The world in focus.

PositionWorld Affairs Annual

FAST FACTS ON 193 COUNTRIES

Statistics look like a series of cold, hard facts. But every number tells a story. For instance, the number 37 under Malawi's life expectancy, an indicator of the overall health of a population, means many men in that African nation are dying very young. The 99/99 under Germany's literacy rate tells you that almost all of the country's men and women know how to read, while the 71/45 under the same category for Iraq reveals that many more Iraqi men know how to read than women.

These tables describe each of the world's 193 countries with 13 kinds of data. Once you know how to interpret the numbers, they can offer great insight into a nation and its challenges. The diagram below will help you figure out how to use them.

Area & Population: Taken together, these figures allow you to calculate population density (population divided by area), an important indicator of such things as crowdedness.

Urban Population: The percentage of the total population living in urban areas. Urbanization has skyrocketed in developing countries, as people leave rural areas in search of work.

Population Growth: A high rate of population growth could signal a nation that is struggling to feed its people, while a low rate might be a sign that a nation could run short of workers.

Major Languages Spoken: There are some 6,000 languages in the world, not counting local dialects. Many nations have more than one language.

Form of Government & Head: Governments are classified according to who holds power. In democracies, people elect their leaders; dictatorships keep power away from the people. (A glossary defining the terms used is on page 33)

Date of Origin: The year a nation was formed, gained independence, or established its present form of government.

Literacy Rate: The percentage of people (male/female) who can read and write.

Per Capita GDP: The Gross Domestic Product--the value of all goods and services produced in one year--divided per capita, meaning per person. It is one way to gauge a nation's wealth.

Percent of Population Under Age 15: Developing countries with a high percentage of young people may have trouble providing jobs, schools, and food, thus risking political unrest.

Life Expectancy: The age to which a newborn (male/female) can expect to live. Improvements in medicine, diet, and environment have helped people live longer.

HDI (Human Development Index): This number measures economic and human well-being on a scale of 0 to 1. It combines life expectancy, literacy, and purchasing power into one number.

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Africa AREA (SQ MI) URBAN POP. % COUNTRY POPULATION POP. RISE / YEAR CAPITAL Algeria 919,591 49 Algiers 31,400,000 1.8 Angola 481,351 32 Luanda 12,700,000 2.9 Benin 43,483 39 Porto-Novo 6,600,000 2.9 Botswana 224,606 49 Gaborone 1,600,000 0.8 Burkina Faso 105,792 15 Ouagadougou 12,600,000 3.0 Burundi 10,745 8 Bujumbura 6,700,000 2.2 Cameroon 183,568 48 Yaounde 16,200,000 2.5 Cape Verde 1,556 53 Praia 500,000 3.0 Central African 240,533 39 Bangui Republic 3,600,000 2.0 Chad 495,753 21 N'Djamena 9,000,000 3.3 Comoros 861 29 Moroni 600,000 3.5 Congo 132,046 41 Brazzaville Republic 3,200,000 3.0 Cote d'Ivoire 124,502 46 Yamoussoukro 16,800,000 2.0 Democratic 905,351 29 Kinshasa Rep. of Congo 55,200,000 3.1 Djibouti 8,958 83 Djibouti 700,000 2.0 Egypt 386,660 43 Cairo 71,200,000 2.0 Equatorial 10,830 37 Malabo Guinea 500,000 2.7 Eritrea 45,405 16 Asmara 4,500,000 3.0 Ethiopia 426,371 15 Addis Ababa 67,700,000 2.5 Gabon 103,347 73 Libreville 1,200,000 1.6 Gambia 4,363 37 Banjul 1,500,000 2.9 Ghana 92,100 37 Accra 20,200,000 2.2 Guinea 94,927 26 Conakry 8,400,000 2.7 Guinea-Bissau 13,946 22 Bissau 1,300,000 2.5 Kenya 224,081 20 Nairobi 31,100,000 2.0 Lesotho 11,718 16 Maseru 2,200,000 1.8 Liberia 43,000 45 Monrovia 3,300,000 3.1 Libya 679,359 86 Tripoli 5,400,000 2.4 Madagascar 226,656 22 Antananarivo 16,900,000 3.0 Malawi 45,745 20 Lilongwe 10,900,000 2.4 Mali 478,838 26 Bamako 11,300,000 3.0 Mauritania 395,954 55 Nouakchott 2,600,000 2.0 Mauritius 788 43 Port Louis 1,200,000 1.0 Morocco 172,413 55 Rabat 29,700,000 1.9 Mozambique 309,494 28 Maputo 19,600,000 2.0 Namibia 318,259 27 Windhoek 1,800,000 1.6 Niger 489,189 17 Niamey 11,600,000 3.5 Nigeria 356,668 36 Abuja 129,900,000 2.7 Rwanda 10,170 5 Kigali 7,400,000 2.2 Sao Tome 371 44 Sao Tome & Principe 200,000 3.5 Senegal 75,954 43 Dakar 9,900,000 2.6 Seychelles 174 63 Victoria 100,000 1.1 Sierra Leone 27,699 37 Freetown 5,600,000 2.4 Somalia 246,201 28 Mogadishu 7,800,000 2.9 South Africa 471,444 54 Cape Town, 43,600,000 1.1 Pretoria, and Bloemfontein Sudan 967,494 27 Khartoum 32,600,000 2.4 Swaziland 6,703 25 Mbabane & 1,100,000 2.0 Lobamba Tanzania 364,900 22 Dar es 37,200,000 2.7 Salaam Togo 21,927 31 Lome 5,300,000 2.9 Tunisia 63,170 63 Tunis 9,800,000 1.2 Uganda 93,066 16 Kampala 24,700,000 3.0 Zambia 290,583 38 Lusaka 10,000,000 2.0 Zimbabwe 150,873 32 Harare 12,300,000 0.9 COUNTRY MAJOR LANGUAGES FORM OF GOVERNMENT & HEAD Algeria Arabic, French, Berber Dominant party; dialects President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Angola Portuguese, Bantu, Presidential-legislative others (transitional); President Jose Eduardo dos Santos Benin French, Fon, Yoruba, Presidential-parliamentary others democracy; President Mathieu Kerekou Botswana English, Setswana Parliamentary democracy and traditional chiefs; President Festus Mogae Burkina Faso French, Sudanic Dominant party; languages President Blaise Compaore Burundi Kirundi, French, Dictatorship Swahili (military-dominated); President Pierre Buyoya Cameroon English, French, Dominant party; African languages President Paul Biya Cape Verde Portuguese, Crioulo Presidential-parliamentary democracy; Prime Minister Jose Maria Pereira Neves Central African French, Sangho, Arabic, Presidential-parliamentary; Republic Hunsa, Swahili President Ange-Felix Patasse Chad French, Arabic, Sara, Presidential-parliamentary Sango, others (military-dominated); President Idriss Deby Comoros Arabic, French, Presidential Comoran (military-dominated); Col. Azali Assoumani Congo French, Lingala, Military-backed Republic Monokutuba, Kikongo, dictatorship; President others Denis Sassou-Nguesso Cote d'Ivoire French, Dioula, others Presidential-parliamentary (transitional); President Laurent Gbagbo Democratic French, Lingala, Military-backed Rep. of Congo Kingwana, dictatorship; Kikongo, Tshiluba President Joseph Kabila Djibouti French, Arabic, Dominant party; President Somali, Afar Ismail Omar Guelleh Egypt Arabic, English, French Dominant party; President Hosni Mubarak Equatorial Spanish, French, Presidential Guinea pidgin English, Fang, (military-dominated); Bubi, Ibo President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Eritrea Amharic, Arabic, Afar, One party; Tigrinya, Tigre, many President Isaias Afwerki others Ethiopia Amharic, Tigrinya, Dominant party; Orominga, Arabic, Prime Minister Meles English, others Zenawi Gabon French, Fang, Myene, Dominant party; President Bateke, others Omar Bongo Gambia English, Mandinka, Presidential-parliamentary Wolof, Fula, others (transitional); President Yahya Jammeh Ghana English, Akan, others Presidential-parliamentary democracy; President John Agyekum Kufuor Guinea French, various Dominant party; African languages President Lansana Conte Guinea-Bissau Portuguese, Criolo, Presidential-legislative others (transitional); President Kumba Yala Kenya English, Swahili, Dominant party; many others President Daniel arap Moi Lesotho Sesotho, English, Parliamentary and Zulu, Xhosa traditional chiefs (transitional); Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili Liberia English, Niger-Congo Presidential-parliamentary languages democracy; President Charles Taylor Libya Arabic, Italian, One-party dictatorship; English Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi Madagascar French, Malagasy Presidential democracy; President Marc Ravalomanana Malawi English, Chichewa, Presidential-parliamentary others democracy; President Bakili Muluzi Mali French, Bambara, Presidential-parliamentary many others democracy; President Amadou Toumani Toure Mauritania Hasaniya Arabic, Presidential-parliamentary Pular, Soninke, Wolof, (military-influenced); French President Maaouya Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya Mauritius English, Creole, Parliamentary democracy; French, Hindi, Urdu, Prime Minister Sir Hakka, Bojpoori Anerood Jugnauth Morocco Arabic, Berber Constitutional monarchy; dialects, French King Muhammad VI Mozambique Portuguese, African Presidential-parliamentary languages democracy; President Joaquim Chissano Namibia English, local African Presidential-legislative languages democracy; President Sam Nujoma Niger French, Hausa, Presidential-parliamentary Djerma democracy (transitional); President Mamadou Tandja Nigeria English, Hausa, Presidential-parliamentary Yoruba, Ibo Fulani democracy (transitional); President Olusegun Obasanjo Rwanda Kinyarwanda, French...

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