will be added to all countries in the
future. The Area--comparative entry was separated from the Area entry.
The lowest point and highest point information has been removed from
the Terrain entry and put into a new entry called Elevation extremes.
The former Environment entry has been replaced by three new
entries--Natural hazards, Environment--current issues, and
Environment--international agreements. US diplomatic representation
has been renamed Diplomatic representation from the US in order to
parallel the Diplomatic representation in the US entry. The former
Airports entry has been split into three separate entries--Airports,
Airports--with paved runways, and Airports--with unpaved runways. The
Defense category has been renamed Military. The Branches entry has
been renamed Military branches. The former Manpower availability entry
has been replaced by four new entries--Military manpower--military
age, Military manpower--availability, Military manpower--fit for
military service, and Military manpower--reaching military age
annually. The former Defense expenditures entry has been replaced by
two new entries--Military expenditures--dollar figure, and Military
expenditures--percent of GDP. Transnational Issues is a new category
that now includes only two existing entries (Illicit drugs and
Disputes--international) but additional entries will be considered in
the future.

Abbreviations: This information is included in Appendix A:
Abbreviations which includes all abbreviations and acronyms used in
the Factbook with their expansions.

Administrative divisions: This entry generally gives the numbers,
designatory terms, and first-order administrative divisions as
approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have
been reported but not yet acted on by BGN are noted.

Age structure: This entry provides the distribution of the population
according to age. Information is included by sex and age group (0-14
years, 15-64 years, 65 years and over). The age structure of a
population will affect a country's investment pattern. Countries with
young populations (high percentage under age 15) need to invest more
in schools, while countries with older populations (high percentage
ages 65 and over) need to invest more in the health sector. The age
structure can also be used to help predict potential political issues.
For example, the rapid growth of a young adult population unable to
find employment can lead to unres