Burundi, Central
African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican
City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay,
Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan,
West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan,
are doubly landlocked

Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather
narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to
subtropical climates

Terrain: the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in
the Pacific Ocean

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is
the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean
highest point: Natural resources: the rapid depletion of nonrenewable
mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the
extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and
water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China)
pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only
beginning to address

Land use: arable land: 11% permanent crops: 1% other: 88% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical
cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis,
volcanic eruptions)

Environment - current issues: large areas subject to overpopulation,
industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances),
loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss
of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion

Geography - note: the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion
years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated
for the universe

People World

Population: 6,233,821,945 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851) 15-64 years:
(male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.23% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 21.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/f