The World Factbook - CIA [PDF]

Report Threats

Contact

Search CIA.gov...

SEARCH

English Français Русский Español More

HOME

ABOUT CIA

CAREERS & INTERNSHIPS

OFFICES OF CIA

NEWS & INFORMATION

LIBRARY KIDS' ZONE

Library Library

Home

Publications

Library

Publications

The World Factbook



The World Factbook World Leaders

Please select a country to view

CIA Maps ABOUT

Center for the Study of Intelligence Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room

APPENDICES

FAQs

CONTACT

REFERENCES :: DEFINITIONS AND NOTES ALL

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

W

Y

A Abbreviations

Kent Center Occasional Papers Intelligence Literature: Suggested Reading List

REFERENCES

T his infor mation is inc luded in A p p en d ix A : A b b reviat io n s, w hic h inc ludes all abbr ev iations and ac r ony ms us ed in the F ac tbook , w ith their ex pans ions . Acronyms An ac r ony m is an abbr ev iation c oined fr om the initial letter of eac h s uc c es s iv e w or d in a ter m or phr as e. In gener al, an ac r ony m made up s olely fr om the fir s t letter of the major w or ds in the ex panded for m is r ender ed in all c apital letter s ( N AT O fr om N or th Atlantic T r eaty O r ganiz ation; an ex c eption w ould be ASEAN for As s oc iation of Southeas t As ian N ations ) . In gener al, an ac r ony m made up of mor e than the fir s t letter of the major w or ds in the ex panded for m is r ender ed w ith only an initial c apital letter ( C oms at fr om C ommunic ations Satellite C or por ation; an ex c eption w ould be N AM fr om N onaligned Mov ement) . H y br id for ms ar e s ometimes us ed to dis tinguis h betw een initially identic al ter ms ( IC C for Inter national C hamber of C ommer c e and IC C t for Inter national C r iminal C our t) .

Reports Video Center Related Links

Administrative divisions T his entr y gener ally giv es the number s , des ignator y ter ms , and fir s t- or der adminis tr ativ e div is ions as appr ov ed by the U S Boar d on G eogr aphic N ames ( BG N ) . C hanges that hav e been r epor ted but not y et ac ted on by the BG N ar e noted. G eogr aphic names c onfor m to s pellings appr ov ed by the BG N w ith the ex c eption of the omis s ion of diac r itic al mar k s and s pec ial c har ac ter s . Age structure T his entr y pr ov ides the dis tr ibution of the population ac c or ding to age. Infor mation is inc luded by s ex and age gr oup as follow s : 0- 14 y ear s ( c hildr en), 15- 24 y ear s ( ear ly w or k ing age), 25- 54 y ear s ( pr ime w or k ing age), 55- 64 y ear s ( matur e w or k ing age), 65 y ear s and ov er ( elder ly ). T he age s tr uc tur e of a population affec ts a nation's k ey s oc ioec onomic is s ues . C ountr ies w ith y oung populations ( high per c entage under age 15) need to inv es t mor e in s c hools , w hile c ountr ies w ith older populations ( high per c entage ages 65 and ov er ) need to inv es t mor e in the health s ec tor . T he age s tr uc tur e c an als o be us ed to help pr edic t potential politic al is s ues . F or ex ample, the r apid gr ow th of a y oung adult population unable to find employ ment c an lead to unr es t. Agriculture - products T his entr y is an or der ed lis ting of major c r ops and pr oduc ts s tar ting w ith the mos t impor tant. Airports T his entr y giv es the total number of air por ts or air fields r ec ogniz able fr om the air . T he r unw ay ( s ) may be pav ed ( c onc r ete or as phalt s ur fac es ) or unpav ed ( gr as s , ear th, s and, or gr av el s ur fac es ) and may inc lude c los ed or abandoned ins tallations . Air por ts or air fields that ar e no longer r ec ogniz able ( ov er gr ow n, no fac ilities , etc .) ar e not inc luded. N ote that not all air por ts hav e ac c ommodations for r efueling, maintenanc e, or air tr affic c ontr ol. Airports - with paved runways T his entr y giv es the total number of air por ts w ith pav ed r unw ay s ( c onc r ete or as phalt s ur fac es ) by length. F or air por ts w ith mor e than one r unw ay , only the longes t r unw ay is inc luded ac c or ding to the follow ing fiv e gr oups - ( 1) ov er 3,047 m ( ov er 10,000 ft) , ( 2) 2,438 to 3,047 m ( 8,000 to 10,000 ft) , ( 3) 1,524 to 2,437 m ( 5,000 to 8,000 ft) , ( 4) 914 to 1,523 m ( 3,000 to 5,000 ft) , and ( 5) under 914 m ( under 3,000 ft) . O nly air por ts w ith us able r unw ay s ar e inc luded in this lis ting. N ot all air por ts hav e fac ilities for r efueling, maintenanc e, or air tr affic c ontr ol. T he ty pe air c r aft c apable of oper ating fr om a r unw ay of a giv en length is dependent upon a number of fac tor s inc luding elev ation of the r unw ay , r unw ay gr adient, av er age max imum daily temper atur e at the air por t, engine ty pes , flap s ettings , and tak e- off w eight of the air c r aft. Airports - with unpaved runways T his entr y giv es the total number of air por ts w ith unpav ed r unw ay s ( gr as s , dir t, s and, or gr av el s ur fac es ) by length. F or air por ts w ith mor e than one r unw ay , only the longes t r unw ay is inc luded ac c or ding to the follow ing fiv e gr oups - ( 1) ov er 3,047 m ( ov er 10,000 ft) , ( 2) 2,438 to 3,047 m ( 8,000 to 10,000 ft) , ( 3) 1,524 to 2,437 m ( 5,000 to 8,000 ft) , ( 4) 914 to 1,523 m ( 3,000 to 5,000 ft) , and ( 5) under 914 m ( under 3,000 ft) . O nly air por ts w ith us able r unw ay s ar e inc luded in this lis ting. N ot all air por ts hav e fac ilities for r efueling, maintenanc e, or air tr affic c ontr ol. T he ty pe air c r aft c apable of oper ating fr om a r unw ay of a giv en length is dependent upon a number of fac tor s inc luding elev ation of the r unw ay , r unw ay gr adient, av er age max imum daily temper atur e at the air por t, engine ty pes , flap s ettings , and tak e- off w eight of the air c r aft. Appendixes T his s ec tion inc ludes F ac tbook - r elated mater ial by topic . Area T his entr y inc ludes thr ee s ubfields . T otal ar ea is the s um of all land and w ater ar eas delimited by inter national boundar ies and/or c oas tlines . Land ar ea is the aggr egate of all s ur fac es delimited by inter national boundar ies and/or c oas tlines , ex c luding inland w ater bodies ( lak es , r es er v oir s , r iv er s ) . Water ar ea is the s um of the s ur fac es of all inland w ater bodies , s uc h as lak es , r es er v oir s , or r iv er s , as delimited by inter national boundar ies and/or c oas tlines . Area - comparative T his entr y pr ov ides an ar ea c ompar is on bas ed on total ar ea equiv alents . Mos t entities ar e c ompar ed w ith the entir e U S or one of the 50 s tates bas ed on ar ea meas ur ements ( 1990 r ev is ed) pr ov ided by the U S Bur eau of the C ens us . T he s maller entities ar e c ompar ed w ith Was hington, D C ( 178 s q k m, 69 s q mi) or T he Mall in Was hington, D C ( 0.59 s q k m, 0.23 s q mi, 146 ac r es ) . Background T his entr y us ually highlights major his tor ic ev ents and c ur r ent is s ues and may inc lude a s tatement about one or tw o k ey futur e tr ends . Birth rate T his entr y giv es the av er age annual number of bir ths dur ing a y ear per 1,000 per s ons in the population at midy ear ; als o k now n as c r ude bir th r ate. T he bir th r ate is us ually the dominant fac tor in deter mining the r ate of population gr ow th. It depends on both the lev el of fer tility and the age s tr uc tur e of the population. Broadcast media T his entr y pr ov ides infor mation on the appr ox imate number of public and pr iv ate T V and r adio s tations in a c ountr y , as w ell as bas ic infor mation on the av ailability of s atellite and c able T V s er v ic es . Budget T his entr y inc ludes r ev enues , ex penditur es , and c apital ex penditur es . T hes e figur es ar e c alc ulated on an ex c hange r ate bas is , i.e., not in pur c has ing pow er par ity ( PPP) ter ms . Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) T his entr y r ec or ds the differ enc e betw een national gov er nment r ev enues and ex penditur es , ex pr es s ed as a per c ent of G D P. A pos itiv e ( +) number indic ates that r ev enues ex c eeded ex penditur es ( a budget s ur plus ) , w hile a negativ e ( - ) number indic ates the r ev er s e ( a budget defic it) . N or maliz ing the data, by div iding the budget balanc e by G D P, enables eas y c ompar is ons ac r os s c ountr ies and indic ates w hether a national gov er nment s av es or bor r ow s money . C ountr ies w ith high budget defic its ( r elativ e to their G D Ps ) gener ally hav e mor e diffic ulty r ais ing funds to financ e ex penditur es , than thos e w ith low er defic its . Capital T his entr y giv es the name of the s eat of gov er nment, its geogr aphic c oor dinates, the time differ enc e r elativ e to C o o rd in at ed U n iversal T im e ( U T C ) and the time obs er v ed in Was hington, D C , and, if applic able, infor mation on day light s av ing time ( D ST ) . Wher e appr opr iate, a s pec ial note has been added to highlight thos e c ountr ies that hav e multiple time z ones . Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy T his entr y is the total amount of c ar bon diox ide, meas ur ed in metr ic tons , r eleas ed by bur ning fos s il fuels in the pr oc es s of pr oduc ing and c ons uming ener gy . Central bank discount rate T his entr y pr ov ides the annualiz ed inter es t r ate a c ountr y 's c entr al bank c har ges c ommer c ial, depos itor y bank s for loans to meet tempor ar y s hor tages of funds . Child labor - children ages 5-14 T his entr y giv es the per c ent of c hildr en aged 5- 14 ( or the age r ange s pec ified) engaged in c hild labor . We define “ c hild labor ” as w or k that depr iv es c hildr en of their c hildhood, their potential, and their dignity , and that is har mful to phy s ic al and mental dev elopment. It r efer s to w or k that is mentally , phy s ic ally , s oc ially , or mor ally danger ous and har mful to c hildr en. Suc h labor may depr iv e them of the oppor tunity to attend s c hool, oblige them to leav e s c hool pr ematur ely , or r equir e them to c ombine s c hool attendanc e w ith ex c es s iv ely long and heav y w or k . In its mos t ex tr eme for ms , c hild labor inv olv es c hildr en being ens lav ed, s epar ated fr om their families , ex pos ed to s er ious haz ar ds and illnes s es , and/or left to fend for thems elv es on the s tr eets of lar ge c ities – often a v er y ear ly age. Children under the age of 5 years underweight T his entr y giv es the per c ent of c hildr en under fiv e c ons ider ed to be under w eight. U nder w eight means w eight- for - age is appr ox imately 2 k g below for s tandar d at age one, 3 k g below s tandar d for ages tw o and thr ee, and 4 k g below s tandar d for ages four and fiv e. T his s tatis tic is an indic ator of the nutr itional s tatus of a c ommunity . C hildr en w ho s uffer fr om gr ow th r etar dation as a r es ult of poor diets and/or r ec ur r ent infec tions tend to hav e a gr eater r is k of s uffer ing illnes s and death. Citizenship T his entr y pr ov ides infor mation r elated to the ac quis ition and ex er c is e of c itiz ens hip; it inc ludes four s ubfields : cit iz en sh ip b y b irt h des c r ibes the ac quis ition of c itiz ens hip bas ed on plac e of bir th, k now n as J us s oli, r egar dles s of the c itiz ens hip of par ents . cit iz en sh ip b y d escen t o n ly des c r ibes the ac quis ition of c itiz ens hip bas ed on the pr inc iple of J us s anguinis, or by des c ent, w her e at leas t one par ent is a c itiz en of the s tate and being bor n w ithin the ter r itor ial limits of the s tate is not r equir ed. T he major ity of c ountr ies adher e to this pr ac tic e. In s ome c as es , c itiz ens hip is c onfer r ed thr ough the father or mother ex c lus iv ely . d u al cit iz en sh ip reco g n iz ed indic ates w hether a s tate per mits a c itiz en to s imultaneous ly hold c itiz ens hip in another s tate. Many s tates do not per mit dual c itiz ens hip and the v oluntar y ac quis ition of c itiz ens hip in another c ountr y is gr ounds for r ev oc ation of c itiz ens hip. H olding dual c itiz ens hip mak es an indiv idual legally obligated to mor e than one s tate and c an negate the nor mal c ons ular pr otec tions affor ded to c itiz ens outs ide their or iginal c ountr y of c itiz ens hip. resid en cy req u irem en t f o r n at u raliz at io n lis ts the length of time an applic ant is r equir ed to liv e in a s tate befor e apply ing for natur aliz ation. In mos t c ountr ies c itiz ens hip c an be ac quir ed thr ough the legal pr oc es s of natur aliz ation. T he r equir ements for natur aliz ation v ar y by s tate but gener ally inc lude no c r iminal r ec or d, good health, ec onomic w her ew ithal, and a per iod of author iz ed r es idenc y in the s tate. T his time per iod c an v ar y enor mous ly among s tates and is often us ed to mak e the ac quis ition of c itiz ens hip diffic ult or impos s ible. Civil aircraft registration country code prefix T his entr y pr ov ides the one- or tw o- c har ac ter alphanumer ic c ode indic ating the nationality of c iv il air c r aft. Ar tic le 20 of the C onv ention on Inter national C iv il Av iation ( C hic ago C onv ention) , s igned in 1944, r equir es that all air c r aft engaged in inter national air nav igation bear appr opr iate nationality mar k s . T he air c r aft r egis tr ation number c ons is ts of tw o par ts : a pr efix c ons is ting of a one- or tw o- c har ac ter alphanumer ic c ode indic ating nationality and a r egis tr ation s uffix of one to fiv e c har ac ter s for the s pec ific air c r aft. T he pr efix c odes ar e bas ed upon r adio c all- s igns alloc ated by the Inter national T elec ommunic ations U nion ( IT U ) to eac h c ountr y . Sinc e 1947, the Inter national C iv il Av iation O r ganiz ation ( IC AO ) has managed c ode s tandar ds and their alloc ation. Climate T his entr y inc ludes a br ief des c r iption of ty pic al w eather r egimes thr oughout the y ear . Coastline T his entr y giv es the total length of the boundar y betw een the land ar ea ( inc luding is lands ) and the s ea. Commercial bank prime lending rate T his entr y pr ov ides a s imple av er age of annualiz ed inter es t r ates c ommer c ial bank s c har ge on new loans , denominated in the national c ur r enc y , to their mos t c r edit- w or thy c us tomer s . Communications T his c ategor y deals w ith the means of ex c hanging infor mation and inc ludes the telephone, r adio, telev is ion, and Inter net hos t entr ies . Communications - note T his entr y inc ludes mis c ellaneous c ommunic ations infor mation of s ignific anc e not inc luded els ew her e. Constitution T his entr y pr ov ides infor mation on a c ountr y ’s c ons titution and inc ludes tw o s ubfields , his tor y and amendments . T he his tor y s ubfield inc ludes the dates of pr ev ious c ons titutions and the main s teps and dates in for mulating and implementing the lates t c ons titution. F or c ountr ies w ith 1- 3 pr ev ious c ons titutions , the y ear s ar e lis ted; for thos e w ith 4- 9 pr ev ious , the entr y is lis ted as “ s ev er al pr ev ious ,” and for thos e w ith 10 or mor e, the entr y is “ many pr ev ious .” T he amendments s ubfield s ummar iz es the pr oc es s of amending a c ountr y ’s c ons titution – fr om pr opos al thr ough pas s age – and the dates of amendments , w hic h ar e tr eated in the s ame manner as the c ons titution dates . T he main s teps in c r eating a c ons titution and amending it us ually inc lude the follow ing s teps : pr opos al, dr afting, legis lativ e and/or ex ec utiv e br anc h r ev iew and appr ov al, public r efer endum, and entr y into law . In many c ountr ies this pr oc es s is lengthy . T er ms c ommonly us ed to des c r ibe c ons titutional c hanges ar e “ amended,” “ r ev is ed,” or “ r efor med.” In c ountr ies s uc h as South Kor ea and T ur k menis tan, s our c es differ as to w hether c hanges ar e s tated as new c ons titutions or ar e amendments /r ev is ions to ex is ting ones . A few c ountr ies inc luding C anada, Is r ael, and the U K hav e no s ingle c ons titution doc ument, but hav e v ar ious w r itten and unw r itten ac ts , s tatutes , c ommon law s , and pr ac tic es that, w hen tak en together , des c r ibe a body of fundamental pr inc iples or es tablis hed pr ec edents as to how their c ountr ies ar e gov er ned. Some s pec ial r egions ( H ong Kong, Mac au) and c ountr ies ( O man, Saudi Ar abia) us e the ter m “ bas ic law ” ins tead of c ons titution. A number of s elf- gov er ning dependenc ies and ter r itor ies s uc h as the C ay man Is lands , Ber muda, and G ibr altar ( U K) , G r eenland and F ar oe Is lands ( D enmar k ) , Ar uba, C ur ac ao, and Sint Maar ten ( N ether lands ) , and Puer to R ic o and the Vir gin Is lands ( U S) hav e their ow n c ons titutions . Contraceptive prevalence rate T his field giv es the per c ent of w omen of r epr oduc tiv e age ( 15- 49) w ho ar e mar r ied or in union and ar e us ing, or w hos e s ex ual par tner is us ing, a method of c ontr ac eption ac c or ding to the date of the mos t r ec ent av ailable data. T he c ontr ac eptiv e pr ev alenc e r ate is an indic ator of health s er v ic es , dev elopment, and w omen’s empow er ment. It is als o us eful in under s tanding, pas t, pr es ent, and futur e fer tility tr ends , es pec ially in dev eloping c ountr ies . Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) U T C is the inter national atomic time s c ale that s er v es as the bas is of timek eeping for mos t of the w or ld. T he hour s , minutes , and s ec onds ex pr es s ed by U T C r epr es ent the time of day at the Pr ime Mer idian ( 0º longitude) loc ated near G r eenw ic h, England as r ec k oned fr om midnight. U T C is c alc ulated by the Bur eau Inter national des Poids et Meas ur es ( BIPM) in Sev r es , F r anc e. T he BIPM av er ages data c ollec ted fr om mor e than 200 atomic time and fr equenc y s tandar ds loc ated at about 50 labor ator ies w or ldw ide. U T C is the bas is for all c iv il time w ith the Ear th div ided into time z ones ex pr es s ed as pos itiv e or negativ e differ enc es fr om U T C . U T C is als o r efer r ed to as " Z ulu time." See the Standar d T ime Z ones of the Wor ld map inc luded w ith the R ef eren ce Map s. Country data codes See D at a co d es. Country map Mos t v er s ions of the F ac tbook pr ov ide a c ountr y map in c olor . T he maps w er e pr oduc ed fr om the bes t infor mation av ailable at the time of pr epar ation. N ames and/or boundar ies may hav e c hanged s ubs equently . Country name T his entr y inc ludes all for ms of the c ountr y 's name appr ov ed by the U S Boar d on G eogr aphic N ames ( Italy is us ed as an ex ample) : c onv entional long for m ( Italian R epublic ) , c onv entional s hor t for m ( Italy ) , loc al long for m ( R epubblic a Italiana) , loc al s hor t for m ( Italia) , for mer ( Kingdom of Italy ) , as w ell as the abbr ev iation and the ety mology of the name. Als o s ee the T erm in o lo g y note. Crude oil - exports T his entr y is the total amount of c r ude oil ex por ted, in bar r els per day ( bbl/day ) . Crude oil - imports T his entr y is the total amount of c r ude oil impor ted, in bar r els per day ( bbl/day ) . Crude oil - production T his entr y is the total amount of c r ude oil pr oduc ed, in bar r els per day ( bbl/day ) . Crude oil - proved reserves T his entr y is the s toc k of pr ov ed r es er v es of c r ude oil, in bar r els ( bbl) . Pr ov ed r es er v es ar e thos e quantities of petr oleum w hic h, by analy s is of geologic al and engineer ing data, c an be es timated w ith a high degr ee of c onfidenc e to be c ommer c ially r ec ov er able fr om a giv en date for w ar d, fr om k now n r es er v oir s and under c ur r ent ec onomic c onditions . Current account balance T his entr y r ec or ds a c ountr y 's net tr ade in goods and s er v ic es , plus net ear nings fr om r ents , inter es t, pr ofits , and div idends , and net tr ans fer pay ments ( s uc h as pens ion funds and w or k er r emittanc es ) to and fr om the r es t of the w or ld dur ing the per iod s pec ified. T hes e figur es ar e c alc ulated on an ex c hange r ate bas is , i.e., not in pur c has ing pow er par ity ( PPP) ter ms . Data codes T his infor mation is pr es ented in Appendix D : C r os s - R efer enc e Lis t of C ountr y D ata C odes and Appendix E: C r os s - R efer enc e Lis t of H y dr ogr aphic D ata C odes. Date of information In gener al, infor mation av ailable as of J anuar y in a giv en y ear is us ed in the pr epar ation of the pr inted edition. Daylight Saving Time (DST) T his entr y is inc luded for thos e entities that hav e adopted a polic y of adjus ting the offic ial loc al time for w ar d, us ually one hour , fr om Standar d T ime dur ing s ummer months . Suc h polic ies ar e mos t c ommon in mid- latitude r egions . Death rate T his entr y giv es the av er age annual number of deaths dur ing a y ear per 1,000 population at midy ear ; als o k now n as c r ude death r ate. T he death r ate, w hile only a r ough indic ator of the mor tality s ituation in a c ountr y , ac c ur ately indic ates the c ur r ent mor tality impac t on population gr ow th. T his indic ator is s ignific antly affec ted by age dis tr ibution, and mos t c ountr ies w ill ev entually s how a r is e in the ov er all death r ate, in s pite of c ontinued dec line in mor tality at all ages , as dec lining fer tility r es ults in an aging population. Debt - external T his entr y giv es the total public and pr iv ate debt ow ed to nonr es idents r epay able in inter nationally ac c epted c ur r enc ies , goods , or s er v ic es . T hes e figur es ar e c alc ulated on an ex c hange r ate bas is , i.e., not in pur c has ing pow er par ity ( PPP) ter ms . Demographic profile T his entr y des c r ibes a c ountr y ’s k ey demogr aphic featur es and tr ends and how they v ar y among r egional, ethnic , and s oc ioec onomic s ub- populations . Some of the topic s addr es s ed ar e population age s tr uc tur e, fer tility , health, mor tality , pov er ty , educ ation, and migr ation. Dependency ratios D ependenc y r atios ar e a meas ur e of the age s tr uc tur e of a population. T hey r elate the number of indiv iduals that ar e lik ely to be ec onomic ally " dependent" on the s uppor t of other s . D ependenc y r atios c ontr as t the r atio of y ouths ( ages 0- 14) and the elder ly ( ages 65+) to the number of thos e in the w or k ing- age gr oup ( ages 15- 64) . C hanges in the dependenc y r atio pr ov ide an indic ation of potential s oc ial s uppor t r equir ements r es ulting fr om c hanges in population age s tr uc tur es . As fer tility lev els dec line, the dependenc y r atio initially falls bec aus e the pr opor tion of y ouths dec r eas es w hile the pr opor tion of the population of w or k ing age inc r eas es . As fer tility lev els c ontinue to dec line, dependenc y r atios ev entually inc r eas e bec aus e the pr opor tion of the population of w or k ing age s tar ts to dec line and the pr opor tion of elder ly per s ons c ontinues to inc r eas e. t o t al d ep en d en cy rat io - T he total dependenc y r atio is the r atio of c ombined y outh population ( ages 0- 14) and elder ly population ( ages 65+) per 100 people of w or k ing age ( ages 15- 64) . A high total dependenc y r atio indic ates that the w or k ing- age population and the ov er all ec onomy fac e a gr eater bur den to s uppor t and pr ov ide s oc ial s er v ic es for y outh and elder ly per s ons , w ho ar e often ec onomic ally dependent. yo u t h d ep en d en cy rat io - T he y outh dependenc y r atio is the r atio of the y outh population ( ages 0- 14) per 100 people of w or k ing age ( ages 15- 64) . A high y outh dependenc y r atio indic ates that a gr eater inv es tment needs to be made in s c hooling and other s er v ic es for c hildr en. eld erly d ep en d en cy rat io - T he elder ly dependenc y r atio is the r atio of the elder ly population ( ages 65+) per 100 people of w or k ing age ( ages 15- 64) . Inc r eas es in the elder ly dependenc y r atio put added pr es s ur e on gov er nments to fund pens ions and healthc ar e. p o t en t ial su p p o rt rat io - T he potential s uppor t r atio is the number of w or k ing- age people ( ages 15- 64) per one elder ly per s on ( ages 65+) . As a population ages , the potential s uppor t r atio tends to fall, meaning ther e ar e few er potential w or k er s to s uppor t the elder ly . Dependency status T his entr y des c r ibes the for mal r elations hip betw een a par tic ular nonindependent entity and an independent s tate. Dependent areas T his entr y c ontains an alphabetic al lis ting of all nonindependent entities as s oc iated in s ome w ay w ith a par tic ular independent s tate. Diplomatic representation T he U S G ov er nment has diplomatic r elations w ith 190 independent s tates , inc luding 188 of the 193 U N member s ( ex c luded U N member s ar e Bhutan, C uba, Ir an, N or th Kor ea, and the U S its elf) . In addition, the U S has diplomatic r elations w ith 2 independent s tates that ar e not in the U N , the H oly See and Kos ov o, as w ell as w ith the EU . Diplomatic representation from the US T his entr y inc ludes the c hief of mis s ion, embas s y addr es s , mailing addr es s, telephone number , F AX number , br anc h offic e loc ations , c ons ulate gener al loc ations , and c ons ulate loc ations . Diplomatic representation in the US T his entr y inc ludes the c hief of mis s ion, c hanc er y addr es s, telephone, F AX, c ons ulate gener al loc ations , and c ons ulate loc ations . T he us e of the annotated title Appointed Ambas s ador r efer s to a new ambas s ador w ho has pr es ented his /her c r edentials to the s ec r etar y of s tate but not the U S pr es ident. Suc h ambas s ador s fulfill all diplomatic func tions ex c ept meeting w ith or appear ing at func tions attended by the pr es ident until s uc h time as they for mally pr es ent their c r edentials at a White H ous e c er emony . Disputes - international T his entr y inc ludes a w ide v ar iety of s ituations that r ange fr om tr aditional bilater al boundar y dis putes to unilater al c laims of one s or t or another . Infor mation r egar ding dis putes ov er inter national ter r es tr ial and mar itime boundar ies has been r ev iew ed by the U S D epar tment of State. R efer enc es to other s ituations inv olv ing bor der s or fr ontier s may als o be inc luded, s uc h as r es our c e dis putes , geopolitic al ques tions , or ir r edentis t is s ues ; how ev er , inc lus ion does not nec es s ar ily c ons titute offic ial ac c eptanc e or r ec ognition by the U S G ov er nment. Distribution of family income - Gini index T his index meas ur es the degr ee of inequality in the dis tr ibution of family inc ome in a c ountr y . T he index is c alc ulated fr om the Lor enz c ur v e, in w hic h c umulativ e family inc ome is plotted agains t the number of families ar r anged fr om the poor es t to the r ic hes t. T he index is the r atio of ( a) the ar ea betw een a c ountr y 's Lor enz c ur v e and the 45 degr ee helping line to ( b) the entir e tr iangular ar ea under the 45 degr ee line. T he mor e near ly equal a c ountr y 's inc ome dis tr ibution, the c los er its Lor enz c ur v e to the 45 degr ee line and the low er its G ini index , e.g., a Sc andinav ian c ountr y w ith an index of 25. T he mor e unequal a c ountr y 's inc ome dis tr ibution, the far ther its Lor enz c ur v e fr om the 45 degr ee line and the higher its G ini index , e.g., a Sub- Sahar an c ountr y w ith an index of 50. If inc ome w er e dis tr ibuted w ith per fec t equality , the Lor enz c ur v e w ould c oinc ide w ith the 45 degr ee line and the index w ould be z er o; if inc ome w er e dis tr ibuted w ith per fec t inequality , the Lor enz c ur v e w ould c oinc ide w ith the hor iz ontal ax is and the r ight v er tic al ax is and the index w ould be 100. Drinking water source T his entr y pr ov ides infor mation about ac c es s to impr ov ed or unimpr ov ed dr ink ing w ater s our c es av ailable to s egments of the population of a c ountr y . Impr ov ed dr ink ing w ater - us e of any of the follow ing s our c es : piped w ater into dw elling, y ar d, or plot; public tap or s tandpipe; tubew ell or bor ehole; pr otec ted dug w ell; pr otec ted s pr ing; or r ainw ater c ollec tion. U nimpr ov ed dr ink ing w ater - us e of any of the follow ing s our c es : unpr otec ted dug w ell; unpr otec ted s pr ing; c ar t w ith s mall tank or dr um; tank er tr uc k ; s ur fac e w ater , w hic h inc ludes r iv er s , dams , lak es , ponds , s tr eams , c anals or ir r igation c hannels ; or bottled w ater . Economy T his c ategor y inc ludes the entr ies dealing w ith the s iz e, dev elopment, and management of pr oduc tiv e r es our c es , i.e., land, labor , and c apital. Economy - overview T his entr y br iefly des c r ibes the ty pe of ec onomy , inc luding the degr ee of mar k et or ientation, the lev el of ec onomic dev elopment, the mos t impor tant natur al r es our c es , and the unique ar eas of s pec ializ ation. It als o c har ac ter iz es major ec onomic ev ents and polic y c hanges in the mos t r ec ent 12 months and may inc lude a s tatement about one or tw o k ey futur e mac r oec onomic tr ends . Education expenditures T his entr y pr ov ides the public ex penditur e on educ ation as a per c ent of G D P. Electricity - access T his entr y pr ov ides infor mation on ac c es s to elec tr ic ity . Elec tr ific ation data – c ollec ted fr om indus tr y r epor ts , national s ur v ey s , and inter national s our c es – c ons is ts of four s ubfields . Population w ithout elec tr ic ity pr ov ides an es timate of the number of c itiz ens that do not hav e ac c es s to elec tr ic ity . Elec tr ific ation – total population is the per c ent of a c ountr y ’s total population w ith ac c es s to elec tr ic ity , elec tr ific ation – ur ban ar eas is the per c ent of a c ountr y ’s ur ban population w ith ac c es s to elec tr ic ity , w hile elec tr ific ation – r ur al ar eas is the per c ent of a c ountr y ’s r ur al population w ith ac c es s to elec tr ic ity . D ue to differ enc es in definitions and methodology fr om differ ent s our c es , data quality may v ar y fr om c ountr y to c ountr y . Electricity - consumption T his entr y c ons is ts of total elec tr ic ity gener ated annually plus impor ts and minus ex por ts , ex pr es s ed in k ilow att- hour s . T he dis c r epanc y betw een the amount of elec tr ic ity gener ated and/or impor ted and the amount c ons umed and/or ex por ted is ac c ounted for as los s in tr ans mis s ion and dis tr ibution. Electricity - exports T his entr y is the total ex por ted elec tr ic ity in k ilow att- hour s . Electricity - from fossil fuels T his entr y meas ur es the c apac ity of plants that gener ate elec tr ic ity by bur ning fos s il fuels ( s uc h as c oal, petr oleum pr oduc ts , and natur al gas ) , ex pr es s ed as a s har e of the c ountr y 's total gener ating c apac ity . Electricity - from hydroelectric plants T his entr y meas ur es the c apac ity of plants that gener ate elec tr ic ity by w ater - dr iv en tur bines , ex pr es s ed as a s har e of the c ountr y 's total gener ating c apac ity . Electricity - from nuclear fuels T his entr y meas ur es the c apac ity of plants that gener ate elec tr ic ity thr ough r adioac tiv e dec ay of nuc lear fuel, ex pr es s ed as a s har e of the c ountr y 's total gener ating c apac ity . Electricity - from other renewable sources T his entr y meas ur es the c apac ity of plants that gener ate elec tr ic ity by us ing r enew able ener gy s our c es other than hy dr oelec tr ic ( inc luding, for ex ample, w ind, w av es , s olar , and geother mal) , ex pr es s ed as a s har e of the c ountr y 's total gener ating c apac ity . Electricity - imports T his entr y is the total impor ted elec tr ic ity in k ilow att- hour s . Electricity - installed generating capacity T his entr y is the total c apac ity of c ur r ently ins talled gener ator s , ex pr es s ed in k ilow atts ( k W) , to pr oduc e elec tr ic ity . A 10k ilow att ( k W) gener ator w ill pr oduc e 10 k ilow att hour s ( k Wh) of elec tr ic ity , if it r uns c ontinuous ly for one hour . Electricity - production T his entr y is the annual elec tr ic ity gener ated ex pr es s ed in k ilow att- hour s . T he dis c r epanc y betw een the amount of elec tr ic ity gener ated and/or impor ted and the amount c ons umed and/or ex por ted is ac c ounted for as los s in tr ans mis s ion and dis tr ibution. Elevation T his entr y inc ludes both the mean elev ation and the elev ation ex tr emes. Energy T his c ategor y inc ludes entr ies dealing w ith the pr oduc tion, c ons umption, impor t, and ex por t of v ar ious for ms of ener gy inc luding elec tr ic ity , c r ude oil, r efined petr oleum pr oduc ts , and natur al gas . Entities Some of the independent s tates , dependenc ies , ar eas of s pec ial s ov er eignty , and gov er nments inc luded in this public ation ar e not independent, and other s ar e not offic ially r ec ogniz ed by the U S G ov er nment. " Independent s tate" r efer s to a people politic ally or ganiz ed into a s ov er eign s tate w ith a definite ter r itor y . " D ependenc ies " and " ar eas of s pec ial s ov er eignty " r efer to a br oad c ategor y of politic al entities that ar e as s oc iated in s ome w ay w ith an independent s tate. " C ountr y " names us ed in the table of c ontents or for page headings ar e us ually the s hor t- for m names as appr ov ed by the U S Boar d on G eogr aphic N ames and may inc lude independent s tates , dependenc ies , and ar eas of s pec ial s ov er eignty , or other geogr aphic entities . T her e ar e a total of 267 s epar ate geogr aphic entities in T he Wor ld F ac tbook that may be c ategor iz ed as follow s : IN D EPEN D EN T ST A T ES 195 Afghanis tan, Albania, Alger ia, Andor r a, Angola, Antigua and Bar buda, Ar gentina, Ar menia, Aus tr alia, Aus tr ia, Az er baijan, T he Bahamas , Bahr ain, Banglades h, Bar bados , Belar us , Belgium, Beliz e, Benin, Bhutan, Boliv ia, Bos nia and H er z egov ina, Bots w ana, Br az il, Br unei, Bulgar ia, Bur k ina F as o, Bur ma, Bur undi, C ambodia, C amer oon, C anada, C ape Ver de, C entr al Afr ic an R epublic , C had, C hile, C hina, C olombia, C omor os , D emoc r atic R epublic of the C ongo, R epublic of the C ongo, C os ta R ic a, C ote d'Iv oir e, C r oatia, C uba, C y pr us , C z ec hia, D enmar k , D jibouti, D ominic a, D ominic an R epublic , Ec uador , Egy pt, El Salv ador , Equator ial G uinea, Er itr ea, Es tonia, Ethiopia, F iji, F inland, F r anc e, G abon, T he G ambia, G eor gia, G er many , G hana, G r eec e, G r enada, G uatemala, G uinea, G uinea- Bis s au, G uy ana, H aiti, H oly See, H ondur as , H ungar y , Ic eland, India, Indones ia, Ir an, Ir aq, Ir eland, Is r ael, Italy , J amaic a, J apan, J or dan, Kaz ak hs tan, Keny a, Kir ibati, N or th Kor ea, South Kor ea, Kos ov o, Kuw ait, Ky r gy z s tan, Laos , Latv ia, Lebanon, Les otho, Liber ia, Liby a, Liec htens tein, Lithuania, Lux embour g, Mac edonia, Madagas c ar , Malaw i, Malay s ia, Maldiv es , Mali, Malta, Mar s hall Is lands , Maur itania, Maur itius , Mex ic o, F eder ated States of Mic r ones ia, Moldov a, Monac o, Mongolia, Montenegr o, Mor oc c o, Moz ambique, N amibia, N aur u, N epal, N ether lands , N Z , N ic ar agua, N iger , N iger ia, N or w ay , O man, Pak is tan, Palau, Panama, Papua N ew G uinea, Par aguay , Per u, Philippines , Poland, Por tugal, Q atar , R omania, R us s ia, R w anda, Saint Kitts and N ev is , Saint Luc ia, Saint Vinc ent and the G r enadines , Samoa, San Mar ino, Sao T ome and Pr inc ipe, Saudi Ar abia, Senegal, Ser bia, Sey c helles , Sier r a Leone, Singapor e, Slov ak ia, Slov enia, Solomon Is lands , Somalia, South Afr ic a, South Sudan, Spain, Sr i Lank a, Sudan, Sur iname, Sw az iland, Sw eden, Sw itz er land, Sy r ia, T ajik is tan, T anz ania, T hailand, T imor - Les te, T ogo, T onga, T r inidad and T obago, T unis ia, T ur k ey , T ur k menis tan, T uv alu, U ganda, U k r aine, U AE, U K, U S, U r uguay , U z bek is tan, Vanuatu, Venez uela, Vietnam, Yemen, Z ambia, Z imbabw e O T H ER 2 T aiw an, Eur opean U nion D EPEN D EN C IES A N D A R EA S O F SPEC IA L SO VER EIG N T Y 6 Aus tr alia - As hmor e and C ar tier Is lands , C hr is tmas Is land, C oc os ( Keeling) Is lands , C or al Sea Is lands , H ear d Is land and Mc D onald Is lands , N or folk Is land 2 C hina - H ong Kong, Mac au 2 D enmar k - F ar oe Is lands , G r eenland 8 F r anc e - C lipper ton Is land, F r enc h Poly nes ia, F r enc h Souther n and Antar c tic Lands , N ew C aledonia, Saint Bar thelemy , Saint Mar tin, Saint Pier r e and Miquelon, Wallis and F utuna 3 N ether lands - Ar uba, C ur ac ao, Sint Maar ten 3 N ew Z ealand - C ook Is lands , N iue, T ok elau 3 N or w ay - Bouv et Is land, J an May en, Sv albar d 17 U K - Ak r otir i, Anguilla, Ber muda, Br itis h Indian O c ean T er r itor y , Br itis h Vir gin Is lands , C ay man Is lands , D hek elia, F alk land Is lands , G ibr altar , G uer ns ey , J er s ey , Is le of Man, Monts er r at, Pitc air n Is lands , Saint H elena, South G eor gia and the South Sandw ic h Is lands , T ur k s and C aic os Is lands 14 U S - Amer ic an Samoa, Bak er Is land*, G uam, H ow land Is land*, J ar v is Is land*, J ohns ton Atoll*, Kingman R eef*, Midw ay Is lands *, N av as s a Is land, N or ther n Mar iana Is lands , Palmy r a Atoll*, Puer to R ic o, Vir gin Is lands , Wak e Is land ( * c ons olidated in U nited States Pac ific Is land Wildlife R efuges entr y ) MISC EL L A N EO U S 6 Antar c tic a, G az a Str ip, Par ac el Is lands , Spr atly Is lands , Wes t Bank , Wes ter n Sahar a O T H ER EN T IT IES 5 oc eans - Ar c tic O c ean, Atlantic O c ean, Indian O c ean, Pac ific O c ean, Souther n O c ean 1 Wor ld 267 t o t al Environment - current issues T his entr y lis ts the mos t pr es s ing and impor tant env ir onmental pr oblems . T he follow ing ter ms and abbr ev iations ar e us ed thr oughout the entr y : A cid if icat io n - the low er ing of s oil and w ater pH due to ac id pr ec ipitation and depos ition us ually thr ough pr ec ipitation; this pr oc es s dis r upts ec os y s tem nutr ient flow s and may k ill fr es hw ater fis h and plants dependent on mor e neutr al or alk aline c onditions ( s ee ac id r ain) . A cid rain - c har ac ter iz ed as c ontaining har mful lev els of s ulfur diox ide or nitr ogen ox ide; ac id r ain is damaging and potentially deadly to the ear th's fr agile ec os y s tems ; ac idity is meas ur ed us ing the pH s c ale w her e 7 is neutr al, v alues gr eater than 7 ar e c ons ider ed alk aline, and v alues below 5.6 ar e c ons ider ed ac id pr ec ipitation; note - a pH of 2.4 ( the ac idity of v inegar ) has been meas ur ed in r ainfall in N ew England. A ero so l - a c ollec tion of air bor ne par tic les dis per s ed in a gas , s mok e, or fog. A f f o rest at io n - c onv er ting a bar e or agr ic ultur al s pac e by planting tr ees and plants ; r efor es tation inv olv es r eplanting tr ees on ar eas that hav e been c ut or des tr oy ed by fir e. A sb est o s - a natur ally oc c ur r ing s oft fibr ous miner al c ommonly us ed in fir epr oofing mater ials and c ons ider ed to be highly c ar c inogenic in par tic ulate for m. B io d iversit y - als o biologic al div er s ity ; the r elativ e number of s pec ies , div er s e in for m and func tion, at the genetic , or ganis m, c ommunity , and ec os y s tem lev el; los s of biodiv er s ity r educ es an ec os y s tem's ability to r ec ov er fr om natur al or man- induc ed dis r uption. B io - in d icat o rs - a plant or animal s pec ies w hos e pr es enc e, abundanc e, and health r ev eal the gener al c ondition of its habitat. B io m ass - the total w eight or v olume of liv ing matter in a giv en ar ea or v olume. C arb o n cycle - the ter m us ed to des c r ibe the ex c hange of c ar bon ( in v ar ious for ms , e.g., as c ar bon diox ide) betw een the atmos pher e, oc ean, ter r es tr ial bios pher e, and geologic al depos its . C at ch m en t s - as s emblages us ed to c aptur e and r etain r ainw ater and r unoff; an impor tant w ater management tec hnique in ar eas w ith limited fr es hw ater r es our c es , s uc h as G ibr altar . D D T ( d ich lo ro - d ip h en yl- t rich lo ro - et h an e) - a c olor les s , odor les s ins ec tic ide that has tox ic effec ts on mos t animals ; the us e of D D T w as banned in the U S in 1972. D ef o lian t s - c hemic als w hic h c aus e plants to los e their leav es ar tific ially ; often us ed in agr ic ultur al pr ac tic es for w eed c ontr ol, and may hav e detr imental impac ts on human and ec os y s tem health. D ef o rest at io n - the des tr uc tion of v as t ar eas of for es t ( e.g., uns us tainable for es tr y pr ac tic es , agr ic ultur al and r ange land c lear ing, and the ov er ex ploitation of w ood pr oduc ts for us e as fuel) w ithout planting new gr ow th. D esert if icat io n - the s pr ead of des er t- lik e c onditions in ar id or s emi- ar id ar eas , due to ov er gr az ing, los s of agr ic ultur ally pr oduc tiv e s oils , or c limate c hange. D red g in g - the pr ac tic e of deepening an ex is ting w ater w ay ; als o, a tec hnique us ed for c ollec ting bottom- dw elling mar ine or ganis ms ( e.g., s hellfis h) or har v es ting c or al, often c aus ing s ignific ant des tr uc tion of r eef and oc ean- floor ec os y s tems . D rif t - n et f ish in g - done w ith a net, miles in ex tent, that is gener ally anc hor ed to a boat and left to float w ith the tide; often r es ults in an ov er har v es ting and w as te of lar ge populations of non- c ommer c ial mar ine s pec ies ( by - c atc h) by its effec t of " s w eeping the oc ean c lean." Eco syst em s - ec ologic al units c ompr is ed of c omplex c ommunities of or ganis ms and their s pec ific env ir onments . Ef f lu en t s - w as te mater ials , s uc h as s mok e, s ew age, or indus tr ial w as te w hic h ar e r eleas ed into the env ir onment, s ubs equently polluting it. En d an g ered sp ecies - a s pec ies that is thr eatened w ith ex tinc tion either by dir ec t hunting or habitat des tr uc tion. F resh w at er - w ater w ith v er y low s oluble miner al c ontent; s our c es inc lude lak es , s tr eams , r iv er s , glac ier s , and under gr ound aquifer s . G reen h o u se g as - a gas that " tr aps " infr ar ed r adiation in the low er atmos pher e c aus ing s ur fac e w ar ming; w ater v apor , c ar bon diox ide, nitr ous ox ide, methane, hy dr ofluor oc ar bons , and oz one ar e the pr imar y gr eenhous e gas es in the Ear th's atmos pher e. G ro u n d w at er - w ater s our c es found below the s ur fac e of the ear th often in natur ally oc c ur r ing r es er v oir s in per meable r oc k s tr ata; the s our c e for w ells and natur al s pr ings . H ig h lan d s Wat er Pro ject - a s er ies of dams c ons tr uc ted jointly by Les otho and South Afr ic a to r edir ec t Les otho's abundant w ater s upply into a r apidly gr ow ing ar ea in South Afr ic a; w hile it is the lar ges t infr as tr uc tur e pr ojec t in s outher n Afr ic a, it is als o the mos t c os tly and c ontr ov er s ial; objec tions to the pr ojec t inc lude c laims that it for c es people fr om their homes , s ubmer ges far mlands , and s quander s ec onomic r es our c es . In u it C ircu m p o lar C o n f eren ce ( IC C ) - r epr es ents the r oughly 150,000 Inuits of Alas k a, C anada, G r eenland, and R us s ia in inter national env ir onmental is s ues ; a G ener al As s embly c onv enes ev er y thr ee y ear s to deter mine the foc us of the IC C ; the mos t c ur r ent c onc er ns ar e long- r ange tr ans por t of pollutants , s us tainable dev elopment, and c limate c hange. Met allu rg ical p lan t s - indus tr ies w hic h s pec ializ e in the s c ienc e, tec hnology , and pr oc es s ing of metals ; thes e plants pr oduc e highly c onc entr ated and tox ic w as tes w hic h c an c ontr ibute to pollution of gr ound w ater and air w hen not pr oper ly dis pos ed. N o xio u s su b st an ces - injur ious , v er y har mful to liv ing beings . O verg raz in g - the gr az ing of animals on plant mater ial fas ter than it c an natur ally r egr ow leading to the per manent los s of plant c ov er , a c ommon effec t of too many animals gr az ing limited r ange land. O z o n e sh ield - a lay er of the atmos pher e c ompos ed of oz one gas ( O 3) that r es ides appr ox imately 25 miles abov e the Ear th's s ur fac e and abs or bs s olar ultr av iolet r adiation that c an be har mful to liv ing or ganis ms . Po ach in g - the illegal k illing of animals or fis h, a gr eat c onc er n w ith r es pec t to endanger ed or thr eatened s pec ies . Po llu t io n - the c ontamination of a healthy env ir onment by man- made w as te. Po t ab le w at er - w ater that is dr ink able, s afe to be c ons umed. Salin at io n - the pr oc es s thr ough w hic h fr es h ( dr ink able) w ater bec omes s alt ( undr ink able) w ater ; henc e, des alination is the r ev er s e pr oc es s ; als o inv olv es the ac c umulation of s alts in tops oil c aus ed by ev apor ation of ex c es s iv e ir r igation w ater , a pr oc es s that c an ev entually r ender s oil inc apable of s uppor ting c r ops . Silt at io n - oc c ur s w hen w ater c hannels and r es er v oir s bec ome c lotted w ith s ilt and mud, a s ide effec t of defor es tation and s oil er os ion. Slash - an d - b u rn ag ricu lt u re - a r otating c ultiv ation tec hnique in w hic h tr ees ar e c ut dow n and bur ned in or der to c lear land for tempor ar y agr ic ultur e; the land is us ed until its pr oduc tiv ity dec lines at w hic h point a new plot is s elec ted and the pr oc es s r epeats ; this pr ac tic e is s us tainable w hile population lev els ar e low and time is per mitted for r egr ow th of natur al v egetation; c onv er s ely , w her e thes e c onditions do not ex is t, the pr ac tic e c an hav e dis as tr ous c ons equenc es for the env ir onment. So il d eg rad at io n - damage to the land's pr oduc tiv e c apac ity bec aus e of poor agr ic ultur al pr ac tic es s uc h as the ex c es s iv e us e of pes tic ides or fer tiliz er s , s oil c ompac tion fr om heav y equipment, or er os ion of tops oil, ev entually r es ulting in r educ ed ability to pr oduc e agr ic ultur al pr oduc ts . So il ero sio n - the r emov al of s oil by the ac tion of w ater or w ind, c ompounded by poor agr ic ultur al pr ac tic es , defor es tation, ov er gr az ing, and des er tific ation. U lt ravio let ( U V) rad iat io n - a por tion of the elec tr omagnetic ener gy emitted by the s un and natur ally filter ed in the upper atmos pher e by the oz one lay er ; U V r adiation c an be har mful to liv ing or ganis ms and has been link ed to inc r eas ing r ates of s k in c anc er in humans . Wat erb o rn e d iseases - thos e in w hic h bac ter ia s ur v iv e in, and ar e tr ans mitted thr ough, w ater ; alw ay s a s er ious thr eat in ar eas w ith an untr eated w ater s upply . Environment - international agreements T his entr y s epar ates c ountr y par tic ipation in inter national env ir onmental agr eements into tw o lev els - par ty to and s igned, but not r atified. Agr eements ar e lis ted in alphabetic al or der by the abbr ev iated for m of the full name. Environmental agreements T his infor mation is pr es ented in Appendix C : Selec ted Inter national Env ir onmental Agr eements, w hic h inc ludes the name, abbr ev iation, date opened for s ignatur e, date enter ed into for c e, objec tiv e, and par ties by c ategor y . Ethnic groups T his entr y pr ov ides an or der ed lis ting of ethnic gr oups s tar ting w ith the lar ges t and nor mally inc ludes the per c ent of total population. Exchange rates T his entr y pr ov ides the av er age annual pr ic e of a c ountr y 's monetar y unit for the time per iod s pec ified, ex pr es s ed in units of loc al c ur r enc y per U S dollar , as deter mined by inter national mar k et for c es or by offic ial fiat. T he Inter national O r ganiz ation for Standar diz ation ( ISO ) 4217 alphabetic c ur r enc y c ode for the national medium of ex c hange is pr es ented in par enthes is . C los ing daily ex c hange r ates ar e not pr es ented in T he Wor ld F ac tbook, but ar e us ed to c onv er t s toc k v alues - e.g., the mar k et v alue of public ly tr aded s har es - to U S dollar s as of the s pec ified date. Executive branch T his entr y inc ludes fiv e s ubentr ies : c hief of s tate; head of gov er nment; c abinet; elec tions /appointments ; elec tion r es ults. C hief of s tate inc ludes the name, title, and beginning date in offic e of the titular leader of the c ountr y w ho r epr es ents the s tate at offic ial and c er emonial func tions but may not be inv olv ed w ith the day - to- day ac tiv ities of the gov er nment. H ead of gov er nment inc ludes the name, title of the top ex ec utiv e des ignated to manage the ex ec utiv e br anc h of the gov er nment, and the beginning date in offic e. C abinet inc ludes the offic ial name of the ex ec utiv e br anc h’s high- r ank ing body and the method of member s elec tion. Elec tions /appointments inc ludes the pr oc es s for ac c es s ion to offic e, date of the las t elec tion, and date of the nex t elec tion. Elec tion r es ults inc ludes eac h c andidate's politic al affiliation, per c ent of dir ec t popular v ote or indir ec t legis lativ e/par liamentar y per c ent v ote or v ote c ount in the las t elec tion. T he ex ec utiv e br anc hes in appr ox imately 80% of the w or ld's c ountr ies hav e s epar ate c hiefs of s tate and heads of gov er nment; for the r emainder , the c hief of s tate is als o the head of gov er nment, s uc h as in Ar gentina, Keny a, the Philippines , the U S, and Venez uela. C hiefs of s tate in jus t ov er 100 c ountr ies ar e dir ec tly elec ted, mos t by major ity popular v ote; thos e in another 55 ar e indir ec tly elec ted by their national legis latur es , par liaments , or elec tor al c olleges . Another 29 c ountr ies hav e a monar c h as the c hief of s tate. In dependenc ies , ter r itor ies , and c ollec tiv ities of s ov er eign c ountr ies - ex c ept thos e of the U S - r epr es entativ es ar e appointed to s er v e as c hiefs of s tate. H eads of gov er nment in the major ity of c ountr ies ar e appointed either by the pr es ident or the monar c h or s elec ted by the major ity par ty in the legis lativ e body . Ex c luding c ountr ies w her e the c hief of s tate is als o head of gov er nment, in only a few c ountr ies is the head of gov er nment dir ec tly elec ted thr ough popular v ote. Mos t of the w or ld's c ountr ies hav e c abinets , the major ity of w hic h ar e appointed by the c hief of s tate or pr ime minis ter , many in c ons ultation w ith eac h other or w ith the legis latur e. C abinets in only about a doz en c ountr ies ar e elec ted s olely by their legis lativ e bodies . Exports T his entr y pr ov ides the total U S dollar amount of mer c handis e ex por ts on an f.o.b. ( fr ee on boar d) bas is . T hes e figur es ar e c alc ulated on an ex c hange r ate bas is , i.e., not in pur c has ing pow er par ity ( PPP) ter ms . Exports - commodities T his entr y pr ov ides a lis ting of the highes t- v alued ex por ted pr oduc ts ; it s ometimes inc ludes the per c ent of total dollar v alue. Exports - partners T his entr y pr ov ides a r ank or der ing of tr ading par tner s s tar ting w ith the mos t impor tant; it s ometimes inc ludes the per c ent of total dollar v alue. Fiscal year T his entr y identifies the beginning and ending months for a c ountr y 's ac c ounting per iod of 12 months , w hic h often is the c alendar y ear but w hic h may begin in any month. All y ear ly r efer enc es ar e for the c alendar y ear ( C Y) unles s indic ated as a nonc alendar fis c al y ear ( F Y) . Flag description T his entr y pr ov ides a w r itten flag des c r iption pr oduc ed fr om ac tual flags or the bes t infor mation av ailable at the time the entr y w as w r itten. T he flags of independent s tates ar e us ed by their dependenc ies unles s ther e is an offic ially r ec ogniz ed loc al flag. Some dis puted and other ar eas do not hav e flags . Flag graphic Mos t v er s ions of the F ac tbook inc lude a c olor flag at the beginning of the c ountr y pr ofile. T he flag gr aphic s w er e pr oduc ed fr om ac tual flags or the bes t infor mation av ailable at the time of pr epar ation. T he flags of independent s tates ar e us ed by their dependenc ies unles s ther e is an offic ially r ec ogniz ed loc al flag. Some dis puted and other ar eas do not hav e flags . GDP (official exchange rate) T his entr y giv es the gr os s domes tic pr oduc t ( G D P) or v alue of all final goods and s er v ic es pr oduc ed w ithin a nation in a giv en y ear . A nation's G D P at offic ial ex c hange r ates ( O ER ) is the home- c ur r enc y - denominated annual G D P figur e div ided by the bilater al av er age U S ex c hange r ate w ith that c ountr y in that y ear . T he meas ur e is s imple to c ompute and giv es a pr ec is e meas ur e of the v alue of output. Many ec onomis ts pr efer this meas ur e w hen gauging the ec onomic pow er an ec onomy maintains v is - à- v is its neighbor s , judging that an ex c hange r ate c aptur es the pur c has ing pow er a nation enjoy s in the inter national mar k etplac e. O ffic ial ex c hange r ates , how ev er , c an be ar tific ially fix ed and/or s ubjec t to manipulation - r es ulting in c laims of the c ountr y hav ing an under - or ov er - v alued c ur r enc y - and ar e not nec es s ar ily the equiv alent of a mar k et- deter mined ex c hange r ate. Mor eov er , ev en if the offic ial ex c hange r ate is mar k et- deter mined, mar k et ex c hange r ates ar e fr equently es tablis hed by a r elativ ely s mall s et of goods and s er v ic es ( the ones the c ountr y tr ades ) and may not c aptur e the v alue of the lar ger s et of goods the c ountr y pr oduc es . F ur ther mor e, O ER - c onv er ted G D P is not w ell s uited to c ompar ing domes tic G D P ov er time, s inc e appr ec iation/depr ec iation fr om one y ear to the nex t w ill mak e the O ER G D P v alue r is e/fall r egar dles s of w hether homec ur r enc y - denominated G D P c hanged. GDP (purchasing power parity) T his entr y giv es the gr os s domes tic pr oduc t ( G D P) or v alue of all final goods and s er v ic es pr oduc ed w ithin a nation in a giv en y ear . A nation's G D P at pur c has ing pow er par ity ( PPP) ex c hange r ates is the s um v alue of all goods and s er v ic es pr oduc ed in the c ountr y v alued at pr ic es pr ev ailing in the U nited States in the y ear noted. T his is the meas ur e mos t ec onomis ts pr efer w hen look ing at per - c apita w elfar e and w hen c ompar ing liv ing c onditions or us e of r es our c es ac r os s c ountr ies . T he meas ur e is diffic ult to c ompute, as a U S dollar v alue has to be as s igned to all goods and s er v ic es in the c ountr y r egar dles s of w hether thes e goods and s er v ic es hav e a dir ec t equiv alent in the U nited States ( for ex ample, the v alue of an ox - c ar t or non- U S militar y equipment) ; as a r es ult, PPP es timates for s ome c ountr ies ar e bas ed on a s mall and s ometimes differ ent s et of goods and s er v ic es . In addition, many c ountr ies do not for mally par tic ipate in the Wor ld Bank 's PPP pr ojec t that c alc ulates thes e meas ur es , s o the r es ulting G D P es timates for thes e c ountr ies may lac k pr ec is ion. F or many dev eloping c ountr ies , PPP- bas ed G D P meas ur es ar e multiples of the offic ial ex c hange r ate ( O ER ) meas ur e. T he differ enc es betw een the O ER - and PPPdenominated G D P v alues for mos t of the w ealthy indus tr ializ ed c ountr ies ar e gener ally muc h s maller . GDP - composition, by end use T his entr y s how s w ho does the s pending in an ec onomy : c ons umer s , bus ines s es , gov er nment, and for eigner s . T he dis tr ibution giv es the per c entage c ontr ibution to total G D P of hous ehold c ons umption, gov er nment c ons umption, inv es tment in fix ed c apital, inv es tment in inv entor ies , ex por ts of goods and s er v ic es , and impor ts of goods and s er v ic es, and w ill total 100 per c ent of G D P if the data ar e c omplete. h o u seh o ld co n su m p t io n c ons is ts of ex penditur es by r es ident hous eholds , and by nonpr ofit ins titutions that s er v e hous eholds , on goods and s er v ic es that ar e c ons umed by indiv iduals . T his inc ludes c ons umption of both domes tic ally pr oduc ed and for eign goods and s er v ic es . g o vern m en t co n su m p t io n c ons is ts of gov er nment ex penditur es on goods and s er v ic es . T hes e figur es ex c lude gov er nment tr ans fer pay ments , s uc h as inter es t on debt, unemploy ment, and s oc ial s ec ur ity , s inc e s uc h pay ments ar e not made in ex c hange for goods and s er v ic es s upplied. in vest m en t in f ixed cap it al c ons is ts of total bus ines s s pending on fix ed as s ets , s uc h as fac tor ies , mac hiner y , equipment, dw ellings , and inv entor ies of r aw mater ials , w hic h pr ov ide the bas is for futur e pr oduc tion. It is meas ur ed gr os s of the depr ec iation of the as s ets , i.e., it inc ludes inv es tment that mer ely r eplac es w or n- out or s c r apped c apital. Ear lier editions of T he Wor ld F ac tbook r efer r ed to this c onc ept as Inv es tment ( gr os s fix ed) and that data now hav e been mov ed to this new field. in vest m en t in in ven t o ries c ons is ts of net c hanges to the s toc k of outputs that ar e s till held by the units that pr oduc e them, aw aiting fur ther s ale to an end us er , s uc h as automobiles s itting on a dealer ’s lot or gr oc er ies on the s tor e s helv es . T his figur e may be pos itiv e or negativ e. If the s toc k of uns old output inc r eas es dur ing the r elev ant time per iod, inv es tment in inv entor ies is pos itiv e, but, if the s toc k of uns old goods dec lines , it w ill be negativ e. Inv es tment in inv entor ies nor mally is an ear ly indic ator of the s tate of the ec onomy . If the s toc k of uns old items inc r eas es unex pec tedly – bec aus e people s top buy ing - the ec onomy may be enter ing a r ec es s ion; but if the s toc k of uns old items falls - and goods " go fly ing off the s helv es " - bus ines s es nor mally tr y to r eplac e thos e s toc k s , and the ec onomy is lik ely to ac c eler ate. exp o rt s o f g o o d s an d services c ons is t of s ales , bar ter , gifts , or gr ants of goods and s er v ic es fr om r es idents to nonr es idents . im p o rt s o f g o o d s an d services c ons is t of pur c has es , bar ter , or r ec eipts of gifts , or gr ants of goods and s er v ic es by r es idents fr om nonr es idents . Ex por ts ar e tr eated as a pos itiv e item, w hile impor ts ar e tr eated as a negativ e item. In a pur ely ac c ounting s ens e, impor ts hav e no dir ec t impac t on G D P, w hic h only meas ur es output of the domes tic ec onomy . Impor ts ar e enter ed as a negativ e item to offs et the fac t that the ex penditur e figur es for c ons umption, inv es tment, gov er nment, and ex por ts als o inc lude ex penditur es on impor ts . T hes e impor ts c ontr ibute dir ec tly to for eign G D P but only indir ec tly to domes tic G D P. Bec aus e of this negativ e offs et for impor ts of goods and s er v ic es , the s um of the other fiv e items , ex c luding impor ts , w ill alw ay s total mor e than 100 per c ent of G D P. A s ur plus of ex por ts of goods and s er v ic es ov er impor ts indic ates an ec onomy is inv es ting abr oad, w hile a defic it indic ates an ec onomy is bor r ow ing fr om abr oad. GDP - composition, by sector of origin T his entr y s how s w her e pr oduc tion tak es plac e in an ec onomy . T he dis tr ibution giv es the per c entage c ontr ibution of agr ic ultur e, indus tr y , and s er v ic es to total G D P, and w ill total 100 per c ent of G D P if the data ar e c omplete. Agr ic ultur e inc ludes far ming, fis hing, and for es tr y . Indus tr y inc ludes mining, manufac tur ing, ener gy pr oduc tion, and c ons tr uc tion. Ser v ic es c ov er gov er nment ac tiv ities , c ommunic ations , tr ans por tation, financ e, and all other pr iv ate ec onomic ac tiv ities that do not pr oduc e mater ial goods . GDP - per capita (PPP) T his entr y s how s G D P on a pur c has ing pow er par ity bas is div ided by population as of 1 J uly for the s ame y ear . GDP - real growth rate T his entr y giv es G D P gr ow th on an annual bas is adjus ted for inflation and ex pr es s ed as a per c ent. T he gr ow th r ates ar e y ear ov er - y ear , and not c ompounded. GDP methodology In the Eco n o m y c ategor y , G D P dollar es timates for c ountr ies ar e r epor ted both on an offic ial ex c hange r ate ( O ER ) and a pur c has ing pow er par ity ( PPP) bas is . Both meas ur es c ontain infor mation that is us eful to the r eader . T he PPP method inv olv es the us e of s tandar diz ed inter national dollar pr ic e w eights , w hic h ar e applied to the quantities of final goods and s er v ic es pr oduc ed in a giv en ec onomy . T he data der iv ed fr om the PPP method pr obably pr ov ide the bes t av ailable s tar ting point for c ompar is ons of ec onomic s tr ength and w ell- being betw een c ountr ies . In c ontr as t, the c ur r enc y ex c hange r ate method inv olv es a v ar iety of inter national and domes tic financ ial for c es that may not c aptur e the v alue of domes tic output. Wher eas PPP es timates for O EC D c ountr ies ar e quite r eliable, PPP es timates for dev eloping c ountr ies ar e often r ough appr ox imations . In dev eloping c ountr ies w ith w eak c ur r enc ies , the ex c hange r ate es timate of G D P in dollar s is ty pic ally one- four th to one- half the PPP es timate. Mos t of the G D P es timates for dev eloping c ountr ies ar e bas ed on ex tr apolation of PPP number s publis hed by the U N Inter national C ompar is on Pr ogr am ( U N IC P) and by Pr ofes s or s R ober t Summer s and Alan H es ton of the U niv er s ity of Penns y lv ania and their c olleagues . G D P der iv ed us ing the O ER method s hould be us ed for the pur pos e of c alc ulating the s har e of items s uc h as ex por ts , impor ts , militar y ex penditur es , ex ter nal debt, or the c ur r ent ac c ount balanc e, bec aus e the dollar v alues pr es ented in the F ac tbook for thes e items hav e been c onv er ted at offic ial ex c hange r ates , not at PPP. O ne s hould us e the O ER G D P figur e to c alc ulate the pr opor tion of, s ay , C hines e defens e ex penditur es in G D P, bec aus e that s har e w ill be the s ame as one c alc ulated in loc al c ur r enc y units . C ompar is on of O ER G D P w ith PPP G D P may als o indic ate w hether a c ur r enc y is ov er - or under - v alued. If O ER G D P is s maller than PPP G D P, the offic ial ex c hange r ate may be under v alued, and v ic e v er s a. H ow ev er , ther e is no s tr ong his tor ic al ev idenc e that mar k et ex c hange r ates mov e in the dir ec tion implied by the PPP r ate, at leas t not in the s hor t- or medium- ter m. N ote: the number s for G D P and other ec onomic data s hould not be c hained together fr om s uc c es s iv e v olumes of the F ac tbook bec aus e of c hanges in the U S dollar meas ur ing r od, r ev is ions of data by s tatis tic al agenc ies , us e of new or differ ent s our c es of infor mation, and c hanges in national s tatis tic al methods and pr ac tic es . Geographic coordinates T his entr y inc ludes r ounded latitude and longitude figur es for the c entr oid or c enter point of a c ountr y ex pr es s ed in degr ees and minutes ; it is bas ed on the loc ations pr ov ided in the G eogr aphic N ames Ser v er ( G N S) , maintained by the N ational G eos patialIntelligenc e Agenc y on behalf of the U S Boar d on G eogr aphic N ames . Geographic names T his infor mation is pr es ented in Appendix F : C r os s R efer enc e Lis t of G eogr aphic N ames. It inc ludes a lis ting of v ar ious alter nate names , for mer names , loc al names , and r egional names r efer enc ed to one or mor e r elated F ac tbook entr ies . Spellings ar e nor mally , but not alw ay s , thos e appr ov ed by the U S Boar d on G eogr aphic N ames ( BG N ) . Alter nate names and additional infor mation ar e inc luded in par enthes es . Geography T his c ategor y inc ludes the entr ies dealing w ith the natur al env ir onment and the effec ts of human ac tiv ity . Geography - note T his entr y inc ludes mis c ellaneous geogr aphic infor mation of s ignific anc e not inc luded els ew her e. Gini index See entr y for D ist rib u t io n o f f am ily in co m e - G in i in d ex GNP G r os s national pr oduc t ( G N P) is the v alue of all final goods and s er v ic es pr oduc ed w ithin a nation in a giv en y ear , plus inc ome ear ned by its c itiz ens abr oad, minus inc ome ear ned by for eigner s fr om domes tic pr oduc tion. T he F ac tbook , follow ing c ur r ent pr ac tic e, us es G D P r ather than G N P to meas ur e national pr oduc tion. H ow ev er , the us er mus t r ealiz e that in c er tain c ountr ies net r emittanc es fr om c itiz ens w or k ing abr oad may be impor tant to national w ell- being. Government T his c ategor y inc ludes the entr ies dealing w ith the s y s tem for the adoption and adminis tr ation of public polic y . Government - note T his entr y inc ludes mis c ellaneous gov er nment infor mation of s ignific anc e not inc luded els ew her e. Government type T his entr y giv es the bas ic for m of gov er nment. D efinitions of the major gov er nmental ter ms ar e as follow s . ( N ote that for s ome c ountr ies mor e than one definition applies .) : A b so lu t e m o n arch y - a for m of gov er nment w her e the monar c h r ules unhinder ed, i.e., w ithout any law s , c ons titution, or legally or ganiz ed oppos ition. A n arch y - a c ondition of law les s nes s or politic al dis or der br ought about by the abs enc e of gov er nmental author ity . A u t h o rit arian - a for m of gov er nment in w hic h s tate author ity is impos ed onto many as pec ts of c itiz ens ' liv es . C o m m o n w ealt h - a nation, s tate, or other politic al entity founded on law and united by a c ompac t of the people for the c ommon good. C o m m u n ist - a s y s tem of gov er nment in w hic h the s tate plans and c ontr ols the ec onomy and a s ingle - often author itar ian par ty holds pow er ; s tate c ontr ols ar e impos ed w ith the elimination of pr iv ate ow ner s hip of pr oper ty or c apital w hile c laiming to mak e pr ogr es s tow ar d a higher s oc ial or der in w hic h all goods ar e equally s har ed by the people ( i.e., a c las s les s s oc iety ) . C o n f ed eracy ( C o n f ed erat io n ) - a union by c ompac t or tr eaty betw een s tates , pr ov inc es , or ter r itor ies , that c r eates a c entr al gov er nment w ith limited pow er s ; the c ons tituent entities r etain s upr eme author ity ov er all matter s ex c ept thos e delegated to the c entr al gov er nment. C o n st it u t io n al - a gov er nment by or oper ating under an author itativ e doc ument ( c ons titution) that s ets for th the s y s tem of fundamental law s and pr inc iples that deter mines the natur e, func tions , and limits of that gov er nment. C o n st it u t io n al d em o cracy - a for m of gov er nment in w hic h the s ov er eign pow er of the people is s pelled out in a gov er ning c ons titution. C o n st it u t io n al m o n arch y - a s y s tem of gov er nment in w hic h a monar c h is guided by a c ons titution w her eby his /her r ights , duties , and r es pons ibilities ar e s pelled out in w r itten law or by c us tom. D em o cracy - a for m of gov er nment in w hic h the s upr eme pow er is r etained by the people, but w hic h is us ually ex er c is ed indir ec tly thr ough a s y s tem of r epr es entation and delegated author ity per iodic ally r enew ed. D em o crat ic rep u b lic - a s tate in w hic h the s upr eme pow er r es ts in the body of c itiz ens entitled to v ote for offic er s and r epr es entativ es r es pons ible to them. D ict at o rsh ip - a for m of gov er nment in w hic h a r uler or s mall c lique w ield abs olute pow er ( not r es tr ic ted by a c ons titution or law s ) . Ecclesiast ical - a gov er nment adminis tr ated by a c hur c h. Em irat e - s imilar to a monar c hy or s ultanate, but a gov er nment in w hic h the s upr eme pow er is in the hands of an emir ( the r uler of a Mus lim s tate) ; the emir may be an abs olute ov er lor d or a s ov er eign w ith c ons titutionally limited author ity . F ed eral ( F ed erat io n ) - a for m of gov er nment in w hic h s ov er eign pow er is for mally div ided - us ually by means of a c ons titution betw een a c entr al author ity and a number of c ons tituent r egions ( s tates , c olonies , or pr ov inc es ) s o that eac h r egion r etains s ome management of its inter nal affair s ; differ s fr om a c onfeder ac y in that the c entr al gov er nment ex er ts influenc e dir ec tly upon both indiv iduals as w ell as upon the r egional units . F ed eral rep u b lic - a s tate in w hic h the pow er s of the c entr al gov er nment ar e r es tr ic ted and in w hic h the c omponent par ts ( s tates , c olonies , or pr ov inc es ) r etain a degr ee of s elf- gov er nment; ultimate s ov er eign pow er r es ts w ith the v oter s w ho c hos e their gov er nmental r epr es entativ es . Islam ic rep u b lic - a par tic ular for m of gov er nment adopted by s ome Mus lim s tates ; although s uc h a s tate is , in theor y , a theoc r ac y , it r emains a r epublic , but its law s ar e r equir ed to be c ompatible w ith the law s of Is lam. Mao ism - the theor y and pr ac tic e of Mar x is m- Leninis m dev eloped in C hina by Mao Z edong ( Mao T s e- tung) , w hic h s tates that a c ontinuous r ev olution is nec es s ar y if the leader s of a c ommunis t s tate ar e to k eep in touc h w ith the people. Marxism - the politic al, ec onomic , and s oc ial pr inc iples es pous ed by 19th c entur y ec onomis t Kar l Mar x ; he v iew ed the s tr uggle of w or k er s as a pr ogr es s ion of his tor ic al for c es that w ould pr oc eed fr om a c las s s tr uggle of the pr oletar iat ( w or k er s ) ex ploited by c apitalis ts ( bus ines s ow ner s ) , to a s oc ialis t " dic tator s hip of the pr oletar iat," to, finally , a c las s les s s oc iety - C ommunis m. Marxism - L en in ism - an ex panded for m of c ommunis m dev eloped by Lenin fr om doc tr ines of Kar l Mar x ; Lenin s aw imper ialis m as the final s tage of c apitalis m and s hifted the foc us of w or k er s ' s tr uggle fr om dev eloped to under dev eloped c ountr ies . Mo n arch y - a gov er nment in w hic h the s upr eme pow er is lodged in the hands of a monar c h w ho r eigns ov er a s tate or ter r itor y , us ually for life and by her editar y r ight; the monar c h may be either a s ole abs olute r uler or a s ov er eign - s uc h as a k ing, queen, or pr inc e - w ith c ons titutionally limited author ity . O lig arch y - a gov er nment in w hic h c ontr ol is ex er c is ed by a s mall gr oup of indiv iduals w hos e author ity gener ally is bas ed on w ealth or pow er . Parliam en t ary d em o cracy - a politic al s y s tem in w hic h the legis latur e ( par liament) s elec ts the gov er nment - a pr ime minis ter , pr emier , or c hanc ellor along w ith the c abinet minis ter s - ac c or ding to par ty s tr ength as ex pr es s ed in elec tions ; by this s y s tem, the gov er nment ac quir es a dual r es pons ibility : to the people as w ell as to the par liament. Parliam en t ary g o vern m en t ( C ab in et - Parliam en t ary g o vern m en t ) - a gov er nment in w hic h member s of an ex ec utiv e br anc h ( the c abinet and its leader - a pr ime minis ter , pr emier , or c hanc ellor ) ar e nominated to their pos itions by a legis latur e or par liament, and ar e dir ec tly r es pons ible to it; this ty pe of gov er nment c an be dis s olv ed at w ill by the par liament ( legis latur e) by means of a no c onfidenc e v ote or the leader of the c abinet may dis s olv e the par liament if it c an no longer func tion. Parliam en t ary m o n arch y - a s tate headed by a monar c h w ho is not ac tiv ely inv olv ed in polic y for mation or implementation ( i.e., the ex er c is e of s ov er eign pow er s by a monar c h in a c er emonial c apac ity ) ; tr ue gov er nmental leader s hip is c ar r ied out by a c abinet and its head - a pr ime minis ter , pr emier , or c hanc ellor - w ho ar e dr aw n fr om a legis latur e ( par liament) . Presid en t ial - a s y s tem of gov er nment w her e the ex ec utiv e br anc h ex is ts s epar ately fr om a legis latur e ( to w hic h it is gener ally not ac c ountable) . R ep u b lic - a r epr es entativ e democ r ac y in w hic h the people's elec ted deputies ( r epr es entativ es ) , not the people thems elv es , v ote on legis lation. So cialism - a gov er nment in w hic h the means of planning, pr oduc ing, and dis tr ibuting goods is c ontr olled by a c entr al gov er nment that theor etic ally s eek s a mor e jus t and equitable dis tr ibution of pr oper ty and labor ; in ac tuality , mos t s oc ialis t gov er nments hav e ended up being no mor e than dic tator s hips ov er w or k er s by a r uling elite. Su lt an at e - s imilar to a monar c hy , but a gov er nment in w hic h the s upr eme pow er is in the hands of a s ultan ( the head of a Mus lim s tate) ; the s ultan may be an abs olute r uler or a s ov er eign w ith c ons titutionally limited author ity . T h eo cracy - a for m of gov er nment in w hic h a D eity is r ec ogniz ed as the s upr eme c iv il r uler , but the D eity 's law s ar e inter pr eted by ec c les ias tic al author ities ( bis hops , mullahs , etc .) ; a gov er nment s ubjec t to r eligious author ity . T o t alit arian - a gov er nment that s eek s to s ubor dinate the indiv idual to the s tate by c ontr olling not only all politic al and ec onomic matter s , but als o the attitudes , v alues , and beliefs of its population. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) T he mean s olar time at the G r eenw ic h Mer idian, G r eenw ic h, England, w ith the hour s and day s , s inc e 1925, r ec k oned fr om midnight. G MT is now a his tor ic al ter m hav ing been r eplac ed by U T C on 1 J anuar y 1972. See C o o rd in at ed U n iversal T im e. Gross domestic product See G D P Gross national product See G N P Gross national saving G r os s national s av ing is der iv ed by deduc ting final c ons umption ex penditur e ( hous ehold plus gov er nment) fr om G r os s national dis pos able inc ome, and c ons is ts of per s onal s av ing, plus bus ines s s av ing ( the s um of the c apital c ons umption allow anc e and r etained bus ines s pr ofits ) , plus gov er nment s av ing ( the ex c es s of tax r ev enues ov er ex penditur es ) , but ex c ludes for eign s av ing ( the ex c es s of impor ts of goods and s er v ic es ov er ex por ts ) . T he figur es ar e pr es ented as a per c ent of G D P. A negativ e number indic ates that the ec onomy as a w hole is s pending mor e inc ome than it pr oduc es , thus dr aw ing dow n national w ealth ( dis s av ing) . Gross world product See G WP GWP T his entr y giv es the gr os s w or ld pr oduc t ( G WP) or aggr egate v alue of all final goods and s er v ic es pr oduc ed w or ldw ide in a giv en y ear . Health expenditures T his entr y pr ov ides the total ex penditur e on health as a per c entage of G D P. H ealth ex penditur es ar e br oadly defined as ac tiv ities per for med either by ins titutions or indiv iduals thr ough the applic ation of medic al, par amedic al, and/or nur s ing k now ledge and tec hnology , the pr imar y pur pos e of w hic h is to pr omote, r es tor e, or maintain health. Heliports T his entr y giv es the total number of helipor ts w ith har d- s ur fac e r unw ay s , helipads , or landing ar eas that s uppor t r outine s us tained helic opter oper ations ex c lus iv ely and hav e s uppor t fac ilities inc luding one or mor e of the follow ing fac ilities : lighting, fuel, pas s enger handling, or maintenanc e. It inc ludes for mer air por ts us ed ex c lus iv ely for helic opter oper ations but ex c ludes helipor ts limited to day oper ations and natur al c lear ings that c ould s uppor t helic opter landings and tak eoffs . HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate T his entr y giv es an es timate of the per c entage of adults ( aged 15- 49) liv ing w ith H IV/AID S. T he adult pr ev alenc e r ate is c alc ulated by div iding the es timated number of adults liv ing w ith H IV/AID S at y ear end by the total adult population at y ear end. HIV/AIDS - deaths T his entr y giv es an es timate of the number of adults and c hildr en w ho died of AID S dur ing a giv en c alendar y ear . HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS T his entr y giv es an es timate of all people ( adults and c hildr en) aliv e at y ear end w ith H IV infec tion, w hether or not they hav e dev eloped s y mptoms of AID S. Hospital bed density T his entr y pr ov ides the number of hos pital beds per 1,000 people; it s er v es as a gener al meas ur e of inpatient s er v ic e av ailability . H os pital beds inc lude inpatient beds av ailable in public , pr iv ate, gener al, and s pec ializ ed hos pitals and r ehabilitation c enter s . In mos t c as es , beds for both ac ute and c hr onic c ar e ar e inc luded. Bec aus e the lev el of inpatient s er v ic es r equir ed for indiv idual c ountr ies depends on s ev er al fac tor s - s uc h as demogr aphic is s ues and the bur den of dis eas e - ther e is no global tar get for the number of hos pital beds per c ountr y . So, w hile 2 beds per 1,000 in one c ountr y may be s uffic ient, 2 beds per 1,000 in another may be w oefully inadequate bec aus e of the number of people hos pitaliz ed by dis eas e. Household income or consumption by percentage share D ata on hous ehold inc ome or c ons umption c ome fr om hous ehold s ur v ey s , the r es ults adjus ted for hous ehold s iz e. N ations us e differ ent s tandar ds and pr oc edur es in c ollec ting and adjus ting the data. Sur v ey s bas ed on inc ome w ill nor mally s how a mor e unequal dis tr ibution than s ur v ey s bas ed on c ons umption. T he quality of s ur v ey s is impr ov ing w ith time, y et c aution is s till nec es s ar y in mak ing inter - c ountr y c ompar is ons . Hydrographic data codes See D at a co d es Illicit drugs T his entr y giv es infor mation on the fiv e c ategor ies of illic it dr ugs - nar c otic s , s timulants , depr es s ants ( s edativ es ) , halluc inogens , and c annabis . T hes e c ategor ies inc lude many dr ugs legally pr oduc ed and pr es c r ibed by doc tor s as w ell as thos e illegally pr oduc ed and s old outs ide of medic al c hannels . C an n ab is ( C annabis s ativ a) is the c ommon hemp plant, w hic h pr ov ides halluc inogens w ith s ome s edativ e pr oper ties , and inc ludes mar ijuana ( pot, Ac apulc o gold, gr as s , r eefer ) , tetr ahy dr oc annabinol ( T H C , Mar inol) , has his h ( has h) , and has his h oil ( has h oil) . C o ca ( mos tly Er y thr ox y lum c oc a) is a bus h w ith leav es that c ontain the s timulant us ed to mak e c oc aine. C oc a is not to be c onfus ed w ith c oc oa, w hic h c omes fr om c ac ao s eeds and is us ed in mak ing c hoc olate, c oc oa, and c oc oa butter . C o cain e is a s timulant der iv ed fr om the leav es of the c oc a bus h. D ep ressan t s ( s edativ es ) ar e dr ugs that r educ e tens ion and anx iety and inc lude c hlor al hy dr ate, bar bitur ates ( Amy tal, N embutal, Sec onal, phenobar bital) , benz odiaz epines ( Libr ium, Valium) , methaqualone ( Q uaalude) , glutethimide ( D or iden) , and other s ( Equanil, Plac idy l, Valmid) . D ru g s ar e any c hemic al s ubs tanc es that effec t a phy s ic al, mental, emotional, or behav ior al c hange in an indiv idual. D ru g ab u se is the us e of any lic it or illic it c hemic al s ubs tanc e that r es ults in phy s ic al, mental, emotional, or behav ior al impair ment in an indiv idual. H allu cin o g en s ar e dr ugs that affec t s ens ation, think ing, s elf- aw ar enes s , and emotion. H alluc inogens inc lude LSD ( ac id, mic r odot) , mes c aline and pey ote ( mex c , buttons , c ac tus ) , amphetamine v ar iants ( PMA, ST P, D O B) , phenc y c lidine ( PC P, angel dus t, hog) , phenc y c lidine analogues ( PC E, PC Py , T C P) , and other s ( ps iloc y bin, ps iloc y n) . H ash ish is the r es inous ex udate of the c annabis or hemp plant (C annabis s ativ a) . H ero in is a s emis y nthetic der iv ativ e of mor phine. Man d rax is a tr ade name for methaqualone, a phar mac eutic al depr es s ant. Mariju an a is the dr ied leaf of the c annabis or hemp plant (C annabis s ativ a) . Met h aq u alo n e is a phar mac eutic al depr es s ant, r efer r ed to as mandr ax in Southw es t As ia and Afr ic a. N arco t ics ar e dr ugs that r eliev e pain, often induc e s leep, and r efer to opium, opium der iv ativ es , and s y nthetic s ubs titutes . N atur al nar c otic s inc lude opium ( par egor ic , par epec tolin) , mor phine ( MS- C ontin, R ox anol) , c odeine ( T y lenol w ith c odeine, Empir in w ith c odeine, R obitus s in AC ) , and thebaine. Semis y nthetic nar c otic s inc lude her oin ( hor s e, s mac k ) , and hy dr omor phone ( D ilaudid) . Sy nthetic nar c otic s inc lude meper idine or Pethidine ( D emer ol, Meper gan) , methadone ( D olophine, Methados e) , and other s ( D ar v on, Lomotil) . O p iu m is the br ow n, gummy ex udate of the inc is ed, unr ipe s eedpod of the opium poppy . O p iu m p o p p y ( Papav er s omnifer um) is the s our c e for the natur al and s emis y nthetic nar c otic s . Po p p y st raw is the entir e c ut and dr ied opium poppy - plant mater ial, other than the s eeds . O pium is ex tr ac ted fr om poppy s tr aw in c ommer c ial oper ations that pr oduc e the dr ug for medic al us e. Q at ( k at, k hat) is a s timulant fr om the buds or leav es of C atha edulis that is c hew ed or dr unk as tea. Q u aalu d es is the N or th Amer ic an s lang ter m for methaqualone, a phar mac eutic al depr es s ant. St im u lan t s ar e dr ugs that r eliev e mild depr es s ion, inc r eas e ener gy and ac tiv ity , and inc lude c oc aine ( c ok e, s now , c r ac k ) , amphetamines ( D es ox y n, D ex edr ine) , ephedr ine, ec s tas y ( c lar ity , es s enc e, doc tor , Adam) , phenmetr az ine ( Pr eludin) , methy lphenidate ( R italin) , and other s ( C y ler t, Sanor ex , T enuate) . Imports T his entr y pr ov ides the total U S dollar amount of mer c handis e impor ts on a c .i.f. ( c os t, ins ur anc e, and fr eight) or f.o.b. ( fr ee on boar d) bas is . T hes e figur es ar e c alc ulated on an ex c hange r ate bas is , i.e., not in pur c has ing pow er par ity ( PPP) ter ms . Imports - commodities T his entr y pr ov ides a lis ting of the highes t- v alued impor ted pr oduc ts ; it s ometimes inc ludes the per c ent of total dollar v alue. Imports - partners T his entr y pr ov ides a r ank or der ing of tr ading par tner s s tar ting w ith the mos t impor tant; it s ometimes inc ludes the per c ent of total dollar v alue. Independence F or mos t c ountr ies , this entr y giv es the date that s ov er eignty w as ac hiev ed and fr om w hic h nation, empir e, or tr us tees hip. F or the other c ountr ies , the date giv en may not r epr es ent " independenc e" in the s tr ic t s ens e, but r ather s ome s ignific ant nationhood ev ent s uc h as the tr aditional founding date or the date of unific ation, feder ation, c onfeder ation, es tablis hment, fundamental c hange in the for m of gov er nment, or s tate s uc c es s ion. F or a number of c ountr ies , the es tablis hment of s tatehood w as a lengthy ev olutionar y pr oc es s oc c ur r ing ov er dec ades or ev en c entur ies . In s uc h c as es , s ev er al s ignific ant dates ar e c ited. D ependent ar eas inc lude the notation " none" follow ed by the natur e of their dependenc y s tatus . Als o s ee the T erm in o lo g y note. Industrial production growth rate T his entr y giv es the annual per c entage inc r eas e in indus tr ial pr oduc tion ( inc ludes manufac tur ing, mining, and c ons tr uc tion) . Industries T his entr y pr ov ides a r ank or der ing of indus tr ies s tar ting w ith the lar ges t by v alue of annual output. Infant mortality rate T his entr y giv es the number of deaths of infants under one y ear old in a giv en y ear per 1,000 liv e bir ths in the s ame y ear . T his r ate is often us ed as an indic ator of the lev el of health in a c ountr y . Inflation rate (consumer prices) T his entr y fur nis hes the annual per c ent c hange in c ons umer pr ic es c ompar ed w ith the pr ev ious y ear 's c ons umer pr ic es . International disputes s ee D isp u t es - in t ern at io n al International law organization participation T his entr y inc ludes infor mation on a c ountr y 's ac c eptanc e of jur is dic tion of the Inter national C our t of J us tic e ( IC J ) and of the Inter national C r iminal C our t ( IC C t) ; 55 c ountr ies hav e ac c epted IC J jur is dic tion w ith r es er v ations and 11 hav e ac c epted IC J jur is dic tion w ithout r es er v ations ; 114 c ountr ies hav e ac c epted IC C t jur is dic tion. Appendix B: Inter national O r ganiz ations and G r oups ex plains the differ ing mandates of the IC J and IC C t. International organization participation T his entr y lis ts in alphabetic al or der by abbr ev iation thos e inter national or ganiz ations in w hic h the s ubjec t c ountr y is a member or par tic ipates in s ome other w ay . International organizations T his infor mation is pr es ented in Appendix B: Inter national O r ganiz ations and G r oups w hic h inc ludes the name, abbr ev iation, date es tablis hed, aim, and member s by c ategor y . Internet country code T his entr y inc ludes the tw o- letter c odes maintained by the Inter national O r ganiz ation for Standar diz ation ( ISO ) in the ISO 3166 Alpha- 2 lis t and us ed by the Inter net As s igned N umber s Author ity ( IAN A) to es tablis h c ountr y - c oded top- lev el domains ( c c T LD s ) . Internet users T his entr y giv es the total number of indiv iduals w ithin a c ountr y w ho c an ac c es s the Inter net at home, v ia any dev ic e ty pe ( c omputer or mobile) and c onnec tion. T he per c ent of population w ith Inter net ac c es s ( i.e., the penetr ation r ate) helps gauge how w ides pr ead Inter net us e is w ithin a c ountr y . Statis tic s v ar y fr om c ountr y to c ountr y and may inc lude us er s w ho ac c es s the Inter net at leas t s ev er al times a w eek to thos e w ho ac c es s it only onc e w ithin a per iod of s ev er al months . Introduction T his c ategor y inc ludes one entr y , B ackg ro u n d . Investment (gross fixed) T his entr y r ec or ds total bus ines s s pending on fix ed as s ets , s uc h as fac tor ies , mac hiner y , equipment, dw ellings , and inv entor ies of r aw mater ials , w hic h pr ov ide the bas is for futur e pr oduc tion. It is meas ur ed gr os s of the depr ec iation of the as s ets , i.e., it inc ludes inv es tment that mer ely r eplac es w or n- out or s c r apped c apital. Irrigated land T his entr y giv es the number of s quar e k ilometer s of land ar ea that is ar tific ially s upplied w ith w ater . Judicial branch T his entr y inc ludes thr ee s ubfields . T he highes t c our t( s ) s ubfield inc ludes the name( s ) of a c ountr y 's highes t lev el c our t( s ) , the number and titles of the judges , and the ty pes of c as es hear d by the c our t, w hic h c ommonly ar e bas ed on c iv il, c r iminal, adminis tr ativ e, and c ons titutional law . A number of c ountr ies hav e s epar ate c ons titutional c our ts . T he judge s elec tion and ter m of offic e s ubfield inc ludes the or ganiz ations and as s oc iated offic ials r es pons ible for nominating and appointing judges , and a br ief des c r iption of the pr oc es s . T he s elec tion pr oc es s c an be indic ativ e of the independenc e of a c ountr y 's c our t s y s tem fr om other br anc hes of its gov er nment. Als o inc luded in this s ubfield ar e judges ' tenur es , w hic h c an r ange fr om a few y ear s , to a s pec ified r etir ement age, to lifelong appointments . T he s ubor dinate c our ts s ubfield lis ts the c our ts low er in the hier ar c hy of a c ountr y 's c our t s y s tem. A few c ountr ies w ith feder al- s ty le gov er nments , s uc h as Br az il, C anada, and the U S, in addition to their feder al c our t, hav e s epar ate s tate- or pr ov inc e- lev el c our t s y s tems , though gener ally the tw o s y s tems inter ac t. Labor force T his entr y c ontains the total labor for c e figur e. Labor force - by occupation T his entr y lis ts the per c entage dis tr ibution of the labor for c e by s ec tor of oc c upation. Agr ic ultur e inc ludes far ming, fis hing, and for es tr y . Indus tr y inc ludes mining, manufac tur ing, ener gy pr oduc tion, and c ons tr uc tion. Ser v ic es c ov er gov er nment ac tiv ities , c ommunic ations , tr ans por tation, financ e, and all other ec onomic ac tiv ities that do not pr oduc e mater ial goods . T he dis tr ibution w ill total les s than 100 per c ent if the data ar e inc omplete and may r ange fr om 99- 101 per c ent due to r ounding. Land boundaries T his entr y c ontains the total length of all land boundar ies and the indiv idual lengths for eac h of the c ontiguous bor der c ountr ies. When av ailable, offic ial lengths publis hed by national s tatis tic al agenc ies ar e us ed. Bec aus e s ur v ey ing methods may differ , c ountr y bor der lengths r epor ted by c ontiguous c ountr ies may differ . Land use T his entr y c ontains the per c entage s har es of total land ar ea for thr ee differ ent ty pes of land us e: agr ic ultur al land, for es t, and other ; agr ic ultur al land is fur ther div ided into ar able land - land c ultiv ated for c r ops lik e w heat, maiz e, and r ic e that ar e r eplanted after eac h har v es t, per manent c r ops - land c ultiv ated for c r ops lik e c itr us , c offee, and r ubber that ar e not r eplanted after eac h har v es t, and inc ludes land under flow er ing s hr ubs , fr uit tr ees , nut tr ees , and v ines , and per manent pas tur es and meadow s – land us ed for at leas t fiv e y ear s or mor e to gr ow her bac eous for age, either c ultiv ated or gr ow ing natur ally ; for es t ar ea is land s panning mor e than 0.5 hec tar e w ith tr ees higher than fiv e meter s and a c anopy c ov er of mor e than 10% to inc lude w indbr eak s , s helter belts , and c or r idor s of tr ees gr eater than 0.5 hec tar e and at leas t 20 m w ide; land c las s ified as other inc ludes built- up ar eas , r oads and other tr ans por tation featur es , bar r en land, or w as teland. Languages T his entr y pr ov ides a lis ting of languages s pok en in eac h c ountr y and s pec ifies any that ar e offic ial national or r egional languages . When data is av ailable, the languages s pok en in eac h c ountr y ar e br ok en dow n ac c or ding to the per c ent of the total population s peak ing eac h language as a fir s t language. F or thos e c ountr ies w ithout av ailable data, languages ar e lis ted in r ank or der bas ed on pr ev alenc e, s tar ting w ith the mos t- s pok en language. Legal system T his entr y pr ov ides the des c r iption of a c ountr y 's legal s y s tem. A s tatement on judic ial r ev iew of legis lativ e ac ts is als o inc luded for a number of c ountr ies . T he legal s y s tems of near ly all c ountr ies ar e gener ally modeled upon elements of fiv e main ty pes : c iv il law ( inc luding F r enc h law , the N apoleonic C ode, R oman law , R oman- D utc h law , and Spanis h law ) ; c ommon law ( inc luding U nited State law ) ; c us tomar y law ; mix ed or plur alis tic law ; and r eligious law ( inc luding Is lamic law ) . An additional ty pe of legal s y s tem - inter national law , w hic h gov er ns the c onduc t of independent nations in their r elations hips w ith one another - is als o addr es s ed below . T he follow ing lis t des c r ibes thes e legal s y s tems , the c ountr ies or w or ld r egions w her e thes e s y s tems ar e enfor c ed, and a br ief s tatement on the or igins and major featur es of eac h. C ivil L aw - T he mos t w ides pr ead ty pe of legal s y s tem in the w or ld, applied in v ar ious for ms in appr ox imately 150 c ountr ies . Als o r efer r ed to as Eur opean c ontinental law , the c iv il law s y s tem is der iv ed mainly fr om the R oman C or pus J ur is C iv ilus, ( Body of C iv il Law ) , a c ollec tion of law s and legal inter pr etations c ompiled under the Eas t R oman ( By z antine) Emper or J us tinian I betw een A.D . 528 and 565. T he major featur e of c iv il law s y s tems is that the law s ar e or ganiz ed into s y s tematic w r itten c odes . In c iv il law the s our c es r ec ogniz ed as author itativ e ar e pr inc ipally legis lation - es pec ially c odific ations in c ons titutions or s tatutes enac ted by gov er nments - and s ec ondar ily , c us tom. T he c iv il law s y s tems in s ome c ountr ies ar e bas ed on mor e than one c ode. C o m m o n L aw - A ty pe of legal s y s tem, often s y nony mous w ith " Englis h c ommon law ," w hic h is the s y s tem of England and Wales in the U K, and is als o in for c e in appr ox imately 80 c ountr ies for mer ly par t of or influenc ed by the for mer Br itis h Empir e. Englis h c ommon law r eflec ts Biblic al influenc es as w ell as r emnants of law s y s tems impos ed by ear ly c onquer or s inc luding the R omans , Anglo- Sax ons , and N or mans . Some legal s c holar s attr ibute the for mation of the Englis h c ommon law s y s tem to King H enr y II ( r .1154- 1189) . U ntil the time of his r eign, law s c us tomar y among England's v ar ious manor ial and ec c les ias tic al ( c hur c h) jur is dic tions w er e adminis ter ed loc ally . H enr y II es tablis hed the k ing's c our t and des ignated that law s w er e " c ommon" to the entir e Englis h r ealm. T he foundation of Englis h c ommon law is " legal pr ec edent" - r efer r ed to as s tar e dec is is, meaning " to s tand by things dec ided." In the Englis h c ommon law s y s tem, c our t judges ar e bound in their dec is ions in lar ge par t by the r ules and other doc tr ines dev eloped - and s upplemented ov er time - by the judges of ear lier Englis h c our ts . C u st o m ary L aw - A ty pe of legal s y s tem that s er v es as the bas is of, or has influenc ed, the pr es ent- day law s in appr ox imately 40 c ountr ies - mos tly in Afr ic a, but s ome in the Pac ific is lands , Eur ope, and the N ear Eas t. C us tomar y law is als o r efer r ed to as " pr imitiv e law ," " unw r itten law ," " indigenous law ," and " folk law ." T her e is no s ingle his tor y of c us tomar y law s uc h as that found in R oman c iv il law , Englis h c ommon law , Is lamic law , or the N apoleonic C iv il C ode. T he ear lies t s y s tems of law in human s oc iety w er e c us tomar y , and us ually dev eloped in s mall agr ar ian and hunter - gather er c ommunities . As the ter m implies , c us tomar y law is bas ed upon the c us toms of a c ommunity . C ommon attr ibutes of c us tomar y legal s y s tems ar e that they ar e s eldom w r itten dow n, they embody an or ganiz ed s et of r ules r egulating s oc ial r elations , and they ar e agr eed upon by member s of the c ommunity . Although s uc h law s y s tems inc lude s anc tions for law infr ac tions , r es olution tends to be r ec onc iliator y r ather than punitiv e. A number of Afr ic an s tates pr ac tic ed c us tomar y law many c entur ies pr ior to c olonial influenc es . F ollow ing c oloniz ation, s uc h law s w er e w r itten dow n and inc or por ated to v ar y ing ex tents into the legal s y s tems impos ed by their c olonial pow er s . Eu ro p ean U n io n L aw - A s ub- dis c ipline of inter national law k now n as " s upr anational law " in w hic h the r ights of s ov er eign nations ar e limited in r elation to one another . Als o r efer r ed to as the Law of the Eur opean U nion or C ommunity Law , it is the unique and c omplex legal s y s tem that oper ates in tandem w ith the law s of the 27 member s tates of the Eur opean U nion ( EU ) . Similar to feder al s tates , the EU legal s y s tem ens ur es c omplianc e fr om the member s tates bec aus e of the U nion's dec entr aliz ed politic al natur e. T he Eur opean C our t of J us tic e ( EC J ) , es tablis hed in 1952 by the T r eaty of Par is , has been lar gely r es pons ible for the dev elopment of EU law . F undamental pr inc iples of Eur opean U nion law inc lude: s ubs idiar ity - the notion that is s ues be handled by the s malles t, low es t, or leas t c entr aliz ed c ompetent author ity ; pr opor tionality - the EU may only ac t to the ex tent needed to ac hiev e its objec tiv es ; c onfer r al - the EU is a union of member s tates , and all its author ities ar e v oluntar ily gr anted by its member s ; legal c er tainty - r equir es that legal r ules be c lear and pr ec is e; and pr ec autionar y pr inc iple - a mor al and politic al pr inc iple s tating that if an ac tion or polic y might c aus e s ev er e or ir r ev er s ible har m to the public or to the env ir onment, in the abs enc e of a s c ientific c ons ens us that har m w ould not ens ue, the bur den of pr oof falls on thos e w ho w ould adv oc ate tak ing the ac tion. F ren ch L aw - A ty pe of c iv il law that is the legal s y s tem of F r anc e. T he F r enc h s y s tem als o s er v es as the bas is for , or is mix ed w ith, other legal s y s tems in appr ox imately 50 c ountr ies , notably in N or th Afr ic a, the N ear Eas t, and the F r enc h ter r itor ies and dependenc ies . F r enc h law is pr imar ily c odified or s y s tematic w r itten c iv il law . Pr ior to the F r enc h R ev olution ( 1789- 1799) , F r anc e had no s ingle national legal s y s tem. Law s in the nor ther n ar eas of pr es ent- day F r anc e w er e mos tly loc al c us toms bas ed on pr iv ileges and ex emptions gr anted by k ings and feudal lor ds , w hile in the s outher n ar eas R oman law pr edominated. T he intr oduc tion of the N apoleonic C iv il C ode dur ing the r eign of N apoleon I in the fir s t dec ade of the 19th c entur y br ought major r efor ms to the F r enc h legal s y s tem, many of w hic h r emain par t of F r anc e's c ur r ent legal s tr uc tur e, though all hav e been ex tens iv ely amended or r edr afted to addr es s a moder n nation. F r enc h law dis tinguis hes betw een " public law " and " pr iv ate law ." Public law r elates to gov er nment, the F r enc h C ons titution, public adminis tr ation, and c r iminal law . Pr iv ate law c ov er s is s ues betw een pr iv ate c itiz ens or c or por ations . T he mos t r ec ent c hanges to the F r enc h legal s y s tem - intr oduc ed in the 1980s - w er e the dec entr aliz ation law s , w hic h tr ans fer r ed author ity fr om c entr ally appointed gov er nment r epr es entativ es to loc ally elec ted r epr es entativ es of the people. In t ern at io n al L aw - T he law of the inter national c ommunity , or the body of c us tomar y r ules and tr eaty r ules ac c epted as legally binding by s tates in their r elations w ith eac h other . Inter national law differ s fr om other legal s y s tems in that it pr imar ily c onc er ns s ov er eign politic al entities . T her e ar e thr ee s epar ate dis c iplines of inter national law : public inter national law , w hic h gov er ns the r elations hip betw een pr ov inc es and inter national entities and inc ludes tr eaty law , law of the s ea, inter national c r iminal law , and inter national humanitar ian law ; pr iv ate inter national law , w hic h addr es s es legal jur is dic tion; and s upr anational law - a legal fr amew or k w her ein c ountr ies ar e bound by r egional agr eements in w hic h the law s of the member c ountr ies ar e held inapplic able w hen in c onflic t w ith s upr anational law s . At pr es ent the Eur opean U nion is the only entity under a s upr anational legal s y s tem. T he ter m " inter national law " w as c oined by J er emy Bentham in 1780 in his Pr inc iples of Mor als and Legis lation, though law s gov er ning r elations betw een s tates hav e been r ec ogniz ed fr om v er y ear ly times ( many c entur ies B.C .) . Moder n inter national law dev eloped alongs ide the emer genc e and gr ow th of the Eur opean nation- s tates beginning in the ear ly 16th c entur y . O ther fac tor s that influenc ed the dev elopment of inter national law inc luded the r ev iv al of legal s tudies , the gr ow th of inter national tr ade, and the pr ac tic e of ex c hanging emis s ar ies and es tablis hing legations . T he s our c es of Inter national law ar e s et out in Ar tic le 38- 1 of the Statute of the Inter national C our t of J us tic e w ithin the U N C har ter . Islam ic L aw - T he mos t w ides pr ead ty pe of r eligious law , it is the legal s y s tem enfor c ed in ov er 30 c ountr ies , par tic ular ly in the N ear Eas t, but als o in C entr al and South As ia, Afr ic a, and Indones ia. In many c ountr ies Is lamic law oper ates in tandem w ith a c iv il law s y s tem. Is lamic law is embodied in the s har ia, an Ar abic w or d meaning " the r ight path." Shar ia c ov er s all as pec ts of public and pr iv ate life and or ganiz es them into fiv e c ategor ies : obligator y , r ec ommended, per mitted, dis lik ed, and for bidden. T he pr imar y s our c es of s har ia law ar e the Q ur 'an, believ ed by Mus lims to be the w or d of G od r ev ealed to the Pr ophet Muhammad by the angel G abr iel, and the Sunnah, the teac hings of the Pr ophet and his w or k s . In addition to thes e tw o pr imar y s our c es , tr aditional Sunni Mus lims r ec ogniz e the c ons ens us of Muhammad's c ompanions and Is lamic jur is ts on c er tain is s ues , c alled ijmas , and v ar ious for ms of r eas oning, inc luding analogy by legal s c holar s , r efer r ed to as qiy as . Shia Mus lims r ejec t ijmas and qiy as as s our c es of s har ia law . Mixed L aw - Als o r efer r ed to as plur alis tic law , mix ed law c ons is ts of elements of s ome or all of the other main ty pes of legal s y s tems - c iv il, c ommon, c us tomar y , and r eligious . T he mix ed legal s y s tems of a number of c ountr ies c ame about w hen c olonial pow er s ov er laid their ow n legal s y s tems upon c oloniz ed r egions but r etained elements of the c olonies ' ex is ting legal s y s tems . N ap o leo n ic C ivil C o d e - A ty pe of c iv il law , r efer r ed to as the C iv il C ode or C ode C iv il des F r anc ais, for ms par t of the legal s y s tem of F r anc e, and under pins the legal s y s tems of Boliv ia, Egy pt, Lebanon, Poland, and the U S s tate of Louis iana. T he C iv il C ode w as es tablis hed under N apoleon I, enac ted in 1804, and offic ially des ignated the C ode N apoleon in 1807. T his legal s y s tem c ombined the T eutonic c iv il law tr adition of the nor ther n pr ov inc es of F r anc e w ith the R oman law tr adition of the s outher n and eas ter n r egions of the c ountr y . T he C iv il C ode bear s s imilar ities in its ar r angement to the R oman Body of C iv il Law ( s ee C iv il Law abov e) . As enac ted in 1804, the C ode addr es s ed per s onal s tatus , pr oper ty , and the ac quis ition of pr oper ty . C odes added ov er the follow ing s ix y ear s inc luded c iv il pr oc edur es , c ommer c ial law , c r iminal law and pr oc edur es , and a penal c ode. R elig io u s L aw - A legal s y s tem w hic h s tems fr om the s ac r ed tex ts of r eligious tr aditions and in mos t c as es pr ofes s es to c ov er all as pec ts of life as a s eamles s par t of dev otional obligations to a tr ans c endent, imminent, or deep philos ophic al r eality . Implied as the bas is of r eligious law is the c onc ept of unalter ability , bec aus e the w or d of G od c annot be amended or legis lated agains t by judges or gov er nments . H ow ev er , a detailed legal s y s tem gener ally r equir es human elabor ation. T he main ty pes of r eligious law ar e s har ia in Is lam, halak ha in J udais m, and c anon law in s ome C hr is tian gr oups . Shar ia is the mos t w ides pr ead r eligious legal s y s tem ( s ee Is lamic Law ) , and is the s ole s y s tem of law for c ountr ies inc luding Ir an, the Maldiv es , and Saudi Ar abia. N o c ountr y is fully gov er ned by halak ha, but J ew is h people may dec ide to s ettle dis putes thr ough J ew is h c our ts and be bound by their r ulings . C anon law is not a div ine law as s uc h bec aus e it is not found in r ev elation. It is v iew ed ins tead as human law ins pir ed by the w or d of G od and apply ing the demands of that r ev elation to the ac tual s ituation of the c hur c h. C anon law r egulates the inter nal or der ing of the R oman C atholic C hur c h, the Eas ter n O r thodox C hur c h, and the Anglic an C ommunion. R o m an L aw - A ty pe of c iv il law dev eloped in anc ient R ome and pr ac tic ed fr om the time of the c ity 's founding ( tr aditionally 753 B.C .) until the fall of the Wes ter n Empir e in the 5th c entur y A.D . R oman law r emained the legal s y s tem of the By z antine ( Eas ter n Empir e) until the fall of C ons tantinople in 1453. Pr es er v ed fr agments of the fir s t legal tex t, k now n as the Law of the T w elv e T ables , dating fr om the 5th c entur y B.C ., c ontained s pec ific pr ov is ions des igned to c hange the pr ev ailing c us tomar y law . Ear ly R oman law w as dr aw n fr om c us tom and s tatutes ; later , dur ing the time of the empir e, emper or s as s er ted their author ity as the ultimate s our c e of law . T he bas is for R oman law s w as the idea that the ex ac t for m - not the intention - of w or ds or of ac tions pr oduc ed legal c ons equenc es . It w as only in the late 6th c entur y A.D . that a c ompr ehens iv e R oman c ode of law s w as publis hed ( s ee C iv il Law abov e) . R oman law s er v ed as the bas is of law s y s tems dev eloped in a number of c ontinental Eur opean c ountr ies . R o m an - D u t ch L aw - A ty pe of c iv il law bas ed on R oman law as applied in the N ether lands . R oman- D utc h law s er v es as the bas is for legal s y s tems in s ev en Afr ic an c ountr ies , as w ell as G uy ana, Indones ia, and Sr i Lank a. T his law s y s tem, w hic h or iginated in the pr ov inc e of H olland and ex panded thr oughout the N ether lands ( to be r eplac ed by the F r enc h C iv il C ode in 1809) , w as ins tituted in a number of s ub- Sahar an Afr ic an c ountr ies dur ing the D utc h c olonial per iod. T he D utc h jur is t/philos opher H ugo G r otius w as the fir s t to attempt to r educ e R oman- D utc h c iv il law into a s y s tem in his J ur is pr udenc e of H olland ( w r itten 1619- 20, c ommentar y publis hed 1621) . T he D utc h his tor ian/law y er Simon v an Leeuw en c oined the ter m " R oman- D utc h law " in 1652. Sp an ish L aw - A ty pe of c iv il law , often r efer r ed to as the Spanis h C iv il C ode, it is the pr es ent legal s y s tem of Spain and is the bas is of legal s y s tems in 12 c ountr ies mos tly in C entr al and South Amer ic a, but als o in s outhw es ter n Eur ope, nor ther n and w es ter n Afr ic a, and s outheas ter n As ia. T he Spanis h C iv il C ode r eflec ts a c omplex mix tur e of c us tomar y , R oman, N apoleonic , loc al, and moder n c odified law . T he law s of the Vis igoth inv ader s of Spain in the 5th to 7th c entur ies had the ear lies t major influenc e on Spanis h legal s y s tem dev elopment. T he C hr is tian R ec onques t of Spain in the 11th thr ough 15th c entur ies w itnes s ed the dev elopment of c us tomar y law , w hic h c ombined c anon ( r eligious ) and R oman law . D ur ing s ev er al c entur ies of H aps bur g and Bour bon r ule, s y s tematic r ec ompilations of the ex is ting national legal s y s tem w er e attempted, but thes e often c onflic ted w ith loc al and r egional c us tomar y c iv il law s . Legal s y s tem dev elopment for mos t of the 19th c entur y c onc entr ated on for mulating a national c iv il law s y s tem, w hic h w as finally enac ted in 1889 as the Spanis h C iv il C ode. Sev er al s ec tions of the c ode hav e been r ev is ed, the mos t r ec ent of w hic h ar e the penal c ode in 1989 and the judic iar y c ode in 2001. T he Spanis h C iv il C ode s epar ates public and pr iv ate law . Public law inc ludes c ons titutional law , adminis tr ativ e law , c r iminal law , pr oc es s law , financ ial and tax law , and inter national public law . Pr iv ate law inc ludes c iv il law , c ommer c ial law , labor law , and inter national pr iv ate law . U n it ed St at es L aw - A ty pe of c ommon law , w hic h is the bas is of the legal s y s tem of the U nited States and that of its is land pos s es s ions in the C ar ibbean and the Pac ific . T his legal s y s tem has s ev er al lay er s , mor e pos s ibly than in mos t other c ountr ies , and is due in par t to the div is ion betw een feder al and s tate law . T he U nited States w as founded not as one nation but as a union of 13 c olonies , eac h c laiming independenc e fr om the Br itis h C r ow n. T he U S C ons titution, implemented in 1789, began s hifting pow er aw ay fr om the s tates and tow ar d the feder al gov er nment, though the s tates today r etain s ubs tantial legal author ity . U S law dr aw s its author ity fr om four s our c es : c ons titutional law, s tatutor y law, adminis tr ativ e r egulations, and c as e law. C ons titutional law is bas ed on the U S C ons titution and s er v es as the s upr eme feder al law . T ak en together w ith thos e of the s tate c ons titutions , thes e doc uments outline the gener al s tr uc tur e of the feder al and s tate gov er nments and pr ov ide the r ules and limits of pow er . U S s tatutor y law is legis lation enac ted by the U S C ongr es s and is c odified in the U nited States C ode. T he 50 s tate legis latur es hav e s imilar author ity to enac t s tate s tatutes . Adminis tr ativ e law is the author ity delegated to feder al and s tate ex ec utiv e agenc ies . C as e law , als o r efer r ed to as c ommon law , c ov er s ar eas w her e c ons titutional or s tatutor y law is lac k ing. C as e law is a c ollec tion of judic ial dec is ions , c us toms , and gener al pr inc iples that began in England c entur ies ago, that w er e adopted in Amer ic a at the time of the R ev olution, and that c ontinue to dev elop today . Legislative branch T his entr y has thr ee s ubfields . T he des c r iption s ubfield pr ov ides the legis lativ e s tr uc tur e ( unic amer al – s ingle hous e; bic amer al – an upper and a low er hous e) ; for mal name( s ) ; number of member s eats ; ty pes of c ons tituenc ies or v oting dis tr ic ts ( s ingle s eat, multi- s eat, nationw ide) ; elec tor al v oting s y s tem( s ) ; and member ter m of offic e. T he elec tions s ubfield inc ludes the dates of the las t elec tion and nex t elec tion. T he elec tion r es ults s ubfield lis ts per c ent of v ote by par ty /c oalition and number of s eats by par ty /c oalition in the las t elec tion ( in bic amer al legis latur es , upper hous e r es ults ar e lis ted fir s t) . In gener al, par ties w ith les s than four s eats and les s than 4 per c ent of the v ote ar e aggr egated and lis ted as " other ," and non- par ty - affiliated s eats ar e lis ted as " independent." Als o, the entr ies for s ome c ountr ies inc lude tw o s ets of per c ent of v ote by par ty and s eats by par ty; the for mer r eflec ts r es ults follow ing a for mal elec tion announc ement, and the latter – follow ing a mid- ter m or by elec tion – r eflec ts c hanges in a legis latur e’s politic al par ty c ompos ition. O f the appr ox imately 240 c ountr ies w ith legis lativ e bodies , appr ox imately tw o- thir ds ar e unic amer al, and the r emainder , bic amer al. T he s elec tion of legis lativ e member s is ty pic ally gov er ned by a c ountr y 's c ons titution and/or its elec tor al law s . In gener al, member s ar e either dir ec tly elec ted by a c ountr y 's eligible v oter s us ing a defined elec tor al s y s tem; indir ec tly elec ted or s elec ted by its pr ov inc e, s tate, or depar tment legis latur es ; or appointed by the c ountr y 's ex ec utiv e body . Legis lativ e member s in many c ountr ies ar e s elec ted both dir ec tly and indir ec tly , and the elec tor al law s of s ome c ountr ies r es er v e s eats for w omen and v ar ious ethnic and minor ity gr oups . Wor ldw ide, the tw o pr edominant dir ec t v oting s y s tems ar e plur ality /major ity and pr opor tional r epr es entation. T he mos t c ommon of the s ev er al plur ality /major ity s y s tems is s imple major ity v ote, or fir s t- pas t- the- pos t, in w hic h the c andidate r ec eiv ing the mos t v otes is elec ted. C ountr ies ' legis latur es s uc h as Banglades h's Par liament, Malay s ia's H ous e of R epr es entativ es , and the U nited Kingdom's H ous e of C ommons us e this s y s tem. Another c ommon plur ality /major ity s y s tem – abs olute major ity or tw or ound – r equir es that c andidates w in at leas t 50 per c ent of the v otes to be elec ted. If none of the c andidates meets that v ote thr es hold in the initial elec tion, a s ec ond poll or " r unoff" is held s oon after for the tw o top v ote getter s , and the c andidate r ec eiv ing a s imple v ote major ity is dec lar ed the w inner . Ex amples of the tw o- r ound s y s tem ar e H aiti's C hamber of D eputies , Mali's N ational As s embly , and U z bek is tan's Legis lativ e C hamber . O ther plur ality /major ity v oting s y s tems , r efer r ed to as pr efer ential v oting and gener ally us ed in multi- s eat c ons tituenc ies , ar e bloc k v ote and s ingle non- tr ans fer able v ote, in w hic h v oter s c as t their ballots by r ank ing their c andidate pr efer enc es fr om highes t to low es t. Pr opor tional r epr es entation elec tor al s y s tems – in c ontr as t to plur ality /major ity s y s tems – gener ally aw ar d legis lativ e s eats to politic al par ties in appr ox imate pr opor tion to the number of v otes eac h r ec eiv es . F or ex ample, in a 100- member legis latur e, if Par ty A r ec eiv es 50 per c ent of the total v ote, Par ty B, 30 per c ent, and Par ty C , 20 per c ent, then Par ty A w ould be aw ar ded 50 s eats , Par ty B 30 s eats , and Par ty C 20 s eats . T her e ar e v ar ious for ms of pr opor tional r epr es entation and the degr ee of r eac hing pr opor tionality v ar ies . Some for ms of pr opor tional r epr es entation ar e foc us ed s olely on ac hiev ing the pr opor tional r epr es entation of differ ent politic al par ties and v oter s c as t ballots only for politic al par ties , w her eas in other for ms , v oter s c as t ballots for indiv idual c andidates w ithin a politic al par ty . Many c ountr ies —both unic amer al and bic amer al—us e a mix of elec tor al methods , in w hic h a por tion of legis lativ e s eats ar e aw ar ded us ing one s y s tem, s uc h as plur ality /major ity , w hile the r emaining s eats ar e aw ar ded by another s y s tem, s uc h as pr opor tional r epr es entation. Many c ountr ies w ith bic amer al legis latur es us e differ ent v oting s y s tems for the tw o c hamber s . Life expectancy at birth T his entr y c ontains the av er age number of y ear s to be liv ed by a gr oup of people bor n in the s ame y ear , if mor tality at eac h age r emains c ons tant in the futur e. Life ex pec tanc y at bir th is als o a meas ur e of ov er all quality of life in a c ountr y and s ummar iz es the mor tality at all ages . It c an als o be thought of as indic ating the potential r etur n on inv es tment in human c apital and is nec es s ar y for the c alc ulation of v ar ious ac tuar ial meas ur es . Literacy T his entr y inc ludes a definition of liter ac y and U N ESC O 's per c entage es timates for populations aged 15 and ov er , inc luding total population, males , and females . T her e ar e no univ er s al definitions and s tandar ds of liter ac y . U nles s other w is e s pec ified, all r ates ar e bas ed on the mos t c ommon definition - the ability to r ead and w r ite at a s pec ified age. D etailing the s tandar ds that indiv idual c ountr ies us e to as s es s the ability to r ead and w r ite is bey ond the s c ope of the F ac tbook . Infor mation on liter ac y , w hile not a per fec t meas ur e of educ ational r es ults , is pr obably the mos t eas ily av ailable and v alid for inter national c ompar is ons . Low lev els of liter ac y , and educ ation in gener al, c an impede the ec onomic dev elopment of a c ountr y in the c ur r ent r apidly c hanging, tec hnology - dr iv en w or ld. Location T his entr y identifies the c ountr y 's r egional loc ation, neighbor ing c ountr ies , and adjac ent bodies of w ater . Major infectious diseases T his entr y lis ts major infec tious dis eas es lik ely to be enc ounter ed in c ountr ies w her e the r is k of s uc h dis eas es is as s es s ed to be v er y high as c ompar ed to the U nited States . T hes e infec tious dis eas es r epr es ent r is k s to U S gov er nment per s onnel tr av eling to the s pec ified c ountr y for a per iod of les s than thr ee y ear s . T he d eg ree o f risk is as s es s ed by c ons ider ing the for eign natur e of thes e infec tious dis eas es , their s ev er ity , and the pr obability of being affec ted by the dis eas es pr es ent. T he dis eas es lis ted do not nec es s ar ily r epr es ent the total dis eas e bur den ex per ienc ed by the loc al population. T he r is k to an indiv idual tr av eler v ar ies c ons ider ably by the s pec ific loc ation, v is it dur ation, ty pe of ac tiv ities , ty pe of ac c ommodations , time of y ear , and other fac tor s . C ons ultation w ith a tr av el medic ine phy s ic ian is needed to ev aluate indiv idual r is k and r ec ommend appr opr iate pr ev entiv e meas ur es s uc h as v ac c ines . D is eas es ar e or ganiz ed into the follow ing s ix ex pos ur e c ategor ies s how n in italic s and lis ted in ty pic al des c ending or der of r is k. N ote: T he s equenc e of ex pos ur e c ategor ies lis ted in indiv idual c ountr y entr ies may v ar y ac c or ding to loc al c onditions . f o o d o r w at erb o rn e d iseases ac quir ed thr ough eating or dr ink ing on the loc al ec onomy : H ep at it is A - v ir al dis eas e that inter fer es w ith the func tioning of the liv er ; s pr ead thr ough c ons umption of food or w ater c ontaminated w ith fec al matter , pr inc ipally in ar eas of poor s anitation; v ic tims ex hibit fev er , jaundic e, and diar r hea; 15% of v ic tims w ill ex per ienc e pr olonged s y mptoms ov er 6- 9 months ; v ac c ine av ailable. H ep at it is E - w ater - bor ne v ir al dis eas e that inter fer es w ith the func tioning of the liv er ; mos t c ommonly s pr ead thr ough fec al c ontamination of dr ink ing w ater ; v ic tims ex hibit jaundic e, fatigue, abdominal pain, and dar k c olor ed ur ine. T yp h o id f ever - bac ter ial dis eas e s pr ead thr ough c ontac t w ith food or w ater c ontaminated by fec al matter or s ew age; v ic tims ex hibit s us tained high fev er s ; left untr eated, mor tality r ates c an r eac h 20% . vect o rb o rn e d iseases ac quir ed thr ough the bite of an infec ted ar thr opod: Malaria - c aus ed by s ingle- c ell par as itic pr otoz oa Plas modium; tr ans mitted to humans v ia the bite of the female Anopheles mos quito; par as ites multiply in the liv er attac k ing r ed blood c ells r es ulting in c y c les of fev er , c hills , and s w eats ac c ompanied by anemia; death due to damage to v ital or gans and inter r uption of blood s upply to the br ain; endemic in 100, mos tly tr opic al, c ountr ies w ith 90% of c as es and the major ity of 1.5- 2.5 million es timated annual deaths oc c ur r ing in s ub- Sahar an Afr ic a. D en g u e f ever - mos quito- bor ne (Aedes aegy pti) v ir al dis eas e as s oc iated w ith ur ban env ir onments ; manifes ts as s udden ons et of fev er and s ev er e headac he; oc c as ionally pr oduc es s hoc k and hemor r hage leading to death in 5% of c as es . Yello w f ever - mos quito- bor ne v ir al dis eas e; s ev er ity r anges fr om influenz a- lik e s y mptoms to s ev er e hepatitis and hemor r hagic fev er ; oc c ur s only in tr opic al South Amer ic a and s ub- Sahar an Afr ic a, w her e mos t c as es ar e r epor ted; fatality r ate is les s than 20% . Jap an ese En cep h alit is - mos quito- bor ne (C ulex tr itaenior hy nc hus) v ir al dis eas e as s oc iated w ith r ur al ar eas in As ia; ac ute enc ephalitis c an pr ogr es s to par aly s is , c oma, and death; fatality r ates 30% . A f rican T ryp an o so m iasis - c aus ed by the par as itic pr otoz oa T r y panos oma ; tr ans mitted to humans v ia the bite of bloods uc k ing T s ets e flies ; infec tion leads to malais e and ir r egular fev er s and, in adv anc ed c as es w hen the par as ites inv ade the c entr al ner v ous s y s tem, c oma and death; endemic in 36 c ountr ies of s ub- Sahar an Afr ic a; c attle and w ild animals ac t as r es er v oir hos ts for the par as ites . C u t an eo u s L eish m an iasis - c aus ed by the par as itic pr otoz oa leis hmania; tr ans mitted to humans v ia the bite of s andflies ; r es ults in s k in les ions that may bec ome c hr onic ; endemic in 88 c ountr ies ; 90% of c as es oc c ur in Ir an, Afghanis tan, Sy r ia, Saudi Ar abia, Br az il, and Per u; w ild and domes tic ated animals as w ell as humans c an ac t as r es er v oir s of infec tion. Plag u e - bac ter ial dis eas e tr ans mitted by fleas nor mally as s oc iated w ith r ats ; per s on- to- per s on air bor ne tr ans mis s ion als o pos s ible; r ec ent plague epidemic s oc c ur r ed in ar eas of As ia, Afr ic a, and South Amer ic a as s oc iated w ith r ur al ar eas or s mall tow ns and v illages ; manifes ts as fev er , headac he, and painfully s w ollen ly mph nodes ; dis eas e pr ogr es s es r apidly and w ithout antibiotic tr eatment leads to pneumonic for m w ith a death r ate in ex c es s of 50% . C rim ean - C o n g o h em o rrh ag ic f ever - tic k - bor ne v ir al dis eas e; infec tion may als o r es ult fr om ex pos ur e to infec ted animal blood or tis s ue; geogr aphic dis tr ibution inc ludes Afr ic a, As ia, the Middle Eas t, and Eas ter n Eur ope; s udden ons et of fev er , headac he, and mus c le ac hes follow ed by hemor r haging in the bow els , ur ine, nos e, and gums ; mor tality r ate is appr ox imately 30% . R if t Valley f ever - v ir al dis eas e affec ting domes tic ated animals and humans ; tr ans mis s ion is by mos quito and other biting ins ec ts ; infec tion may als o oc c ur thr ough handling of infec ted meat or c ontac t w ith blood; geogr aphic dis tr ibution inc ludes eas ter n and s outher n Afr ic a w her e c attle and s heep ar e r ais ed; s y mptoms ar e gener ally mild w ith fev er and s ome liv er abnor malities , but the dis eas e may pr ogr es s to hemor r hagic fev er , enc ephalitis , or oc ular dis eas e; fatality r ates ar e low at about 1% of c as es . C h iku n g u n ya - mos quito- bor ne (Aedes aegy pti) v ir al dis eas e as s oc iated w ith ur ban env ir onments , s imilar to D engue F ev er ; c har ac ter iz ed by s udden ons et of fev er , r as h, and s ev er e joint pain us ually las ting 3- 7 day s , s ome c as es r es ult in per s is tent ar thr itis . w at er co n t act d iseases ac quir ed thr ough s w imming or w ading in fr es hw ater lak es , s tr eams , and r iv er s : L ep t o sp iro sis - bac ter ial dis eas e that affec ts animals and humans ; infec tion oc c ur s thr ough c ontac t w ith w ater , food, or s oil c ontaminated by animal ur ine; s y mptoms inc lude high fev er , s ev er e headac he, v omiting, jaundic e, and diar r hea; untr eated, the dis eas e c an r es ult in k idney damage, liv er failur e, meningitis , or r es pir ator y dis tr es s ; fatality r ates ar e low but left untr eated r ec ov er y c an tak e months . Sch ist o so m iasis - c aus ed by par as itic tr ematode flatw or m Sc his tos oma; fr es h w ater s nails ac t as inter mediate hos t and r eleas e lar v al for m of par as ite that penetr ates the s k in of people ex pos ed to c ontaminated w ater ; w or ms matur e and r epr oduc e in the blood v es s els , liv er , k idney s , and intes tines r eleas ing eggs , w hic h bec ome tr apped in tis s ues tr igger ing an immune r es pons e; may manifes t as either ur inar y or intes tinal dis eas e r es ulting in dec r eas ed w or k or lear ning c apac ity ; mor tality , w hile gener ally low , may oc c ur in adv anc ed c as es us ually due to bladder c anc er ; endemic in 74 dev eloping c ountr ies w ith 80% of infec ted people liv ing in s ub- Sahar an Afr ic a; humans ac t as the r es er v oir for this par as ite. aero so liz ed d u st o r so il co n t act d isease ac quir ed thr ough inhalation of aer os ols c ontaminated w ith r odent ur ine: L assa f ever - v ir al dis eas e c ar r ied by r ats of the genus Mas tomy s ; endemic in por tions of Wes t Afr ic a; infec tion oc c ur s thr ough dir ec t c ontac t w ith or c ons umption of food c ontaminated by r odent ur ine or fec al matter c ontaining v ir us par tic les ; fatality r ate c an r eac h 50% in epidemic outbr eak s . resp irat o ry d isease ac quir ed thr ough c los e c ontac t w ith an infec tious per s on: Men in g o co ccal m en in g it is - bac ter ial dis eas e c aus ing an inflammation of the lining of the br ain and s pinal c or d; one of the mos t impor tant bac ter ial pathogens is N eis s er ia meningitidis bec aus e of its potential to c aus e epidemic s ; s y mptoms inc lude s tiff nec k , high fev er , headac hes , and v omiting; bac ter ia ar e tr ans mitted fr om per s on to per s on by r es pir ator y dr oplets and fac ilitated by c los e and pr olonged c ontac t r es ulting fr om c r ow ded liv ing c onditions , often w ith a s eas onal dis tr ibution; death oc c ur s in 5- 15% of c as es , ty pic ally w ithin 24- 48 hour s of ons et of s y mptoms ; highes t bur den of meningoc oc c al dis eas e oc c ur s in the hy per endemic r egion of s ub- Sahar an Afr ic a k now n as the " Meningitis Belt" w hic h s tr etc hes fr om Senegal eas t to Ethiopia. an im al co n t act d isease ac quir ed thr ough dir ec t c ontac t w ith loc al animals : R ab ies - v ir al dis eas e of mammals us ually tr ans mitted thr ough the bite of an infec ted animal, mos t c ommonly dogs ; v ir us affec ts the c entr al ner v ous s y s tem c aus ing br ain alter ation and death; s y mptoms initially ar e non- s pec ific fev er and headac he pr ogr es s ing to neur ologic al s y mptoms ; death oc c ur s w ithin day s of the ons et of s y mptoms . Major urban areas - population T his entr y pr ov ides the population of the c apital and up to fiv e major c ities defined as ur ban agglomer ations w ith populations of at leas t 750,000 people. An ur ban agglomer ation is defined as c ompr is ing the c ity or tow n pr oper and als o the s ubur ban fr inge or thic k ly s ettled ter r itor y ly ing outs ide of, but adjac ent to, the boundar ies of the c ity . F or s maller c ountr ies , lac k ing ur ban c enter s of 750,000 or mor e, only the population of the c apital is pr es ented. Map references T his entr y inc ludes the name of the F ac tbook r efer enc e map on w hic h a c ountr y may be found. N ote that boundar y r epr es entations on thes e maps ar e not nec es s ar ily author itativ e. T he entr y on G eo g rap h ic co o rd in at es may be helpful in finding s ome s maller c ountr ies . Maritime claims T his entr y inc ludes the follow ing c laims , the definitions of w hic h ar e ex c er pted fr om the U nited N ations C onv ention on the Law of the Sea ( U N C LO S) , w hic h alone c ontains the full and definitiv e des c r iptions : t errit o rial sea - the s ov er eignty of a c oas tal s tate ex tends bey ond its land ter r itor y and inter nal w ater s to an adjac ent belt of s ea, des c r ibed as the ter r itor ial s ea in the U N C LO S ( Par t II) ; this s ov er eignty ex tends to the air s pac e ov er the ter r itor ial s ea as w ell as its under ly ing s eabed and s ubs oil; ev er y s tate has the r ight to es tablis h the br eadth of its ter r itor ial s ea up to a limit not ex c eeding 12 nautic al miles ; the nor mal bas eline for meas ur ing the br eadth of the ter r itor ial s ea is the mean low - w ater line along the c oas t as mar k ed on lar ge- s c ale c har ts offic ially r ec ogniz ed by the c oas tal s tate; w her e the c oas ts of tw o s tates ar e oppos ite or adjac ent to eac h other , neither s tate is entitled to ex tend its ter r itor ial s ea bey ond the median line, ev er y point of w hic h is equidis tant fr om the near es t points on the bas eline fr om w hic h the ter r itor ial s eas of both s tates ar e meas ur ed; the U N C LO S des c r ibes s pec ific r ules for ar c hipelagic s tates . co n t ig u o u s z o n e - ac c or ding to the U N C LO S ( Ar tic le 33) , this is a z one c ontiguous to a c oas tal s tate's ter r itor ial s ea, ov er w hic h it may ex er c is e the c ontr ol nec es s ar y to: pr ev ent infr ingement of its c us toms , fis c al, immigr ation, or s anitar y law s and r egulations w ithin its ter r itor y or ter r itor ial s ea; punis h infr ingement of the abov e law s and r egulations c ommitted w ithin its ter r itor y or ter r itor ial s ea; the c ontiguous z one may not ex tend bey ond 24 nautic al miles fr om the bas elines fr om w hic h the br eadth of the ter r itor ial s ea is meas ur ed ( e.g., the U S has c laimed a 12- nautic al mile c ontiguous z one in addition to its 12nautic al mile ter r itor ial s ea) ; w her e the c oas ts of tw o s tates ar e oppos ite or adjac ent to eac h other , neither s tate is entitled to ex tend its c ontiguous z one bey ond the median line, ev er y point of w hic h is equidis tant fr om the near es t points on the bas eline fr om w hic h the c ontiguous z one of both s tates ar e meas ur ed. exclu sive eco n o m ic z o n e ( EEZ ) - the U N C LO S ( Par t V) defines the EEZ as a z one bey ond and adjac ent to the ter r itor ial s ea in w hic h a c oas tal s tate has : s ov er eign r ights for the pur pos e of ex plor ing and ex ploiting, c ons er v ing and managing the natur al r es our c es , w hether liv ing or non- liv ing, of the w ater s s uper jac ent to the s eabed and of the s eabed and its s ubs oil, and w ith r egar d to other ac tiv ities for the ec onomic ex ploitation and ex plor ation of the z one, s uc h as the pr oduc tion of ener gy fr om the w ater , c ur r ents , and w inds ; jur is dic tion w ith r egar d to the es tablis hment and us e of ar tific ial is lands , ins tallations , and s tr uc tur es ; mar ine s c ientific r es ear c h; the pr otec tion and pr es er v ation of the mar ine env ir onment; the outer limit of the ex c lus iv e ec onomic z one s hall not ex c eed 200 nautic al miles fr om the bas elines fr om w hic h the br eadth of the ter r itor ial s ea is meas ur ed. co n t in en t al sh elf - the U N C LO S ( Ar tic le 76) defines the c ontinental s helf of a c oas tal s tate as c ompr is ing the s eabed and s ubs oil of the s ubmar ine ar eas that ex tend bey ond its ter r itor ial s ea thr oughout the natur al pr olongation of its land ter r itor y to the outer edge of the c ontinental mar gin, or to a dis tanc e of 200 nautic al miles fr om the bas elines fr om w hic h the br eadth of the ter r itor ial s ea is meas ur ed w her e the outer edge of the c ontinental mar gin does not ex tend up to that dis tanc e; the c ontinental mar gin c ompr is es the s ubmer ged pr olongation of the landmas s of the c oas tal s tate, and c ons is ts of the s eabed and s ubs oil of the s helf, the s lope and the r is e; w her ev er the c ontinental mar gin ex tends bey ond 200 nautic al miles fr om the bas eline, c oas tal s tates may ex tend their c laim to a dis tanc e not to ex c eed 350 nautic al miles fr om the bas eline or 100 nautic al miles fr om the 2,500- meter is obath, w hic h is a line c onnec ting points of 2,500 meter s in depth; it does not inc lude the deep oc ean floor w ith its oc eanic r idges or the s ubs oil ther eof. exclu sive f ish in g z o n e - w hile this ter m is not us ed in the U N C LO S, s ome s tates ( e.g., the U nited Kingdom) hav e c hos en not to c laim an EEZ but r ather to c laim jur is dic tion ov er the liv ing r es our c es off their c oas t; in s uc h c as es , the ter m ex c lus iv e fis hing z one is often us ed; the br eadth of this z one is nor mally the s ame as the EEZ or 200 nautic al miles . Market value of publicly traded shares T his entr y giv es the v alue of s har es is s ued by public ly tr aded c ompanies at a pr ic e deter mined in the national s toc k mar k ets on the final day of the per iod indic ated. It is s imply the lates t pr ic e per s har e multiplied by the total number of outs tanding s har es , c umulated ov er all c ompanies lis ted on the par tic ular ex c hange. Maternal mortality ratio T he mater nal mor tality r atio ( MMR atio) is the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 liv e bir ths fr om any c aus e r elated to or aggr av ated by pr egnanc y or its management ( ex c luding ac c idental or inc idental c aus es ) . T he MMR atio inc ludes deaths dur ing pr egnanc y , c hildbir th, or w ithin 42 day s of ter mination of pr egnanc y , ir r es pec tiv e of the dur ation and s ite of the pr egnanc y , for a s pec ified y ear . Median age T his entr y is the age that div ides a population into tw o numer ic ally equal gr oups ; that is , half the people ar e y ounger than this age and half ar e older . It is a s ingle index that s ummar iz es the age dis tr ibution of a population. C ur r ently , the median age r anges fr om a low of about 15 in U ganda and G az a Str ip to 40 or mor e in s ev er al Eur opean c ountr ies and J apan. See the entr y for " Age s tr uc tur e" for the impor tanc e of a y oung v er s us an older age s tr uc tur e and, by implic ation, a low v er s us a higher median age. Merchant marine T his entr y pr ov ides the t o t al and the number of eac h ty pe of pr iv ately or public ly ow ned c ommer c ial s hip for eac h c ountr y ; militar y s hips ar e not inc luded; the fiv e s hips b y t yp e inc lude: bulk c ar r ier – for c ar go s uc h as c oal, gr ain, c ement, or es , and gr av el; c ontainer s hip – for loads in tr uc k - s iz e c ontainer s , a tr ans por tation s y s tem c alled c ontainer iz ation; gener al c ar go – als o r efer r ed to as br eak - bulk c ar r ier s – for a w ide r ange of pac k aged mer c handis e, s uc h as tex tiles , fur nitur e, and mac hiner y ; oil tank er – for c r ude oil and petr oleum pr oduc ts ; other – inc luding c hemic al c ar r ier s , dr edger s , liquefied natur al gas ( LN G ) c ar r ier s , r efr iger ated c ar go s hips ( c alled r eefer s ) , tugboats , pas s enger v es s els ( c r uis e and fer r y ) , and offs hor e s upply s hips . Military T his c ategor y inc ludes the entr ies dealing w ith a c ountr y 's militar y s tr uc tur e, manpow er , and ex penditur es . Military - note T his entr y inc ludes mis c ellaneous militar y infor mation of s ignific anc e not inc luded els ew her e. Military branches T his entr y lis ts the s er v ic e br anc hes s ubor dinate to defens e minis tr ies or the equiv alent ( ty pic ally gr ound, nav al, air , and mar ine for c es ) . Military expenditures T his entr y giv es s pending on defens e pr ogr ams for the mos t r ec ent y ear av ailable as a per c ent of gr os s domes tic pr oduc t ( G D P) ; the G D P is c alc ulated on an ex c hange r ate bas is , i.e., not in ter ms of pur c has ing pow er par ity ( PPP) . F or c ountr ies w ith no militar y for c es , this figur e c an inc lude ex penditur es on public s ec ur ity and polic e. Military service age and obligation T his entr y giv es the r equir ed ages for v oluntar y or c ons c r ipt militar y s er v ic e and the length of s er v ic e obligation. Money figures All money figur es ar e ex pr es s ed in c ontempor aneous U S dollar s unles s other w is e indic ated. Mother's mean age at first birth T his entr y pr ov ides the mean ( av er age) age of mother s at the bir th of their fir s t c hild. It is a us eful indic ator for gauging the s uc c es s of family planning pr ogr ams aiming to r educ e mater nal mor tality , inc r eas e c ontr ac eptiv e us e – par tic ular ly among mar r ied and unmar r ied adoles c ents , delay age at fir s t mar r iage, and impr ov e the health of new bor ns . National air transport system T his entr y inc ludes four s ubfields des c r ibing the air tr ans por t s y s tem of a giv en c ountr y in ter ms of both s tr uc tur e and per for manc e. T he fir s t s ubfield, number of r egis ter ed air c ar r ier s, indic ates the total number of air c ar r ier s r egis ter ed w ith the c ountr y ’s national av iation author ity and is s ued an air oper ator c er tific ate as r equir ed by the C onv ention on Inter national C iv il Av iation. T he s ec ond s ubfield, inv entor y of r egis ter ed air c r aft oper ated by air c ar r ier s, lis ts the total number of air c r aft oper ated by all r egis ter ed air c ar r ier s in the c ountr y . T he las t tw o s ubfields meas ur e the per for manc e of the air tr ans por t s y s tem in ter ms of both pas s enger s and fr eight. T he s ubfield, annual pas s enger tr affic on r egis ter ed air c ar r ier s, inc ludes the total number of pas s enger s c ar r ied by air c ar r ier s r egis ter ed in the c ountr y , inc luding both domes tic and inter national pas s enger s , in a giv en y ear . T he las t s ubfield, annual fr eight tr affic on r egis ter ed air c ar r ier s, inc ludes the v olume of fr eight, ex pr es s , and diplomatic bags c ar r ied by r egis ter ed air c ar r ier s and meas ur ed in metr ic tons times k ilometer s tr av eled. F r eight ton- k ilometer s equal the s um of the pr oduc ts obtained by multiply ing the number of tons of fr eight, ex pr es s , and diplomatic bags c ar r ied on eac h flight s tage by the s tage dis tanc e ( oper ation of an air c r aft fr om tak eoff to its nex t landing) . F or s tatis tic al pur pos es , fr eight inc ludes ex pr es s and diplomatic bags but not pas s enger baggage. National anthem A gener ally patr iotic mus ic al c ompos ition - us ually in the for m of a s ong or hy mn of pr ais e - that ev ok es and eulogiz es the his tor y , tr aditions , or s tr uggles of a nation or its people. N ational anthems c an be offic ially r ec ogniz ed as a national s ong by a c ountr y 's c ons titution or by an enac ted law , or s imply by tr adition. Although mos t anthems c ontain ly r ic s , s ome do not. National holiday T his entr y giv es the pr imar y national day of c elebr ation - us ually independenc e day . National symbol(s) A national s y mbol is a faunal, flor al, or other abs tr ac t r epr es entation - or s ome dis tinc tiv e objec t - that ov er time has c ome to be c los ely identified w ith a c ountr y or entity . N ot all c ountr ies hav e national s y mbols ; a few c ountr ies hav e mor e than one. Nationality T his entr y pr ov ides the identify ing ter ms for c itiz ens - noun and adjec tiv e. Natural gas - consumption T his entr y is the total natur al gas c ons umed in c ubic meter s ( c u m) . T he dis c r epanc y betw een the amount of natur al gas pr oduc ed and/or impor ted and the amount c ons umed and/or ex por ted is due to the omis s ion of s toc k c hanges and other c omplic ating fac tor s . Natural gas - exports T his entr y is the total natur al gas ex por ted in c ubic meter s ( c u m) . Natural gas - imports T his entr y is the total natur al gas impor ted in c ubic meter s ( c u m) . Natural gas - production T his entr y is the total natur al gas pr oduc ed in c ubic meter s ( c u m) . T he dis c r epanc y betw een the amount of natur al gas pr oduc ed and/or impor ted and the amount c ons umed and/or ex por ted is due to the omis s ion of s toc k c hanges and other c omplic ating fac tor s . Natural gas - proved reserves T his entr y is the s toc k of pr ov ed r es er v es of natur al gas in c ubic meter s ( c u m) . Pr ov ed r es er v es ar e thos e quantities of natur al gas , w hic h, by analy s is of geologic al and engineer ing data, c an be es timated w ith a high degr ee of c onfidenc e to be c ommer c ially r ec ov er able fr om a giv en date for w ar d, fr om k now n r es er v oir s and under c ur r ent ec onomic c onditions . Natural hazards T his entr y lis ts potential natur al dis as ter s . F or c ountr ies w her e v olc anic ac tiv ity is c ommon, a v olc anis m s ubfield highlights his tor ic ally ac tiv e v olc anoes . Natural resources T his entr y lis ts a c ountr y 's miner al, petr oleum, hy dr opow er , and other r es our c es of c ommer c ial impor tanc e, s uc h as r ar e ear th elements ( R EEs ) . In gener al, pr oduc ts appear only if they mak e a s ignific ant c ontr ibution to the ec onomy , or ar e lik ely to do s o in the futur e. Net migration rate T his entr y inc ludes the figur e for the differ enc e betw een the number of per s ons enter ing and leav ing a c ountr y dur ing the y ear per 1,000 per s ons ( bas ed on midy ear population) . An ex c es s of per s ons enter ing the c ountr y is r efer r ed to as net immigr ation ( e.g., 3.56 migr ants /1,000 population) ; an ex c es s of per s ons leav ing the c ountr y as net emigr ation ( e.g., - 9.26 migr ants /1,000 population) . T he net migr ation r ate indic ates the c ontr ibution of migr ation to the ov er all lev el of population c hange. T he net migr ation r ate does not dis tinguis h betw een ec onomic migr ants , r efugees , and other ty pes of migr ants nor does it dis tinguis h betw een law ful migr ants and undoc umented migr ants . Obesity - adult prevalence rate T his entr y giv es the per c ent of a c ountr y 's population c ons ider ed to be obes e. O bes ity is defined as an adult hav ing a Body Mas s Index ( BMI) gr eater to or equal to 30.0. BMI is c alc ulated by tak ing a per s on's w eight in k g and div iding it by the per s on's s quar ed height in meter s . People - note T his entr y inc ludes mis c ellaneous demogr aphic infor mation of s ignific anc e not inc luded els ew her e. People and Society T his c ategor y inc ludes entr ies dealing w ith national identity ( inc luding ethnic ities , languages , and r eligions ) , demogr aphy ( a v ar iety of population s tatis tic s ) and s oc ietal c har ac ter is tic s ( health and educ ation indic ator s ) . Personal Names - Capitalization T he F ac tbook c apitaliz es the s ur name or family name of indiv iduals for the c onv enienc e of our us er s w ho ar e fac ed w ith a w or ld of differ ent c ultur es and naming c onv entions . T he need for c apitaliz ation, bold ty pe, under lining, italic s , or s ome other indic ator of the indiv idual's s ur name is appar ent in the follow ing ex amples : MAO Z edong, F idel C AST R O R uz , G eor ge W. BU SH , and T U N KU SALAH U D D IN Abdul Az iz Shah ibni Al- Mar hum Sultan H is ammuddin Alam Shah. By k now ing the s ur name, a s hor t for m w ithout all c apital letter s c an be us ed w ith c onfidenc e as in Pr es ident C as tr o, C hair man Mao, Pr es ident Bus h, or Sultan T unk u Salahuddin. T he s ame s y s tem of c apitaliz ation is ex tended to the names of leader s w ith s ur names that ar e not c ommonly us ed s uc h as Q ueen ELIZ ABET H II. F or Vietnames e names , the giv en name is c apitaliz ed bec aus e offic ials ar e r efer r ed to by their giv en name r ather than by their s ur name. F or ex ample, the pr es ident of Vietnam is T r an D uc LU O N G . H is s ur name is T r an, but he is r efer r ed to by his giv en name - Pr es ident LU O N G . Personal Names - Spelling T he r omaniz ation of per s onal names in the F ac tbook nor mally follow s the s ame tr ans liter ation s y s tem us ed by the U S Boar d on G eogr aphic N ames for s pelling plac e names . At times , how ev er , a for eign leader ex pr es s ly indic ates a pr efer enc e for , or the media or offic ial doc uments r egular ly us e, a r omaniz ed s pelling that differ s fr om the tr ans liter ation der iv ed fr om the U S G ov er nment s tandar d. In s uc h c as es , the F ac tbook us es the alter nativ e s pelling. Personal Names - Titles T he F ac tbook c apitaliz es any v alid title ( or s hor t for m of it) immediately pr ec eding a per s on's name. A title s tanding alone is not c apitaliz ed. Ex amples : Pr es ident PU T IN and Pr es ident O BAMA ar e c hiefs of s tate. In R us s ia, the pr es ident is c hief of s tate and the pr emier is the head of the gov er nment, w hile in the U S, the pr es ident is both c hief of s tate and head of gov er nment. Petroleum See entr ies under R ef in ed p et ro leu m p ro d u ct s. Petroleum products See entr ies under R ef in ed p et ro leu m p ro d u ct s. Physicians density T his entr y giv es the number of medic al doc tor s ( phy s ic ians ) , inc luding gener alis t and s pec ialis t medic al pr ac titioner s , per 1,000 of the population. Medic al doc tor s ar e defined as doc tor s that s tudy , diagnos e, tr eat, and pr ev ent illnes s , dis eas e, injur y , and other phy s ic al and mental impair ments in humans thr ough the applic ation of moder n medic ine. T hey als o plan, s uper v is e, and ev aluate c ar e and tr eatment plans by other health c ar e pr ov ider s . T he Wor ld H ealth O r ganiz ation es timates that few er than 2.3 health w or k er s ( phy s ic ians , nur s es , and midw iv es only ) per 1,000 w ould be ins uffic ient to ac hiev e c ov er age of pr imar y healthc ar e needs . Pipelines T his entr y giv es the lengths and ty pes of pipelines for tr ans por ting pr oduc ts lik e natur al gas , c r ude oil, or petr oleum pr oduc ts . Piracy Pir ac y is defined by the 1982 U nited N ations C onv ention on the Law of the Sea as any illegal ac t of v iolenc e, detention, or depr edation dir ec ted agains t a s hip, air c r aft, per s ons , or pr oper ty in a plac e outs ide the jur is dic tion of any State. Suc h c r iminal ac ts c ommitted in the ter r itor ial w ater s of a littor al s tate ar e gener ally c ons ider ed to be ar med r obber y agains t s hips . Infor mation on pir ac y may be found, w her e applic able, in the T ran sp o rt at io n - n o t e. Political parties and leaders T his entr y inc ludes a lis ting of s ignific ant politic al par ties , c oalitions , and elec tor al lis ts as of eac h c ountr y 's las t legis lativ e elec tion, unles s other w is e noted. Political pressure groups and leaders T his entr y inc ludes a lis ting of a c ountr y 's politic al, s oc ial, labor , or r eligious or ganiz ations that ar e inv olv ed in politic s , or that ex er t politic al pr es s ur e, but w hos e leader s do not s tand for legis lativ e elec tion. Inter national mov ements or or ganiz ations ar e gener ally not lis ted. Population T his entr y giv es an es timate fr om the U S Bur eau of the C ens us bas ed on s tatis tic s fr om population c ens us es , v ital s tatis tic s r egis tr ation s y s tems , or s ample s ur v ey s per taining to the r ec ent pas t and on as s umptions about futur e tr ends . T he total population pr es ents one ov er all meas ur e of the potential impac t of the c ountr y on the w or ld and w ithin its r egion. N ote: Star ting w ith the 1993 F ac tbook , demogr aphic es timates for s ome c ountr ies ( mos tly Afr ic an) hav e ex plic itly tak en into ac c ount the effec ts of the gr ow ing impac t of the H IV/AID S epidemic . T hes e c ountr ies ar e c ur r ently : T he Bahamas , Benin, Bots w ana, Br az il, Bur k ina F as o, Bur ma, Bur undi, C ambodia, C amer oon, C entr al Afr ic an R epublic , D emoc r atic R epublic of the C ongo, R epublic of the C ongo, C ote d'Iv oir e, Ethiopia, G abon, G hana, G uy ana, H aiti, H ondur as , Keny a, Les otho, Malaw i, Moz ambique, N amibia, N iger ia, R w anda, South Afr ic a, Sw az iland, T anz ania, T hailand, T ogo, U ganda, Z ambia, and Z imbabw e. Population below poverty line N ational es timates of the per c entage of the population falling below the pov er ty line ar e bas ed on s ur v ey s of s ub- gr oups , w ith the r es ults w eighted by the number of people in eac h gr oup. D efinitions of pov er ty v ar y c ons ider ably among nations . F or ex ample, r ic h nations gener ally employ mor e gener ous s tandar ds of pov er ty than poor nations . Population distribution T his entr y pr ov ides a s ummar y des c r iption of the population dis per s ion w ithin a c ountr y . While it may s ugges t population dens ity , it does not pr ov ide dens ity figur es . Population growth rate T he av er age annual per c ent c hange in the population, r es ulting fr om a s ur plus ( or defic it) of bir ths ov er deaths and the balanc e of migr ants enter ing and leav ing a c ountr y . T he r ate may be pos itiv e or negativ e. T he gr ow th r ate is a fac tor in deter mining how gr eat a bur den w ould be impos ed on a c ountr y by the c hanging needs of its people for infr as tr uc tur e ( e.g., s c hools , hos pitals , hous ing, r oads ) , r es our c es ( e.g., food, w ater , elec tr ic ity ) , and jobs . R apid population gr ow th c an be s een as thr eatening by neighbor ing c ountr ies . Population pyramid A population py r amid illus tr ates the age and s ex s tr uc tur e of a c ountr y ’s population and may pr ov ide ins ights about politic al and s oc ial s tability , as w ell as ec onomic dev elopment.T he population is dis tr ibuted along the hor iz ontal ax is , w ith males s how n on the left and females on the r ight. T he male and female populations ar e br ok en dow n into 5- y ear age gr oups r epr es ented as hor iz ontal bar s along the v er tic al ax is , w ith the y ounges t age gr oups at the bottom and the oldes t at the top. T he s hape of the population py r amid gr adually ev olv es ov er time bas ed on fer tility , mor tality , and inter national migr ation tr ends . Some dis tinc tiv e ty pes of population py r amids ar e: A yo u t h f u l d ist rib u t io n has a br oad bas e and nar r ow peak and is c har ac ter iz ed by a high pr opor tion of c hildr en and low pr opor tion of the elder ly . T his population dis tr ibution r es ults fr om high fer tility , high mor tality , low life ex pec tanc y , and high population gr ow th. It is ty pic al of dev eloping c ountr ies w her e female educ ation and c ontr ac eptiv e us e ar e low and health c ar e and s anitation ar e poor . A t ran sit io n al d ist rib u t io n is c aus ed by dec lining fer tility and mor tality r ates , inc r eas ing life ex pec tanc y , and s low ing population gr ow th. T he population has a lar ger pr opor tion of w or k ing- age people r elativ e to c hildr en and the elder ly and pr oduc es a bar r el- s haped py r amid, w her e the mid- s ec tion bulges and the bas e and top ar e nar r ow er . T he lar ge pr opor tion of w or k ing- age people c an c r eate a “ demogr aphic bonus ” if it is educ ated and pr oduc tiv ely employ ed. A m at u re d ist rib u t io n has fair ly balanc ed pr opor tions of the population in the c hild, w or k ing- age, and elder ly age gr oups and w ill gr adually for m an inv er ted tr iangle population py r amid as population gr ow th c ontinues to fall or c eas es and the pr opor tion of older people inc r eas es . Low fer tility , low mor tality , and high life ex pec tanc y - made pos s ible by the av ailability of adv anc ed healthc ar e, family planning, s anitation, and educ ation - lead to aging populations in indus tr ializ ed c ountr ies . Ports and terminals T his entr y lis ts major por ts and ter minals pr imar ily on the bas is of the amount of c ar go tonnage s hipped thr ough the fac ilities on an annual bas is . In s ome ins tanc es , the number of c ontainer s handled or s hip v is its w er e als o c ons ider ed. Mos t por ts s er v ic e multiple c las s es of v es s els inc luding bulk c ar r ier s ( dr y and liquid) , br eak bulk c ar goes ( goods loaded indiv idually in bags , box es , c r ates , or dr ums ; s ometimes palletiz ed) , c ontainer s , r oll- on/r oll- off, and pas s enger s hips . T he lis ting leads off w ith major s eapor ts handling all ty pes of c ar go. Inland r iv er /lak e por ts ar e lis ted s epar ately along w ith the r iv er or lak e name. Por ts c onfigur ed s pec ific ally to handle bulk c ar goes ar e des ignated as oil ter minals or dr y bulk c ar go por ts. LN G ter minals handle liquefied natur al gas ( LN G ) and ar e differ entiated as either ex por t, w her e the gas is c hilled to a liquid s tate to r educ e its v olume for tr ans por t on s pec ializ ed gas c ar r ier s , or impor t, w her e the off- loaded LN G under goes a r egas ific ation pr oc es s befor e enter ing pipelines for dis tr ibution. As br eak bulk c ar goes ar e lar gely tr ans por ted by c ontainer s today , the entr y als o inc ludes a lis ting of major c ontainer por ts w ith the c or r es ponding thr oughput meas ur ed in tw enty - foot equiv alent units ( T EU s ) . Some por ts ar e s ignific ant for handling pas s enger tr affic and ar e lis ted as c r uis e/fer r y por ts. In addition to c ommer c ial tr affic , many s eapor ts als o pr ov ide impor tant militar y infr as tr uc tur e s uc h as nav al bas es or doc k y ar ds . Principality A s ov er eign s tate r uled by a monar c h w ith the title of pr inc e; pr inc ipalities w er e c ommon in the pas t, but today only thr ee r emain: Liec htens tein, Monac o, and the c o- pr inc ipality of Andor r a. Public debt T his entr y r ec or ds the c umulativ e total of all gov er nment bor r ow ings les s r epay ments that ar e denominated in a c ountr y 's home c ur r enc y . Public debt s hould not be c onfus ed w ith ex ter nal debt, w hic h r eflec ts the for eign c ur r enc y liabilities of both the pr iv ate and public s ec tor and mus t be financ ed out of for eign ex c hange ear nings . Railways T his entr y s tates the total r oute length of the r ailw ay netw or k and of its c omponent par ts by gauge, w hic h is the meas ur e of the dis tanc e betw een the inner s ides of the load- bear ing r ails . T he four ty pic al ty pes of gauges ar e: br oad, s tandar d, nar r ow , and dual. O ther gauges ar e lis ted under note. Some 60% of the w or ld's r ailw ay s us e the s tandar d gauge of 1.4 m ( 4.7 ft) . G auges v ar y by c ountr y and s ometimes w ithin c ountr ies . T he c hoic e of gauge dur ing initial c ons tr uc tion w as mainly in r es pons e to loc al c onditions and the intent of the builder . N ar r ow - gauge r ailw ay s w er e c heaper to build and c ould negotiate s har per c ur v es , br oad- gauge r ailw ay s gav e gr eater s tability and per mitted higher s peeds . Standar d- gauge r ailw ay s w er e a c ompr omis e betw een nar r ow and br oad gauges . Rare earth elements R ar e ear th elements or R EEs ar e 17 c hemic al elements that ar e c r itic al in many of today 's high- tec h indus tr ies . T hey inc lude lanthanum, c er ium, pr as eody mium, neody mium, pr omethium, s amar ium, eur opium, gadolinium, ter bium, dy s pr os ium, holmium, er bium, thulium, y tter bium, lutetium, s c andium, and y ttr ium. T y pic al applic ations for R EEs inc lude batter ies in hy br id c ar s , fiber optic c ables , flat panel dis play s , and per manent magnets , as w ell as s ome defens e and medic al pr oduc ts . Reference maps T his s ec tion inc ludes w or ld and r egional maps . Refined petroleum products - consumption T his entr y is the c ountr y 's total c ons umption of r efined petr oleum pr oduc ts , in bar r els per day ( bbl/day ) . T he dis c r epanc y betw een the amount of r efined petr oleum pr oduc ts pr oduc ed and/or impor ted and the amount c ons umed and/or ex por ted is due to the omis s ion of s toc k c hanges , r efiner y gains , and other c omplic ating fac tor s . Refined petroleum products - exports T his entr y is the c ountr y 's total ex por ts of r efined petr oleum pr oduc ts , in bar r els per day ( bbl/day ) . Refined petroleum products - imports T his entr y is the c ountr y 's total impor ts of r efined petr oleum pr oduc ts , in bar r els per day ( bbl/day ) . Refined petroleum products - production T his entr y is the c ountr y 's total output of r efined petr oleum pr oduc ts , in bar r els per day ( bbl/day ) . T he dis c r epanc y betw een the amount of r efined petr oleum pr oduc ts pr oduc ed and/or impor ted and the amount c ons umed and/or ex por ted is due to the omis s ion of s toc k c hanges , r efiner y gains , and other c omplic ating fac tor s . Refugees and internally displaced persons T his entr y inc ludes thos e per s ons r es iding in a c ountr y as r efugees or inter nally dis plac ed per s ons (ID Ps ) . Eac h c ountr y 's r efugee entr y inc ludes only c ountr ies of or igin that ar e the s our c e of r efugee populations of 5,000 or mor e. T he definition of a r efugee ac c or ding to a U nited N ations C onv ention is " a per s on w ho is outs ide his /her c ountr y of nationality or habitual r es idenc e; has a w ell- founded fear of per s ec ution bec aus e of his /her r ac e, r eligion, nationality , member s hip in a par tic ular s oc ial gr oup or politic al opinion; and is unable or unw illing to av ail hims elf/her s elf of the pr otec tion of that c ountr y , or to r etur n ther e, for fear of per s ec ution." T he U N es tablis hed the O ffic e of the U N H igh C ommis s ioner for R efugees ( U N H C R ) in 1950 to handle r efugee matter s w or ldw ide. T he U N R elief and Wor k s Agenc y for Pales tine R efugees in the N ear Eas t ( U N R WA) has a differ ent oper ational definition for a Pales tinian r efugee: " a per s on w hos e nor mal plac e of r es idenc e w as Pales tine dur ing the per iod 1 J une 1946 to 15 May 1948 and w ho los t both home and means of liv elihood as a r es ult of the 1948 c onflic t." H ow ev er , U N H C R als o as s is ts s ome 400,000 Pales tinian r efugees not c ov er ed under the U N R WA definition. T he ter m " inter nally dis plac ed per s on" is not s pec ific ally c ov er ed in the U N C onv ention; it is us ed to des c r ibe people w ho hav e fled their homes for r eas ons s imilar to r efugees , but w ho r emain w ithin their ow n national ter r itor y and ar e s ubjec t to the law s of that s tate. Religions T his entr y is an or der ed lis ting of r eligions by adher ents s tar ting w ith the lar ges t gr oup and s ometimes inc ludes the per c ent of total population. T he c or e c har ac ter is tic s and beliefs of the w or ld's major r eligions ar e des c r ibed below . B ah a' i - F ounded by Mir z a H us ay n- Ali ( k now n as Baha'u'llah) in Ir an in 1852, Baha'i faith emphas iz es monotheis m and believ es in one eter nal tr ans c endent G od. Its guiding foc us is to enc our age the unity of all peoples on the ear th s o that jus tic e and peac e may be ac hiev ed on ear th. Baha'i r ev elation c ontends the pr ophets of major w or ld r eligions r eflec t s ome tr uth or element of the div ine, believ es all w er e manifes tations of G od giv en to s pec ific c ommunities in s pec ific times , and that Baha'u'llah is an additional pr ophet meant to c all all humank ind. Bahais ar e an open c ommunity , loc ated w or ldw ide, w ith the gr eates t c onc entr ation of believ er s in South As ia. B u d d h ism - R eligion or philos ophy ins pir ed by the 5th c entur y B.C . teac hings of Siddhar tha G autama ( als o k now n as G autama Buddha " the enlightened one" ) . Buddhis m foc us es on the goal of s pir itual enlightenment c enter ed on an under s tanding of G autama Buddha's F our N oble T r uths on the natur e of s uffer ing, and on the Eightfold Path of s pir itual and mor al pr ac tic e, to br eak the c y c le of s uffer ing of w hic h w e ar e a par t. Buddhis m as c r ibes to a k ar mic s y s tem of r ebir th. Sev er al s c hools and s ec ts of Buddhis m ex is t, differ ing often on the natur e of the Buddha, the ex tent to w hic h enlightenment c an be ac hiev ed - for one or for all, and by w hom - r eligious or der s or laity . Bas ic G r oupings T her av ada Buddhis m: T he oldes t Buddhis t s c hool, T her av ada is pr ac tic ed mos tly in Sr i Lank a, C ambodia, Laos , Bur ma, and T hailand, w ith minor ity r epr es entation els ew her e in As ia and the Wes t. T her av adans follow the Pali C anon of Buddha's teac hings , and believ e that one may es c ape the c y c le of r ebir th, w or ldly attac hment, and s uffer ing for ones elf; this pr oc es s may tak e one or s ev er al lifetimes . Mahay ana Buddhis m, inc luding s ubs ets Z en and T ibetan ( Lamais tic ) Buddhis m: F or ms of Mahay ana Buddhis m ar e c ommon in Eas t As ia and T ibet, and par ts of the Wes t. Mahay anas hav e additional s c r iptur es bey ond the Pali C anon and believ e the Buddha is eter nal and s till teac hing. U nlik e T her av ada Buddhis m, Mahay ana s c hools maintain the Buddha- natur e is pr es ent in all beings and all w ill ultimately ac hiev e enlightenment. H oa H ao: a minor ity tr adition of Buddhis m pr ac tic ed in Vietnam that s tr es s es lay par tic ipation, pr imar ily by peas ant far mer s ; it es c hew s ex pens iv e c er emonies and temples and r eloc ates the pr imar y pr ac tic es into the home. C h rist ian it y - D es c ending fr om J udais m, C hr is tianity 's c entr al belief maintains J es us of N az ar eth is the pr omis ed mes s iah of the H ebr ew Sc r iptur es , and that his life, death, and r es ur r ec tion ar e s alv ific for the w or ld. C hr is tianity is one of the thr ee monotheis tic Abr ahamic faiths , along w ith Is lam and J udais m, w hic h tr ac es its s pir itual lineage to Abr aham of the H ebr ew Sc r iptur es . Its s ac r ed tex ts inc lude the H ebr ew Bible and the N ew T es tament ( or the C hr is tian G os pels ) . Bas ic G r oupings C atholic is m ( or R oman C atholic is m) : T his is the oldes t es tablis hed w es ter n C hr is tian c hur c h and the w or ld's lar ges t s ingle r eligious body . It is s upr anational, and r ec ogniz es a hier ar c hic al s tr uc tur e w ith the Pope, or Bis hop of R ome, as its head, loc ated at the Vatic an. C atholic s believ e the Pope is the div inely or der ed head of the C hur c h fr om a dir ec t s pir itual legac y of J es us ' apos tle Peter . C atholic is m is c ompr is ed of 23 par tic ular C hur c hes , or R ites - one Wes ter n ( R oman or Latin- R ite) and 22 Eas ter n. T he Latin R ite is by far the lar ges t, mak ing up about 98% of C atholic member s hip. Eas ter n- R ite C hur c hes , s uc h as the Mar onite C hur c h and the U k r ainian C atholic C hur c h, ar e in c ommunion w ith R ome although they pr es er v e their ow n w or s hip tr aditions and their immediate hier ar c hy c ons is ts of c ler gy w ithin their ow n r ite. T he C atholic C hur c h has a c ompr ehens iv e theologic al and mor al doc tr ine s pec ified for believ er s in its c atec his m, w hic h mak es it unique among mos t for ms of C hr is tianity . Mor monis m ( inc luding the C hur c h of J es us C hr is t of Latter - D ay Saints ) : O r iginating in 1830 in the U nited States under J os eph Smith, Mor monis m is not c har ac ter iz ed as a for m of Pr otes tant C hr is tianity bec aus e it c laims additional r ev ealed C hr is tian s c r iptur es after the H ebr ew Bible and N ew T es tament. T he Book of Mor mon maintains ther e w as an appear anc e of J es us in the N ew Wor ld follow ing the C hr is tian ac c ount of his r es ur r ec tion, and that the Amer ic as ar e uniquely bles s ed c ontinents . Mor monis m believ es ear lier C hr is tian tr aditions , s uc h as the R oman C atholic , O r thodox , and Pr otes tant r efor m faiths , ar e apos tas ies and that J os eph Smith's r ev elation of the Book of Mor mon is a r es tor ation of tr ue C hr is tianity . Mor mons hav e a hier ar c hic al r eligious leader s hip s tr uc tur e, and ac tiv ely pr os ely tiz e their faith; they ar e loc ated pr imar ily in the Amer ic as and in a number of other Wes ter n c ountr ies . J ehov ah's Witnes s es s tr uc tur e their faith on the C hr is tian Bible, but their r ejec tion of the T r inity is dis tinc t fr om mains tr eam C hr is tianity . T hey believ e that a Kingdom of G od, the T heoc r ac y , w ill emer ge follow ing Ar mageddon and us her in a new ear thly s oc iety . Adher ents ar e r equir ed to ev angeliz e and to follow a s tr ic t mor al c ode. O r thodox C hr is tianity : T he oldes t es tablis hed eas ter n for m of C hr is tianity , the H oly O r thodox C hur c h, has a c er emonial head in the Bis hop of C ons tantinople ( Is tanbul) , als o k now n as a Patr iar c h, but its v ar ious r egional for ms ( e.g., G r eek O r thodox , R us s ian O r thodox , Ser bian O r thodox , U k r ainian O r thodox ) ar e autoc ephalous ( independent of C ons tantinople's author ity , and hav e their ow n Patr iar c hs ) . O r thodox c hur c hes ar e highly nationalis t and ethnic . T he O r thodox C hr is tian faith s har es many theologic al tenets w ith the R oman C atholic C hur c h, but div er ges on s ome k ey pr emis es and does not r ec ogniz e the gov er ning author ity of the Pope. Pr otes tant C hr is tianity : Pr otes tant C hr is tianity or iginated in the 16th c entur y as an attempt to r efor m R oman C atholic is m's pr ac tic es , dogma, and theology . It enc ompas s es s ev er al for ms or denominations w hic h ar e ex tr emely v ar ied in s tr uc tur e, beliefs , r elations hip to s tate, c ler gy , and gov er nanc e. Many pr otes tant theologies emphas iz e the pr imar y r ole of s c r iptur e in their faith, adv oc ating indiv idual inter pr etation of C hr is tian tex ts w ithout the mediation of a final r eligious author ity s uc h as the R oman Pope. T he oldes t Pr otes tant C hr is tianities inc lude Luther anis m, C alv inis m ( Pr es by ter ians ) , and Anglic an C hr is tianity ( Epis c opalians ) , w hic h hav e es tablis hed litur gies , gov er ning s tr uc tur e, and for mal c ler gy . O ther v ar iants on Pr otes tant C hr is tianity , inc luding Pentec os tal mov ements and independent c hur c hes , may lac k one or mor e of thes e elements , and their leader s hip and beliefs ar e indiv idualiz ed and dy namic . H in d u ism - O r iginating in the Vedic c iv iliz ation of India ( s ec ond and fir s t millennium B.C .) , H induis m is an ex tr emely div er s e s et of beliefs and pr ac tic es w ith no s ingle founder or r eligious author ity . H induis m has many s c r iptur es ; the Vedas , the U panis hads , and the Bhagav ad- G ita ar e among s ome of the mos t impor tant. H indus may w or s hip one or many deities , us ually w ith pr ay er r ituals w ithin their ow n home. T he mos t c ommon figur es of dev otion ar e the gods Vis hnu, Shiv a, and a mother goddes s , D ev i. Mos t H indus believ e the s oul, or atman, is eter nal, and goes thr ough a c y c le of bir th, death, and r ebir th (s ams ar a) deter mined by one's pos itiv e or negativ e k ar ma, or the c ons equenc es of one's ac tions . T he goal of r eligious life is to lear n to ac t s o as to finally ac hiev e liber ation (mok s ha) of one's s oul, es c aping the r ebir th c y c le. Islam - T he thir d of the monotheis tic Abr ahamic faiths , Is lam or iginated w ith the teac hings of Muhammad in the 7th c entur y . Mus lims believ e Muhammad is the final of all r eligious pr ophets ( beginning w ith Abr aham) and that the Q u'r an, w hic h is the Is lamic s c r iptur e, w as r ev ealed to him by G od. Is lam der iv es fr om the w or d s ubmis s ion, and obedienc e to G od is a pr imar y theme in this r eligion. In or der to liv e an Is lamic life, believ er s mus t follow the fiv e pillar s , or tenets , of Is lam, w hic h ar e the tes timony of faith (s hahada) , daily pr ay er (s alah) , giv ing alms (z ak ah) , fas ting dur ing R amadan (s aw m) , and the pilgr image to Mec c a (hajj) . Bas ic G r oupings T he tw o pr imar y br anc hes of Is lam ar e Sunni and Shia, w hic h s plit fr om eac h other ov er a r eligio- politic al leader s hip dis pute about the r ightful s uc c es s or to Muhammad. T he Shia believ e Muhammad's c ous in and s on- in- law , Ali, w as the only div inely or dained Imam ( r eligious leader ) , w hile the Sunni maintain the fir s t thr ee c aliphs after Muhammad w er e als o legitimate author ities . In moder n Is lam, Sunnis and Shia c ontinue to hav e differ ent v iew s of ac c eptable s c hools of Is lamic jur is pr udenc e, and w ho is a pr oper Is lamic r eligious author ity . Is lam als o has an ac tiv e my s tic al br anc h, Sufis m, w ith v ar ious Sunni and Shia s ubs ets . Sunni Is lam ac c ounts for ov er 75% of the w or ld's Mus lim population. It r ec ogniz es the Abu Bak r as the fir s t c aliph after Muhammad. Sunni has four s c hools of Is lamic doc tr ine and law - H anafi, Malik i, Shafi'i, and H anbali - w hic h uniquely inter pr et the H adith, or r ec or ded or al tr aditions of Muhammad. A Sunni Mus lim may elec t to follow any one of thes e s c hools , as all ar e c ons ider ed equally v alid. Shia Is lam r epr es ents 10- 20% of Mus lims w or ldw ide, and its dis tinguis hing featur e is its r ev er enc e for Ali as an infallible, div inely ins pir ed leader , and as the fir s t Imam of the Mus lim c ommunity after Muhammad. A major ity of Shia ar e k now n as " T w elv er s ," bec aus e they believ e that the 11 familial s uc c es s or imams after Muhammad c ulminate in a 12th Imam ( al- Mahdi) w ho is hidden in the w or ld and w ill r eappear at its end to r edeem the r ighteous . Var iants Is maili faith: A s ec t of Shia Is lam, its adher ents ar e als o k now n as " Sev ener s ," bec aus e they believ e that the r ightful s ev enth Imam in Is lamic leader s hip w as Is ma'il, the elder s on of Imam J afar al- Sadiq. Is maili tr adition aw aits the r etur n of the s ev enth Imam as the Mahdi, or Is lamic mes s ianic figur e. Is mailis ar e loc ated in v ar ious par ts of the w or ld, par tic ular ly South As ia and the Lev ant. Alaw i faith: Another Shia s ec t of Is lam, the name r eflec ts follow er s ' dev otion to the r eligious author ity of Ali. Alaw ites ar e a c los ed, s ec r etiv e r eligious gr oup w ho as s er t they ar e Shia Mus lims , although outs ide s c holar s s pec ulate their beliefs may hav e a s y nc r etic mix w ith other faiths or iginating in the Middle Eas t. Alaw is liv e mos tly in Sy r ia, Lebanon, and T ur k ey . D r uz e faith: A highly s ec r etiv e tr adition and a c los ed c ommunity that der iv es fr om the Is maili s ec t of Is lam; its c or e beliefs ar e thought to emphas iz e a c ombination of G nos tic pr inc iples believ ing that the F atimid c aliph, al- H ak in, is the one w ho embodies the k ey as pec ts of goodnes s of the univ er s e, w hic h ar e, the intellec t, the w or d, the s oul, the pr ec eder , and the follow er . T he D r uz e hav e a k ey pr es enc e in Sy r ia, Lebanon, and Is r ael. Jain ism - O r iginating in India, J ain s pir itual philos ophy believ es in an eter nal human s oul, the eter nal univ er s e, and a pr inc iple of " the ow n natur e of things ." It emphas iz es c ompas s ion for all liv ing things , s eek s liber ation of the human s oul fr om r einc ar nation thr ough enlightenment, and v alues per s onal r es pons ibility due to the belief in the immediate c ons equenc es of one's behav ior . J ain philos ophy teac hes non- v iolenc e and pr es c r ibes v egetar ianis m for monk s and laity alik e; its adher ents ar e a highly influential r eligious minor ity in Indian s oc iety . Ju d aism - O ne of the fir s t k now n monotheis tic r eligions , lik ely dating to betw een 2000- 1500 B.C ., J udais m is the nativ e faith of the J ew is h people, bas ed upon the belief in a c ov enant of r es pons ibility betw een a s ole omnipotent c r eator G od and Abr aham, the patr iar c h of J udais m's H ebr ew Bible, or T anak h. D iv ine r ev elation of pr inc iples and pr ohibitions in the H ebr ew Sc r iptur es for m the bas is of J ew is h law , or halak hah, w hic h is a k ey c omponent of the faith. While ther e ar e ex tens iv e tr aditions of J ew is h halak hic and theologic al dis c our s e, ther e is no final dogmatic author ity in the tr adition. Loc al c ommunities hav e their ow n r eligious leader s hip. Moder n J udais m has thr ee bas ic c ategor ies of faith: O r thodox , C ons er v ativ e, and R efor m/Liber al. T hes e differ in their v iew s and obs er v anc e of J ew is h law , w ith the O r thodox r epr es enting the mos t tr aditional pr ac tic e, and R efor m/Liber al c ommunities the mos t ac c ommodating of indiv idualiz ed inter pr etations of J ew is h identity and faith. Sh in t o ism - A nativ e animis t tr adition of J apan, Shinto pr ac tic e is bas ed upon the pr emis e that ev er y being and objec t has its ow n s pir it or k ami. Shinto pr ac titioner s w or s hip s ev er al par tic ular k amis , inc luding the k amis of natur e, and families often hav e s hr ines to their anc es tor s ' k amis . Shintois m has no fix ed tr adition of pr ay er s or pr es c r ibed dogma, but is c har ac ter iz ed by indiv idual r itual. R es pec t for the k amis in natur e is a k ey Shinto v alue. Pr ior to the end of Wor ld War II, Shinto w as the s tate r eligion of J apan, and bols ter ed the c ult of the J apanes e emper or . Sikh ism - F ounded by the G ur u N anak ( bor n 1469) , Sik his m believ es in a non- anthr opomor phic , s upr eme, eter nal, c r eator G od; c enter ing one's dev otion to G od is s een as a means of es c aping the c y c le of r ebir th. Sik hs follow the teac hings of N anak and nine s ubs equent gur us . T heir s c r iptur e, the G ur u G r anth Sahib - als o k now n as the Adi G r anth - is c ons ider ed the liv ing G ur u, or final author ity of Sik h faith and theology . Sik his m emphas iz es equality of humank ind and dis av ow s c as te, c las s , or gender dis c r imination. T ao ism - C hines e philos ophy or r eligion bas ed upon Lao T z u's T ao T e C hing, w hic h c enter s on belief in the T ao, or the w ay , as the flow of the univ er s e and the natur e of things . T aois m enc our ages a pr inc iple of non- for c e, or w u- w ei, as the means to liv e har monious ly w ith the T ao. T aois ts believ e the es oter ic w or ld is made up of a per fec t har monious balanc e and natur e, w hile in the manifes t w or ld - par tic ular ly in the body - balanc e is dis tor ted. T he T hr ee J ew els of the T ao - c ompas s ion, s implic ity , and humility - s er v e as the bas is for T aois t ethic s . Z o ro ast rian ism - O r iginating fr om the teac hings of Z or oas ter in about the 9th or 10th c entur y B.C ., Z or oas tr ianis m may be the oldes t c ontinuing c r eedal r eligion. Its k ey beliefs c enter on a tr ans c endent c r eator G od, Ahur a Maz da, and the c onc ept of fr ee w ill. T he k ey ethic al tenets of Z or oas tr ianis m ex pr es s ed in its s c r iptur e, the Av es ta, ar e bas ed on a dualis tic w or ldv iew w her e one may pr ev ent c haos if one c hoos es to s er v e G od and ex er c is es good thoughts , good w or ds , and good deeds . Z or oas tr ianis m is gener ally a c los ed r eligion and member s ar e almos t alw ay s bor n to Z or oas tr ian par ents . Pr ior to the s pr ead of Is lam, Z or oas tr ianis m dominated gr eater Ir an. T oday , though a minor ity , Z or oas tr ians r emain pr imar ily in Ir an, India ( w her e they ar e k now n as Par s i) , and Pak is tan. T rad it io n al b elief s Animis m: the belief that non- human entities c ontain s ouls or s pir its . Badimo: a for m of anc es tor w or s hip of the T s w ana people of Bots w ana. C onfuc ianis m: an ideology that humans ar e per fec tible thr ough s elf- c ultiv ation and s elf- c r eation; dev eloped fr om teac hings of the C hines e philos opher C onfuc ius . C onfuc ianis m has s tr ongly influenc ed the c ultur e and beliefs of Eas t As ian c ountr ies , inc luding C hina, J apan, Kor ea, Singapor e, T aiw an, and Vietnam. Inuit beliefs ar e a for m of s hamanis m ( s ee below ) bas ed on animis tic pr inc iples of the Inuit or Es k imo peoples . Kir ant: the belief s y s tem of the Kir at, a people w ho liv e mainly in the H imalay as of N epal. It is pr imar ily a for m of poly theis tic s hamanis m, but inc ludes elements of animis m and anc es tor w or s hip. Pagan is a blank et ter m us ed to des c r ibe many unc onnec ted belief pr ac tic es thr oughout his tor y , us ually in r efer enc e to r eligions outs ide of the Abr ahamic c ategor y ( monotheis tic faiths lik e J udais m, C hr is tianity , and Is lam) . Shamanis m: beliefs and pr ac tic es pr omoting c ommunic ation w ith the s pir itual w or ld. Shamanis tic beliefs ar e or ganiz ed ar ound a s haman or medic ine man w ho - as an inter mediar y betw een the human and s pir it w or ld - is believ ed to be able to heal the s ic k ( by healing their s ouls ) , c ommunic ate w ith the s pir it w or ld, and help s ouls into the after life thr ough the pr ac tic e of enter ing a tr anc e. In s haman- bas ed r eligions , the s haman is als o r es pons ible for leading s ac r ed r ites . Spir itualis m: the belief that s ouls and s pir its c ommunic ate w ith the liv ing us ually thr ough inter mediar ies c alled mediums . Syn cret ic ( fus ion of div er s e r eligious beliefs and pr ac tic es ) C ao D ai: a nationalis tic Vietnames e s ec t, offic ially es tablis hed in 1926, that dr aw s pr ac tic es and pr ec epts fr om C onfuc ianis m, T aois m, Buddhis m, and C atholic is m. C hondogy o: or the r eligion of the H eav enly Way , is bas ed on Kor ean s hamanis m, Buddhis m, and Kor ean folk tr aditions , w ith s ome elements dr aw n fr om C hr is tianity . F or mulated in the 1860s , it holds that G od liv es in all of us and s tr iv es to c onv er t s oc iety into a par adis e on ear th, populated by believ er s tr ans for med into intelligent mor al beings w ith a high s oc ial c ons c ienc e. Kimbanguis t: a pur itan for m of the Baptis t denomination founded by Simon Kimbangu in the 1920s in w hat is now the D emoc r atic R epublic of C ongo. Adher ents believ e that s alv ation c omes thr ough J es us ' death and r es ur r ec tion, lik e C hr is tianity , but additionally that liv ing a s pir itually pur e life follow ing s tr ic t c odes of c onduc t is r equir ed for s alv ation. Modek ngei: a hy br id of C hr is tianity and anc ient Palauan c ultur e and or al tr aditions founded ar ound 1915 on the is land of Babeldaob. Adher ents s imultaneous ly w or s hip J es us C hr is t and Palauan goddes s es . R as tafar ian: an afr o- c entr is t ideology and mov ement bas ed on C hr is tianity that ar os e in J amaic a in the 1930s ; it believ es that H aile Selas s ie I, Emper or of Ethiopia fr om 1930- 74, w as the inc ar nation of the s ec ond c oming of J es us . Santer ia: pr ac tic ed in C uba, the mer ging of the Yor uba r eligion of N iger ia w ith R oman C atholic is m and nativ e Indian tr aditions . Its pr ac titioner s believ e that eac h per s on has a des tiny and ev entually tr ans c ends to mer ge w ith the div ine c r eator and s our c e of all ener gy , O lor un. Voodoo/Vodun: a for m of s pir it and anc es tor w or s hip c ombined w ith s ome C hr is tian faiths , es pec ially C atholic is m. H aitian and Louis iana Voodoo, w hic h hav e inc luded mor e C atholic pr ac tic es , ar e s epar ate fr om Wes t Afr ic an Vodun, w hic h has r etained a foc us on s pir it w or s hip. N o n - relig io u s Agnos tic is m: the belief that mos t things ar e unk now able. In r egar d to r eligion it is us ually c har ac ter iz ed as neither a belief nor non belief in a deity . Atheis m: the belief that ther e ar e no deities of any k ind. Reserves of foreign exchange and gold T his entr y giv es the dollar v alue for the s toc k of all financ ial as s ets that ar e av ailable to the c entr al monetar y author ity for us e in meeting a c ountr y 's balanc e of pay ments needs as of the end- date of the per iod s pec ified. T his c ategor y inc ludes not only for eign c ur r enc y and gold, but als o a c ountr y 's holdings of Spec ial D r aw ing R ights in the Inter national Monetar y F und, and its r es er v e pos ition in the F und. Roadways T his entr y giv es the total length of the r oad netw or k and inc ludes the length of the pav ed and unpav ed por tions . Sanitation facility access T his entr y pr ov ides infor mation about ac c es s to impr ov ed or unimpr ov ed s anitation fac ilities av ailable to s egments of the population of a c ountr y . Impr ov ed s anitation - us e of any of the follow ing fac ilities : flus h or pour - flus h to a piped s ew er s y s tem, s eptic tank or pit latr ine; v entilated impr ov ed pit ( VIP) latr ine; pit latr ine w ith s lab; or a c ompos ting toilet. U nimpr ov ed s anitation - us e of any of the follow ing fac ilities : flus h or pour - flus h not piped to a s ew er s y s tem, s eptic tank or pit latr ine; pit latr ine w ithout a s lab or open pit; buc k et; hanging toilet or hanging latr ine; s har ed fac ilities of any ty pe; no fac ilities ; or bus h or field. School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) Sc hool life ex pec tanc y ( SLE) is the total number of y ear s of s c hooling ( pr imar y to ter tiar y ) that a c hild c an ex pec t to r ec eiv e, as s uming that the pr obability of his or her being enr olled in s c hool at any par tic ular futur e age is equal to the c ur r ent enr ollment r atio at that age. C aution mus t be maintained w hen utiliz ing this indic ator in inter national c ompar is ons . F or ex ample, a y ear or gr ade c ompleted in one c ountr y is not nec es s ar ily the s ame in ter ms of educ ational c ontent or quality as a y ear or gr ade c ompleted in another c ountr y . SLE r epr es ents the ex pec ted number of y ear s of s c hooling that w ill be c ompleted, inc luding y ear s s pent r epeating one or mor e gr ades . Sex ratio T his entr y inc ludes the number of males for eac h female in fiv e age gr oups - at bir th, under 15 y ear s, 15- 64 y ear s, 65 y ear s and ov er, and for the total population. Sex r atio at bir th has r ec ently emer ged as an indic ator of c er tain k inds of s ex dis c r imination in s ome c ountr ies . F or ins tanc e, high s ex r atios at bir th in s ome As ian c ountr ies ar e now attr ibuted to s ex s elec tiv e abor tion and infantic ide due to a s tr ong pr efer enc e for s ons . T his w ill affec t futur e mar r iage patter ns and fer tility patter ns . Ev entually , it c ould c aus e unr es t among y oung adult males w ho ar e unable to find par tner s . Stateless person Stateles s nes s is the c ondition w her eby an indiv idual is not c ons ider ed a national by any c ountr y . Stateles s people ar e denied bas ic r ights , s uc h as ac c es s to employ ment, hous ing, educ ation, healthc ar e, and pens ions , and they may be unable to v ote, ow n pr oper ty , open a bank ac c ount, or legally r egis ter a mar r iage or bir th. T hey may als o be v ulner able to ar bitr ar y tr eatment and human tr affic k ing. In at leas t 30 s tates , w omen c annot pas s their nationality on to their c hildr en. In thes e c ountr ies , if a c hild's father is for eign, s tateles s , or abs ent, the c hild us ually bec omes s tateles s . Es timates of the number of s tateles s people ar e inher ently impr ec is e bec aus e few c ountr ies hav e pr oc edur es to identify them; the U N appr ox imates that ther e ar e 12 million s tateles s people w or ldw ide. Stateles s people ar e c ounted in a c ountr y ’s ov er all population figur e if they hav e liv ed ther e for a y ear . Stock of broad money T his entr y c ov er s all of " N ar r ow money ," plus the total quantity of time and s av ings depos its , c r edit union depos its , ins titutional money mar k et funds , s hor t- ter m r epur c has e agr eements betw een the c entr al bank and c ommer c ial depos it bank s , and other lar ge liquid as s ets held by nonbank financ ial ins titutions , s tate and loc al gov er nments , nonfinanc ial public enter pr is es , and the pr iv ate s ec tor of the ec onomy . N ational c ur r enc y units hav e been c onv er ted to U S dollar s at the c los ing ex c hange r ate for the date of the infor mation. Bec aus e of ex c hange r ate mov ements , c hanges in money s toc k s meas ur ed in national c ur r enc y units may v ar y s ignific antly fr om thos e s how n in U S dollar s , and c aution is ur ged w hen mak ing c ompar is ons ov er time in U S dollar s . In addition to s er v ing as a medium of ex c hange, br oad money inc ludes as s ets that ar e s lightly les s liquid than nar r ow money and the as s ets tend to func tion as a " s tor e of v alue" - a means of holding w ealth. Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad T his entr y giv es the c umulativ e U S dollar v alue of all inv es tments in for eign c ountr ies made dir ec tly by r es idents - pr imar ily c ompanies - of the home c ountr y , as of the end of the time per iod indic ated. D ir ec t inv es tment ex c ludes inv es tment thr ough pur c has e of s har es . Stock of direct foreign investment - at home T his entr y giv es the c umulativ e U S dollar v alue of all inv es tments in the home c ountr y made dir ec tly by r es idents - pr imar ily c ompanies - of other c ountr ies as of the end of the time per iod indic ated. D ir ec t inv es tment ex c ludes inv es tment thr ough pur c has e of s har es . Stock of domestic credit T his entr y is the total quantity of c r edit, denominated in the domes tic c ur r enc y , pr ov ided by financ ial ins titutions to the c entr al bank , s tate and loc al gov er nments , public non- financ ial c or por ations , and the pr iv ate s ec tor . T he national c ur r enc y units hav e been c onv er ted to U S dollar s at the c los ing ex c hange r ate on the date of the infor mation. Stock of narrow money T his entr y , als o k now n as " M1," c ompr is es the total quantity of c ur r enc y in c ir c ulation ( notes and c oins ) plus demand depos its denominated in the national c ur r enc y held by nonbank financ ial ins titutions , s tate and loc al gov er nments , nonfinanc ial public enter pr is es , and the pr iv ate s ec tor of the ec onomy , meas ur ed at a s pec ific point in time. N ational c ur r enc y units hav e been c onv er ted to U S dollar s at the c los ing ex c hange r ate for the date of the infor mation. Bec aus e of ex c hange r ate mov ements , c hanges in money s toc k s meas ur ed in national c ur r enc y units may v ar y s ignific antly fr om thos e s how n in U S dollar s , and c aution is ur ged w hen mak ing c ompar is ons ov er time in U S dollar s . N ar r ow money c ons is ts of mor e liquid as s ets than br oad money and the as s ets gener ally func tion as a " medium of ex c hange" for an ec onomy . Suffrage T his entr y giv es the age at enfr anc his ement and w hether the r ight to v ote is univ er s al or r es tr ic ted. Taxes and other revenues T his entr y r ec or ds total tax es and other r ev enues r ec eiv ed by the national gov er nment dur ing the time per iod indic ated, ex pr es s ed as a per c ent of G D P. T ax es inc lude per s onal and c or por ate inc ome tax es , v alue added tax es , ex c is e tax es , and tar iffs . O ther r ev enues inc lude s oc ial c ontr ibutions - s uc h as pay ments for s oc ial s ec ur ity and hos pital ins ur anc e - gr ants , and net r ev enues fr om public enter pr is es . N or maliz ing the data, by div iding total r ev enues by G D P, enables eas y c ompar is ons ac r os s c ountr ies , and pr ov ides an av er age r ate at w hic h all inc ome ( G D P) is paid to the national lev el gov er nment for the s upply of public goods and s er v ic es . Telephone numbers All telephone number s in T he Wor ld F ac tbook c ons is t of the c ountr y c ode in br ac k ets , the c ity or ar ea c ode ( w her e r equir ed) in par enthes es , and the loc al number . T he one c omponent that is not pr es ented is the inter national ac c es s c ode, w hic h v ar ies fr om c ountr y to c ountr y . F or ex ample, an inter national dir ec t dial telephone c all plac ed fr om the U S to Madr id, Spain, w ould be as follow s : 011 [34] ( 1) 577- x x x x , w her e 011 is the inter national ac c es s c ode for s tation- to- s tation c alls ; 01 is for c alls other than s tation- to- s tation c alls , [34] is the c ountr y c ode for Spain, ( 1) is the c ity c ode for Madr id, 577 is the loc al ex c hange, and x x x x is the loc al telephone number . An inter national dir ec t dial telephone c all plac ed fr om another c ountr y to the U S w ould be as follow s : inter national ac c es s c ode + [1] ( 202) 939- x x x x , w her e [ 1] is the c ountr y c ode for the U S, ( 202) is the ar ea c ode for Was hington, D C , 939 is the loc al ex c hange, and x x x x is the loc al telephone number . Telephone system T his entr y inc ludes a br ief gener al as s es s ment of the s y s tem w ith details on the domes tic and inter national c omponents . T he follow ing ter ms and abbr ev iations ar e us ed thr oughout the entr y : A rab sat - Ar ab Satellite C ommunic ations O r ganiz ation ( R iy adh, Saudi Ar abia) . A u t o d in - Automatic D igital N etw or k ( U S D epar tment of D efens e) . C B - c itiz en's band mobile r adio c ommunic ations . C ellu lar t elep h o n e syst em - the telephones in this s y s tem ar e r adio tr ans c eiv er s , w ith eac h ins tr ument hav ing its ow n pr iv ate r adio fr equenc y and s uffic ient r adiated pow er to r eac h the boos ter s tation in its ar ea ( c ell) , fr om w hic h the telephone s ignal is fed to a telephone ex c hange. C en t ral A m erican Micro w ave Syst em - a tr unk mic r ow av e r adio r elay s y s tem that link s the c ountr ies of C entr al Amer ic a and Mex ic o w ith eac h other . C o axial cab le - a multic hannel c ommunic ation c able c ons is ting of a c entr al c onduc ting w ir e, s ur r ounded by and ins ulated fr om a c y lindr ic al c onduc ting s hell; a lar ge number of telephone c hannels c an be made av ailable w ithin the ins ulated s pac e by the us e of a lar ge number of c ar r ier fr equenc ies . C o m sat - C ommunic ations Satellite C or por ation ( U S) . D SN - D efens e Sw itc hed N etw or k ( for mer ly Automatic Voic e N etw or k or Autov on) ; bas ic gener al- pur pos e, s w itc hed v oic e netw or k of the D efens e C ommunic ations Sy s tem ( U S D epar tment of D efens e) . Eu t elsat - Eur opean T elec ommunic ations Satellite O r ganiz ation ( Par is ) . F ib er- o p t ic cab le - a multic hannel c ommunic ations c able us ing a thr ead of optic al glas s fiber s as a tr ans mis s ion medium in w hic h the s ignal ( v oic e, v ideo, etc .) is in the for m of a c oded puls e of light. G SM - a global s y s tem for mobile ( c ellular ) c ommunic ations dev is ed by the G r oupe Spec ial Mobile of the pan- Eur opean s tandar diz ation or ganiz ation, C onfer enc e Eur opeanne des Pos ts et T elec ommunic ations ( C EPT ) in 1982. H F - high fr equenc y ; any r adio fr equenc y in the 3,000- to 30,000- k H z r ange. In m arsat - Inter national Mar itime Satellite O r ganiz ation ( London) ; pr ov ider of global mobile s atellite c ommunic ations for c ommer c ial, dis tr es s , and s afety applic ations at s ea, in the air , and on land. In t elsat - Inter national T elec ommunic ations Satellite O r ganiz ation ( Was hington, D C ) . In t ersp u t n ik - Inter national O r ganiz ation of Spac e C ommunic ations ( Mos c ow ) ; fir s t es tablis hed in the for mer Sov iet U nion and the Eas t Eur opean c ountr ies , it is now mar k eting its s er v ic es w or ldw ide w ith ear th s tations in N or th Amer ic a, Afr ic a, and Eas t As ia. L an d lin e - c ommunic ation w ir e or c able of any s or t that is ins talled on poles or bur ied in the gr ound. Marecs - Mar itime Eur opean C ommunic ations Satellite us ed in the Inmar s at s y s tem on leas e fr om the Eur opean Spac e Agenc y . Marisat - s atellites of the C oms at C or por ation that par tic ipate in the Inmar s at s y s tem. Med arab t el - the Middle Eas t T elec ommunic ations Pr ojec t of the Inter national T elec ommunic ations U nion ( IT U ) pr ov iding a moder n telec ommunic ations netw or k , pr imar ily by mic r ow av e r adio r elay , link ing Alger ia, D jibouti, Egy pt, J or dan, Liby a, Mor oc c o, Saudi Ar abia, Somalia, Sudan, Sy r ia, T unis ia, and Yemen; it w as initially s tar ted in Mor oc c o in 1970 by the Ar ab T elec ommunic ations U nion ( AT U ) and w as k now n at that time as the Middle Eas t Mediter r anean T elec ommunic ations N etw or k . Micro w ave rad io relay - tr ans mis s ion of long dis tanc e telephone c alls and telev is ion pr ogr ams by highly dir ec tional r adio mic r ow av es that ar e r ec eiv ed and s ent on fr om one boos ter s tation to another on an optic al path. N MT - N or dic Mobile T elephone; an analog c ellular telephone s y s tem that w as dev eloped jointly by the national telec ommunic ations author ities of the N or dic c ountr ies ( D enmar k , F inland, Ic eland, N or w ay , and Sw eden) . O rb it a - a R us s ian telev is ion s er v ic e; als o the tr ade name of a pac k et- s w itc hed digital telephone netw or k . R ad io t elep h o n e co m m u n icat io n s - the tw o- w ay tr ans mis s ion and r ec eption of s ounds by br oadc as t r adio on author iz ed fr equenc ies us ing telephone hands ets . Pan A m Sat - PanAmSat C or por ation ( G r eenw ic h, C T ) . SA F E - South Afr ic an F ar Eas t C able Sat ellit e co m m u n icat io n syst em - a c ommunic ation s y s tem c ons is ting of tw o or mor e ear th s tations and at leas t one s atellite that pr ov ide long dis tanc e tr ans mis s ion of v oic e, data, and telev is ion; the s y s tem us ually s er v es as a tr unk c onnec tion betw een telephone ex c hanges ; if the ear th s tations ar e in the s ame c ountr y , it is a domes tic s y s tem. Sat ellit e eart h st at io n - a c ommunic ations fac ility w ith a mic r ow av e r adio tr ans mitting and r ec eiv ing antenna and r equir ed r ec eiv ing and tr ans mitting equipment for c ommunic ating w ith s atellites . Sat ellit e lin k - a r adio c onnec tion betw een a s atellite and an ear th s tation per mitting c ommunic ation betw een them, either onew ay ( dow n link fr om s atellite to ear th s tation - telev is ion r ec eiv e- only tr ans mis s ion) or tw o- w ay ( telephone c hannels ) . SH F - s uper high fr equenc y ; any r adio fr equenc y in the 3,000- to 30,000- MH z r ange. Sh o rt w ave - r adio fr equenc ies ( fr om 1.605 to 30 MH z ) that fall abov e the c ommer c ial br oadc as t band and ar e us ed for c ommunic ation ov er long dis tanc es . So lid arid ad - geos y nc hr onous s atellites in Mex ic o's s y s tem of inter national telec ommunic ations in the Wes ter n H emis pher e. St at sio n ar - R us s ia's geos tationar y s y s tem for s atellite telec ommunic ations . Su b m arin e cab le - a c able des igned for s er v ic e under w ater . T A T - T r ans - Atlantic T elephone; any of a number of high- c apac ity s ubmar ine c oax ial telephone c ables link ing Eur ope w ith N or th Amer ic a. T elef ax - fac s imile s er v ic e betw een s ubs c r iber s tations v ia the public s w itc hed telephone netw or k or the inter national D atel netw or k . T eleg rap h - a telec ommunic ations s y s tem des igned for unmodulated elec tr ic impuls e tr ans mis s ion. T elex - a c ommunic ation s er v ic e inv olv ing telety pew r iter s c onnec ted by w ir e thr ough automatic ex c hanges . T ro p o sp h eric scat t er - a for m of mic r ow av e r adio tr ans mis s ion in w hic h the tr opos pher e is us ed to s c atter and r eflec t a fr ac tion of the inc ident r adio w av es bac k to ear th; pow er ful, highly dir ec tional antennas ar e us ed to tr ans mit and r ec eiv e the mic r ow av e s ignals ; r eliable ov er - the- hor iz on c ommunic ations ar e r ealiz ed for dis tanc es up to 600 miles in a s ingle hop; additional hops c an ex tend the r ange of this s y s tem for v er y long dis tanc es . T ru n k n et w o rk - a netw or k of s w itc hing c enter s , c onnec ted by multic hannel tr unk lines . U H F - ultr a high fr equenc y ; any r adio fr equenc y in the 300- to 3,000- MH z r ange. VH F - v er y high fr equenc y ; any r adio fr equenc y in the 30- to 300- MH z r ange. Telephones - fixed lines T his entr y giv es the total number of fix ed telephone lines in us e, as w ell as the number of s ubs c r iptions per 100 inhabitants. Telephones - mobile cellular T his entr y giv es the totalnumber of mobile c ellular telephone s ubs c r iber s , as w ell as the number of s ubs c r iptions per 100 inhabitants . N ote that bec aus e of the ubiquity of mobile phone us e in dev eloped c ountr ies , the number of s ubs c r iptions per 100 inhabitants c an ex c eed 100. Terminology D ue to the highly s tr uc tur ed natur e of the F ac tbook databas e, s ome c ollec tiv e gener ic ter ms hav e to be us ed. F or ex ample, the w or d C o u n t ry in the C o u n t ry n am e entr y r efer s to a w ide v ar iety of dependenc ies , ar eas of s pec ial s ov er eignty , uninhabited is lands , and other entities in addition to the tr aditional c ountr ies or independent s tates . Milit ary is als o us ed as an umbr ella ter m for v ar ious c iv il defens e, s ec ur ity , and defens e ac tiv ities in many entr ies . T he In d ep en d en ce entr y inc ludes the us ual c olonial independenc e dates and for mer r uling s tates as w ell as other s ignific ant nationhood dates s uc h as the tr aditional founding date or the date of unific ation, feder ation, c onfeder ation, es tablis hment, or s tate s uc c es s ion that ar e not s tr ic tly independenc e dates . D ependent ar eas hav e the natur e of their dependenc y s tatus noted in this s ame entr y . Terrain T his entr y c ontains a br ief des c r iption of the topogr aphy . Terrorism T his c ategor y inc ludes tw o fields : T erro rist g ro u p s – h o m e b ased and T erro rist g ro u p s – f o reig n b ased. T he c ategor y is by no means all inc lus iv e; it only c ites thos e ter r or is t or ganiz ations that appear on the U S State D epar tment's lis ting of F or eign T er r or is t O r ganiz ations . Terrorist groups - home based T his entr y pr ov ides infor mation on the U S State D epar tment's des ignated F or eign T er r or is t O r ganiz ations headquar ter ed in a s pec ific c ountr y , w hic h may or may not be a gr oup's c ountr y of or igin. D etails on eac h or ganiz ation's aim( s ) and ar ea( s ) of oper ation ar e pr ov ided. Terrorist groups - foreign based T his entr y pr ov ides infor mation on the U S State D epar tment's des ignated F or eign T er r or is t O r ganiz ations oper ating in c ountr ies other than w her e a par tic ular gr oup is headquar ter ed. D etails on eac h or ganiz ation's aim( s ) and ar ea( s ) of oper ation ar e pr ov ided. Time difference T his entr y is ex pr es s ed in T he Wor ld F ac tbook in tw o w ay s . F ir s t, it is s tated as the differ enc e in hour s betw een the c apital of an entity and C o o rd in at ed U n iversal T im e ( U T C ) dur ing Standar d T ime. Additionally , the differ enc e in time betw een the c apital of an entity and that obs er v ed in Was hington, D .C . is als o pr ov ided. N ote that the time differ enc e as s umes both loc ations ar e s imultaneous ly obs er v ing Standar d T ime or D ay light Sav ing T ime. Time zones T en c ountr ies ( Aus tr alia, Br az il, C anada, Indones ia, Kaz ak hs tan, Mex ic o, N ew Z ealand, R us s ia, Spain, and the U nited States ) and the is land of G r eenland obs er v e mor e than one offic ial time depending on the number of des ignated time z ones w ithin their boundar ies . An illus tr ation of time z ones thr oughout the w or ld and w ithin c ountr ies c an be s een in the Standar d T ime Z ones of the Wor ld map inc luded in the R ef eren ce Map s s ec tion of T he Wor ld F ac tbook. Total fertility rate T his entr y giv es a figur e for the av er age number of c hildr en that w ould be bor n per w oman if all w omen liv ed to the end of their c hildbear ing y ear s and bor e c hildr en ac c or ding to a giv en fer tility r ate at eac h age. T he total fer tility r ate ( T F R ) is a mor e dir ec t meas ur e of the lev el of fer tility than the c r ude bir th r ate, s inc e it r efer s to bir ths per w oman. T his indic ator s how s the potential for population c hange in the c ountr y . A r ate of tw o c hildr en per w oman is c ons ider ed the r eplac ement r ate for a population, r es ulting in r elativ e s tability in ter ms of total number s . R ates abov e tw o c hildr en indic ate populations gr ow ing in s iz e and w hos e median age is dec lining. H igher r ates may als o indic ate diffic ulties for families , in s ome s ituations , to feed and educ ate their c hildr en and for w omen to enter the labor for c e. R ates below tw o c hildr en indic ate populations dec r eas ing in s iz e and gr ow ing older . G lobal fer tility r ates ar e in gener al dec line and this tr end is mos t pr onounc ed in indus tr ializ ed c ountr ies , es pec ially Wes ter n Eur ope, w her e populations ar e pr ojec ted to dec line dr amatic ally ov er the nex t 50 y ear s . Trafficking in persons T r affic k ing in per s ons is moder n- day s lav er y , inv olv ing v ic tims w ho ar e for c ed, defr auded, or c oer c ed into labor or s ex ual ex ploitation. T he Inter national Labor O r ganiz ation ( ILO ) , the U N agenc y c har ged w ith addr es s ing labor s tandar ds , employ ment, and s oc ial pr otec tion is s ues , es timates that 12.3 million people w or ldw ide ar e ens lav ed in for c ed labor , bonded labor , for c ed c hild labor , s ex ual s er v itude, and inv oluntar y s er v itude at any giv en time. H uman tr affic k ing is a multi- dimens ional thr eat, depr iv ing people of their human r ights and fr eedoms , r is k ing global health, pr omoting s oc ial br eak dow n, inhibiting dev elopment by depr iv ing c ountr ies of their human c apital, and helping fuel the gr ow th of or ganiz ed c r ime. In 2000, the U S C ongr es s pas s ed the T r affic k ing Vic tims Pr otec tion Ac t ( T VPA) , r eauthor iz ed in 2003 and 2005, w hic h pr ov ides tools for the U S to c ombat tr affic k ing in per s ons , both domes tic ally and abr oad. O ne of the law 's k ey c omponents is the c r eation of the U S D epar tment of State's annual T r affic k ing in Per s ons R epor t, w hic h as s es s es the gov er nment r es pons e ( i.e., the c ur r ent s ituation) in s ome 150 c ountr ies w ith a s ignific ant number of v ic tims tr affic k ed ac r os s their bor der s w ho ar e r ec r uited, har bor ed, tr ans por ted, pr ov ided, or obtained for for c ed labor or s ex ual ex ploitation. C ountr ies in the annual r epor t ar e r ated in thr ee tier s , bas ed on gov er nment effor ts to c ombat tr affic k ing. T he c ountr ies identified in this entr y ar e thos e lis ted in the 2010 T r affic k ing in Per s ons R epor t as T ier 2 Watc h Lis t or T ier 3 bas ed on the follow ing tier r ating definitions : T ier 2 Wat ch L ist c ountr ies do not fully c omply w ith the minimum s tandar ds for the elimination of tr affic k ing but ar e mak ing s ignific ant effor ts to do s o, and meet one of the follow ing c r iter ia: 1. they dis play high or s ignific antly inc r eas ing number of v ic tims , 2. they hav e failed to pr ov ide ev idenc e of inc r eas ing effor ts to c ombat tr affic k ing in per s ons , or , 3. they hav e c ommitted to tak e ac tion ov er the nex t y ear . T ier 3 c ountr ies neither s atis fy the minimum s tandar ds for the elimination of tr affic k ing nor demons tr ate a s ignific ant effor t to do s o. C ountr ies in this tier ar e s ubjec t to potential non- humanitar ian and non- tr ade s anc tions . Transnational issues T his c ategor y inc ludes four entr ies - D isp u t es - in t ern at io n al, R ef u g ees an d in t ern ally d isp laced p erso n s, T raf f ickin g in p erso n s, and Illicit d ru g s - that deal w ith c ur r ent is s ues going bey ond national boundar ies . Transportation T his c ategor y inc ludes the entr ies dealing w ith the means for mov ement of people and goods . Transportation - note T his entr y inc ludes mis c ellaneous tr ans por tation infor mation of s ignific anc e not inc luded els ew her e. Unemployment rate T his entr y c ontains the per c ent of the labor for c e that is w ithout jobs . Subs tantial under employ ment might be noted. Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 T his entr y giv es the per c ent of the total labor for c e ages 15- 24 unemploy ed dur ing a s pec ified y ear . Urbanization T his entr y pr ov ides tw o meas ur es of the degr ee of ur baniz ation of a population. T he fir s t, ur ban population, des c r ibes the per c entage of the total population liv ing in ur ban ar eas , as defined by the c ountr y . T he s ec ond, r ate of ur baniz ation, des c r ibes the pr ojec ted av er age r ate of c hange of the s iz e of the ur ban population ov er the giv en per iod of time. Additionally , the Wor ld entr y inc ludes a lis t of the ten lar ges t ur ban agglomer ations. An ur ban agglomer ation is defined as c ompr is ing the c ity or tow n pr oper and als o the s ubur ban fr inge or thic k ly s ettled ter r itor y ly ing outs ide of, but adjac ent to, the boundar ies of the c ity . UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) See entr y for C oor dinated U niv er s al T ime. Waterways T his entr y giv es the total length of nav igable r iv er s , c anals , and other inland bodies of w ater . Weights and Measures T his infor mation is pr es ented in Appendix G : Weights and Meas ur es and inc ludes mathematic al notations ( mathematic al pow er s and names ) , metr ic inter r elations hips ( pr efix ; s y mbol; length, w eight, or c apac ity ; ar ea; v olume) , and s tandar d c onv er s ion fac tor s . Years All y ear r efer enc es ar e for the c alendar y ear ( C Y) unles s indic ated as fis c al y ear ( F Y) . T he c alendar y ear is an ac c ounting per iod of 12 months fr om 1 J anuar y to 31 D ec ember . T he fis c al y ear is an ac c ounting per iod of 12 months other than 1 J anuar y to 31 D ec ember .

N O T E : I N F O R M A T I O N F O R T H E U S A N D U S D E P E N D E N C I E S W A S C O M P I L E D F R O M M A T E R I A L I N T H E P U B L I C D O M A I N A N D D O E S N O T R E P R E S E N T I N T E L L I G E N C E C O M M U N I T Y E S T I M A T E S .



About CIA

Careers & Internships

News & Information

Kids' Zone

Today's CIA

Career Opportunities

Press Releases & Statements

K-5th Grade

Leadership

Student Opportunities

Speeches & Testimony

6-12th Grade

CIA Vision, Mission & Values

Application Process

CIA & the War on Terrorism

Parents & Teachers

Headquarters Tour

Life at CIA

Featured Story Archive

Games

CIA Museum

Diversity

What’s New Archive

Related Links

History of the CIA

Military Transition

Your News

Privacy Statement

FAQs

Diversions & Information

NoFEAR Act

FAQs

Library

Connect with CIA

Site Policies

Publications Offices of CIA

Center for the Study of Intelligence

Intelligence & Analysis

Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room

Clandestine Service

Kent Center Occasional Papers

Science & Technology

Intelligence Literature

Support to Mission

Reports

Human Resources

Related Links

Public Affairs

Video Center

General Counsel Equal Employment Opportunity Congressional Affairs Inspector General Military Affairs

* Required plugins [ Adobe® Reader® ]

Privacy

Copyright

Site Policies

USA.gov

FOIA

DNI.gov

NoFEAR Act

Inspector General

Mobile Site

Contact CIA

Site Map