-valued currency - and are not necessarily the equivalent of a market-determined exchange rate. Moreover, even if the official exchange rate is market-determined, market exchange rates are frequently established by a relatively small set of goods and services (the ones the country trades) and may not capture the value of the larger set of goods the country produces. Furthermore, OER-converted GDP is not well suited to comparing domestic GDP over time, since appreciation/depreciation from one year to the next will make the OER GDP value rise/fall regardless of whether home-currency-denominated GDP changed.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
