that access the Internet. Statistics vary from country to country and
may include users who access the Internet at least several times a week
to those who access it only once within a period of several months.
Introduction: This category includes one entry, Background.
Investment (gross fixed): This entry records total business spending
on fixed assets, such as factories, machinery, equipment, dwellings,
and inventories of raw materials, which provide the basis for future
production. It is measured gross of the depreciation of the assets,
i.e., it includes investment that merely replaces worn-out or scrapped
capital.
Irrigated land: This entry gives the number of square kilometers of
land area that is artificially supplied with water.
Judicial branch: This entry contains the name(s) of the highest
court(s) and a brief description of the selection process for members.
Labor force: This entry contains the total labor force figure.
Labor force - by occupation: This entry lists the percentage
distribution of the labor force by occupation. The distribution will
total less than 100 percent if the data are incomplete.
Land boundaries: This entry contains the total length of all land
boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border
countries. When available, official lengths published by national
statistical agencies are used. Because surveying methods may differ,
country border lengths reported by contiguous countries may differ.
Land use: This entry contains the percentage shares of total land area
for three different types of land use: arable land - land cultivated
for crops like wheat, maize, and rice that are replanted after each
harvest; permanent crops - land cultivated for crops like citrus,
coffee, and rubber that are not replanted after each harvest; includes
land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but
excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber; other - any land
not arable or under permanent crops; includes permanent meadows and
pastures, forests and woodlands, built-on areas, roads, barren land,
etc.
Languages: This entry provides a rank ordering of languages starting
with the largest and sometimes includes the percent of total population
speaking that language.
Legal system: This entry contains a brief description of the legal
system's historical roots, role in government, and acceptance of
International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.
Legislative branch: This entry contains information on the structure
(unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), formal name, number of seats, and
term of office. Elections includes the nature of election process or
accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next
election. Election results includes the percent of vote and/or number
of seats held by each party in the last election.
Life expectancy at birth: This entry contains the average number of
years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year, if
mortality at each age remains constant in the future. The entry
includes total population as well as the male and female components.
Life expectancy at birth is also a measure of overall quality of life
in a country and summarizes the mortality at all ages. It can also be
thought of as indicating the potential return on investment in human
capital and is necessary for the calculation of various actuarial
measures.
Literacy: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census
Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There
are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless
otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition
- the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the
standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read
and write is beyond the scope of the Factbook. Information on literacy,
while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the
most easily available and valid for international comparisons. Low
levels of literacy, and education in general, can impede the economic
development of a country in the current rapidly changing, technology-
driven world.
Location: This entry identifies the country's regional location,
neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
Major infectious diseases: This entry lists major infectious diseases
likely to be encountered in countries where the risk of such diseases
is assessed to be very high as compared to the United States. These
infectious diseases represent risks to US government personnel
traveling to the specified country for a period of less than three
years. The degree of risk is assessed by considering the foreign nature
of these infectious diseases, their severity, and the probability of
being affected by the diseases present. The diseases listed do not
necessarily represent the total disease burden experienced by the local
population.
The risk to an individual traveler varies considerably by the specific
location, visit duration, type of activities, type of accommodations,
time of year, and other factors. Consultation with a travel medicine
physician is needed to evaluate individual risk and recommend
appropriate preventive measures such as vaccines.
Diseases are organized into the following six exposure categories shown
in italics and listed in typical descending order of risk. Note: The
sequence of exposure categories listed in individual country entries
may vary according to local conditions.
food or waterborne diseases acquired through eating or drinking on the
local economy:
Hepatitis A - viral disease that interferes with the functioning of the
liver; spread through consumption of food or water contaminated with
fecal matter, principally in areas of poor sanitation; victims exhibit
fever, jaundice, and diarrhea; 15% of victims will experience prolonged
symptoms over 6-9 months; vaccine available.
Hepatitis E - water-borne viral disease that interferes with the
functioning of the liver; most commonly spread through fecal
contamination of drinking water; victims exhibit jaundice, fatigue,
abdominal pain, and dark colored urine.
Typhoid fever - bacterial disease spread through contact with food or
water contaminated by fecal matter or sewage; victims exhibit sustained
high fevers; left untreated, mortality rates can reach 20%.
vectorborne diseases acquired through the bite of an infected
arthropod:
Malaria - caused by single-cell parasitic protozoa Plasmodium;
transmitted to humans via the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito;
parasites multiply in the liver attacking red blood cells resulting in
cycles of fever, chills, and sweats accompanied by anemia; death due to
damage to vital organs and interruption of blood supply to the brain;
endemic in 100, mostly tropical, countries with 90% of cases and the
majority of 1.5-2.5 million estimated annual deaths occurring in sub-
Saharan Africa.
Dengue fever - mosquito-borne (Aedes aegypti) viral disease associated
with urban environments; manifests as sudden onset of fever and severe
headache; occasionally produces shock and hemorrhage leading to death
in 5% of cases.
Yellow fever - mosquito-borne viral disease; severity ranges from
influenza-like symptoms to severe hepatitis and hemorrhagic fever;
occurs only in tropical South America and sub-Saharan Africa, where
most cases are reported; fatality rate is less than 20%.
Japanese Encephalitis - mosquito-borne (Culex tritaeniorhynchus) viral
disease associated with rural areas in Asia; acute encephalitis can
progress to paralysis, coma, and death; fatality rates 30%.
African Trypanosomiasis - caused by the parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma;
transmitted to humans via the bite of bloodsucking Tsetse flies;
infection leads to malaise and irregular fevers and, in advanced cases
when the parasites invade the central nervous system, coma and death;
endemic in 36 countries of sub-Saharan Africa; cattle and wild animals
act as reservoir hosts for the parasites.
Cutaneous Leishmaniasis - caused by the parasitic protozoa leishmania;
transmitted to humans via the bite of sandflies; results in skin
lesions that may become chronic; endemic in 88 countries; 90% of cases
occur in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Peru; wild
and domesticated animals as well as humans can act as reservoirs of
infection.
Plague - bacterial disease transmitted by fleas normally associated
with rats; person-to-person airborne transmission also possible; recent
plague epidemics occurred in areas of Asia, Africa, and South America
associated with rural areas or small towns and villages; manifests as
fever, headache, and painfully swollen lymph nodes; disease progresses
rapidly and without antibiotic treatment leads to pneumonic form with a
death rate in excess of 50%.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever - tick-borne viral disease; infection
may also result from exposure to infected animal blood or tissue;
geographic distribution includes Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and
Eastern Europe; sudden onset of fever, headache, and muscle aches
followed by hemorrhaging in the bowels, urine, nose, and gums;
mortality rate is approximately 30%.
Rift Valley fever - viral disease affecting domesticated animals and
humans; transmission is by mosquito and other biting insects; infection
may also occur through handling of infected meat or contact with blood;
geographic distribution includes eastern and southern Africa where
cattle and sheep are raised; symptoms are generally mild with fever and
some liver abnormalities, but the disease may progress to hemorrhagic
fever, encephalitis, or ocular disease; fatality rates are low at about
1% of cases.
Chikungunya - mosquito-borne (Aedes aegypti) viral disease associated
with urban environments, similar to Dengue Fever; characterized by
sudden onset of fever, rash, and severe joint pain usually lasting 3-7
days, some cases result in persistent arthritis.
water contact diseases acquired through swimming or wading in
freshwater lakes, streams, and rivers:
Leptospirosis - bacterial disease that affects animals and humans;
infection occurs through contact with water, food, or soil contaminated
by animal urine; symptoms include high fever, severe headache,
vomiting, jaundice, and diarrhea; untreated, the disease can result in
kidney damage, liver failure, meningitis, or respiratory distress;
fatality rates are low but left untreated recovery can take months.
Schistosomiasis - caused by parasitic trematode flatworm Schistosoma;
fresh water snails act as intermediate host and release larval form of
parasite that penetrates the skin of people exposed to contaminated
water; worms mature and reproduce in the blood vessels, liver, kidneys,
and intestines releasing eggs, which become trapped in tissues
triggering an immune response; may manifest as either urinary or
intestinal disease resulting in decreased work or learning capacity;
mortality, while generally low, may occur in advanced cases usually due
to bladder cancer; endemic in 74 developing countries with 80% of
infected people living in sub-Saharan Africa; humans act as the
reservoir for this parasite.
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease acquired through inhalation of
aerosols contaminated with rodent urine:
Lassa fever - viral disease carried by rats of the genus Mastomys;
endemic in portions of West Africa; infection occurs through direct
contact with or consumption of food contaminated by rodent urine or
fecal matter containing virus particles; fatality rate can reach 50% in
epidemic outbreaks.
respiratory disease acquired through close contact with an infectious
person:
Meningococcal meningitis - bacterial disease causing an inflammation of
the lining of the brain and spinal cord; one of the most important
bacterial pathogens is Neisseria meningitidis because of its potential
to cause epidemics; symptoms include stiff neck, high fever, headaches,
and vomiting; bacteria are transmitted from person to person by
respiratory droplets and facilitated by close and prolonged contact
resulting from crowded living conditions, often with a seasonal
distribution; death occurs in 5-15% of cases, typically within 24-48
hours of onset of symptoms; highest burden of meningococcal disease
occurs in the hyperendemic region of sub-Saharan Africa known as the
"Meningitis Belt" which stretches from Senegal east to Ethiopia.
animal contact disease acquired through direct contact with local
animals:
Rabies - viral disease of mammals usually transmitted through the bite
of an infected animal, most commonly dogs; virus affects the central
nervous system causing brain alteration and death; symptoms initially
are non-specific fever and headache progressing to neurological
symptoms; death occurs within days of the onset of symptoms.
Manpower available for military service: This entry gives the number
of males and females falling in the military age range for a country
(defined as being ages 16-49) and assumes that every individual is fit
to serve.
Manpower fit for military service: This entry gives the number of
males and females falling in the military age range for a country
(defined as being ages 16-49) and who are not otherwise disqualified
for health reasons; accounts for the health situation in the country
and provides a more realistic estimate of the actual number fit to
serve.
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: This entry
gives the number of males and females entering the military manpower
pool (i.e., reaching age 16) in any given year and is a measure of the
availability of military-age young adults.
Map references: This entry includes the name of the Factbook reference
map on which a country may be found. Note that boundary representations
on these maps are not necessarily authoritative. The entry on
Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some smaller
countries.
Maritime claims: This entry includes the following claims, the
definitions of which are excerpted from the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which alone contains the full and
definitive descriptions:
territorial sea - the sovereignty of a coastal state extends beyond its
land territory and internal waters to an adjacent belt of sea,
described as the territorial sea in the UNCLOS (Part II); this
sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well
as its underlying seabed and subsoil; every state has the right to
establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not
exceeding 12 nautical miles; the normal baseline for measuring the
breadth of the territorial sea is the mean low-water line along the
coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the
coastal state; the UNCLOS describes specific rules for archipelagic
states.
contiguous zone - according to the UNCLOS (Article 33), this is a zone
contiguous to a coastal state's territorial sea, over which it may
exercise the control necessary to: prevent infringement of its customs,
fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws and regulations within its
territory or territorial sea; punish infringement of the above laws and
regulations committed within its territory or territorial sea; the
contiguous zone may not extend beyond 24 nautical miles from the
baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured
(e.g. the US has claimed a 12-nautical mile contiguous zone in addition
to its 12-nautical mile territorial sea).
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) - the UNCLOS (Part V) defines the EEZ as
a zone beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which a coastal
state has: sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and
exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether
living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of
the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the
economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the
production of energy from the water, currents, and winds; jurisdiction
with regard to the establishment and use of artificial islands,
installations, and structures; marine scientific research; the
protection and preservation of the marine environment; the outer limit
of the exclusive economic zone shall not exceed 200 nautical miles from
the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is
measured.
continental shelf - the UNCLOS (Article 76) defines the continental
shelf of a coastal state as comprising the seabed and subsoil of the
submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the
natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the
continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the
baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured
where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to
that distance; the continental margin comprises the submerged
prolongation of the landmass of the coastal state, and consists of the
seabed and subsoil of the shelf, the slope and the rise; wherever the
continental margin extends beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline,
coastal states may extend their claim to a distance not to exceed 350
nautical miles from the baseline or 100 nautical miles from the 2500
meter isobath; it does not include the deep ocean floor with its
oceanic ridges or the subsoil thereof.
exclusive fishing zone - while this term is not used in the UNCLOS,
some states (e.g., the United Kingdom) have chosen not to claim an EEZ,
but rather to claim jurisdiction over the living resources off their
coast; in such cases, the term exclusive fishing zone is often used;
the breadth of this zone is normally the same as the EEZ or 200
nautical miles.
Market value of publicly traded shares: This entry gives the value of
shares issued by publicly traded companies at a price determined in the
national stock markets on the final day of the period indicated. It is
simply the latest price per share multiplied by the total number of
outstanding shares, cumulated over all companies listed on the
particular exchange.
Median age: This entry is the age that divides a population into two
numerically equal groups; that is, half the people are younger than
this age and half are older. It is a single index that summarizes the
age distribution of a population. Currently, the median age ranges from
a low of about 15 in Uganda and Gaza Strip to 40 or more in several
European countries and Japan. See the entry for "Age structure" for the
importance of a young versus an older age structure and, by
implication, a low versus a higher median age.
Merchant marine: Merchant marine may be defined as all ships engaged
in the carriage of goods; or all commercial vessels (as opposed to all
nonmilitary ships), which excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil
rigs, etc. This entry contains information in four fields - total,
ships by type, foreign-owned, and registered in other countries.
Total includes the number of ships (1,000 GRT or over), total DWT for
those ships, and total GRT for those ships. DWT or dead weight tonnage
is the total weight of cargo, plus bunkers, stores, etc., that a ship
can carry when immersed to the appropriate load line. GRT or gross
register tonnage is a figure obtained by measuring the entire sheltered
volume of a ship available for cargo and passengers and converting it
to tons on the basis of 100 cubic feet per ton; there is no stable
relationship between GRT and DWT.
Ships by type includes a listing of barge carriers, bulk cargo ships,
cargo ships, chemical tankers, combination bulk carriers, combination
ore/oil carriers, container ships, liquefied gas tankers, livestock
carriers, multifunctional large-load carriers, petroleum tankers,
passenger ships, passenger/cargo ships, railcar carriers, refrigerated
cargo ships, roll-on/roll-off cargo ships, short-sea passenger ships,
specialized tankers, and vehicle carriers.
Foreign-owned are ships that fly the flag of one country but belong to
owners in another.
Registered in other countries are ships that belong to owners in one
country but fly the flag of another.
Military: This category includes the entries dealing with a country's
military structure, manpower, and expenditures.
Military - note: This entry includes miscellaneous military
information of significance not included elsewhere.
Military branches: This entry lists the service branches subordinate
to defense ministries or the equivalent (typically ground, naval, air,
and marine forces).
Military expenditures: This entry gives spending on defense programs
for the most recent year available as a percent of gross domestic
product (GDP); the GDP is calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e.,
not in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).
Military service age and obligation: This entry gives the required
ages for voluntary or conscript military service and the length of
service obligation.
Money figures: All money figures are expressed in contemporaneous US
dollars unless otherwise indicated.
National holiday: This entry gives the primary national day of
celebration - usually independence day.
Nationality: This entry provides the identifying terms for citizens -
noun and adjective.
Natural gas - consumption: This entry is the total natural gas
consumed in cubic meters (cu m). The discrepancy between the amount of
natural gas produced and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or
exported is due to the omission of stock changes and other complicating
factors.
Natural gas - exports: This entry is the total natural gas exported in
cubic meters (cu m).
Natural gas - imports: This entry is the total natural gas imported in
cubic meters (cu m).
Natural gas - production: This entry is the total natural gas produced
in cubic meters (cu m). The discrepancy between the amount of natural
gas produced and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is
due to the omission of stock changes and other complicating factors.
Natural gas - proved reserves: This entry is the stock of proved
reserves of natural gas in cubic meters (cu m). Proved reserves are
those quantities of natural gas, which, by analysis of geological and
engineering data, can be estimated with a high degree of confidence to
be commercially recoverable from a given date forward, from known
reservoirs and under current economic conditions.
Natural hazards: This entry lists potential natural disasters.
Natural resources: This entry lists a country's mineral, petroleum,
hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
Net migration rate: This entry includes the figure for the difference
between the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the
year per 1,000 persons (based on midyear population). An excess of
persons entering the country is referred to as net immigration (e.g.,
3.56 migrants/1,000 population); an excess of persons leaving the
country as net emigration (e.g., -9.26 migrants/1,000 population). The
net migration rate indicates the contribution of migration to the
overall level of population change. High levels of migration can cause
problems such as increasing unemployment and potential ethnic strife
(if people are coming in) or a reduction in the labor force, perhaps in
certain key sectors (if people are leaving).
Oil - consumption: This entry is the total oil consumed in barrels per
day (bbl/day). The discrepancy between the amount of oil produced
and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is due to the
omission of stock changes, refinery gains, and other complicating
factors.
Oil - exports: This entry is the total oil exported in barrels per day
(bbl/day), including both crude oil and oil products.
Oil - imports: This entry is the total oil imported in barrels per day
(bbl/day), including both crude oil and oil products.