cultivated for crops that are not
replanted after each harvest like citrus, coffee, and rubber;
permanent pastures - land permanently used for herbaceous forage
crops; forests and woodland - land under dense or open stands of
trees; other - any land type not specifically mentioned above, such as
urban areas, roads, desert, etc.
Languages: This entry provides a rank ordering of languages starting
with the largest and sometimes includes the percent of total
population speaking that language.
Legal system: This entry contains a brief description of the legal
system's historical roots, role in government, and acceptance of
International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.
Legislative branch: This entry contains information on the structure
(unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), 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 l
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