cameral), 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.

Map references
This entry includes the name of the Factbook reference map on which a
country may be found. The entry on Geographic coordinates may be
helpful in finding some smaller countries.

Maritime claims
This entry includes the following claims: contiguous zone, continental
shelf, exclusive economic zone, exclusive fishing zone, extended
fishing zone, none (usually for a landlocked country), other (unique
maritime claims like Libya's Gulf of Sidra Closing Line or North
Korea's Military Boundary Line), and territorial sea. The proximity of
neighboring states may prevent some national claims from being extended
the full distance.

Merchant marine
Merchant marine may be defined as all ships engaged in