, female 67%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)

_#_Labor force: 2.2 billion (1991)

_#_Organized labor: NA

_*_Government
_#_Administrative divisions: 170 sovereign nations plus 72 dependent,
other, and miscellaneous areas

_#_Legal system: varies among each of the entities; 162 are parties
to the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court

_#_Diplomatic representation: there are 159 members of the UN

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: In 1990 the world economy grew at an estimated 1.0%,
considerably lower than the estimated 3.0% for 1989 and the 3.4% for
1988. The technologically advanced areas--North America, Japan, and
Western Europe--together account for 67% of the gross world product (GWP)
of $20.9 trillion; these developed areas grew in the aggregate at 2.3%
in 1990. In contrast, output in the USSR and Eastern Europe fell an
average of 5.2%; these countries account for 15% of GWP. Experience
in the developing countries continued mixed, with the newly
industrializing economies generally maintaining their rapid growth,
and many others struggling with debt, rampant inflation, and inadequate
investment. This third group contributed 18% of GWP and grew on
average 2.3% in 1990; output in this group is probably understated
because of lack of data and the method of calculation used. The year 1990
witnessed continued political and economic upheavals in the USSR and
Eastern Europe, which are in between systems, lacking both the rough
discipline of the command economy and the institutions of the market
economy. As for prospects in the 1990s, the addition of nearly 100
million people a year to an already overcrowded globe will exacerbate the
problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics,
and famine.

_#_GWP (gross world product): $20.9 trillion, per capita $3,930;
real growth rate 1.0% (1990 est.)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): developed countries 5%;
developing countries 100%, with wide variations (1990 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: NA%

_#_Exports: $3.33 trillion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);

commodities--the whole range of industrial and agricultural
goods and services;

partners--in value, 74% of exports from industrial countries

_#_Imports: $3.45 trillion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);

commodities--the whole range of industrial and agricultural
goods and services;

partners--in value, about 75% of imports by the industrial
countries

_