Map references: Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 510.072 million sq km
land area: 148.94 million sq km
water area: 361.132 million sq km
comparative area: land area about 16 times the size of the US
note: 70.8% of the world is water, 29.2% is land

Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 250,883.64 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)

Coastline: 356,000 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm claimed by most but can vary
continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of exploitation, others claim 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm claimed by most but can vary
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm claimed by most but can vary
territorial sea: 12 nm claimed by most but can vary
note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm; 42 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates

Terrain: highest elevation is Mt. Everest at 8,848 meters and lowest depression is the Dead Sea at 392 meters below sea level; greatest ocean depth is the Marianas Trench at 10,924 meters

Natural resources: the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe and the former USSR) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 24%
forest and woodland: 31%
other: 34%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
international agreements: 20 selected international environmental agreements included under the Environment entry for each country and in Appendix E: Selected International Environmental Agreements

NOTE: The information regarding World on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of World Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about World Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.