Читать книгу The 1997 CIA World Factbook - United States. Central Intelligence Agency - Страница 5

There have been some significant changes in this edition. A schema or Guide to Country Profiles has been added. The new maps and flags accompanying each country profile are in color. The country name Zaire has been officially changed to Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congo is now referred to as Republic of the Congo. New reference maps of the United States, Ethnolinguistic Groups in Afghanistan, and Central Africa have been included. Introduction is a new category with two entries—Current issues and Historical perspective that now appear in only a few country profiles, but 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 The former Environment entry has been replaced by three new entries—Natural hazards, Environment—current issues, and Environment—international agreements.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 The former Manpower availability entry has been replaced by four new entries—Military manpower—military age, Military manpower—availability, Military manpower—fit for military service, and Military manpower—reaching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 The former Defense expenditures entry has been replaced by two new entries—Military expenditures—dollar figure, and Military expenditures—percent of GDP.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 unrest.

Agriculture—products: This entry is a rank ordering of major crops and products starting with the most important.

Airports: This entry gives the total number of airports. The runway(s) may be paved (concrete or asphalt surfaces) or unpaved (grass, dirt, sand, or gravel surfaces), but must be usable. Not all airports have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control.

Airports—with paved runways: This entry gives the total number of airports with paved runways (concrete or asphalt surfaces). For airports with more than one runway, only the longest runway is included according to the following five groups—(1) over 3,047 m, (2) 2,438 to 3,047 m, (3) 1,524 to 2,437 m, (4) 914 to 1,523 m, and (5) under 914 m. Not all airports have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control. Only airports with usable runways are included in this listing.

Airports—with unpaved runways: This entry gives the total number of airports with unpaved runways (grass, dirt, sand, or gravel surfaces). For airports with more than one runway, only the longest runway is included according to the following five groups—(1) over 3,047 m, (2) 2,438 to 3,047 m, (3) 1,524 to 2,437 m, (4) 914 to 1,523 m, and (5) under 914 m. Not all airports have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control. Only airports with usable runways are included in this listing.

Appendixes: This section includes Factbook-related material by topic. Area: This entry includes three subfields. Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Water area is the sum of all water surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, including inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers).

Area—comparative: This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).

Birth rate: This entry gives the average annual number of births during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate. The birth rate is usually the dominant factor in determining the rate of population growth. It depends on both the level of fertility and the age structure of the population.

Budget: This entry includes revenues, total expenditures, and capital expenditures.

Climate: This entry includes a brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.

Coastline: This entry gives the total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.

Communications: This category deals with the means of exchanging information and includes the radio, telephone, and television entries.

Communications—note: This entry includes miscellaneous communications information of significance not included elsewhere.

Constitution: This entry includes the dates of adoption, revisions, and major amendments.

Country map: Most versions of the Factbook provide a country map in color. The maps were produced from the best information available at the time of preparation. Names and/or boundaries may have changed subsequently.

Country name: This entry includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. See the Terminology note regarding the use of the term "country."

Currency: This entry identifies the local medium of exchange and its basic subunit.

Current issues: This entry briefly characterizes major geographic, social, political, and military developments in the past 12 months and may include a statement about one or two key future trends. This entry appears for only a few countries at the present time, but will be added to all countries in the future.

Data code: This entry gives the official US Government digraph that precisely identifies every land entity without overlap, duplication, or omission. AF, for example, is the data code for Afghanistan. This two-letter country code is a standardized geopolitical data element promulgated in the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS) 10–4 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the US Department of Commerce and maintained by the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues at the US Department of State. The data code is used to eliminate confusion and incompatibility in the collection, processing, and dissemination of area-specific data and is particularly useful for interchanging data between databases. Appendix F cross-references various country codes and Appendix G does the same thing for hydrographic codes. Data codes-country: This information is presented in Appendix F: Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes which includes the US Government approved Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and Internet country codes.

Data codes—hydrographic: This information is presented in Appendix G:

Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Data Codes which includes the

International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), Aeronautical Chart and

Information Center (ACIC; now National Imagery and Mapping Agency or

NIMA), and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) hydrographic codes. The

US Government has not yet approved a standard for hydrographic data

codes similar to the FIPS 10–4 standard for country data codes.

Dates of information: The information cutoff date was 1 January 1997, although a few important changes after that date have been included. Most demographic statistics are estimates for 1997.

Death rate: This entry gives the average annual number of deaths during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude death rate. The death rate, while only a rough indicator of the mortality situation in a country, accurately indicates the current mortality impact on population growth. This indicator is significantly affected by the age distribution, and most countries will eventually show a rise in the rate, in spite of continued declines in mortality at all ages, as declining fertility results in an aging population.

Debt—external: This entry gives the total amount of public foreign financial obligations.

Dependency status: This entry describes the formal relationship between a nonindependent entity and a sovereign nation.

Dependent areas: This entry contains an alphabetical listing of all nonindependent entities associated in some way with a particular sovereign nation.

Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic relations with 184 nations, including 178 of the 185 UN members (excluded UN members are Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, former Yugoslavia, and the US itself). In addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 6 nations that are not in the UN—Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, Switzerland, Tonga, and Tuvalu. Diplomatic representation from the US: This entry includes the chief of mission, embassy address, mailing address, telephone number, FAX number, branch office locations, consulate general locations, and consulate locations. Diplomatic representation in the US: This entry includes the chief of mission, chancery address, telephone number, FAX number, consulate general locations, consulate locations, honorary consulate general locations, and honorary consulate locations.

Disputes—international: This entry includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international terrestrial and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the US Department of State. References to other situations involving borders or frontiers may also be included, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues, however, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance or recognition by the US Government.

Economic aid: This entry refers to bilateral commitments of official development assistance (ODA) and other official flows (OOF). ODA is defined as financial assistance which is concessional in character, has the main objective to promote economic development and welfare of LDCs, and contains a grant element of at least 25%. OOF transactions are also official government assistance, but with a main objective other than economic development and with a grant element less than 25%. OOF transactions include official export credits (such as Ex-Im Bank credits), official equity and portfolio investment, and debt reorganization by the official sector that does not meet concessional terms. Aid is considered to have been committed when agreements are initialed by the parties involved and constitute a formal declaration of intent. The entry is separated into two components—donor and recipient.

Economy: This category includes the entries dealing with the size, development, and management of productive resources, i.e., land, labor, and capital.

Economy—overview: This entry briefly describes the type of economy, including the degree of market orientation, the level of economic development, the most important natural resources, and the unique areas of specialization. It also characterizes major economic events and policy changes in the most recent 12 months and may include a statement about one or two key future macroeconomic trends.

Electricity—capacity: This entry gives the maximum designed potential for electricity production expressed in kilowatts.

Electricity—consumption per capita: This entry gives the figure for annual electricity generation plus net imports or minus net exports, divided by total population for the same year expressed in kilowatt hours.

Electricity—production: This entry gives the annual amount of electricity actually generated expressed in kilowatt hours.

Elevation extremes: This entry includes both the highest point and the lowest point.

Entities: Some of the nations, dependent areas, areas of special sovereignty, and governments included in this publication are not independent, and others are not officially recognized by the US Government. "Nation" refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory. "Dependent area" refers to a broad category of political entities that are associated in some way with a nation. "Country" names used in the table of contents or for page headings are usually the short-form names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names and may include nations, dependencies, or other geographic entities. There are a total of 266 separate geographic entities in The World Factbook that may be categorized as follows: