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 - proved reserves: This entry is the stock of proved reserves of
crude oil in barrels (bbl). Proved reserves are those quantities of
petroleum 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.
People: This category includes the entries dealing with the
characteristics of the people and their society.
People - note: This entry includes miscellaneous demographic
information of significance not included elsewhere.
Personal Names - Capitalization: The Factbook capitalizes the surname
or family name of individuals for the convenience of our users who are
faced with a world of different cultures and naming conventions. The
need for capitalization, bold type, underlining, italics, or some other
indicator of the individual's surname is apparent in the following
examples: MAO Zedong, Fidel CASTRO Ruz, George W. BUSH, and TUNKU
SALAHUDDIN Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Hisammuddin Alam Shah.
By knowing the surname, a short form without all capital letters can be
used with confidence as in President Castro, Chairman Mao, President
Bush, or Sultan Tunku Salahuddin. The same system of capitalization is
extended to the names of leaders with surnames that are not commonly
used such as Queen ELIZABETH II. For Vietnamese names, the given name
is capitalized because officials are referred to by their given name
rather than by their surname. For example, the president of Vietnam is
Tran Duc LUONG. His surname is Tran, but he is referred to by his given
name - President LUONG.
Personal Names - Spelling: The romanization of personal names in the
Factbook normally follows the same transliteration system used by the
US Board on Geographic Names for spelling place names. At times,
however, a foreign leader expressly indicates a preference for, or the
media or official documents regularly use, a romanized spelling that
differs from the transliteration derived from the US Government
standard. In such cases, the Factbook uses the alternative spelling.
Personal Names - Titles: The Factbook capitalizes any valid title (or
short form of it) immediately preceding a person's name. A title
standing alone is not capitalized. Examples: President PUTIN and
President BUSH are chiefs of state. In Russia, the president is chief
of state and the premier is the head of the government, while in the
US, the president is both chief of state and head of government.
Petroleum: See entries under Oil.
Petroleum products: See entries under Oil.
Pipelines: This entry gives the lengths and types of pipelines for
transporting products like natural gas, crude oil, or petroleum
products.
Political parties and leaders: This entry includes a listing of
significant political organizations and their leaders.
Political pressure groups and leaders: This entry includes a listing
of a country's political, social, labor, or religious organizations
that are involved in politics, or that exert political pressure, but
whose leaders do not stand for legislative election. International
movements or organizations are generally not listed.
Population: This entry gives an estimate from the US Bureau of the
Census based on statistics from population censuses, vital statistics
registration systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past
and on assumptions about future trends. The total population presents
one overall measure of the potential impact of the country on the world
and within its region. Note: Starting with the 1993 Factbook,
demographic estimates for some countries (mostly African) have
explicitly taken into account the effects of the growing impact of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic. These countries are currently: The Bahamas, Benin,
Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of
the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda,
South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe.
Population growth rate: The average annual percent change in the
population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths
and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate
may be positive or negative. The growth rate is a factor in determining
how great a burden would be imposed on a country by the changing needs
of its people for infrastructure (e.g., schools, hospitals, housing,
roads), resources (e.g., food, water, electricity), and jobs. Rapid
population growth can be seen as threatening by neighboring countries.
Ports and terminals: This entry lists major ports and terminals
primarily on the basis of the amount of cargo tonnage shipped through
the facilities on an annual basis. In some instances, the number of
containers handled or ship visits were also considered.
Public debt: This entry records the cumulative total of all government
borrowings less repayments that are denominated in a country's home
currency. Public debt should not be confused with external debt, which
reflects the foreign currency liabilities of both the private and
public sector and must be financed out of foreign exchange earnings.
Radio broadcast stations: This entry includes the total number of AM,
FM, and shortwave broadcast stations.
Railways: This entry states the total route length of the railway
network and of its component parts by gauge: broad, standard, narrow,
and dual. Other gauges are listed under note.
Reference maps: This section includes world and regional maps.
Refugees and internally displaced persons: This entry includes those
persons residing in a country as refugees or internally displaced
persons (IDPs). The definition of a refugee according to a United
Nations Convention is "a person who is outside his/her country of
nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of
persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or
unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country,
or to return there, for fear of persecution." The UN established the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1950 to
handle refugee matters worldwide. The UN Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has a different operational
definition for a Palestinian refugee: "a person whose normal place of
residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948
and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948
conflict." However, UNHCR also assists some 400,000 Palestinian
refugees not covered under the UNRWA definition. The term "internally
displaced person" is not specifically covered in the UN Convention; it
is used to describe people who have fled their homes for reasons
similar to refugees, but who remain within their own national territory
and are subject to the laws of that state.
Religions: This entry is an ordered listing of religions by adherents
starting with the largest group and sometimes includes the percent of
total population. The core characteristics and beliefs of the world's
major religions are described below.
Baha'i - Founded by Mirza Husayn-Ali (known as Baha'u'llah) in Iran in
1852, Baha'i faith emphasizes monotheism and believes in one eternal
transcendent God. Its guiding focus is to encourage the unity of all
peoples on the earth so that justice and peace may be achieved on
earth. Baha'i revelation contends the prophets of major world religions
reflect some truth or element of the divine, believes all were
manifestations of God given to specific communities in specific times,
and that Baha'u'llah is an additional prophet meant to call all
humankind. Bahais are an open community, located worldwide, with the
greatest concentration of believers in South Asia.
Buddhism - Religion or philosophy inspired by the 5th century B.C.
teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (also known as Gautama Buddha "the
enlightened one"). Buddhism focuses on the goal of spiritual
enlightenment centered on an understanding of Gautama Buddha's Four
Noble Truths on the nature of suffering, and on the Eightfold Path of
spiritual and moral practice, to break the cycle of suffering of which
we are a part. Buddhism ascribes to a karmic system of rebirth. Several
schools and sects of Buddhism exist, differing often on the nature of
the Buddha, the extent to which enlightenment can be achieved - for one
or for all, and by whom - religious orders or laity.
Basic Groupings
Theravada Buddhism: The oldest Buddhist school, Theravada is
practiced mostly in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Thailand,
with minority representation elsewhere in Asia and the West.
Theravadans follow the Pali Canon of Buddha's teachings, and believe
that one may escape the cycle of rebirth, worldly attachment, and
suffering for oneself; this process may take one or several lifetimes.
Mahayana Buddhism, including subsets Zen and Tibetan Buddhism: Forms
of Mahayana Buddhism are common in East Asia and Tibet, and parts of
the West. Mahayanas have additional scriptures beyond the Pali Canon
and believe the Buddha is eternal and still teaching. Unlike Theravada
Buddhism, Mahayana schools maintain the Buddha-nature is present in all
beings and all will ultimately achieve enlightenment.
Christianity - Descending from Judaism, Christianity's central belief
maintains Jesus of Nazareth is the promised messiah of the Hebrew
Scriptures, and that his life, death, and resurrection are salvific for
the world. Christianity is one of the three monotheistic Abrahamic
faiths, along with Islam and Judaism, which traces its spiritual
lineage to Abraham of the Hebrew Scriptures. Its sacred texts include
the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament (or the Christian Gospels).
Basic Groupings
Catholicism (or Roman Catholicism): This is the oldest established
western Christian church and the world's largest single religious body.
It is supranational, and recognizes a hierarchical structure with the
Pope, or Bishop of Rome, as its head, located at the Vatican. Catholics
believe the Pope is the divinely ordered head of the Church from a
direct spiritual legacy of Jesus' apostle Peter. Catholicism is
comprised of 23 particular Churches, or Rites - one Western (Latin-
Rite) and 22 Eastern. The Latin Rite is by far the largest, making up
about 98% of Catholic membership. Eastern-Rite Churches, such as the
Maronite Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Church, are in communion
with Rome although they preserve their own worship traditions and their
immediate hierarchy consists of clergy within their own rite. The
Catholic Church has a comprehensive theological and moral doctrine
specified for believers in its catechism, which makes it unique among
most forms of Christianity.
Mormonism (including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints): Originating in 1830 in the United States under Joseph Smith,
Mormonism is not characterized as a form of Protestant Christianity
because it claims additional revealed Christian scriptures after the
Hebrew Bible and New Testament. The Book of Mormon maintains there was
an appearance of Jesus in the New World following the Christian account
of his resurrection, and that the Americas are uniquely blessed
continents. Mormonism believes earlier Christian traditions, such as
the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant reform faiths, are
apostasies and that Joseph Smith's revelation of the Book of Mormon is
a restoration of true Christianity. Mormons have a hierarchical
religious leadership structure, and actively proselytize their faith;
they are located primarily in the Americas and in a number of other
Western countries.
Orthodox Christianity: The oldest established eastern form of
Christianity, the Holy Orthodox Church, has a ceremonial head in the
Bishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), also known as a Patriarch, but its
various regional forms (e.g., Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Serbian
Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox) are autocephalous (independent of
Constantinople's authority, and have their own Patriarchs). Orthodox
churches are highly nationalist and ethnic. The Orthodox Christian
faith shares many theological tenets with the Roman Catholic Church,
but diverges on some key premises and does not recognize the governing
authority of the Pope.
Protestant Christianity: Protestant Christianity originated in the
16th century as an attempt to reform Roman Catholicism's practices,
dogma, and theology. It encompasses several forms or denominations
which are extremely varied in structure, beliefs, relationship to
state, clergy, and governance. Many protestant theologies emphasize the
primary role of scripture in their faith, advocating individual
interpretation of Christian texts without the mediation of a final
religious authority such as the Roman Pope. The oldest Protestant
Christianities include Lutheranism, Calvinism (Presbyterians), and
Anglican Christianity (Episcopalians), which have established
liturgies, governing structure, and formal clergy. Other variants on
Protestant Christianity, including Pentecostal movements and
independent churches, may lack one or more of these elements, and their
leadership and beliefs are individualized and dynamic.
Hinduism - Originating in the Vedic civilization of India (second and
first millennium B.C.), Hinduism is an extremely diverse set of beliefs
and practices with no single founder or religious authority. Hinduism
has many scriptures; the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad-Gita
are among some of the most important. Hindus may worship one or many
deities, usually with prayer rituals within their own home. The most
common figures of devotion are the gods Vishnu, Shiva, and a mother
goddess, Devi. Most Hindus believe the soul, or atman, is eternal, and
goes through a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara) determined
by one's positive or negative karma, or the consequences of one's
actions. The goal of religious life is to learn to act so as to finally
achieve liberation (moksha) of one's soul, escaping the rebirth cycle.
Islam - The third of the monotheistic Abrahamic faiths, Islam
originated with the teachings of Muhammad in the 7th century. Muslims
believe Muhammad is the final of all religious prophets (beginning with
Abraham) and that the Qu'ran, which is the Islamic scripture, was
revealed to him by God. Islam derives from the word submission, and
obedience to God is a primary theme in this religion. In order to live
an Islamic life, believers must follow the five pillars, or tenets, of
Islam, which are the testimony of faith (shahada), daily prayer
(salah), giving alms (zakah), fasting during Ramadan (sawm), and the
pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).
Basic Groupings
The two primary branches of Islam are Sunni and Shia, which split
from each other over a religio-political leadership dispute about the
rightful successor to Muhammad. The Shia believe Muhammad's cousin and
son-in-law, Ali, was the only divinely ordained Imam (religious
leader), while the Sunni maintain the first three caliphs after
Muhammad were also legitimate authorities. In modern Islam, Sunnis and
Shia continue to have different views of acceptable schools of Islamic
jurisprudence, and who is a proper Islamic religious authority. Islam
also has an active mystical branch, Sufism, with various Sunni and Shia
subsets.
Sunni Islam accounts for over 75% of the world's Muslim population.
It recognizes the Abu Bakr as the first caliph after Muhammad. Sunni
has four schools of Islamic doctrine and law - Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i,
and Hanbali - which uniquely interpret the Hadith, or recorded oral
traditions of Muhammad. A Sunni Muslim may elect to follow any one of
these schools, as all are considered equally valid.
Shia Islam represents 10-20% of Muslims worldwide, and its
distinguishing feature is its reverence for Ali as an infallible,
divinely inspired leader, and as the first Imam of the Muslim community
after Muhammad. A majority of Shia are known as "Twelvers," because
they believe that the 11 familial successor imams after Muhammad
culminate in a 12th Imam (al-Mahdi) who is hidden in the world and will
reappear at its end to redeem the righteous.
Variants
Ismaili faith: A sect of Shia Islam, its adherents are also known as
"Seveners," because they believe that the rightful seventh Imam in
Islamic leadership was Isma'il, the elder son of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq.
Ismaili tradition awaits the return of the seventh Imam as the Mahdi,
or Islamic messianic figure. Ismailis are located in various parts of
the world, particularly South Asia and the Levant.
Alawi faith: Another Shia sect of Islam, the name reflects
followers' devotion to the religious authority of Ali. Alawites are a
closed, secretive religious group who assert they are Shia Muslims,
although outside scholars speculate their beliefs may have a syncretic
mix with other faiths originating in the Middle East. Alawis live
mostly in Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey.
Druze faith: A highly secretive tradition and a closed community
that derives from the Ismaili sect of Islam; its core beliefs are
thought to emphasize a combination of Gnostic principles believing that
the Fatimid caliph, al-Hakin, is the one who embodies the key aspects
of goodness of the universe, which are, the intellect, the word, the
soul, the preceder, and the follower. The Druze have a key presence in
Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.
Jainism - Originating in India, Jain spiritual philosophy believes in
an eternal human soul, the eternal universe, and a principle of "the
own nature of things." It emphasizes compassion for all living things,
seeks liberation of the human soul from reincarnation through
enlightenment, and values personal responsibility due to the belief in
the immediate consequences of one's behavior. Jain philosophy teaches
non-violence and prescribes vegetarianism for monks and laity alike;
its adherents are a highly influential religious minority in Indian
society.
Judaism - One of the first known monotheistic religions, likely dating
to between 2000-1500 B.C., Judaism is the native faith of the Jewish
people, based upon the belief in a covenant of responsibility between a
sole omnipotent creator God and Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism's
Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh. Divine revelation of principles and
prohibitions in the Hebrew Scriptures form the basis of Jewish law, or
halakhah, which is a key component of the faith. While there are
extensive traditions of Jewish halakhic and theological discourse,
there is no final dogmatic authority in the tradition. Local
communities have their own religious leadership. Modern Judaism has
three basic categories of faith: Orthodox, Conservative, and
Reform/Liberal. These differ in their views and observance of Jewish
law, with the Orthodox representing the most traditional practice, and
Reform/Liberal communities the most accommodating of individualized
interpretations of Jewish identity and faith.
Shintoism - A native animist tradition of Japan, Shinto practice is
based upon the premise that every being and object has its own spirit
or kami. Shinto practitioners worship several particular kamis,
including the kamis of nature, and families often have shrines to their
ancestors' kamis. Shintoism has no fixed tradition of prayers or
prescribed dogma, but is characterized by individual ritual. Respect
for the kamis in nature is a key Shinto value. Prior to the end of
World War II, Shinto was the state religion of Japan, and bolstered the
cult of the Japanese emperor.
Sikhism - Founded by the Guru Nanak (born 1469), Sikhism believes in a
non-anthropomorphic, supreme, eternal, creator God; centering one's
devotion to God is seen as a means of escaping the cycle of rebirth.
Sikhs follow the teachings of Nanak and nine subsequent gurus. Their
scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib - also known as the Adi Granth - is
considered the living Guru, or final authority of Sikh faith and
theology. Sikhism emphasizes equality of humankind and disavows caste,
class, or gender discrimination.
Taoism - Chinese philosophy or religion based upon Lao Tzu's Tao Te
Ching, which centers on belief in the Tao, or the way, as the flow of
the universe and the nature of things. Taoism encourages a principle of
non-force, or wu-wei, as the means to live harmoniously with the Tao.
Taoists believe the esoteric world is made up of a perfect harmonious
balance and nature, while in the manifest world - particularly in the
body - balance is distorted. The Three Jewels of the Tao - compassion,
simplicity, and humility - serve as the basis for Taoist ethics.
Zoroastrianism - Originating from the teachings of Zoroaster in about
the 9th or 10th century B.C., Zoroastrianism may be the oldest
continuing creedal religion. Its key beliefs center on a transcendent
creator God, Ahura Mazda, and the concept of free will. The key ethical
tenets of Zoroastrianism expressed in its scripture, the Avesta, are
based on a dualistic worldview where one may prevent chaos if one
chooses to serve God and exercises good thoughts, good words, and good
deeds. Zoroastrianism is generally a closed religion and members are
almost always born to Zoroastrian parents. Prior to the spread of
Islam, Zoroastrianism dominated greater Iran. Today, though a minority,
Zoroastrians remain primarily in Iran, India, and Pakistan.
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: This entry gives the dollar
value for the stock of all financial assets that are available to the
central monetary authority for use in meeting a country's balance of
payments needs as of the end-date of the period specified. This
category includes not only foreign currency and gold, but also a
country's holdings of Special Drawing Rights in the International
Monetary Fund, and its reserve position in the Fund.
Roadways: This entry gives the total length of the road network and
includes the length of the paved and unpaved portions.
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary): School life expectancy
(SLE) is the total number of years of schooling (primary to tertiary)
that a child can expect to receive, assuming that the probability of
his or her being enrolled in school at any particular future age is
equal to the current enrollment ratio at that age. Caution must be
maintained when utilizing this indicator in international comparisons.
For example, a year or grade completed in one country is not
necessarily the same in terms of educational content or quality as a
year or grade completed in another country. SLE represents the expected
number of years of schooling that will be completed, including years
spent repeating one or more grades.