Wake Island
MISCELLANEOUS
6 Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara
OTHER ENTITIES
4 oceans—Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean
1 World
__________
266 Total
Environment—current issues: This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems.
Environment—international agreements: This entry separates country participation in international environmental agreements into two levels—party to and signed but not ratified. Agreements are listed in alphabetical order by the abbreviated form of the full name.
Environmental agreements: This information is presented in Appendix D: Selected International Environmental Agreements which includes the name, abbreviation, date opened for signature, date entered into force, objective, and parties by category.
Ethnic groups: This entry provides a rank ordering of ethnic groups starting with the largest and sometimes includes the percent of total population. Exchange rates: This entry provides the official value of a nation's monetary unit at a given date or over a given period of time, as expressed in units of local currency per US dollar and as determined by international market forces or official fiat.
Executive branch: This entry includes several subfields. Chief of state includes the name and title of the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day-to-day activities of the government. Head of government includes the name and title of the administrative leader who is designated to manage the day-to-day activities of the government. Cabinet includes the official name for this body of advisers and the method of selection for members. 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 for each candidate in the last election. In the UK, the monarch is the chief of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US, the President is both the chief of state and the head of government.
Exports: This entry includes three subfields. Total value is the total US dollar amount of exports on an f.o.b. basis. Commodities is a rank ordering of exported products starting with the most important and sometimes includes the percent of dollar value. Partners is a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important and sometimes includes the percent of dollar value.
Fiscal year: This entry identifies the beginning and ending months for a country's accounting period of 12 months, which often is the calendar year but may begin in any month. FY93/94 refers to the fiscal year that began in calendar year 1993 and ended in calendar year 1994. All yearly references are for the calendar year (CY) unless indicated as a noncalendar fiscal year (FY).
Flag description: This entry provides a written flag description produced from actual flags or the best information available at the time the entry was written. The flags of independent nations are used by their dependencies unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed and other areas do not have flags.
Flag graphic: Most versions of the Factbook provide a color flag available at the beginning of the country entry. The flag graphics were produced from actual flags or the best information available at the time of preparation. The flags of independent nations are used by their dependencies unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed and other areas do not have flags.
GDP: This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. GDP dollar estimates in the Factbook are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations. See the note on GDP methodology for more information.
GDP methodology: In the Economy section, GDP dollar estimates for all countries are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations rather than from conversions at official currency exchange rates. The PPP method involves the use of standardized international dollar price weights, which are applied to the quantities of final goods and services produced in a given economy. The data derived from the PPP method provide a better comparison of economic well-being between countries. The division of a GDP estimate in domestic currency by the corresponding PPP estimate in dollars gives the PPP conversion rate. When converted at PPP rates, $1,000 will buy the same market basket of goods in any country. Whereas PPP estimates for OECD countries are quite reliable, PPP estimates for developing countries are often rough approximations. Most of the GDP estimates are based on extrapolation of PPP numbers published by the UN International Comparison Program (UNICP) and by Professors Robert Summers and Alan Heston of the University of Pennsylvania and their colleagues. In contrast, currency exchange rates depend on a variety of international and domestic financial forces that often have little relation to domestic output. In developing countries with weak currencies the exchange rate estimate of GDP in dollars is typically one-fourth to one-half the PPP estimate. Furthermore, exchange rates may suddenly go up or down by 10% or more because of market forces or official fiat whereas real output has remained unchanged. On 12 January 1994, for example, the 14 countries of the African Financial Community (whose currencies are tied to the French franc) devalued their currencies by 50%. This move, of course, did not cut the real output of these countries by half. One important caution: the proportion of, say, defense expenditures as a percentage of GDP in local currency accounts may differ substantially from the proportion when GDP accounts are expressed in PPP terms, as, for example, when an observer tries to estimate the dollar level of Russian or Japanese military expenditures. Note: the numbers for GDP and other economic data can not be chained together from successive volumes of the Factbook because of changes in the US dollar measuring rod, revisions of data by statistical agencies, use of new or different sources of information, and changes in national statistical methods and practices. For statistical series on GDP and other economic variables, see the [1]Handbook of International Economic Statistics available from the same sources as The World Factbook.
GDP—composition by sector: This entry gives the percentage contribution of agriculture, industry, and services to total GDP.
GDP—per capita: This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year.
GDP—real growth rate: This entry gives GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a percent.
Geographic coordinates: This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude for finding purposes of the approximate geographic center of the country and is based on the Gazetteer of Conventional Names, Third Edition, August 1988, US Board on Geographic Names and on other sources.
Geographic names: This information is presented in Appendix H: Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names which indicates where various geographic names—including the location of all US Foreign Service Posts, alternate names of countries, former names, and political or geographical portions of larger entities—can be found in The World Factbook. Spellings are normally, but not always, those approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Alternate names are included in parentheses, while additional information is included in brackets.
Geography: This category includes the entries dealing with the natural environment and the effects of human activity.
Geography—note: This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
GNP: Gross national
