The Visual World Atlas - Facts And Maps Of The Current World

SWEDEN LITHUANIA AGRICULTURE : 99
DENMARK RUSSIA
Rice paddy, Indonesia
IRELAND BELARUS Indonesia is one of the major rice-producing countries.
Most rice cultivation is irrigated, but some is rain-fed.
UNITED KINGDOM NETHERLANDS POLAND
GERMANY

BELGIUM

LUXEMBOURG CZECH REP. UKRAINE
SLOVAKIA

FRANCE LIECHTENSTEIN AUSTRIA
SLOVENIACROAHTIUANGARY
SWITZERLAND ROMANIA
BOSNIA AND
SAN MARINO HERZEGOVINA SERBIA
MONACO

ANDORRA ITALY MONTENEGRO BULGARIA
VATICAN
PORTUGAL SPAIN MACEDONIA
CITY ALBANIA

GREECE

MALTA

ICELAND

NORWAYSWEDEN FINLAND RUSSIA

ESTONIA
LATVIA

UKRAINE KAZAKHSTAN EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET

MOLDOVA MONGOLIA

GEORGIA UZBEKISTAN KYRGYZSTAN
TURKMENISTAN TAJIKISTAN
TURK EY ARMENIA NORTH
AZERBAIJAN KOREA
SOUTH JAPAN
CYPRUS SYRIA KOREA
LEBANON WEST BANK CHINA
MOROCCO TUNISIA GAZA STRIP AFGHANISTAN
ISRAEL IRAQ PAKISTAN
KUWAIT IRAN
EGYPT JORDAN NEPAL BHUTAN
ALGERIA LIBYA OMAN

WESTERN BAHRAIN QATAR UNITED INDIA BANGLADESH
SAHARA (MA) SAUDI ARAB BURMA
ARABIA EMIRATES

MAURITANIA LAOS

CAPE VERDE MALI NIGER VIETNAM
CHAD
SENEGAL SUDAN ERITREA YEMEN THAILAND
DJIBOUTI
GUINEA- GAMBIA BURKINA CAMBODIA
BISSAU FASO
GUINEA GHANA NIGERIA PHILIPPINES
BENIN CAMEROON PALAU
SIERRA LEONE CÔTE CENTRAL ETHIOPIA SRI MARSHALL IS.
LIBERIA D'IVOIRE AFRICAN REP. LANKA
SOMALIA MALDIVES BRUNEI MICRONESIA
TOGO MALAYSIA

EQUATORIAL GUINEA GABON RWANDA UGANDA SEYCHELLES SINGAPORE D ONESIA NAURU KIRIBATI
SAO TOME CONGO DEM. REP. KENYA IN PAPUA SOLOMON IS. TUVALU
OF THE CONGO NEW GUINEA
AND PRINCIPE BURUNDI
TANZANIA TIMOR
LESTE
COMOROS SAMOA
ANGOLA TONGA
MALAWI
ZAMBIA MOZAMBIQUE VANUATU FIJI
ZIMBABWE
NAMIBIA MADAGASCAR MAURITIUS

BOTSWANA

AUSTRALIA

SWAZILAND

SOUTH LESOTHO
AFRICA

NEW
ZEALAND

Farmland comprises zones used, FARMLAND
either permanently or temporarily,
for plant crops or livestock PERCENTAGE OF LAND USED FOR AGRICULTURE
production. India and a number of
countries in eastern Europe stand ≥ 45%
out with more than 45% of their 25%–44%
territory devoted to agriculture. 10%–24%
5%–9%
< 5%
No data
Source: FAO

earth: an inhabited planet 100 : agriculture cereal production
area used for gmo cultivation
the main cereal-producing
countries m e at PRODUCTION
Cereals are plants usually cultivated on a
large scale. The main producing countries
are also among the largest (China, United
States, India, Russia). Consumption of cereals
has been dropping for more than a century
in wealthy countries, while in developing
countries cereals are still the main source of
dietary energy. The most-consumed cereals in
the world are wheat and rice.

≥ 75 M t
50–74 M t
4–49 M t
1–3 M t
<1Mt
No data
Source: FAO

The main countries producing
genetically modified organisms
(GMOs)
Genetically modified plants are agricultural
plants whose characteristics have been
modified, for instance, to increase yield or
resistance to insects. They are cultivated
commercially in some 20 countries. The most
widely grown genetically modified plants are
soybeans and corn.

≥ 18 M ha
5–17.9 M ha
1–4.9 M ha
0.05–0.9 M ha
< 0.05 M ha
No data
Source: ISAAA

the main meat-producing countries
The main meat-producing countries are China,
the United States, and Brazil. They are also the
main consumers of meat. A wide variety of
animals are raised for their meat, but only three
kinds of meat are produced in large quantities:
pork, beef, and chicken. Livestock also produce
milk and eggs.

≥ 1,500,000 M t
500,000–1,499,999 M t
200,000–499,999 M t
100,000–199,999 M t
< 100,000 M t
No data

Source: FAO

Corn field in Illinois, United States
In Illinois, a state situated in the northern United States, corn is
cultivated intensively; this form of agriculture consumes more
resources (water, fertilizer) with the goal of increasing the yield
of the land farmed. In contrast, subsistence farming produces food
mainly for local populations.

102 : TRANSPORTATION

SWEDEN

Most human activities require the transportation UNITED KINGDOM DENMARK LITHUANIA
of people or goods. ere are different modes of Hamburg RUSSIA
transportation depending on whether they move on NETHERLANDS
land (ground transportation, including roads and Amsterdam POLAND
railroads), on water (inland
waterways and maritime
transport), or in the atmosphere
(air transport).
EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET IRELAND Berlin

PORTUGALLondonRotterdam GERMANY
BELARUS
BELGIUM Frankfurt CZECH REP.

Paris LUXEMBOURG SLOVAKIA UKRAINE

LIECHTENSTEIN AUSTRIA
HUNGARY
FRANCE SWITZERLAND SLOVENCIAROATIA ROMANIA
Milano
BOSNIA AND
SAN HERZEGOVINA
MARINO
SERBIA
ITALY MONTENEGRO
MONACO
ANDORRA BULGARIA
Madrid Barcelona VATICAN Rome MACEDONIA
CITY
ALBANIA

SPAIN GREECE
Athens

Algiers MALTA

CANADA

Seattle Minneapolis

UNITED STATES Chicago Montréal
Toronto
Denver
Detroit Boston
The geography of transportation San Francisco Las Vegas Dallas New York
Los Angeles Phoenix
Transportation infrastructure is distributed Philadelphia
around the planet as a function of Washington, D.C.
geographic constraints and the needs and Atlanta
means of populations.
Houston Orlando

Monterrey Miami BAHAMAS
MEXICO
CUBA DOMINICAN
Guadalajara Mexico JAMAICA HAITI REP.

BELIZE SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

GUATEMALA HONDURAS SAINT VINCENT AND DOMINICA
EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA THE GRENADINES SAINT LUCIA
GRENADA
BARBADOS

COSTA RICA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

PANAMA VENEZUELA GUYANA
Medellín Bogotá FRENCH GUIANA (FR)

COLOMBIA SURINAME
ECUADOR

Fortaleza

MAJOR TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS Main port cities Main urban areas PERU BRAZIL Recife
Main transportation ≥ 10 M inhab. ≥ 10 M inhab. Lima Salvador
infrastructure 5–9.9 M inhab.
3–4.9 M inhab. 5–9.9 M inhab. BOLIVIA Brasília
Roads 1–2.9 M inhab. 3–4.9 M inhab. Belo Horizonte
< 1 M inhab.
Source: ESRI 1–2.9 M inhab. CHILE PARAGUAY São Paulo Rio de Janeiro
Railroad lines Source: Containerisation International Yearbook Source: UN

Source: ESRI International borders Pôrto Alegre
High-speed-train lines
Santiago URUGUAY
Sources: CER, raileurope.com; SNCF
Shipping lanes Buenos Aires
ARGENTINA
Source: OECD
Cities served by the 30 largest airports by
number of passengers

Source: Airports Council International

MAIN PORTS MAIN AIRPORTS MAIN SUBWAYS
(millions of TEUs) (millions of passengers) (millions of passengers)

TEU: equivalent to loading a Atlanta 85.91 Moscow 3,200
container 20 feet (6.1 m) long

Hong Kong 21.93 Chicago 76.51 Tokyo 2,700

Singapore 20.60 London (Heathrow) 67.91 Mexico 1,400

Shanghai 14.57 Tokyo (Tokyo Int.) 63.28 Seoul 1,300

Shenzhen 13.65 Los Angeles 61.49 New York 1,200

Pusan 11.43 Paris 53.80 Paris 1,100

Kaohsiung 9.71 Frankfurt 52.22 Osaka-Kobe 1,000

Rotterdam 8.30 Dallas 51.18 Hong Kong 780

Los Angeles 7.32 Amsterdam 44.16 London 770

Hamburg 7.03 Las Vegas 43.99 São Paulo 700

Dubai 6.43 Source: Airports Council International Sources: Transport Geography on the Web,
Hofstra University

Source: Containerisation International Yearbook

TRANSPORTATION : 103

Harbin

C H I N A Changchun

Shenyang

Beijing NORTH
KOREA
Dalian Pyongyang

Tianjin Seoul JAPAN
Zibo SOUTH Nagoya Tokyo
KOREA
Osaka-Kobe
Pusan

Nanjing

ICELAND Wuhan Shanghai

SWEDEN FINLAND
NORWAY ESTONIA
LATVIA
Saint Petersburg

RUSSIA

Moscow

UKRAINE KAZAKHSTAN

MOLDOVA MONGOLIA

Istanbul GEORGIA UZBEKISTAN KYRGYZSTAN EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET
ARMENIA AZERBAIJANTURKMENISTAN TAJIKISTAN

Ankara
TURKEY
ESRYIRTIRAERAKiUyIWRaAASBAdQRAAIhTABHUYBRaDEAIMgIAINEhNQdAaTdARTDeIRhuArbONaaMEnUMiAANINRRITAAEBTDEASFAGHhKAKmaNPaBbIAaSroKuTdaAImlSaScNThbubHAiaNrayadydtDereKalPbhaunai LndpINaeuDhrIoANreEPACLalcuDthtBaaHkYUaaTAnBNCgACoNhBBHnGiUaLtCRAntIChMDaghoENAgkSenoHTongHGAnkgAqugIdLiLiAnyAuONagSDngHGauXnaion'aignzDShhooenungzghHueaonnng
TUNISIA CYPRUS
Casablanca LEBANON
MOROCCO NIGER Tel Aviv
ALGERIA Kano Alexandria JORDAN
Cairo ISRAEL
WESTERN LIBYA EGYPT
SAHARA (MA)

MAURITANIA Kaoshsiung
Kong
CAPE VERDE MALI CHAD Khartoum VIETNAM
BURKINA SUDAN Manila
SENEGAL Bangalore Madras CAMBODIA
GAMBIA FASO DJIBOUTI Ho Chi Minh City PHILIPPINES
GUINEA-
BISSAU GUINEA GHANA
BENIN
SIERRA LEONE CÔTE NIGERIA CENTRAL ETHIOPIA SRI PALAU MARSHALL IS.
LIBERIA D'IVOIRE Lagos AFRICAN REP. SOMALIA LANKA BRUNEI MICRONESIA
Abidjan
TOGO CAMEROON

EQUATORIAL GUINEA UGANDA MALDIVES MALAYSIA
SAO TOME Singapore
GABON CONGO RWANDA KENYA
AND PRINCIPE SINGAPORE NAURU KIRIBATI
DEM. REP. SEYCHELLES INDONESIA SOLOMON IS. TUVALU
OF THE CONGO BURUNDI
Kinshasa TANZANIA Jakarta PAPUA
Surabaja NEW GUINEA
Bandung
TIMOR
LESTE
COMOROS
ANGOLA
NAMIBIA ZAMBIA MALAWI SAMOA
ZIMBABWE MOZAMBIQUE VANUATU FIJI TONGA

MADAGASCAR MAURITIUS

BOTSWANA

Johannesburg SWAZILAND AUSTRALIA

SOUTH LESOTHO Sydney
AFRICA
Cape Town

Melbourne

NEW
ZEALAND

Maritime transportation

Ships are the form of transportation most used for long
distances (international trade) and for transportation of heavy
goods, in bulk and in containers. It is estimated that 71% of
world freight (96% by weight) transits through shipping lanes,
oceanic routes several kilometers wide that link the main ports
of the globe. Some major rivers, such as the Amazon and
the St. Lawrence, provide ships with routes to the interior of
continents. Since the advent of air transport, maritime transport
of passengers has been limited to sea cruises in passenger ships
and short crossings on ferries.

Container ship, port of Rotterdam
With traffic of more than 8 million TEUs, the port of Rotterdam is the seventh-largest port
in the world.

104 : transportation

Road transportation

Ground transportation is by far the most widely used form.
In developing countries, non-motorized means of ground
transportation—walking, bicycles, and horse and cart—are
still very widespread. In developed countries, on the other
hand, ground transportation has taken over from all other
forms of transportation, due to its rapidity and flexibility. In
the wealthiest countries, there are 45 cars per 100 inhabitants
and the road networks have more than 10 million kilometers of
roads. Road traffic is regulated more or less strictly from country
to country. In most countries, drivers must have a driving permit
that is adapted to their vehicle, and they must obey speed limits.

Road traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, United States
In 2003, the United States had 3.6 times as many cars per 100 inhabitants as did Mexico. On
the other hand, road traffic was less dense in the U.S., with 13 vehicles per vehicular route,
compared to 59 in Mexico.

earth: an inhabited planet R oa d n e t work Vehicles
Total length of roads Number of vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants

≥ 1,500,000 km ≥ 500
500,000–1,499,999 km 150–499
150,000–499,999 km 100–149
50,000–149,999 km 50–99
< 50,000 km < 50
No data No data

Source: World Bank Source: World Bank

Rail transportation has several advantages over road transportation. Because most
trains run on electricity, they are less polluting than trucks and
Heavily used in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th automobiles. In addition, rail transportation is a form of public
century, rail transportation then declined as road transportation transit: trains, subways, and tramways transport hundreds of
became more popular. The development of high-speed trains in people at a time without clogging the road network.
the 1980s, with a maximum speed of 513 km/h, revived interest
in railroads. Most of these trains are in operation in Europe
and Japan. In spite of its lack of flexibility, rail transportation

r a il n e t wor k
Total length of train tracks

≥ 50,000 km Maglev, China
30,000–49,999 km The Maglev, for Magnetic Levitation, is a train that uses magnetic forces to move and is
10,000–29,999 km therefore not in contact with the rails when it runs. It has reached a speed of over 500 km/h.
2,000–9,999 km
< 2,000 km
No data

Source: World Bank

Air transportation transportation : 105

The history of air transportation dates back to the early 20th number of passengers transported per year
century: in 1903, Orville Wright’s airplane flew for 12 seconds
over a distance of 36 m. More than a century later, the ≥ 50,000,000
performance of airplanes is of a completely different order. The 5,000,000–49,999,999
largest airliners can carry more than 800 passengers from one 500,000–4,999,999
continent to another. In November 2005, a Boeing 777 airplane 50,000–499,999
established the record for the longest commercial flight by < 50,000
flying the 21,600 km between Hong Kong and London without No data
touching down. Democratized in the 1960s, air travel has Source: World Bank
become the favorite means of transportation over long distances.
Today, the limitations of air transportation are linked less to the
capacity of airplanes than to problems with managing air traffic.
In 2003, more than 1.6 billion people flew on airplanes, and
there were over 21 million commercial flights.

air travel earth: an inhabited planet

country number of takeoffs number of passengers country number of takeoffs number of passengers
per year per year per year per year
United States 7,789,100 695,900 47 M
Canada 1,036,100 589 M France 638,500 104 M
China 946,400 529,600 41 M
United Kingdom 891,200 36 M Japan 518,800 42 M
Germany 844,800 486,800 32 M
86 M Australia Source: World Bank

76 M Spain

72 M Brazil

Beluga cargo plane, United States
The Beluga is often used to transport different parts of a plane (wings, fuselage, etc.)

that must be assembled at a site different from where they are made. The Beluga is
loaded by the front through a door 17 m high. The cockpit is at the bottom of the plane

to make room for this immense opening.

106 : INEQUALITIES Québec (2)

Ottawa (1) Montréal (4)

Racine (4) Toronto (6)

Despite economists’ forecasts that globalization of the economy Kalamazoo (3) Boston (9)
will benefit the poorest the most, inequalities in the world
are getting worse in terms of health, nutrition, Detroit (6)
education, housing, and other areas. Gross national
product (GNP) per capita, a Chicago (18) Cleveland (3)

Charleston (3) New York (45)
Philadelphia (3)
Washington D.C. (6)

GREENLAND (DK)

country’s main socioeconomic

development indicator, ranges

from about 100 in the

poorest countries to almost Edmonton (1) CANADA

60,000 in the wealthiest. Vancouver (1)
Seattle (7)
ese disparities are aggravated by the fact

that in the 1970s, the ird World became Minneapolis (6) Saint John (1)
heavily indebted in order to finance its
Salt Lake City UNITED STATES Omaha (3)

(3)

San Francisco (23) Denver (5)

Wichita (3)
Las Vegas (4)

Dallas (20)
Phoenix (3)
development. e borrowed funds, oftenEARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET San Jose (17) Columbia (3) Hamilton (1)
poorly managed or misappropriated, have Los Angeles (36) Bentonville Atlanta (4)
CHILE
San Diego (5) (4)

not had the anticipated effect. San Antonio (4) Houston (6) Fort Lauderdale (5)
Today, unable to pay back its debt, Honolulu (1)
the ird World is demanding Monterrey (1) BAHNAaMsAsSau (1)
that the debt be written off. At MEXICO CUBA
the same time, the wealthiest countries donate to
George Town (1) HAITI DOMINICAN SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
BELIZE JAMAICA REP. ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
Mexico City (9)

GUATEMALA HONDURAS SAINT VINCENT AND DOMINICA
EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA THE GRENADINES SAINT LUCIA
GRENADA BARBADOS
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
COSTA RICA PANAMA Caracas (2)
VENEZUELA GUYANA
FRENCH GUIANA(FR)

the most disadvantaged countries in the form of Bogota (2) SURINAME
official development assistance. COLOMBIA

ECUADOR

DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH

GNP per capita PERU
≥ $25,000
BRAZIL

$10,000–$24,999 BOLIVIA
$3,000–$9,999

$1,000–$2,999 Antofagasta (1) PARAGUAY Rio de Janeiro (2)
$500–$999 Sao Paulo (6)
Measuring wealth < $500

Sources: World Bank; UN

e GNP is an indicator that measures the total value of the Number of billionaires URUGUAY
goods and services produced in a country during one year, as (per metropolitan region) Santiago (2) ARGENTINA Buenos Aires (1)
well as its net revenues from foreign countries. Total GNP is

used to measure a country’s wealth. Divided by the number of 45 10 5 1
inhabitants, it gives an indication of the standard of living of a

country’s population. Source: Forbes

THE COUNTRIES OF THE THIRD WORLD

e expression “ ird World” was coined POVERTY LINE
during the Cold War to designate countries Share of the population living on less than $1 per day
that belonged to neither the capitalist nor
the communist sphere of influence. Since ≥ 50%
the 1970s, “ ird World” has referred to the 20%–49%
poorest countries on the planet. Many of 10%–19%
these countries’ populations live in extreme 5%–9%
misery. About 1.3 billion people, representing < 5%
20% of the world’s population, survive on less No data
Source: UN
than 1 per day—that is, under the poverty

line defined by the United Nations.

DENMARK RUSSIA LITHUANIA

IRELAND UNITED Hamburg (9) POLAND BELARUS INEQUALITIES : 107
Dublin (2) KINGDOM NETHERLANDS
GERMANY Berlin (3)

BELGIUM Warsaw (1)

London (19) Bad Homburg (3)

LUXEMBOURG Heidelberg (3) UKRAINE
CZECH REP. ROMANIA
Stuttgart (4) SLOVAKIA BULGARIA
Paris (12) LIECHTENSTEIN
FRANCE Zurich (4) (3) ASULOSVTERNIACIAROVATieIHAnUnNaGA(R3Y)
Luzern (3) ITALY

Geneva (3)

SWITZERLAND Milano SAN BOSNIA AND
MARINO HERZEGOVINA
ANDORRA
La Coruna (3) MONACO SERBIA
MONTENEGRO
MACEDONIA
PORTUGAL SPAIN Rome (2) ALBANIA
Madrid (3) VATICAN
ICELAND
CITY

NORWAY SWEDEN FINLAND GREECE
Oslo (4)
ESTONIA
Stockholm (5) LATVIA

RUSSIA Magnitogorsk (1)
Moscow (24) Surgut (1)

UKRAINE Dnipropetrovs'k (1) KAZAKHSTAN
Donets'k (2)
EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANETMONGOLIA

Istanbul (7) GEORGIA VIETNAMUZBEKISTANAlmaty (3)
TURKEY ARMENIA AZERBAIJANMOLDOVA
KYRGYZSTAN NORTH JAPAN
KOREA
TURKMENISTAN TAJIKISTAN Beijing (1)

Seoul (3) Kyoto (3)
SOUTH Tokyo (13)
TUNISIA MALTA CYPRUS SYRIA AFGHANISTAN CHINA KOREA Osaka (2)
LEBANON Tefen (1)
MOROCCO Tel Aviv (5) IRAN
GAZA STRIP IRAQ
MOZAMBIQUE JORDAN PAKISTAN Shanghai (1)
KUWAIT Kuwait (2) BHUTAN
ALGERIA LIBYA Cairo (1) ISRAEL Delhi (3) NEPAL
BAHRAIN
WESTERN EGYPT Riyadh (2) QATAR Dubai (2) INDIA BANGLADESH Hong Kong (18) Taipei (7)
SAHARA (MA) UNITED BURMA LAOS T'ainan (1)
Jeddah (4) SAUDI ARABIA ARAB
Mecca (1) OMAN EMIRATES

MAURITANIA MALI NIGER Bombay (5)
CAPE
VERDE THAILAND
SENEGAL CHAD ERITREA YEMEN Bangkok (3) CAMBODIA Manila (3)
SUDAN Bangalore (1) PHILIPPINES
GAMBIA BURKINA DJIBOUTI
GUINEA- FASO ETHIOPIA
BISSAU GUINEA GHANA NIGERIA
BENIN MARSHALL IS.
SIERRA CÔTE CENTRAL SRI LANKA BRUNEI PALAU MICRONESIA
LEONE D'IVOIRE CAMEROON AFRICAN REP. MALDIVES
LIBERIA
TOGO SOMALIA Kuala Lumpur (4) M A L A Y S I A
UGANDA
EQUATORIAL GUINEA Sibu (1)
KENYA Singapore (5) SINGAPORE
SAO TOME GABON CONGO
AND PRINCIPE RWANDA NAURU KIRIBATI
DEM. REP. OF
THE CONGO SEYCHELLES I N D O N E S I A PAPUA
TANZANIA
BURUNDI NEW GUINEA
Kudus (1) Surabaja (1) TIMOR TUVALU
LESTE SOLOMON IS.

ANGOLA MALAWI COMOROS

ZAMBIA VANUATU SAMOA
TONGA
FIJI

ZIMBABWE MADAGASCAR MAURITIUS
NAMIBIA BOTSWANA

Johannesburg (1) SWAZILAND AUSTRALIA
LESOTHO
Perth (1)
SOUTH AFRICA
Sydney (3)
Stellenbosch (1)

Melbourne (2)

NEW
ZEALAND

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT MAIN DONOR COUNTRIES OF INTERNATIONAL MAIN RECIPIENT COUNTRIES
ASSISTANCE ASSISTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE

e member countries of the RANK COUNTRY ASSISTANCE IN 2005 % OF RANK COUNTRY ASSISTANCE IN 2005 % OF
Development Assistance Committee United States $27,622 M GNP Afghanistan $2,192 M GNP
of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development 0.2 31.3
(OECD) offer aid to developing
countries by agreeing to reduce their debt Japan $13,147 M 0.3 Sudan $1,472 M 6.4
or by providing them with new funding.
United Kingdom $10,767 M 0.5 Ethiopia $1,202 M 10.8

Germany $10,082 M 0.4 Dem. Rep. of the Congo $1,034 M 14.8

France $10,026 M 0.5 Tanzania $871 M 6.8

Netherlands $5,115 M 0.8 Zambia $836 M 14.4

Italy $5,091 M 0.3 Mozambique $771 M 12.5

Canada $3,756 M 0.4 Uganda $704 M 8.8

Sweden $3,362 M 0.9 Bangladesh $563 M 0.8

Spain $3,018 M 0.3 Madagascar $500 M 8.7

Source: OECD Source: OECD

108 : INEQUALITIES To integrate these different parameters into a single indicator,
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Development indicators calculates the human development index. This index, which
takes account of longevity, education, literacy, and standard of
Development indicators are numerical indicators used to living (purchasing power) assesses development on a scale from
estimate the development of nations. They measure different 0 to 1. In 2004, the index ranged from 0.311 for Niger to 0.965
parameters that affect the quality of life of human beings. GNP for Norway.
measures a country’s wealth or poverty, while life expectancy and
infant mortality rate reflect its state of health. Other indicators
assess satisfaction of basic human needs, such as access to
drinking water, sufficient food, and housing. Still others measure
level of education, the guarantee of a population’s future.

human development index

EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET

High
Average
Low
No data
Source: UN

R A N K I N G o f c ountries acco rding t o th e h u man devel opment inde x

The highest-ranked countries the lowest-ranked countries

rank country index rank country index
0.390
Norway 0.965 Mozambique 0.384
0.371
Iceland 0.960 Burundi 0.368
0.353
Australia 0.957 Ethiopia 0.349
0.342
Ireland 0.956 Chad 0.338
0.335
Sweden 0.951 Central African Republic 0.311
Source: UNDP
Canada 0.950 Guinea-Bissau

Japan 0.949 Burkina Faso

United States 0.948 Mali

Switzerland 0.947 Sierra Leone

Netherlands 0.947 Niger

World average: 0.741

INE Q U A L ITIES : 109

access to drinking water

Access to water is one of the main development indicators. share of the population with access to drinking water
It corresponds to the proportion of the population that has
access to at least 20 liters of water per day per person from 90%–100%
an improved source (pipeline, protected well, rainwater 70%–89%
collection, etc.) less than one kilometer from their 50%–69%
residence. In many regions of the world, populations lack 30%–49%
water, leading to serious sanitary problems. 0%–29%
The East Asia/Pacific region has the largest number of No data
inhabitants without access to improved water sources. Source: UN
Inhabitants of urban areas have a better chance of
benefiting from an improved source. Mongolia, for
example, has very wide disparities between drinking-water
access in urban zones (87%) and rural zones (30%).

ea r t h : a n i n h a b i t e d p l a n e t

Water point, Tanzania
Access to a source of drinking water is one of the main development indicators.

110 : FRESHWATER RESOURCES

Less than 3% of all water on the planet is freshwater. GREENLAND (DK)
It is a resource that is unequally distributed, as most of
it is frozen at the poles and the rest is found in water CANADA NORTH
tables, which refill very slowly. AMERICA
Nevertheless, world freshwater
reserves would satisfy the needs UNITED STATES
of humanity if they were better
EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET distributed and used. While BAHAMAS CARIBBEAN
subtropical regions (North Africa,
South Africa, the Middle East, MEXICO CUBA DOMINICAN
etc.) suffer from a serious lack of water, the temperate REP.
and intertropical regions (Canada, Russia, Brazil, etc.) HAITI
have an abundance of freshwater. In the future, due to
population growth, these inequalities are likely to rise.

e risk of water shortages may cause conflicts to break
out between countries that share watersheds.

BELIZE JAMAICA KNA ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
VCT DOMINICA
GUATEMALA HONDURAS SAINT LUCIA
EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA GRENADA
BARBADOS
COSTA RICA PANAMA VENEZUELA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

GUYANA FRENCH GUIANA(FR)

LATIN COLOMBIA SURINAME
AMERICA ECUADOR

Water consumption PERU
BRAZIL
Water consumption has greatly increased in recent decades. Although
the overall increase is attributable to population growth, the rise in BOLIVIA
consumption per capita results from the easy access to water and
economic development in some countries. CHILE PARAGUAY
ARGENTINA
AGRICULTURAL USE URUGUAY

DOMESTIC USE

On the global scale, the agricultural sector is the greatest Water consumption for domestic use rises along with the
consumer of water. About 70% of water consumed in the world standard of living of populations. Running water, sewer systems,
is used for farmland irrigation. e countries that irrigate the and household appliances such as dishwashers and washing
most are situated in Asia (China, India, Pakistan). Due to machines have propelled consumption up to 60 billion m3 per
insufficient precipitation, the most arid countries have little year in the United States.
capacity for irrigation.

WATER CONSUMED FOR AGRICULTURAL USE WATER CONSUMED FOR DOMESTIC USE
(Gm3/yr) (m3/year/inhab.)

≥ 200 ≥ 250
100–199.9 200–249.9
50–99.9 100–199.9
20–49.9 50–99.9
3–19.9 25–49.9
<3 < 25
No data No data
(1 Gm3 = 1 billion cubic meters)
Source: FAO
Source: FAO

FRESHWATER RESOURCES : 111

Lake Nasser, Egypt
Formed at the border between Egypt and Sudan
following construction of the Aswan dam on the Nile,
Lake Nasser is a freshwater reservoir containing
almost 162 billion m3 of freshwater. By reducing the
amount of alluvia in the Nile’s river bed downstream
of the dam, this structure is likely responsible for
erosion of the Nile Delta.

ICELAND EUROPE

SWEDEN FINLAND
NORWAY

ESTONIA

DENMARK LATVIA RUSSIA
LITHUANIA

IRELAND UNITED NLD GERMANY POLAND BELARUS
KINGDOM BEL LUX CZECH REP. UKRAINE

FRASNWCEITZERLANIDTLAIELYAUSTSRVINA SVK MOLDOVA KAZAKHSTAN
HUNGARY
HRV ROMANIA MONGOLIA

AND MCO SMR BIH SRB UZBEKISTAN
VAT MNE MKD BGR TURKMENISTAN
PORTUGAL ALB GEORGIA KYRGYZSTAN
GREECE TAJIKISTAN
SPAIN T U R K E Y ARMENIA NORTH
AZERBAIJAN KOREA
SOUTH JAPAN
TUNISIA MALTA CYPRUS SYRIA KOREA
LEBANON CHINA
MOROCCO GAZA STRIP WEST BANK IRAN AFGHANISTAN ASIA EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET
ISRAEL NEPAL BHUTAN
IRAQ
EGYPT KUWAIT
ALGERIA JORDAN PAKISTAN
LIBYA OMAN
WESTERN BAHRAIN QATAR UNITED
SAHARA (MA) ARAB INDIA BANGLADESH
EMIRATES BURMA
SAUDI
MAURITANIA ARABIA LAOS

CAPE VERDE MALI NIGER VIETNAM

SENEGAL CHAD SUDAN ERITREA YEMEN THAILAND
DJIBOUTI CAMBODIA
GUINEA- GAMBIA BURKINA
BISSAU FASO
GUINEA GHANA NIGERIA PHILIPPINES
BENIN CAMEROON
SIERRA LEONE CÔTE CENTRAL ETHIOPIA SRI MARSHALL IS.
LIBERIA D'IVOIRE AFRICAN REP. LANKA
SOMALIA MALDIVES BRUNEI PALAU MICRONESIA
TOGO MALAYSIA

EQUATORIAL GUINEA GABON RWANDA UGANDA SEYCHELLES SINGAPORE NAURU KIRIBATI
SAO TOME CONGO DEM. REP. OF KENYA INDONESIA SOLOMON IS. TUVALU
THE CONGO PAPUA
AND PRINCIPE BURUNDI NEW GUINEA
TANZANIA TIMOR
LESTE
AFRICA COMOROS SAMOA
ANGOLA TONGA
MALAWI
ZAMBIA MOZAMBIQUE VANUATU FIJI
ZIMBABWE
NAMIBIA MADAGASCAR MAURITIUS

BOTSWANA

AUSTRALIA OCEANIA

SWAZILAND

SOUTH LESOTHO
AFRICA

INDUSTRIAL USE

In the most highly industrialized countries, about the same FRESHWATER RESERVES
amount of water is consumed for industry as for agriculture.
Freshwater available
e industries that consume the most water are transformation ≥ 50,000 m3/year/inhab.
industries, such as chemistry and metallurgy. In addition, 10,000–49,999 m3/year/inhab.
industrial waste is a major contributor to water pollution. us, 5,000–9,999 m3/year/inhab.
not only does the quantity of available water diminish, but its 1,000–4,999 m3/year/inhab.
quality does, too. 100–999 m3/year/inhab.
≤ 100 m3/year/inhab.
WATER CONSUMED FOR INDUSTRIAL USE No data
(Gm3/yr)
Source: FAO
≥ 50
20–49,9 Use of freshwater by sector
10–19,9 agriculture
5–9,9 domestic
2–4,9 industrial
<2
No data Source: FAO
(1 Gm3 = 1 billion cubic meters)
Source: FAO Regional borders

112 : HEALTH

e health of populations varies from country to country depending

on their respective wealth levels, and even on wealth differences

within individual countries. e mortality of children under

5 years of age, which is a good reflection of a population’s GREENLAND (DK)

health, rises as the gross national product (GNP)

drops. In many countries in

Africa, this figure is above 15%.

Children with malnutrition are CANADA
predisposed to falling ill during

epidemics. In wealthy countries,

on the other hand, adult obesity

is lowering life expectancy, since UNITED STATES

it is likely to lead to heart disease. Health-

care personnel are also unequally distributedEARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET

CHILE
around the planet: the countries faced with the MEXICO BAHAMAS
direst health crises must make do with the fewest CUBA
health-care professionals. DOMINICAN
HAITI REP.
BELIZE JAMAICA
KNA ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
GUATEMALA HONDURAS VCT DOMINICA
SAINT LUCIA
EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA GRENADA
BARBADOS
COSTA RICA PANAMA VENEZUELA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

COLOMBIA GUYANA FRENCH GUIANA(FR)

ECUADOR SURINAME

Epidemics and life expectancy PERU
BRAZIL
In developing countries, infectious and parasitic
diseases cause most deaths, all age groups combined. BOLIVIA
Helped along by malnutrition, a shortage of drinking
water, lack of vaccinations, and illiteracy, epidemics PARAGUAY
propagate rapidly. Inequalities of life expectancy at
birth, which had narrowed during the 1980s, have ARGENTINA
increased considerably since. e main cause of this URUGUAY
growing disparity is the AIDS epidemic that has
struck Africa. More than 7% of the population on the Going to the vaccination center, Zambia
continent is infected. In southern Africa, about one- Vaccination campaigns conducted by
quarter of the population is affected (and up to 38.8% nongovernmental organizations, such as the Red
in Swaziland). Cross, were responsible in large part for 84% of
Zambian children over 1 year old being vaccinated
against measles in 2004.

DISEASE AND DEVELOPMENT LEVEL

Heart disease and cancer are the scourges of the THE MAIN MEDICAL CAUSES
wealthiest countries, while communicable diseases OF DEATH IN THE WORLD
affect developing countries. As the risk factors
for communicable diseases (malnutrition, lack of traumas
water, etc.) diminish, the risk factors for chronic 9%
conditions (obesity, smoking, etc.) are amplified.
According to the World Health Organisation communicable diabetes
(WHO), the annual number of deaths due to diseases and 2%
smoking in the world should grow from 4.9 million nutrition problems
in 2000 to more than 10 million in 2020. e other chronic
increase will be steepest in developing countries. 30% diseases
9%
cancer
13% chronic respiratory
diseases
7%

heart disease
30%

Source: WHO

HEALTH : 113

THE HEALTH SITUATION

Population infected with malaria Life expectancy at birth
> 1% (average age that people born in 2003 can
expect to live)
Source: WHO
≥ 80 years

Population (15–49 years) infected with 70–79.9 years
HIV/AIDS 60–69.9 years
50–59.9 years
> 1% 40–49.9 years

Source: UNAIDS

ICELAND Doctors Without Borders < 40 years
Countries where the organization is active Source: UN
NORWAYSWEDEN FINLAND
ESTONIA Source: Doctors Without Borders

DENMARK LATVIA RUSSIA
LITHUANIA

IRELAND KUINNGITDFSEROWDAMANINTBCDZEEELRNMLLACDNODLUGEXILTVRIAEAMLTYAANUCYZSSETSMCRVRHINMARHNBHEPREIPUOHV.NLSAVGSNKARMDBRKRYDOMBAGBNREILAARUUKSRAINE KAZAKHSTAN

UZBEKISTAN KYRGYZSTAN
TURKMENISTAN

TAJIKISTAN
PORTUGAL SPAIN ALB EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANETGEORGIAMONGOLIA
GREECE GEORGIA CHINA
VIETNAM
MOLDOVATURKEYARMENIA NORTH
KOREA
AZERBAIJAN SOUTH JAPAN
KOREA
TUNISIA MALTA CYPRUS SYWREIAST BANK IRAN AFGHANISTAN
LEBANON IRAQ
MOROCCO GAZA STRIP
JORDAN
ALGERIA LIBYA ISRAEL OMANKUWAIT PAKISTAN NEPAL BHUTAN
EGYPT BAHRAIN QATAR UNITED
WESTERN ARAB I N D I A BANGLADESH
SAHARA (MA) SAUDI EMIRATES BURMA LAOS
ARABIA
MAURITANIA MALI NIGER

CAPE VERDE CHAD THAILAND
CAMBODIA
SENEGAL SUDAN ERITREA YEMEN
GAMBIA DJIBOUTI BRUNEI
GUINEA- GUINEA BURKINA FASO NIGERIA PHILIPPINES
BISSAU CÔTE BENIN CAMEROON ETHIOPIA PALAU
D'IVOIRE
SIERRA LEONE GHANA CENTRAL SRI MARSHALL IS.
AFRICAN REP. LANKA
LIBERIA MALDIVES MICRONESIA
TOGO SOMALIA
MALAYSIA
EQUATORIAL GUINEA UGANDA
SAO TOME KENYA SINGAPORE
GABON DEM. REP. OFRWANDA BURUNDI SEYCHELLES INDONESIA NAURU KIRIBATI
AND PRINCIPE CONGO PAPUA

THE CONGO

TANZANIA NEW GUINEA TUVALU

TIMOR SOLOMON IS.

ANGOLA COMOROS LESTE SAMOA
TONGA
ZAMBIA MALAWI

MOZAMBIQUE VANUATU FIJI
MADAGASCAR
ZIMBABWE MAURITIUS
NAMIBIA

BOTSWANA

AUSTRALIA

SWAZILAND

SOUTH LESOTHO
AFRICA

NEW
ZEALAND

INVESTING IN HEALTH

e share of the national budget devoted to health varies from HEALTH-CARE EXPENDITURES
less than 5% in the poorest countries to more than 20% in the ($/year/inhab.)
wealthiest ones. us, national revenue has a major impact on the
state of health and the life expectancy of a country’s population. ≥ 3,000
However, it does not explain on its own the inequalities from one 2,000–2,999
country to another. Malaysia, for example, has an infant-mortality 1,000–1,999
rate equal to that of the United States (0.7%), while its GNP is 500–999
one-quarter the size. Governments that invest in water quality, 100–499
hygiene education, and installation of an extended health-care < 100
system (sufficient number of physicians, vaccinations, etc.) improve No data
their health situation. With a GNP per capita identical to that
of India, Vietnam has a life expectancy that is longer by eight Source: WHO
years (68 years) and an infant-mortality rate almost four times
lower (2.3%), notably because 99% of children under 1 year old are
vaccinated, as compared to 70% in India.

114 : ILLITERACY

More than 750 million people around the world are illiterate, and about 64% of

them are women. e illiteracy rate varies hugely from country to country and

between genders: in many countries, more women than men are illiterate.

e less access a population has to basic education, the higher

the illiteracy rate and the more widespread the bad living

conditions. In order to make up for the lack of

basic education, the United GREENLAND (DK)

Nations Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) is helping to set

up nonconventional schooling

structures in many developing CANADA

countries that offer training to

EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANETeveryone in a community—children, teenagers, and

CHILEadults—and are run by members of the community.UNITED STATES

BAHAMAS

MEXICO CUBA DOMINICAN
REP.
HAITI
JAMAICA
BELIZE KNA ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
VCT DOMINICA
GUATEMALA HONDURAS SAINT LUCIA
EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA GRENADA
BARBADOS
COSTA RICA PANAMA VENEZUELA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

GUYANA FRENCH GUIANA(FR)

COLOMBIA

THE ILLITERACY RATE ECUADOR SURINAME

e illiteracy rate counts people over 15 years of age who are unable to read and write a PERU
short sentence about their everyday life. It is high in all developing countries where basic BRAZIL
education is not systematic. In developed countries, few of which publish data on this
subject, illiteracy is less visible, but it exists nevertheless, especially among those excluded BOLIVIA
from mainstream society. PARAGUAY

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% ARGENTINA
URUGUAY

Bolivia Men
Brazil Women
Vietnam
Haiti Sources: UN; CIA World Factbook

Iraq
India
Bhutan
Chad
Afghanistan
Mali

ILLITERACY : 115

Child writing, United Kingdom
Learning to read and write begins when a child is
about 6 years old. To fight illiteracy, obligatory school
attendance for young children must be a priority.

ICELAND

SWEDEN FINLAND
NORWAY

ESTONIA

DENMARK LATVIA RUSSIA
LITHUANIA

IRELAND KUINNGITDEFODRMAANNDLCUSEWBXNMELILCTDOZERGLIETALRAINEMLDYAANUCYZSSETSMCRVRHINARHBHEPRIPUOHV.NLSAVGSNKARDRBRYOMABNEILAARUUKSRAINEMOLDOVA KAZAKHSTAN EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET

MONGOLIA

PORTUGAL VAT MNE MKD BGR GEORGIA UZBEKISTAN KYRGYZSTAN
ALB TURKMENISTAN TAJIKISTAN
SPAIN GREECE T U R K E Y ARMENIA NORTH
AZERBAIJAN KOREA
SOUTH JAPAN
TUNISIA MALTA CYPRUS SYRIA KOREA
LEBANON CHINA
MOROCCO GAZA STRIP WEST BANK AFGHANISTAN
ISRAEL IRAN
IRAQ
EGYPT KUWAIT
ALGERIA JORDAN PAKISTAN NEPAL BHUTAN
LIBYA OMAN
WESTERN BAHRAIN QATAR UNITED
SAHARA (MA) ARAB INDIA BANGLADESH
EMIRATES BURMA

MAURITANIA SAUDI LAOS
ARABIA

CAPE VERDE MALI NIGER VIETNAM

SENEGAL CHAD SUDAN ERITREA YEMEN THAILAND
DJIBOUTI CAMBODIA
GUINEA- GAMBIA BURKINA
BISSAU FASO
GUINEA GHANA NIGERIA PHILIPPINES
BENIN CAMEROON
SIERRA LEONE CÔTE CENTRAL ETHIOPIA SRI MARSHALL IS.
LIBERIA D'IVOIRE AFRICAN REP. LANKA
TOGO SOMALIA MALDIVES BRUNEI PALAU MICRONESIA
MALAYSIA
EQUATORIAL GUINEA UGANDA
SAO TOME GABON RWANDA KENYA SINGAPORE NAURU KIRIBATI
CONGO DEM. REP. OF INDONESIA
AND PRINCIPE THE CONGO BURUNDI SEYCHELLES PAPUA
TANZANIA NEW GUINEA
TIMOR TUVALU
LESTE SOLOMON IS.

ANGOLA COMOROS SAMOA
TONGA
ZAMBIA MALAWI MOZAMBIQUE VANUATU FIJI
ZIMBABWE
NAMIBIA MADAGASCAR MAURITIUS

BOTSWANA

AUSTRALIA

SWAZILAND

SOUTH LESOTHO
AFRICA

ILLITERACY IN THE WORLD NEW
ZEALAND
Illiteracy rate per country
≥ 75%
50%–74.9%
25%–49.9%
10%–24.9%
< 10%
No data

Sources: UNESCO; État du monde

Nonconventional schooling, Uganda
The young students in this school are learning English.
Nonconventional schooling includes basic education
programs in reading, writing, and arithmetic, for children
and adults.

116 : CONFLICTS

e number of conflicts has dropped significantly since the end of the

Cold War, but there are still numerous zones where confrontations

occur. e nature of conflicts has changed: although there are

still several wars between states and a number of border

disputes, most conflicts are civil wars. e parties

confront each other within a GREENLAND (DK)

single country for ideological,

ethnic, religious, or economic

reasons. In some civil wars, a

group claims independence CANADA
for its territory (armed

independence movements). Although officially

confined to a single country, civil wars often involve a

EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANETnumber of states, which support one or another of the UNITED STATES

CHILEbelligerents financially or militarily.

BAHAMAS

MEXICO CUBA DOMINICAN
REP.
HAITI
JAMAICA
BELIZE KNA ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
DOMINICA
THE MAIN ARMED CONFLICTS GUATEMALA HONDURAS VCT SAINT LUCIA
EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA GRENADA
Number of armed conflicts per country BARBADOS
(1989–2006) Armed conflicts in the last 15 years COSTA RICA PANAMA VENEZUELA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
International con ict
8–9 Border dispute GUYANA FRENCH GUIANA(FR)
6–7 Armed independence movement
4–5 Civil war COLOMBIA
2–3
1 Sources: Le Monde diplomatique; BBC News ECUADOR SURINAME
0
PERU
Source: Uppsala Conflict Database BRAZIL

BOLIVIA

INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS BORDER DISPUTES PARAGUAY

Israel against Lebanon to stop activities by terrorists established Peru and Ecuador for control of the Condor cordillera ARGENTINA
in Lebanon (1978–2006) (1981–1998) URUGUAY

Israel against Syria for possession of the Golan Heights Cameroon and Nigeria for control of the oil-rich Bakassi
(since 1981) Peninsula (1994–1996)

Eritrea against Ethiopia for control of the city of Badme India and Pakistan for control of the
(1998–2000) Kashmir region (since 1948)

Invasion of Iraq by the United States to end the dictatorship of Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Brunei, the Philippines,
Saddam Hussein (2003) and Malaysia, for control of the Spratly Islands
(since 1988)
Invasion of Afghanistan by the United States to combat
terrorism (2001)

For independence of Palestine occupied by Israel ARMED INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS Islamist groups for independence of the Mindanao region in
(since 1964) the southern Philippines (since 1969)
Basque separatist group (ETA) against the Spanish
For independence of Casamance in southern Senegal government for independence of the Basque Country For independence of East Timor, obtained in 2002
(1982–2004) (since 1959) (1975–2002)

Polisario Front against the Moroccan government for Corsican separatist group against the French government for Separatist group on Bougainville, an island in Papua New
independence of the Western Sahara (since 1991) independence of the island (since 1976) Guinea (1989–1997)

Separatist Kurdish group in Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria Tamul Tiger separatist group in northern and eastern Sri Separatist group in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia
(1994–1998) Lanka (since 1976) (since 1992)

Irish Republican Army (IRA) against the British government Maoist groups for the creation of an independent communist Chechen separatist group in Russia (since 1994)
for independence of Northern Ireland state, in Nepal (since 1996)
(1919–2005)
For independence of Tibet occupied by China
(since 1959)

CONFLICTS : 117

CYPRUS

LEBANON SYRIA

WEST BANK

GAZA ISRAEL
STRIP
EGYPT JORDAN

ICELAND

SWEDEN FINLAND

NORWAY

ESTONIA

DENMARK LATVIA RUSSIA
LITHUANIA

IRELAND UNITED NLD GERMANY POLAND BELARUS
KINGDOM BEL LUX CZECH REP. UKRAINE

FRASNWCIETZERLANIDTLAIELYAUSTSRVINAHHRUVNSVGKARRYOMANIAMOLDOVA KAZAKHSTAN

AND MCO SMR BIH SRB GEORGIA MONGOLIA
CHINA
PORTUGAL VATICAN MNE MKD BGR TURKMENISUTZABNEKISTTAANJIKISTAN KYRGYZSTAN EARTH: AN INHABITED PLANET
SPAIN ALBANIA ARMENIA NORTH
GRÈCE TURKEY AZERBAIJAN KOREA
SOUTH
TUNISIA MALTA AFGHANISTAN KOREA JAPAN
IRAQ
MOROCCO
IRAN

ALGERIA LIBYA EGYPT KUWAIT PAKISTAN NEPAL BHUTAN
BAHRAIN QATAR UNITED
WESTERN ARAB I N D I A BANGLADESH
SAHARA (MA) SAUDI EMIRATES
BURMA
MAURITANIA
ARABIA LAOS
SOMALIA
CAPE VERDE MALI NIGER CHAD ERITREA OMANYEMEN THAILANDVIETNAM
SENEGAL
SUDAN
GAMBIA BURKINA DJIBOUTI CAMBODIA
GUINEA- FASO ETHIOPIA
BISSAU GUINEA GHANA PHILIPPINES
BENIN NIGERIA
SIERRA CAMEROON CENTRAL SRI MARSHALL IS.
LEONE AFRICAN REP. LANKA
LIBERIA CÔTE TOGO MALDIVES BRUNEI PALAU MICRONESIA
D'IVOIRE MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE
EQUATORIAL GUINEA GABONCONGO RWANDA UGANDA NAURU KIRIBATI
SAO TOME KENYA SOLOMON IS. TUVALU
AND PRINCIPE
BURUNDI SEYCHELLES
INDONESI A PAPUA
DEM. REP. OF TANZANIA NEW GUINEA
THE CONGO
TIMOR
ANGOLA COMOROS LESTE

ZAMBIA MALAWIMOZAMBIQUE VANUATU FIJI SAMOA
ZIMBABWE TONGA
NAMIBIA MADAGASCAR MAURITIUS

BOTSWANA

AUSTRALIA

SOUTH SWAZILAND
AFRICA LESOTHO

NEW
ZEALAND

In Guatemala, guerrillas against the military government for CIVIL WARS In Somalia, clan conflict for control of the country
a change of regime (1960–1996) Ethnic conflict for control of the Congo (1997–2003) (1991–2004)

In Colombia, communist group (FARC) against the government Popular liberation movement of Angola against the Unita Confrontation between Shiite and Sunni Muslims in Iraq
for control of the country (since 1966) rebel group for control of the country (1975–2002) (since 2005)

In Sierra Leone, armed group against the government for In Chad, ethnic and religious conflict for control of the In Afghanistan, mujahadin against the Taliban for control of
control of diamond production (1991–2002) country (1998–2003) the country (1992–2001)

In Côte d’Ivoire, ethnic and religious conflict for control of In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, rebel group against In Tajikistan, Islamists and democrats against the pro-
the country (1999–2005) the government for control of the country (1997–2002) Russian army for control of the country (1992–1997)

In Algeria, Islamists against the government for control of In Sudan, animists and Christians against the Islamist Ethnic conflict between Tutsis and Hutus for control of
the country (1991–2005) government and ethnic conflict in Darfur (1983–2005) Rwanda (1994–2001)

118 : conflicts (censorship, seizures, searches, pressure, etc.). On the basis of
this information, it assigns each country a ranking that reflects
Freedom of the press its freedom of the press. The lower the ranking, the greater the
freedom of the press. In 2007, 169 countries were ranked. Their
Media propaganda is used in many conflicts to manipulate rankings ranged from 0.75 in Iceland to 114.75 in Eritrea.
opinion and the adversary. Freedom of the press is a bulwark
against this propaganda. Each year, the French association
Reporters Without Borders, through its network of
correspondents, lists attacks against journalists (assassinations,
imprisonments, assaults, threats, etc.) and the media

earth: an inhabited planet Very good
Good
Fair
Difficult
Serious
Very serious
No data

Source: Reporters Without Borders

Military expenditures of government expenditures, they form a major geopolitical

Military expenditures are the total amounts allocated to armed indicator for analyzing conflicts in the world. In 2006, world
forces, governmental defense agencies, and military activities in
space but exclude, among other things, the cost of destroying military expenditures stood at 184 per person on average, or
weapons. Although they often represent only a low proportion
2.5% of the world gross domestic product (GDP).

amount of military expenditures
(compared to GDP, per country)

≥ 10%
3%–9%
1%–2%
< 1%
No data

Source: CIA World Factbook

Antitank mines
Antitank mines are part of the war arsenal long used in many
conflicts, alongside powerful antipersonnel mines, which cause
many civilian deaths.



The Continents

The seven continents take up almost one-third of the planet’s
surface. Their main characteristics, such as shape, area, relief features,
and climate, vary widely. The continents have changed greatly over
geological time, as they have been shaped by plate tectonics, volcanism,
and sedimentation for millions of years. From the Canadian Far North
to the plains of Patagonia, from the Sahara Desert to the steppes of
Siberia, our planet offers a huge diversity of landscapes, inhabited by a
great variety of peoples.

TOP: Badlands National Park, United States
LEFT: Kimmeridge Bay, Great Britain

122 North Magnetic Pole (2006)
Mount Barbeau,
ASIA 2,616 m

-4,177 m Ellesmere Is.

GREENLAND (DK)

INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE Bering Strait Beaufort Sea Prince Patrick Is.
Melville Is.
Bering St. Lawrence Is.
Sea
Devon Is.

BROOKS RANGE Banks Is. Baf n Bay
ALASKA (US) Amundsen Gulf
Nunivak Is. Prince of
Wales Is.

Mount McKinley, Victoria Is. Baf n Is.
6,194 m Nettilling
Lake Davis
Aleutian ALASKA RANGE M Strait
ackenzie Mount Odin,
Is. Tombstone Mountain, 2,147 m
2,196 mM A C K E N
Great
Kodiak Is. Mount Logan, Keele Peak, ZIE MOUNTAINS Bear Lake
5,956 m 2,972 m Great
Gulf of Bear River
Alaska
THE CONTINENTS Yukon Thelon

COAST Great Mont d’Iberville,
Slave Lake Ungav1a,652 m

Mount Roosevelt, Slave Riv. -243 m Bay
2,814 m

M Fraser Riv. Lake CANADA Hudson Bay
Peace Athabasca
O R

Queen U Reindeer
Charlotte Is. lake
N

T elson

A N

I O Mount Robson, C
Lake
N 3,959 m Saskatc Cedar Lake Winnipeg a n James
Bay
S Edmonton a Lake a d
Vancouver Is. e Winnipegosis Shield
Mount Waddington, r i a n
4,019 m G Lake

C Calgary hewan

Vancouver

Seattle umbia Manitoba Lake St. La rLeAcUeRENTIANS
Portland Snak
CASCADE RANGE Nipigon
Col
I Lake Superior n
K w

e t Montréal

Mount Borah, P la Lake Ottawa
3,859 m Mount Washington,
1,917 m
ento in Minneapolis Lake Michigan Huron Toronto Lake Boston
Ontario Providence
Milwaukee
Sacram UNITED s Chicago Susquehanna
Hudson
Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States S Great S TAT E S Missouri Detroit LakeCElreieveland S New York
The Great Salt Lake resulted from the gradual E Salt Lake Philadelphia
evaporation of a much larger prehistoric lake, Sacramento Pittsburgh N
Lake Bonneville. San Francisco SIERRA NEVADA
Great Basin A Baltimore

Columbus I Washington, D.C.
o Cincinnati Virginia Beach
San Jose Denver Indianapolis H
Pikes Peak, St. Louis
Death Valley, 4,301 m C
-86 m
Colorado Kansas City Ohi A
Las Vegas Grand Canyon
MOJAVE Colorado L
DESERT Plateau
PHYSICAL MAP OF Los Angeles Riverside Ozark Plateau Mount Mitchell,APPA
NORTH AMERICA Arkansas 2,037 m Plain

Administrative capital San Diego SO Phoenix Memphis ma Atlanta stal
City with a population of over 1 M inhab. Tijuana
NORAN DESERT Brazos Dallas Mississippi Tombigbee Coa
Ri Alaba
o Gran e S I E R R A M A D R E O C C I D E N T A L
8,850 Guadaloupe Ciudad Juárez d Atlantic
6,000
5,000 Yaqui Austin New Orleans Orlando
4,000 Houston Tampa
3,000 BGaujalfCoafliCfoarlnifioarnia CHIHUAHUAN
2,000 DESERT San Antonio Florida
1,000
Altitude (m) 500 Roca Alijos SIERRA Miami
0
-500 Torreón Monterrey Gulf of Mexico
–2,500
–5,000 NORTH MEXICO MADRE -4,131 m
–8,000
–11,034 PACIFIC Rio Grande León ORIENTAL
OCEAN
Guadalajara Santiago de
Revillagigedo Is.
Depth (m) Mexico Yucatán

Bal sas Toluca Puebla Orizaba, Usuma
SIERRA 5,700 m a

0 500 1,000 km MADRE Isthmus of cint
Tehuantepec

DEL SUR

Sources: NIMA; NASA

NICARAGUA

Mount Gunnbjorn, Denmark EUROPE NORTH AMERICA : 123
3,694 m Strait
C RCLE North America is a large continent extending from the Tropic of Cancer
I to the North Pole region. Surrounded on three sides by the Pacific, Atlantic,
ARCTIC POLAR and Arctic oceans, it represents 16% of the planet’s landmass. e oldest
part of the continent, the Canadian Shield , borders Hudson Bay .
Labrador Sea All around it, the North American platform is home to major watersheds THE CONTINENTS
(the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes , the Mississippi , the
Rio Grande , and the Mackenzie ). While the ancient, eroded
Appalachian Mountains form the main relief feature of the eastern
part of the continent, the west is marked by high mountain ranges
(Rockies , Sierra Madre , etc.) following the Pacific coast all the
way from Alaska to Mexico. Relatively sparsely populated except along
the coasts, North America has a wide variety of landscapes, from the
Chihuahuan desert to the Arctic tundra, including temperate forests and
prairies. North America is bordered on the south by Central America, a
mountainous isthmus that links it to South America.

Newfoundland

Anticosti Is. ST. PIERRE AND
Prince MIQUELON (FR)
Cape Breton Is.
Edward Is.

Nova
Scotia

NORTH New York, United States
ATLANTIC New York’s port is one of the 15 largest in the world.

OCEAN

BERMUDA (GB)

TROPIC OF CANCER The Appalachians in Tennessee, United States
The eroded Appalachian Mountains form the main relief
feature of eastern North America.

The Mississippi, United States
The combined course of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers
is 5,970 km.

124 : NORTH AMERICA

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
IN NORTH AMERICA

THE CONTINENTS ≥ 1,000 inhab./km2
250–999 inhab./km2
25–249 inhab./km2 Mexico City, Mexico
5–24 inhab./km2 The most populous city in North America, with 19.4 million inhabitants in 2005,
0–4 inhab./km2 Mexico’s capital is also one of the most polluted cities in the world.

Source: SEDAC, Columbia University THE BIOMES
OF NORTH AMERICA
THE CLIMATES
OF NORTH AMERICA Rock and ice
Tundra
Polar at the Boreal forest
ice cap Temperate forest
Polar tundra Temperate prairie
Mountain Maquis
Continental with short, Tropical rainforest
cold summer Savanna
Continental with cool summer Desert
Continental with hot summer
Coastal
Mediterranean
Humid subtropical
Semiarid
Arid
Humid with dry winter
Humid

Source: Kottek et al., World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated Source: FAO

Central America and the Antilles NORTH AMERICA : 125

North America and South America are linked by a narrow strip political fragmentation in the region. e Antilles archipelago,
of mountainous land that stretches almost 2,000 km in length an island arc between Florida and Venezuela, includes two
between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. is region, separate groups. e Greater Antilles, to the north, contain
known as Central America, is defined by two isthmuses: the the largest and most populous islands of the archipelago:
Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 200 km wide, to the north , and Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (which consists of Haiti and the
the Isthmus of Panama, 80 km wide, to the south . Central Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico. To the southeast, the
America was shaped by tectonic activity, and its highest point is Lesser Antilles are composed of a long string of volcanic islands
Tajumulco (4,220 m), one of the many volcanoes in the region, encircling the Caribbean Sea. Constantly swept by trade winds,
situated in Guatemala. e numerous valleys and basins create a the Antilles archipelago has a hot, humid climate, punctuated
very compartmentalized landscape that is reflected in the by frequent hurricanes.

Sargasso
Sea
Grand Bahama Is.
Florida TROPIC OF CANCER THE CONTINENTS
Abaco Is.
BAHAMAS

Nassau TURKS AND CAICOS IS.(GB) ANGUILLA (GB)

Gulf of Mexico Andros VIRGIN IS. (US) SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
-4,131 m Basseterre
Havana CUBA BRITISH VIRGIN IS.(GB)
Yucatán ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
CAYMAN IS. (GB) Great -8,605 m Saint John's

-7,848 m Inagua Is. DOMINICAN San Juan MONTSERRAT GUADELOUPE (FR)
REP. PUERTO (GB) DOMINICA
JAMAICA HAITI Santo RICO (US) Roseau
Port-au-Prince Domingo
MARTINIQUE (FR)
Lago Enriquillo, -5,581 m SAINTCLaUstCriIeAs
BBrAidRgBeAtoDwOnS
Kingston -46 m SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
Kingstown

Isthmus of BELIZE Gulf of Caribbean Sea SainGtRGEeNoArgDe'As
Tehuantepec Honduras TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES(NL)
Belmopan ARUBA (NL) Port of Spain

Volcán Tajumulco, 4,220 m GUATEMALA HONDURAS
Tegucigalpa

-6,647 m Guatemala San Salvador
EL SALVADOR
NICARAGUA

Managua San Juan Isthmus of SOUTH
Lake Nicaragua Panama AMERICA

NORTH

PACIFIC San José Panama
OCEAN COSTA RICA

PANAMA

Panama Canal 0 500 1,000 km

PHYSICAL MAP OF CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE ANTILLES

Administrative capital
Cities with a population of over 1 M inhab.

THE PANAMA CANAL

e Panama Canal, 80 km long, crosses the Isthmus of Panama
to connect the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. Opened in
1914, the canal was first administered by the United States. It was
returned to Panama in 1999 and has since been a major source of
revenue for the country. In 2004, 14,035 ships, or almost 40 per

day, have passed through the canal, paying more than 750 million

in tolls.

Lock in the Panama Canal, Panama
To fit into the canal’s locks, ships must be no more than

32.3 m wide and 294.1 m long.

126 : north america the countries of north america

flag country area POPULATION flag country area POPULATION
Canada (km2) (M inhab.) (km2) (M inhab.)
United States 21,041
Mexico 9,900,000 32.85 El Salvador 13,878 6.85
Nicaragua 10,991 0.331
Honduras 9,600,000 305.69 Bahamas 5,130 2.71
Cuba 1.33
Guatemala 1,900,000 106.62 Jamaica 751 0.068
Panama 539 0.165
130,000 5.61 Trinidad and Tobago 442 0.083
Costa Rica 430 0.294
112,088 7.10 Dominica
Dominican Republic 388 0.120
Haiti 110,861 11.26 Saint Lucia
Belize 344 0.105
108,889 13.35 Antigua and Barbuda
261 0.049
the CONTINENTS 75,517 3.34 Barbados

51,100 4.46 Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines

48,511 9.75 Grenada

27,750 9.59 Saint Kitts and Nevis
22,966 0.288

the territories of north america

territory area POPULATION sovereign country territory area POPULATION sovereign country
(km2) (M inhab.)
Greenland 2,175,600 (km2) (M inhab.)
Puerto Rico 0.057
Guadeloupe 8,875 3.99 Denmark Cayman Islands 264 0.046 United Kingdom
Martinique 1,705 0.444 United States Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
Dutch Antilles 1,102 0.398 France Aruba 242 0.006 France
Turks and Caicos Islands 0.191 France British Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands 800 0.024 The Netherlands Montserrat 180 0.103 The Netherlands
430 0.111 United Kingdom Anguilla
347 United States Bermuda 151 0.022 United Kingdom

102 0.006 United Kingdom

91 0.012 United Kingdom

53 0.064 United Kingdom

north america : 127 the CONTINENTS

Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica
A range of volcanic mountains crosses this small Central American country.

Mountains, Jamaica
The mountains of central Jamaica have a temperate climate,
while the coasts have a tropical climate.

128 : SOUTH AMERICA GALAPAGOS
IS. (EC)
South America accounts for 12% of the planet’s landmass. Its relief features are
similar to those in North America. e east side of the continent is an ancient
bedrock, formed of the Guyana Plateau in the north, the Brazilian Plateau in
the center and the Patagonian Plateau in the south. e plateaus are separated by
depressions through which major rivers flow: the Orinoco , the Amazon , and
the Parana . e major mountain ranges are found on the west coast: the Andes
Cordillera stretches north to south, from Venezuela to southern Chile. From the
high peaks of the Andes to the cold Patagonia region, including the equatorial plains
of Amazonia, South America has a number of climatic zones. South of the Tropic of
Capricorn , warm temperate climates dominate, with some arid and semiarid
regions, while the north has tropical climates. e Andes Cordillera
generates a wide variety of climates, depending on latitude, altitude,
and orientation of the slopes.

THE CONTINENTS

Salto Angel, Venezuela Machu Picchu, Peru
With a height of 979 m, the Salto Angel falls are the highest The ruins of the Inca city of Machu Picchu are situated at
in the world. about 2,400 m altitude in the Andes Cordillera.

The Amazon, Brazil
With its source in the Andes, the Amazon flows more than
6,500 km. It crosses through a dense rainforest and empties
into the Atlantic Ocean.

Torres del Paine, Chile
Torres del Paine National Park, with an area of 181,000 ha,
stretches from the Chilean Andes to the steppes of Patagonia.

129

Pico Cristóbal Colón, Margarita Is.
5,776 m

Barranquilla Maracaibo Valencia Caracas
gda Lake Maracay
lena NORTH
Ma Maracaibo Barquisimeto ATLANTIC

NORTH Pico Bolivar, s Orinoco OCEAN
AMERICA 4,981 m o
Marajó Is.
Bucaramanga Georgetown Belém

Medellín l VENEZUELA GUYANA Paramaribo
Bogotá a Guya
n

L na FRENCH

P l SURINAME GUIANA (FR)
ateau
Cali
COLOMBIA

ECUADOR Pico da Neblina, Rio Negro Rio Branco EQUATOR
Quito Cotopaxi, 2,994 m Tapajos
Xingu
utuma
5,897 m yo Japura Am a zo n
Chimborazo, P azo
6,310 m a
Guayaquil Am
n Manaus
Ama
Marañón E z on i Fortaleza Fernando de
Noronha Is.
D Madeira
AN
PERU Purus Natal
Di
Teles Pires aíba
e d Guapore Arag aia
Huascarán, Yerupajá, Madr Juruena u Tocantins Recife THE CONTINENTS
6,768 m 6,617 m e Maceió
Lima os BRAZIL Parn
-6,403 m Ucayali São Francisco
S

C Salvador

O Lake BOLIVIA Mato Grosso -5,753 m
raguay
Titicaca Illimani, Pa Brasília
La PRaz 6,438 m Goiânia B r a z i l i a n

Sajama, Santa Cruz Paranaiba Plateau
6,542 m D
Altiplano
-7,694 m IL Rio Grande Belo Horizonte
-6,015 m
Pico da Bandeira, Vitória
2,890 m
Parana Martin Vaz Is.
ATACAMA PARAGUAY Parana Campinas Rio de Janeiro Trindade Is.
DESERT Plateau
TROPIC OF CAPRICORN -8,073 m R São Paulo
Llullaillaco, MA Santos
6,739 m
L Cachi, Asunción O
Bonete, E 6,380 m
6,759 m RA Gran Chaco SERRA D Curitiba

Ojos del Salado, Uruguay
6,893 m

ARGENTINA SOUTH
ATLANTIC
Parana Pôrto Alegre
OCEAN
Mercedario, Córdoba
6,700 m PHYSICAL MAP OF
URUGUAY SOUTH AMERICA
Aconcagua, Rosario
6,962 m
Tupungato, Buenos Aires Rio
Santiago 6,565 m pas

Juan Fernandez Is. CHILE de la PlataMontevideo
SOUTH
Pam

PACIFIC Colorado Administrative capital
OCEAN City with a population of over 1 M inhab.

Gulf of 8,850
San Matias 6,000
5,000
Chiloé Is. Patagonia Chubut Valdes 4,000
Wellington Is. Pen. 3,000
2,000
Gulf of Altitude (m) 1,000
San Jorge 500
0
-6,618 m –500
–2,500
Laguna del Carbón, –5,000
-105 m –8,000
–11,034
TierraStrait of FALKLAND IS. 1,000 km Depth (m)
Magellan (GB)
del Fuego
0 500
Cape Horn
Sources: NIMA; NASA

130 : south america

P O P U L ATION d i st r i b u t i on
in south america

the CONTINENTS ≥ 1,000 inhab./km2
250–999 inhab./km2
25–249 inhab./km2
5–24 inhab./km2
0–4 inhab./km2

Source: SEDAC, Columbia University Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Situated in southeast Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, with a population of 11.5 million
the climates inhabitants, is the second-most populous city in South America after São Paulo.
of south america
the biomes
of south america

Mountain Boreal forest
Coastal Temperate forest
Mediterranean Temperate prairie
Humid subtropical humid Maquis
Semiarid Tropical rainforest
Arid Savanna
Humid with dry winter Desert
Humid
Source: FAO
Source: Kottek et al., World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated

The Amazon south america : 131

The source of the Amazon is in the Andes. It crosses Peru Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia), the Amazonian forest
and Brazil and then flows into the Atlantic Ocean. This river, extends over 3.5 million km2, or 30% of all rainforests in the
which has the greatest rate of flow in the world, pours almost world. This natural environment is home to a very wide variety
200,000 m3 of water into the ocean per second. Its watershed of endemic species. It is estimated that one-quarter of all bird
covers 7 million km2, or more than one-third of the continent. species in the world live in Amazonia.
Shared among several South American countries (including

Before joining with the Rio Negro, the Colombia The Rio Negro, 2,000 km long, has its source in Colombia the CONTINENTS
Amazon is often called the Solimões. and flows into the Amazon at the Brazilian city of Manaus.

Peru With a population of 1.8 million inhabitants in its
urban area, Manaus is the only large city in Amazonia.
The Madeira, with its source in the
Bolivian mountains, is the longest The Amazon
tributary of the Amazon and one of the
longest rivers in the world (3,350 km). Brazil

Bolivia

DEforestation

The area of the Amazonian forest is constantly shrinking.
The main causes of deforestation are overcutting of the
forest’s trees, fires (accidental or deliberate), and land
clearing for farming or urban development. Deforestation
poses a considerable threat to the biodiversity of the
Amazonian forest. Some species of trees that have only
one representative per hectare may quickly disappear. In
addition, the destruction of forest habitats threatens the
survival of many animal species. A total of more than
1,000 species are currently threatened with extinction in
the forests of South America.

Deforestation of the Amazonian forest, Brazil
Since 1970, more than 17% of the Brazilian part of the Amazonian forest
has disappeared.

132 : south america the Cape Verde archipelago divided Earth in two: the territories
situated east of this meridian were declared Portuguese; those to
Language distribution in South America the west, Spanish.

Spanish is the national language of nine of the 12 countries In the ensuing decades, Spain built an empire stretching from
in South America, while in Brazil the national language is Mexico to Argentina, while Portugal settled its colonies in
Portuguese. Since Brazil alone accounts for half the continent Africa and on the coast of Brazil, officially discovered in 1500.
in terms of both area and population, South America has just Gradually, the Portuguese pushed the border of their territory
about an equal number of speakers of Spanish and Portuguese. westward to the current borders of Brazil. Thus, if we trace the
Tordesillas meridian on a modern map of South America, at
The explanation for this language distribution dates back to the 46° 37' west longitude, we note that much of Brazil is situated in
15th century. In 1494, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty the Spanish zone.
of Tordesillas. Following Christopher Columbus’s discovery of
America (1492), this treaty was aimed at presenting disputes
between Spain and Portugal in the distribution of land yet
to be discovered. The Treaty of Tordesillas stipulated that an
imaginary line passing 370 leagues (about 2,000 km) west of

the CONTINENTS French is the official language of Spain
French Guyana, still a possession of Portugal

France.

Suriname was a colony of the Netherlands from
1667 to 1975. Its official language is still Dutch.

Mexico Cape Verde Tordesillas, Spain
Guinea-Bissau Tordesillas, a small town in Castile, has many
An English colony from 1831 monuments inherited from the Middle Ages.
to 1966, Guyana is the only Sao Tome and Principe
English-speaking country in

South America.

Peru

Angola

Brazil

Argentina Mozambique

Tordesillas meridian (1494) English-speaking countries
Spanish-speaking countries
French-speaking territory
Dutch-speaking country
Portuguese-speaking country

SOUTH AMERICA : 133

THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA

FLAG COUNTRY AREA POPULATION DATE OF

(km2) (M inhab.) INDEPENDENCE

Brazil 8,514,047 191.57 1822

Argentina 2,780,400 39.53 1816

Peru 1,285,216 27.91 1824

Colombia 1,138,914 46.10 1819

Bolivia 1,098,581 9.51 1825

Venezuela 912,050 27.63 1810 THE CONTINENTS

Chile 756,626 16.62 1818

Paraguay 406,752 6.12 1811

Ecuador 283,561 13.34 1822

Guyana 214,969 0.74 1966

Uruguay 175,016 3.34 1828

Suriname 163,820 0.457 1975

Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela
With an area of 13,512 km2, this lake in northwest Venezuela covers one
of the largest oil deposits on the continent.

134 Novaya Zemlya

NORTH
AMERICA

JAN MAYEN North Cape Barents Sea
(NO)

M O U N TA Kola Pen.
I
Lofoten Is. N Kemijoki
S
Norwegian Sea Kebnekaise, White Sea
2,111 m
ICELAND ARCTIC POLAR CIRCLE Norther
Reykjavik a
n Dvin

Hvannadalshnúkur, -3,931 m
2,119 m

S FINLAND
C
A Lake
N Onega
D
THE CONTINENTS FAROE IS. IN Suir
(DK) A
VIAN Gulf of Lake
Bothnia Ladoga

Shetland Galdhøppigen, a D lalven Stockholm Helsinki of Finland Neva
Is.(GB) 2,469 m GloLmamagaen Gulf Tallinn Saint Petersburg
NORWAY SWEDEN
Highlands Oslo Lake Nizhni Novgorod
Peipus
Hebrides Is. GREENWICH MERIDIAN Lake ESTONIA Vol ga
Vanern

-694 m Moscow

GRAMPIAN MOUNTAINS Skagerrak Lake Gotland LATVIA
Vättern (SE) Riga
Glasgow
-3,151 m North Sea Jutland Kattegat Öland LITHUANIA Central
Baltic Sea Russian
KALININGRADO Uplands
(RU)
DENMARK Copenhagen Vilnius

PENNINES Sjælland Minsk

IRELAND ISLE OF Weser
a
Dublin MAN (GB) Leeds in P l BELARUS
Manchester
MCOAUMNBTRAIIANNS Hamburg h
Ge i s
Birmingham P o l
UNITED NETHERLANDS r m a n o - Warsaw
KINGDOM Amsterdam Berlin V
POLAND Kiev
London The Hague Rotterdam istula
UKRAINE Dnieper
Cornwall GERMANY e Oder Dniester
Brussels Elb
GUERNSEY (GB) English Lille BELGIUM R hine SUD E T E MOLDOVA
JERSEY (GB) Channel Prague
NORTH S
ATLANTIC S
eine LUXEMBOURG CZECH REP. Gerlachovska, C
Paris Luxembourg 2,655 m A R

SLOVAKIA P A

OCEAN AIdLyeFLo-ln2a1,,N79e15Mi8Mg4oemanm,r4ts,Be8ilMl0aSlR7eWnocnmI,Tt2AZe,E7MMCRBT0i4MoOunLe6,CnortA4NrOLoaimun7NnAZc,Rn8FuDoCStRrOmICiCceAMhrviLliVanIaEnA,dCouHVzPATPoETINICCTPSIAATMTNYLEuYInNichLSSG3jRAaur,o7onbNSsm9lMjsMA8C2aSegaon,LAUlmr9oOraRinS1cnVI2okTNVoEniRDOGmNeerInIIrIaAA,nnNadAe,RZCAaIgRdHrrCOBHeiEBaOAMbRUrtTSaZiAOIcNNtAENiSIGLsGPAeTlOoaaEAPAdvVNNRagISENoDYGSBArRiauHcOrdaauajnBepgva2Jeoeas,s6ztirSne9iKBEar4TcOneRiemrlSMBa,gOnroIMVaAaudOAneCtRTESMRDOkAooNOMBlSpdNYj2oLAAeIV,AvA5NeLN4aIID3AAnKSaNumonA,AuM2LPba,BuS9eNsU2a5LlaGm2MP,Ao3euR7anB6kIAtu,mBchoaterev,stChisMiSnaeraaBmuooafSrsatOprdoaIerisstutBsasaunrbsualVOSGESTHIA N S

Gulf of Loire JU
Gascogne FRANCE
Crêt
Gar Rhone
Ebro Puy de Sancy, A
1,885 m
CENTR

onne M A S S

CANTABRIEAlNTeMlOeUnNoT,AINS P Y R Aneto Peak, N
2,183 m 3,404 m N
E N EES E
Porto
PORTUGAL Duero Moncayo, AndorrAaNLDaOVRaRllAa
2,313 m
Barcelona S
Almanzor Peak, P INDU
2,592 m N ALBANIA Mount Olympus,
Tage Madrid
Ionian
Lisbon SPAIN Naples Sea 2,917 m Lesbos
Guadalquivir (GR)
BALEARIC IS. ES -2,962 m SARDINIA Thyrrenian
Sea ES Aegean Izmir
IT -3,741 m

GREECE Euboea Sea

Athens

Strait of SIERRA NEVADA i t e r r a n e a n Sea Etna, Peloponnese Rhodes
Gibraltar Mulhacén, SICILY IT 3,323 m -5,317 m (GR)
3,482 m
e d
GIBRALTAR (GB) M

AFRICA VMaAllLeTtAta Crete (GR)

Pechora L EUROPE : 135
RA
RUSSIA U e western part of the huge Eurasian continental ensemble, Europe represents
only 7% of the planet’s landmass. Its territory, with very jagged coastlines, is tightly
Kazan N interwoven with the surrounding seas, including the Mediterranean Sea , in which
MOU
there are numerous islands. Europe is divided into four major zones: the old, low
Kama mountains of the northwest , marked by glaciation; the broad northern plainsINS
; old eroded mountains in the center (Massif Central, Urals ) ; and Alpine-
Mediterranean Europe to the south, formed of high mountain ranges THE CONTINENTS
(Alps , Pyrenees and Carpathians ). e warm waters of the Gulf

T A Stream, the ocean current that crosses the North Atlantic from west
to east, considerably moderates the climate of the Atlantic coast of
the continent. Farther east, where the Gulf Stream’s influence
is not perceptible, continental climates dominate, with large
spreads in temperature over the year. Finally, the southern

Ufa part of the continent benefits from a generally warm, dry
Mediterranean climate.

Samara C a s p i a n D Ural

Volga
Uplands

ASIA

epression

Volgograd Volga

Kharkiv

Don

Dnepropetrovsk Rostov-on-Don

Caspian Sea Rome, Italy
Powerful civilizations developed
Sea of Elbrus, -28 m in Europe in antiquity, such as the
Azov 5,643 m Baku one here in Rome.
Crimea CA
UCASU S
Mount Shkhara,
5,200 m AZERBAIJAN
Tbilisi Kura PHYSICAL MAP OF EUROPE

GEORGIA Administrative capital
City with a population of over 1 M inhab.
Black Sea ARMENIA
-2,276 m
Yerevan

Mount Ararat, AZE
,5,137 m
Eu
ates Firat Murat Lake 8,850
Araks Van 6,000
5,000
Kizi lirm TURKEY Altitude (m) 4,000
ak 3,000
2,000
Ankara T A I N S phr ASIA 1,000
Anatolian Plain N 500
U 0
Demirkazik, Adana –500
3,756 m –2,500
–5,000
TAU RU S –8,000
M –11,034
O

Nicosia Depth (m)
CYPRUS

0 250 500 km

Sources: NIMA; NASA

136 : EUROPE P O P U L AT I O N distrib ution
in E U R O P E
≥ 1,000 inhab./km2
250–999 inhab./km2
25–249 inhab./km2
5–24 inhab./km2
0–4 inhab./km2

Source: SEDAC, Columbia University Paris, France
Almost three-quarters of Europe’s population live in cities.
the CONTINENTS t h e C L I M ATeS
of EUROPE Crete, Mediterranean Sea
Crete is a Greek island that, like the rest of Greece, has a Mediterranean-
Polar tundra type temperate climate, with hot, dry summers.
Mountain
Continental with short, Seaside, Scotland
cold summer Outside of forests, Scotland has a vegetation of heaths and peat bogs,
Continental with cool summer composed mainly of briars and graminaceous plants.
Continental with hot summer
Coastal
Mediterranean
Humid subtropical
Semiarid

Source: Kotter et al., World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated

the BIOMES
of EUROPE

Boreal
Boreal forest
Temperate forest
Temperate prairie
Maquis
Desert

Source: FAO

The Alps EUROPE : 137

With a length of 1,200 km, the Alps are the largest mountain Alps, the valley floors have a climate similar to those of the
system in western Europe. A huge natural barrier, the Alps neighboring plains. Farther up, forests replace farming, and
block humid air masses and receive great quantities of coniferous trees become increasingly dominant, as in boreal
precipitation. A number of Europe’s rivers (Rhine, Rhone, Po) forests. At the alpine level, the climate is comparable to that
and their tributaries have their source in the Alpine massif. in the Arctic tundra and trees give way to pastures. Finally, the
highest land, permanently covered with snow, has the same kind
Because temperature drops as altitude rises, the slopes of an of climate as the ice caps.
Alpine valley present a succession of climates comparable to
those that one finds as one travels toward the poles. In the

France Rhine Austria the CONTINENTS
Switzerland
Rhone
Mont Blanc

Po
Italy

Mont Blanc Massif, seen from the Italian side
The highest point of the Alps is Mont Blanc (4,807 m), on the border between France and Italy.

138 : EUROPE 1979. Finally, the European Commission holds executive
power. It implements policies, manages the budget, sees to the
The European Union application of laws, and proposes legislation. ese institutions
function in no fewer than 20 official languages, in conformity
e European Union is an international organization with with the Union’s motto, “United in Diversity.”
27 member European states. Its earliest version was formed
in the 1950s, in the wake of World War II, with the objective Twenty-four of the 27 countries of the European Union
of maintaining peace among the countries of Europe and have formed a zone where people and goods move without
improving the standard of living of Europeans. restrictions, the Schengen area. In this zone, trade is facilitated
and travelers do not have to present identification documents at
e member states of the Union have set up common borders.
institutions. e Council of the European Union is the main
decision-making body. It defines the orientations of member
states in areas as diverse as energy, agriculture, the environment,
and trade. It shares legislative power with the European
Parliament, elected every five years by universal suffrage since

EXPANSION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

THE CONTINENTS Finland Date of admission into
Portugal the European Union
Sweden
1957
Estonia 1973
1981
Latvia 1986
1995
Denmark Lithuania 2004
Netherlands 2007
Ireland Candidate countries

United Kingdom Germany Poland Turkey

Belgium Czech Rep. Cyprus
Luxembourg Slovakia

France Austria Hungary Romania
Spain
Slovenia

Croatia Bulgaria

Italy Macedonia

Greece

Malta

THE CONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE

e history of the European Union began in 1951, when Germany, Belgium, The European flag
France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands united within the European On a sky-blue background, the stars symbolizing the peoples of Europe
Coal and Steel Community. is successful integration led to the creation, in form a circle signifying a union. The unchanging number of stars is 12,
1957, of the European Atomic Energy Commission (EAEC) and the European symbol of perfection and plenty.
Economic Community (EEC). In 1967, these three communities merged
within the EEC. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty transformed the EEC into
the European Union, with expanded mandate and responsibilities. Over the
years, the six founding countries were joined by 21 other states. Bulgaria and
Romania entered in January 2007. Turkey, Croatia, and Macedonia also wish
to be admitted into the European Union. To do this, they must demonstrate
that they have a stable democratic political system and an operational and
competitive market economy. Since 2002, a new currency, the euro, replaced the
national currencies of 15 countries of the European Union (Austria, Belgium,
Cyprus, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta
the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain).

EUROPE : 139

t he c ount rie s of europe

flag country area POPULATION flag country area POPULATION
Russia (km2) (M inhab.) (km2) (M inhab.)
65,300
17,075,400* 142.49* Lithuania 64,600 3.39
56,538 2.28
Turkey 783,562 74.82 Latvia 51,197 4.54
49,033 3.93
Ukraine 603,700 46.21 Croatia 45,100 5.39
France 551,500 61.59 43,094** 1.34
Spain 505,992 44.07 Bosnia and 41,528 5.44
Herzegovina 41,284 16.40
33,851 7.48
Slovakia 30,528 3.81
28,748 10.45
Sweden 449,964 9.12 Estonia 25,713 3.19
20,256 2.04
Norway 385,155 4.70 Denmark 13,812 1.99 the CONTINENTS
9,251 0.605
Germany 357,022 82.54 Netherlands 2,586 0.854
0.467
Finland 338,145 5.28 Switzerland 468 0.073
316 0.406
Poland 323,250 38.08 Moldavia 160 0.035
61 0.030
Italy 301,318 58.80 Belgium 0.033
1
United Kingdom 242,900 60.75 Albania

Romania 238,391 21.43 Macedonia

Belarus 207,600 9.69 Slovenia

Greece 131,957 11.15 Montenegro

Bulgaria 110,912 7.63 Cyprus

Iceland 103,000 0.30 Luxembourg

Hungary 93,032 10.03 Andorra

Portugal 91,982 10.61 Malta

Serbia 88,361 9.89 Liechtenstein

Austria 83,858 8.35 San Marino

Czech Republic 78,866 10.19 Monaco

Ireland 70,273 4.29

Vatican City*** 0.4 0.001

Georgia 69,700 4.40

The countries whose names are underlined are members of the European Union.

* : Figures presented here factor in the European part and the Asian part of Russia.
* * : Without Greenland
*** : Vatican City is not a UN member but maintains a permanent observer mission at the organization’s headquarters.

140 : ASIA

Asia alone represents one-third of the planet’s landmass, and 60% of the

world’s population lives there, half of them in China and India. Separated

from Africa by the Red Sea and the Isthmus of Suez , Asia ARCTIC POLAR CIRCLE
encompasses the Indonesian , Philippine , and Japanese
archipelagos, situated to the south and east of the mainland.

Asia and Europe belong to the same continental mass, INS
Eurasia. eir common border has been fixed A
arbitrarily along the Ural Mountains .
Asia has a wide variety of relief features, EUROPE MOUNT Ob
from the plains and plateaus of Siberia,
India, and Arabia to the imposing West
Siberian

Plain

URAL Ekaterinburg Irtych
Chelyabinsk

mountain ranges that cross the Ural Omsk
continent from west to east (Hindu Caspian Depress Tobol
THE CONTINENTS Kush , Himalayas ). Asia also Mediterranean Caspian ion
presents a broad range of climates. Sea Astana
Southeast Asia, irrigated by abundant Sea
monsoon rains, has a tropical climate.
In Arabia and the interior of the LEBANON Aleppo Vpadina Kaundy, K A Z A K H S TA N
continent, where mountains keep Lake Tiberias, -200 m -132 m
humidity from penetrating, there are Tel Aviv BDeairmuat sScYuRs IA Mosul -28 m Aral S
immense arid and semiarid areas. In Sea
northern Asia, the Siberian anticyclone GAZA STRIP WEST BANK Euphrates yr Darya
creates very contrasting climatic ISRAEL LakTeabriz
conditions, with severe winters and Amman Urmia
very hot summers. Dead Sea, -408 m EL Vpadina Akchanaya, KYZYLKUM Lake
Red Sea ZAGROS -81 m DESERT Balkhash
PHYSICAL MAP OF ASIA ASIR
JORDAN KARAKUM UZBEKISTAN
HIJAZ
TigrisAFRHGJIAeMCuSdDAealdfcnaRcaoha'AfaYAMEdMOeAEnAURSNARATBAURIABiDNyIaIADdEhSESABRolaTcKMBgoKUhAatIurRdWHnawQaaARAdaADmAQIiTToAtIaANhbhRUauNEDIMThEaOIRKDbMhAiAuTAREriSTAZ4NyMeaK,aB5ShruadD4Mhrrs8uaKaiEcurujbnasQmarOhfatioGzaBym,imuhaIRalaHSIfnnD5UsRtoo.,ra6framS1miA0AatuvrmoazafnNbMdi,aasnhhSaTedUaKDRAaEKAPrsSaMhEAFcRghEGKTa3NiZIHb,aSI5aSrA7gTtT8RuANAanHmNNNBj,IIkyISanoPdondnTmVetlKdugaADarbsaSuaaidNuSaNnbPubUsoTasyPPLuruaadhsaeandlshaasrtMhebirhnFkakuaaabDReAlwtTietE,nsaHhaaHSaIw8ItIAmnDrnEIlsT,aNaRRdK1NlaLeAJlabDTNo2dpYaaacmUJaArh6airPiRIcdnepaKmKuboAGabmdUuDraILrTBanMGSYSiareDdaudHiTnuNZpedIsSaAjDgGSehAtRlhrrIAhiaNBeoTwaimkiISKngabilAsndheNAhArrnasaawRkoNaaiiFygadAtvKpgaaGksaKaHMaalrApaOrhraKnileTTRurildalApuBAerIazaMK8KurKlhDihAIbua2,JLrDAihaPDaU6bltaNA,nAaVaLibEd1ua8bkNnuaiSulad4MNran,M8am7PalEr1SgcdG,ahLl,aaEoAmp6Rk4-pa0agHagnb7uPnTKU3tn9uinearaAry9AoA1gmrnidarNsA,weLNammyiNds,,iMAmu Darya

O

U

N

T

AINS LADAKH

Persian Gulf ad

AIMAN RANGE

M

-5,626 m WESTERN GHATSPlatSeKoarliausphunraHydVeirsaabkaVhdiajapyaatwnaamda

Administrative capital Lakshadweep Bangalore
City with more than 1 M inhab. Cochin Doda Betta, Madras
2,636 m
8,850 Coimbatore
6,000
5,000 Madurai -4,119 m
4,000
3,000 Palk SRI LANKA
2,000 Strait Colombo
1,000
Altitude (m) 500 Male
0 MALDIVES
–500
Depth (m) –2,500 INDIAN OCEAN
–5,000
–8,000 0 1,000 2,000 km BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN -5,707 m
–11,034

Sources: NIMA; NASA TERRITORY (GB)

-5,631 m

141

Severnaya Zemlya New Siberia Is.
Kara Sea Laptev Sea

MKOOULNYTMAAINS -7,457 m

C Komandor Is. (RU)
VERKHOYANSK
HERSKY RANGE Kolyma Kamchatka

MOUNTAINS Indigirka

Jenissei Vilyuy Sea of Okhotsk

Central Aldan
Siberian

Plateau

STANOVOY RANGE Sak Kuril Is. (RU) -9,533 m

Angara ena halin (RU) Siberia, Russia
YABLONOVY R Siberia has an area of more than 12 million km2, from the Ural
RUSSIA L ANGE Amur Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

Novosibirsk Lake Hokkaido
Baikal Sapporo

Qiqihaer Daqing NORTH WAKE IS. (US)

Harbin Mudanjiang PACIFIC THE CONTINENTS
Fuyu
Ob Taeg Sendai OCEAN TROPIC OF CANCER
MancPhluariinan -6,533 m
KPCTMDSLaaaaJATahrttlaBHPscinnhaCmmauAaaMinhMmAMMAntssBoUBlboNtuolhCsaaNubAAauarzOeonahkeBnKLG,uantdatylndiTyaadH8emttuUlLLepgKnu-Tt,guE,UNBo11tqu,TacuhA,va85eh5hfST6igrBer8utY,l6DlHpeDA,4roiue,2rlT9emn4Anaamknh0NEs8maNj6hanh1ugtpa7aS3,aBQmnkhmP8m,HAnmgaAaauae,4ua8pisn,,d55uid8n00ati,rI,65mSmaY8ma6nB7GmA,gSyMU2Caao9lrnRa4aOYKMmMPamHoNaeNNnakoArotaitoiG,r,yoI3p3u,O,3yS8NG0ih2LdMO6a6aIinBmNnCw7AmA,Iy,haVT5DaeTni5LHeEiPnKc6aSLeCnSP2ohglAnasohEahmn,tHodhLn8sURiuutiIkunuaha3nzLeATatlBgnShun0a,ahaAKOiiXeioaBaumucNBiun,SahnaabsnDmuoHNiayLaniteHHaaLaunnoMiAijonutnzgZuNiuainahhgohaSCNpTgrnooianhhAaaDgLutNnMyoiinGZXayjuLagaInishutiTuoainnhj'gIoueaiizGyCaTgnuayqnzHnnhaHonCokaiihigXOCgunnannTolanoRihzafgngigaiukgDXuahpinndoIfiinYohLggnenafSimfuonnyyBHhaWRnaHagGCeaeeJJnunYghnnauizBiuiTjhggXngaeainiaalniaqnniniaioninanZJXagguZgSnXZdgSuhCinTnuidJzahizibhhiazaihneThanunhAoenaanoDgngzxnnnnajtuajhniinyasgigFalZnohaoiusnsaDNaunhahosWgCanozNhngSaaHhneQhnuSunaLaiouiegHuNfhinnnnXHYnaniagHaCgQaeiaeicYCnnuynSgFanununlmhhaihieluaggSgnmgazozKnaNaiiapzzgohnwhaJonntehnahGdoianeuSWnngIlaongooaiunnihSgtuunycKNoyKcuaShxhaahnOziwOenuSPnh'tagnhaTyoRgooRSWanNoaKnuuEeTgOnineOnjAjgSHnCoguSUgRhezn-hyTubTh5ToaEAawaKEiooTiHu,nnAIiaoaa0Wculgoanihs1upAsut6SheNnSPUJesimgue(ialauCLssapunaaNnazngo)KonFfynuuHkMsKuihayroSouonkhstiJ-aholiP7Aaki,mHoP5HkOa1IAouLs9NnaNIkaPsmPhagPh-uoMKIiyNoloTaSionbEpetkeeSpayFoiunjie,Yalu JBieannxig3,776 m
Marcus Is. (JP)

ang He

n (JP)
LiuHauain ou ou
Zigong hozuhozjiuhnoguHef Ryukyu Is.
gzi Jiang

ARAKAN YOM Shanghai, China resemble Western cities. -7,205 m
Irrawaddy Chinese metropolises increasingly Sea
LE A
Mekong -10,164 m Bismarck

Salween
Chao Phraya Khorat VIETNAM atly Mindanao
Bangkok Plain Is. Davao EQUATOR
Chuo Yang Sin,
CAMBODIA 2,420 m Sulu A N S
Sea
Andaman Is. Phnom Penh -6,035 m OUN T A I
(IN) Kinabalu, 4,095 m Jaya,
Gulf of Ho Chi Minh City Spr Celebes KPuEncaMk
Thailand Sea
Halmahera M A O
4,884 m

Nicobar Is. Bandar Seri Begawan Molucca I
(IN) BRUNEI Sea
Ceram
Malacca M A L A Y S I A
Peninsula S -7,586 m
Mahak m Banda Sea Arafura Sea
B Kuala a Sulawesi E
StraitLoufmMaplaucrca SSiInNgGaApPoOreRE Borneo N Bulu Rantekombola,
-1,714 m A Medan apuas
R O 3,478 m
I
K

Mentawai Is. SAN D
Sumatra Java Sea Makassar
G N Dili TIMOR
I N Flores Sea TLS LESTE
RA Bangka Flores
Gunung Kerinci,
3,805 m Palembang Sumba

E Timor Sea OCEANIA
-5,862 m

-100 m Surabaja
Jakarta
Sunda Bandung Java
Strait

-7,125 m

142 : asia

P O P U L AT IO N d i st r i but ion in as i a

the CONTINENTS ≥ 1,000 inhab./km2 Tokyo, Japan
250–999 inhab./km2 Tokyo is by far the most populous city in the world, with more than
25–249 inhab./km2 35 million inhabitants.
5–24 inhab./km2
0–4 inhab./km2 Yak caravan, Tibet
The vast Tibetan Plateau in western China is a high plateau with a dry,
Source: SEDAC, Columbia University cold climate.

the climates of asia The Chocolate Hills on the island of Bohol, Philippines
On Bohol, one of the 7,107 islands of the Philippine archipelago, many of the
Polar tundra hills that rise above the rainforest turn brown in the summer.
Mountain
Continental with short,
cold summer
Continental with cool summer
Continental with hot summer
Coastal
Mediterranean
Humid subtropical
Arid
Semiarid
Humid with dry winter
Humid

Source: Kottek et al., World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated

the biomes of asia

Tundra
Boreal forest
Temperate forest
Temperate prairie
Maquis
Tropical rainforest
Savanna
Desert

Source: FAO

asia : 143

The Himalayas Hindu Kus Karakoram With an average altitude of 4,000 m, the Tibetan Plateau
h K2, is where the largest rivers of southern Asia (Indus,
The Himalayas have 10 peaks rising Brahmaputra, etc.) have their sources.
above 8,000 m (including Mount Everest, 8,614 m
Kangchenjunga, and Annapurna), making Mount Everest,
them the highest mountain range in the Indus 8,850 m
world. With a length of 2,500 km and a
width of 200 to 400 km, it stretches in an the CONTINENTS
arc from the high Tibetan plateau to the Himalayas
north to the Ganges plain to the south.
To the west, the high-altitude Indus
Valley separates the Himalayas from the
Hindu Kush and the Karakoram range,
where the peak of K2 rises.

Ganges Annapurna,
8,091 m
Brahmaputra
Kangchenjunga,
8,586 m

Mount Everest seen from the north, Tibet
The “roof of the world,” reaching an altitude of 8,850 m, is situated in the heart of the Himalayas.

144 : asia

The Asian archipelagos

The Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos, which comprise Bordered to the east by the deep Japan Trench (10,374 m), the
more than 20,000 islands, form the zone most affected by archipelago is the result of the subduction of the Pacific Plate
volcanism on the planet. The explosion of the volcanic island of under the Philippine and Eurasian plates, and is part of the
Krakatau, in 1883, was of unparalleled violence. Pacific Ring of Fire. Volcanic activity is manifested by frequent
earthquakes, such as those that destroyed Tokyo (1923) and
The Japanese archipelago includes four main islands (Hokkaido, Kobe (1995).
Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku) and more than 3,000 small islands,
stretched over a distance of 3,000 km from north to south.

the archipelagos of southeast asia the japanese archipelago

The island of Borneo is shared among three The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is The island of Sakhalin
countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, situated on the island of Luzon. belongs to Russia.
and Brunei.
Japan Trench

Pacific Russia
Ocean
the CONTINENTS Philippines
Mindanao Hokkaido
Molucca Islands
Brunei
Malaysia China

Honshu
Tokyo

Sumatra Korean
Peninsula
Indonesia Kobe
Kyushu Shikoku
Indian Ocean Java

Krakatau East Timor The island of New Guinea is divided between
Indonesia (Asia) and Papua New Guinea
(Oceania).

Sulawesi, formerly called Celebes,
is part of Indonesia.

Bromo Volcano, Indonesia
Situated in the eastern part of the island of Java, Mount Bromo is not very active, but it
continuously emits a plume of white smoke. Its eruptions, though infrequent, pose a risk to the
many tourists who venture to the summit.

asia : 145

the countries of asia

flag country area POPULATION flag country area POPULATION
(km2) (M inhab.) (km2) (M inhab.)

China 9,596,961 1,328.25 Syria 185,180 19.86

India 3,287,263 1,167.77 Cambodia 181,035 14.45

Kazakhstan 2,724,900 15.43 Nepal 147,181 28.17

Saudi Arabia 2,149,690 24.68 Bangladesh 143,998 158.44

Indonesia 1,904,569 231.34 Tajikistan 143,100 6.75

Iran 1,648,195 71.31 North Korea 120,538 23.78

Mongolia 1,566,500 2.63 South Korea 99,538 48.19

Pakistan 796,095 163.95 Jordan 89,342 5.89 the CONTINENTS

Burma 676,578 48.79 Azerbaijan 86,600 8.4

Afghanistan 652,090 27.03 United Arab Emirates 83,600 4.34

Yemen 527,968 22.37 Sri Lanka 65,610 19.30

Thailand 513,115 63.84 Bhutan 47,000 0.655

Turkmenistan 488,100 4.96 Armenia 29,800 3.01

Uzbekistan 447,400 27.36 Israel 22,145 6.92

Iraq 438,317 29.04 Kuwait 17,818 2.83

Japan 377,873 127.85 Timor Leste 14,874 1.14

Vietnam 331,689 87.29 Qatar 11,000 0.83

Malaysia 329,847 26.53 Lebanon 10,400 4.10

Oman 309,500 2.61 Brunei 5,765 0.389

Philippines 300,000 87.81 Bahrein 694 0.751

Laos 236,800 5.86 Singapore 683 4.43

Kyrghyzstan 199,900 5.32 Maldives 298 0.305

146

EUROPE Me di
Algiers
A Tunis t e

CEUTA (ES) S r r
MELILLA (ES)
a
n
Chott Melrhir, e
Rabat L -40 m a n
Casablanca Sea
Adrar Bou Nasser, TUNISIA
MOROCCO T 3,340 m Tripoli

MADEIRA (PT) Jebel Toubkal, A Benghazi
CANARY IS. (ES)
4,167 m Draa Sabkhat Ghuzayyil, Alexandria Suez Canal
Oued -47 m Cairo SINAI

ALGERIA Qattara Depression,
-133 m
Sebkha Tah,
-55 m
LIBYA
EGYPT

WESTERN AHAGGAR Red Sea
SAHARA (MA) MASSIF Nile

TROPIC OF CANCER SAHARA DESERT

Djado NUBIAN
Plateau
TIBESTI DESERT

MAURITANIA MALI TÉNÉRÉ Mount Koussi,
Nouakchott AÏR MASSIF 3,445 m

Niger CHAD ENNEDI

THE CONTINENTS CAPE VERDE NIGER SUDAN Khartoum
Praia
Dakar SENEGAL SAHEL

Banjul GAMBIA Sénégal Niamey Lake D A R F U R Blue Nile
Chad
GUINEA- Bamako Ouagadougou Kano Ndjamena
Bissau BISSAU BURKINA FASO Jos
FOUTA
DJALLON BENIN Kaduna Plateau
GHANA
Conakry GUINEA CÔTE Abuja Benue
D'IVOIRE TOGO
Freetown
SIERRA LEONE Yamoussoukro Lake Ibadan NIGERIA ADAMAWA MASSIF CENTRAL AFRICAN White Nile
Abidjan Volta REPUBLIC
CAMEROON
Monrovia Kumasi Lagos Benin City Lake
LIBERIA Lome Cotonou Mount Cameroon, Turkana

Accra 4,070 m Bangui

Gulf of Malabo Douala Yaoundé Congo Ubangi y
Guinea Bioko (GQ) Congo
Lake l e
Basin Albert
Principe EQUATORIAL oué l
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE GUINEA
Ogo Mount Stanley, Gre a t R i f t Va UGANDA
-7,743 m EQUATOR Sao Tome Libreville Kunene 5,109 m Kampala
Sao Tome
GABON CONGO Lake
RWANDAVictoria
MITUMBA MOUNTAINS Kigali
SOUTH Brazzaville Kinshasa DEMOCRATIC BURUNDI y
ATLANTIC AGO REPUBLIC OF Bujumbura
THE CONGO e
OCEAN LakeTANZANIA
Mbuji-Mayi Lukuga Tanganyika l

l

a

Ascension Is. (GB) GREENWICH MERIDIAN Lu laba Lake West ft V
a Mweru Dodoma
Luanda
Kwa i

nza R

ANGOLA Kolwezi Lake Great
Lubumbashi Malawi

PHYSICAL MAP OF AFRICA Angola ZAMBIA MALAWI
Administrative capital Plateau Lusaka Lilongwe
City with a population of over 1 M inhab.
SAINT HELENA (GB) Zambezi Chire
East

8,850 Okav Harare MOZAMBIQUE
6,000 go ZIMBABWE
5,000 Okavango
4,000 Basin Li
3,000 BOTSWANA
Altitude (m) 2,000 mpopoNAMIBIA
1,000 Windhoek
500 e
0 OrKALAHARIGaborone
–500 anDESERT
–2,500 Pretoria
–5,000 NAMIB DESERT Johannesburg Ekurhulen Maputo
–8,000 NSBERG i Mbabane
–11,034 Vereeniging SWAZILAND

Thabana Ntlenyana,
3,482 m

Depth (m) ang Maseru E Durban
AFRICA LESOTHO
Oasis, Morocco SOUTH DRAK
Permanent towns have been built in some oases in the
Moroccan desert. Cape Town
Cape Agulhas
Sources: NIMA; NASA

-6,180 m

AFRICA : 147

Bisected by the equator , Africa has an area of 30,365,000 square kilometers, or 20% of the

planet’s landmass. It is formed mainly of very old bedrock. e mountains, modest in size, are

concentrated in the northern part of the continent (Atlas ), the south (Drakensberg ),

and especially in the east (Ethiopian Massif ), where they have been chiseled by a series

of fault troughs, the Great Rift Valley, which includes the West Great Rift Valley and

the East Great Rift Valley . Although the regions situated at the northern and southern

ends of the continent have warm temperate climates, most of Africa has tropical or

desert climatic conditions. e intertropical zone, covered with forest and savanna, is

irrigated by powerful rivers (Congo , Niger ), while the regions adjacend to the

ASIA tropics, where the deserts are found (Sahara , Namib , Kalahari ), have almost

none. e population is very unequally distributed in Africa. e desert regions are

almost uninhabited, as opposed to high-density zones such as the northern Maghreb

ERITREA (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), the Nile River Valley, and the Great Rift Valley region.
Asmara
THE CONTINENTS
Kulul,
-75 m

Denakil Plain,
-125 m
Lake Gulf of Aden
Tana Lake Assal, DJIBOUTI
-155 m Djibouti

ETHIOPIAN
MASSIF

Addis Ababa

Batu, -5,455 m
4,400 m

ETHIOPIA

Jubba SOMALIA

KENYA Shebele Mogadishu

Mount Kenya, INDIAN
5,199 m OCEAN
Nairobi
Feluccas on the Nile, Egypt
Kilimanjaro, The Nile is the longest river in the
5,892 m world. Its source is in Burundi, and it
flows into the Mediterranean Sea
Zanzibar Victoria 6,670 km away.
Dar es Salaam Amirante Is. Mahé
Ru ji SEYCHELLES Sahel region, Sudan
Large numbers of nomads still live in
Aldabra Farquhar Is.
the arid lands of the Sahel.
Moroni Glorioso Is. (FR)
COMOROS

MAYOTTE (FR)

Juan De
Nova Is. (FR)

MADAGASCAR
Mozambique Channel
Mania Antananarivo Rodrigues Is.
Mangoky MAURITIUS

REUNION (FR)

Bassas da TROPIC OF CAPRICORN
India (FR)

-4,091 m

0 500 1,000 km Drakensberg Mountains,
South Africa
The Blyde River Canyon stretches some
30 km in length and reaches a depth of
800 m in places.

148 : AFRICA

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN AFRICA

THE CONTINENTS ≥ 1,000 inhab./km2
250–999 inhab./km2
25–249 inhab./km2 Cairo, Egypt
5–24 inhab./km2 With a population of over 11 million inhabitants, Cairo is the largest city in Africa.
0–4 inhab./km2
t h e B I OM E s of africa
Source: SEDAC, Columbia University

t h e climates of africa

Mountain Boreal forest
Coastal Temperate forest
Mediterranean Maquis
Humid subtropical Tropical rainforest
Arid Savanna
Semiarid Desert
Humid with dry winter
Humid Source: FAO

Source: Kottek et al., World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated