PHYSICAL WORLD

FACTFILE PHYSICAL WORLD MAKING MAPS

The projection on these pages was
created by a process that’s a bit
The flat, peeled version of the
Earth was then stretched and
CONTINENT
THE CONTINENTS
Area (square miles) Percentage of total land

P
lanet Earth is three dimensional: it has length, width, and height. Asia 17,177,000 29.8%
Total surface area of Earth: like peeling an orange, then manipulated by computer to
196,672,000 square miles In order to create two dimensional maps for an atlas, map makers, smoothing the skin out. create the map we see below. Africa 11,697,000 20.3%
Total length of coastline called cartographers, have devised ways to convert the Earth’s curved North and Central America 9,357,000 16.2%
on Earth: South America 6,868,000 11.9%
234,512 miles surface into flat images, called projections. The projection below is a
Antarctica 5,443,000 9.4%
Largest ocean: physical map of the whole world. It shows physical features such as
Europe 3,843,000 6.7%
Pacific Ocean mountains, and has a key that shows how the map’s colors denote different
Total area: 60 million square miles Oceania 3,303,000 5.7%
environments, such as tundra and desert.
Largest oceanic island:
Greenland, North America ARCTIC OCEAN
Total area: 836,330 square miles
PHYSICAL MAP OF THE WORLD PHYSICAL MAP OF THE WORLD
N
Largest lake:
Caspian Sea, Asia is a ARCTIC OCEAN E
land-locked salt water lake. W
GREENL LAND
Total area: 143,244 square miles ARCTIC OCEAN
Largest freshwater lake:
S
Lake Superior in Canada/USA

NS
TAI
Total area: 31,660 square miles S I B E R I A

OUN
AR
RO

URAL M
Largest freshwater island: Parts of the Sahara GULF
Ilha de Marajó, Brazil, South Desert in Africa can
CK
OF
America, an island at the mouth of
NORTH
Y
go for several ALASKA EUROPE
MO
the Amazon River.
Total area: 15,500 square miles
years without
AMERICA PS
ASIA
having any rain. UNT L CASPIAN

A
BLACK SEA SEA
Longest river:
AIN
MEDITE
Nile, Africa
NORTH RR
AN
PLATEAU PACIFIC
S

EAN SEA IM
Total length: 4,144 miles

H
OF TIBET TROPIC
A L
Tallest mountain: GULF OF ATLANTIC A Y
A S
OCEAN

R E
Mount Everest, Himalayas range, MEXICO
S A H A R A ARABIAN
OCEAN

D
PENINSULA
border of China and Nepal, Asia

S E
BAY
OF

A
Height: 29,035 feet CARIBBEAN
SEA
ARABIAN BENGAL

Longest cave system: SEA

Mammoth Caves, USA AFRICA
360 miles of caves have been
explored and mapped. A M A Z O N
B A S I N
A

Largest gorge: INDIAN

SOUTH
Grand Canyon, USA
PACIFIC
N

The Grand Canyon in Arizona was carved from the

Total length: 277 miles
surrounding rock by the flow of the Colorado River. AMERICA KALAHARI
OCEAN
Widest point: 15 miles
Its average depth is 4,000 feet. OCEAN DESERT
D

Largest desert: In the deepest places, the gorge is 6,000 feet deep.
OCEANIA
Sahara desert, North Africa MAP KEY TROPIC OF
E

Total area: 3.5 million square miles

The Angels Falls in

Mountains WORLD’S LARGEST
Highest waterfall:
COUNTRIES
S

Angel Falls, Venezuela, South Venezuela, South Ice SOUTHERN

America has an uninterrupted fall America, were named
Area (square miles) OCEAN
of 3,212 feet of water. for an American Forest
Hottest recorded temperature: adventurer James 1. Russia 6,592,772
Al Aziziyah, Libya Angel who crash- Grassland 2. Canada 3,855,103 A N TAR
136˚F landed his plane near
the top of the falls in Desert 3. USA 3,718,711
Lowest recorded temperature: 1937. 4. China 3,705,407
Vostok Base, Antarctica Tundra
5. Brazil 3,286,488
ANTARCTICA
-128˚F

12 13
 WORLD POPULATION
Total world population in
2005:
POLITICAL WORLD LIFE EXPECTANCY
Life expectancy at birth
total population:
Key
Europe
Oceania
World population by continent
7.1%
WEALTH BY CONTINENT
Share of world’s
wealth by continent

T
6,446,131,400 his map is a political map of the world. The colors on the map Male: 63 years Asia 6.7% 15.5%
Africa
show how people divide up the world into territories, or individual Female: 66 years South America
0.4% 32.7%
World population growth North America

per year: countries. The number of countries in the world changes often. Highest life expectancy:
12% 35.3%
1.14% Sometimes, large countries divide up into smaller countries. Other times, a Andorra, Europe 83.5 years
group of small countries will join together to become one large country.If Lowest life expectancy:
you were to look at a political map of the world 50 years from now, it might Botswana, Africa 34 years
HIGHEST POPULATION 3.7% 1.4%
BY COUNTRY look quite different to how the political world looks today. • See the GLOSSARY for
LIFE EXPECTANCY 2.2%
58.3% 24.7%
1. China 1,306,313,812
2. India 1,080,264,388
POLITICAL MAP OF THE WORLD POLITICAL MAP OF THE WORLD
3. USA 295,734,134
4. Indonesia 241,973,879 GREENLAND
(KALAALLIT NUNAAT)
5. Brazil 186,112,794
6. Pakistan 162,419,946
7. Bangladesh 144,319,628 Y

A
EN
R U S S I A N

W
8. Russia 143,420,309 ICELAND

ED
R
F E D E R A T I O N

O
FINLAND

SW
9. Nigeria 128,771,988

N
ESTONIA

10. Japan 127,417,244 DENMARK

LATVIA

C A N A D A UNITED
KINGDOM
RUSSIA
LITHUANIA
BELARUS
IRELAND
NETHERLANDS POLAND
BELGIUM GERMANY CZECH SLOVAK UKRAINE
AGE STRUCTURE OF WORLD POPULATION LUXEMBOURG REP.
AUSTRIA
REP.
SWITZERLAND SLOVENIA HUNGARY
MOLDOVA K AZAK H S T AN
FRANCE
CROATIA ROMANIA MONGOLIA
BOSNIA- SERBIA-

Median age is the age that divides This chart shows the world’s UNITED S TATES ANDORRA
HERZEGOVINAMONTENEGRO
BULGARIA BLACK SEA GEORGIA
UZBEKISTAN KYRGYZSTAN
ITALY MACEDONIA
ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN NORTH
SPAIN ALBANIA
a population in two – half the population by age group.
PORTUGAL
OF AMERICA NORTH MEDITER
RA GREECE
TUR K EY TURKMENISTAN
TAJIKISTAN
KOREA

SOUTH
people are younger than this age, TUNISIA
NE
AN SE
A
CYPRUS SYRIA
AFGHANISTAN
C H I N A
KOREA
65+ years LEBANON

and half are older. 0 –14 years ATLANTIC MOROCCO ISRAEL

JORDAN
IRAQ IRAN
KUWAIT
JAPAN
PAKISTAN
7.3%
GULF OF ALGERIA
LIBYA
NEPAL BHUTAN

OCEAN
QATAR
WESTERN SAUDI
Total world population MEXICO SAHARA
EGYPT UNITED
MEXICO ARABIA ARAB BANGLADESH
27.8% CUBA
DOMINICAN
EMIRATES
INDIA BURMA
TAIWAN
PACIFIC
median age: 27.6 years HAWAII
JAMAICA
REPUBLIC
MAURITANIA
MALI NIGER
OMAN
LAOS

BELIZE HAITI PUERTO CHAD BAY

Male: 27 years 64.9%
GUATEMALA HONDURAS
NICARAGUA
CARIBBEAN
SEA
RICO SENEGAL
GAMBIA BURKINA
SUDAN
ERITREA YEMEN
ARABIAN OF
THAILAND VIETNAM
OCEAN
EL SALVADOR FASO
DJBOUTI BENGAL CAMBODIA
SEA
TRINIDAD & GUINEA- GUINEA

BENIN
NIGERIA PHILIPPINES
Female: 28.2 years COSTA RICA TOBAGO BISSAU SOMALIA

GHANA
T OGO
SIERRA LEONE IVORY
PANAMA VENEZUELA CENTRAL AFRICAN
ETHIOPIA
15–64 years GUYANA FRENCH
LIBERIA
COAST
REPUBLIC SRI
LANKA BRUNEI
GUIANA CAMEROON
SURINAME
EQUATORIAL MALAYSIA
COLOMBIA GUINEA REPUBLIC OF
UGANDA
KENYA SINGAPORE
GABON CONGO DEMOCRATIC
GALAPAGOS IS ECUADOR
WORLD’S LARGEST CITIES BY POPULATION
RWANDA

INDIAN
REPUBLIC
OF CONGO BURUNDI
I N D O N E S I A PAPUA
SOUTH TANZANIA NEW

1. Tokyo Japan 35,327,000 B R A Z I L GUINEA

PERU OCEAN SOLOMON

TRANSPORT FACTS ATLANTIC ANGOLA

ZAMBIA
MALAWI
ISLANDS

2. Mexico City Mexico 19,013,000 MOZAMBIQUE

3. New York USA 18,498,000 Total length of roads OCEAN NAMIBIA

BOTSWANA
ZIMBABWE

MADAGASCAR
MAURITIUS VANUATU
E

PARAGUAY RÉUNION

4. Mumbai (Bombay) India 18,336,000 in the world: SWAZILAND

NEW CALEDONIA

AUSTRALIA
L

LESOTHO

5. S~ao Paulo Brazil 18,333,000 20,098,354 miles SOUTH

AFRICA
URUGUAY
I

6. Delhi India 15,334,000 Total length of railway ARGENTINA NEW

in the world: INDEPENDENT STATES AND DEPENDENCIES ZEALAND
H

7. Kolkata (Calcutta) India 14,299,000

8. Buenos Aires Argentina 13,349,000 692,956 miles
In the world today, there are 192 countries, territories or dependencies of one of
C

• Territories and
9. Jakarta Indonesia 13,194,000 Number of airports FALKLAND/MALVINAS ISLANDS or states, which have their own government the independent states. Territories and dependencies are noted in
in the world: and are completely independent. dependencies are governed and protected the country-by-country SOUTHERN OCEAN
10. Shanghai China 12,665,000 FACTFILES.
49,973 There are also many countries that are by the independent country
(Numbers include the city and surrounding urban areas.)

14 15
 NORTH AMERICA AND CENTRAL AMERICA
P E O P L E
FACTFILE NORTH AMERICA AND RUSSIAN
POLITICAL MAP OF NORTH AMERICA
A R C T I C
QU E E N Ellesmere
ASIA
O C E A N

CENTRAL AMERICA
FEDERATION ELIZABETH
Island Arctic Circle
Total population: CHUKCHI SEA
ISLANDS
G REENLA ND
North America: 328,600,000 ( K A L A A L L IT N U N A AT )
Central America: 185,800,000 St. Lawrence Island BEAUFORT North Baffin NORTH
SEA Tropic of

T
Highest population:
he North American continent lies between BERING Victoria
Magnetic Bay Cancer
AMERICA
Baffin
USA 295,734,134 the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This SEA Alaska Island
Pole
Island

Lowest population:
(USA) SOUTH
varied region stretches from the icy plains ALE
UTIA AMERICA
St. Pierre and Miquelon 7,012 N ISLAN
DS Kodiak
of arctic North America to the hot deserts and lush LABRADOR
Island
Most populous city: SEA
tropical forests of Central America and the GULF OF
Mexico City, Mexico ALASKA
Hudson
19,013,000 residents Bay Newfoundland
Caribbean islands. Dominating western North QUEEN CHARLOTTE
ISLANDS Belcher Is.
Life expectancy: America are the Rocky Mountains, which stretch Rising majestically from the
North America: 77 years
C A N A D A
VANCOUVER ISLAND

Central America: 73 years for 3000 miles from Canada to New Mexico, desert floor, 1000-feet high
sandstone rock forms in St.-Pierre &
Highest infant mortality rate: through the United States of America. Monument Valley, Utah.
Miquelon

Haiti: 73 deaths per 1,000 births

HIGHEST MOUNTAINS FAST FACTS U NI T ED

• See the GLOSSARY for
NAME LOCATION HEIGHT (feet) • The center of Greenland has
definitions of LIFE EXPECTANCY
and INFANT MORTALITY RATE. sunk to 1,000 feet below sea KAUAI S T A T ES O F BERMUDA
Mt. McKinley USA (Alaska) 20,322 OAHU

Average annual income Mt. Logan Canada 19,849

level due to the weight of the MAUI A M ER I C A A T L A N T I C
huge ice sheet that covers most
per person (in USD): Pico de Orizaba Mexico 18,406 of the island. HAWAII O C E A N
Highest: USA $40,100
Lowest: Haiti $1,500
Mt. St Elias USA/Canada 18,008
• At 282 feet below sea level,
LONGEST RIVERS Death Valley in California is the
GULF OF DOMINICAN
MEXICO REPUBLIC
lowest place in the western CUBA
NAME RIVER MOUTH LENGTH (miles) P A C I F I C MEXICO HAITI PUERTO
G E O G R A P H Y hemisphere. Summer RICO
Mississippi-Missouri Gulf of Mexico 3,740 temperatures often exceed O C E A N JAMAICA
FACTFILE Mackenzie Arctic Ocean 2,635 120ºF.
Yukon Pacific Ocean 1,979
Total land area: • The USA is the world’s third POLITICAL MAP OF CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
9,357,000 square miles Rio Grande Gulf of Mexico 1,889 largest producer of oil—
Largest country: LARGEST ISLANDS 7,800,000 barrels each day. For Bermuda, see map above.

G u
Canada: 3,855,103 square miles

lf
THE
Second largest country in the world NAME LOCATION AREA (sq miles) BAHAMAS

of
Smallest country: Greenland Atlantic Ocean 836,330
G U L F O F

Ca
TURKS & British
Bermuda: 20.5 square miles Baffin Island Canada 196,100 CAICOS Virgin

li
Anguilla
M E X I C O Andros I.
ISLANDS Islands

fo
Virgin Is
Largest lake: Victoria Island Canada 81,900 MEX IC O Barbuda

rn
CUBA DOMINICAN Antigua
Lake Superior, Canada/USA REPUBLIC
St. Kitts

ia
Yucatá & Nevis Guadeloupe
Total area: 31,660 square miles n C G R HAITI PUERTO Domínica
h an Montserrat
E A RICO Martinique

L E S
• See page 11 WORLD’S 10 LARGEST LAKES T E S
Largest desert: Bay of R L E

ne
A L Barbados
CAYMAN N T I St. Lucia

l
Campeche St. Vincent
Great Basin Desert, USA JAMAICA

I L
ISLANDS & The Grenadines
Total area: 190,000 square miles OIL CONSUMPTION BELIZE A N
T Grenada
• The saguaro cactus only grows Gulf of CARIBBEAN
L E S S E R Tobago
Highest waterfall: Oil is a fossil fuel (a natural TRINIDAD
TOP 5 CONSUMERS OF OIL in the Sonoran desert in the Honduras Aruba Netherlands
Ribbon Fall, Yosemite National Antilles
resource) that we burn to produce (USAGE PER DAY) USA and Mexico. Saguaros can GUATEMALA
Gulf of
HONDURAS SEA
Park, USA
Total drop: 1,612 feet power for heating and lighting. It grow to 50 feet tall and live for Tehuantepec NICARAGUA
EL SALVADOR
is also used as fuel for cars, USA 19,650,000 barrels 175 years. CENTRAL AMERICA Mosquito
Lake Nicaragua Gulf
trucks, and planes. Canada 2,200,000 barrels The Equator SOUTH
• See page 21 • Cuba is the fifth largest island in COSTA PA N A M A
NORTH AMERICA FACTFILES Oil production and consumption is Puerto Rico 190,000 barrels AMERICA
0 500 1000 1500 kilometers
the region at 42,803 square RICA
and page 22 measured in barrels. A barrel is Cuba 163,000 barrels miles.
CENTRAL AMERICA FACTFILES
equivalent to 42 gallons. Jamaica 66,000 barrels 0 500 1000 miles

16 17
 SOUTH AMERICA
P E O P L E
FACTFILE SOUTH AMERICA POLITICAL MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA

C A R I B B EA N SEA
ES

T
he continent of South America Gulf of LESSER ANTILL
Venezuela
Total population: Netherlands
Antilles TRINIDAD
371,400,000 stretches from the warm waters of the & TOBAGO
Highest population: Caribbean Sea in the north to the
PA N A M A
V ENEZU ELA AT L A N T I C O C E A N
Gulf of SURINAME
Brazil 186,112,794 Panama GUYANA FRENCH
stormy, cold waters of Cape Horn in the
GUIANA
Lowest population: C OLOM BIA
Paraguay 6,347,884
south. The world’s longest mountain chain,
Marajó Bay
Most populous city:
the Andes, runs down the western coast, while Ilha
ECUADOR São Marcos
~ Paulo, Brazil de Bay
Sao the dense, dark Amazon forest, the world’s Marajó Fernando de
Noronha Island
18,333,000 residents The Amazon River accounts for
largest rainforest, spreads across the north of PA C I F I C
Life expectancy: twenty percent of all freshwater
Male: 70 years the continent. that drains into the world’s OCEAN B R A Z I L
Female: 76 years oceans each year.
P E R U
Highest infant mortality rate:
Bolivia: 53 deaths per 1,000 births
HIGHEST MOUNTAINS (BY COUNTRY) AMAZON RAINFOREST NORTH AMERICA

NAME LOCATION HEIGHT (feet) FACTS BOLIVIA

• See the GLOSSARY for
definitions of LIFE EXPECTANCY Aconcagua Argentina 22,834* Rainforests around the world are or
Equat PA
and INFANT MORTALITY RATE. shrinking. They are cut down by The
Ojos del Salado Argentina/Chile 22,664 SOUTH AMERICA R AG
Huascaran Peru 22,205 the timber industry or cleared UA
Y
AT L A N T I C

E
Average annual income Sajama Bolivia 21,463 for mineral mining and farming.
per person (in USD): Chimborazo Ecuador 20,702
Highest: Uruguay $14,500 • Just 2.5 acres of Amazon
ARGENTINA OCEAN

L
Lowest: Bolivia $2,600
* Aconcagua is the highest mountain in South America. rainforest can contain up to
URUGUAY
1500 different plant species.
• See page 10 THE ANDES

I
ANTARCTICA
Each species of tree may
LONGEST RIVERS support more than 400 different Blanca
G E O G R A P H Y

H
Bay
insect species.
NAME RIVER MOUTH LENGTH (miles) LAND USE
FACTFILE Valdés Peninsula
FAST FACT
Amazon Atlantic Ocean 4,007 • 20% of the world’s birds live in Gulf of

C
Forest, including trees San Jorge
the Amazon rainforest. • The world’s southernmost town
Total land area: Parana Atlantic Ocean 2,796 grown for timber
6,868,000 square miles West FALKLAND/MALVINAS is Ushuaia, a fishing port and
Purus Amazon 2,082 • 500 years ago, 6 million native Permanent pasture Falkland ISLANDS
naval base, on the island of
Grande East
Largest country: Madeira Amazon 1,988 Bay
people lived in the Amazon Permanent crops, Falkland
South Tierra del Feugo, Argentina.
Brazil: 3,286,488 square miles Strait of Magellan
such as fruit trees or Georgia
Fifth largest country in the world LARGEST LAKES rainforest. In 2000, the number S C O T I A
grapevines
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Smallest country: was less than 250,000. S E A
NAME LOCATION AREA (sq miles) Arable crops, such as
Netherlands Antilles: wheat and rice, that are
371 square miles Lake Titicaca Bolivia/Peru 3,205 CLIMATE: SOUTH AMERICA
replanted each year
Largest island: Lake Poopo Bolivia 1,081 FAST FACTS
Other roads, towns, KEY
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego • Venezuela is South America’s and barren land THE EQUATOR THE EQUATOR
18,147 square miles over 90º F
HABITATS main producer of oil. Brazil uses
1.1%
Largest desert: the most oil in South America, 5.5% 75º to 90º F
Atacama Desert, Chile This map shows the different types
2,199,000 barrels each day. 60º to 75º F
31,000 square miles of habitats across the continent.
There has never been any rainfall
KEY • The Amazon’s source is a 45º to 60º F
28.7%
recorded in parts of this desert. 14.2%
Ice and snow
remote slope of the Nevado 30º to 45º F
Highest waterfall: Tundra Mismi peak (17,440 feet 15º to 30º F
Angel Falls, Venezuela high), in Peru.
Mountains/barren land 0º to 15º F
Total drop: 3,212 feet 50.5% TEMPERATURES
Forest TEMPERATURES
Grassland • La Paz in Bolivia is the world’s -10º to 0º F IN JANUARY IN JULY
Semidesert highest capital city, about below -10º F
• See page 27 Desert
SOUTH AMERICA FACTFILES
12,000 feet above sea level.

24 25
 AFRICA
P E O P L E
FACTFILE AFRICA POLITICAL MAP OF AFRICA
0 500 1000 1500 kilometers

A
Total population:
frica is the second largest continent in Madeira 0 500 1000 miles
887,000,000 the world. The world’s biggest desert, MEDITERRANEANE SE
Canary Is. MOROCCO TUNISIA A
Highest population: the Sahara, dominates the landscape of
Nigeria 128,771,988
the north, while in the south forests and vast A L G E R I A
Lowest population: L I B Y A
Djibouti 476,703
grasslands are home to wild animals, such as WESTERN
SAHARA EGYPT

RED
Most populous city:
leopards, lions, and elephants. The Great Rift
Cape
Cairo, Egypt Valley, one of the Earth’s major geological

SEA
Verde Is. MAURITANIA
11,146,000 residents
features, runs from the Red Sea down to MALI NIGER
Life expectancy:
Male: 51 years Mozambique. This huge crack in the Earth’s SENEGAL
CHAD ERITREA
Female: 53 years surface, caused by a series of faults, is made up of
GAMBIA
S U D A N
GUINEA BURKINO FASO
An African leopard in the BISSAU GUINEA DJIBOUTI
Highest infant mortality rate: mountains, volcanoes, deep valleys, and lakes. BENIN
Samburu Game Reserve, Kenya. GHANA NIGERIA
Angola: 191 deaths per 1,000 SIERRA COTE CENTRAL
births – the highest in the world LEONE D’IVOIRE
AFRICAN E T H I O P I A SOMALIA
LIBERIA
TOGO CAMEROON REPUBLIC
• See the GLOSSARY
HIGHEST MOUNTAINS FAST FACTS
for definitions of LIFE NAME LOCATION HEIGHT (feet) • Almost 90% of the rainforest in ATLANTIC
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
REPUBLIC DEMOCRATIC
UGANDA K E N Y A INDIAN
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE
EXPECTANCY and INFANT
Mt. Kilimanjaro Tanzania 19,341 West Africa has been destroyed.
GABON OF
REPUBLIC OCEAN
MORTALITY RATE. OCEAN CONGO RWANDA
Mt. Kirinyaga (Mt. Kenya) Kenya 17,060 OF CONGO BURUNDI SEYCHELLES
• 90% of the rainforest on the
Average annual income Mount Stanley (Margherita Peak) Dem. Rep. Congo/Uganda 16,765 African island of Madagascar EUROPE TANZANIA
per person (in USD): has been destroyed. Around
Highest: Mauritius $12,800
Ras Dashen Ethiopia 15,157
Lowest: Sierra Leone $600
80% of the animal species Tropic of Cancer
COMOROS
found on Madagascar live only ANGOLA MALAWI
LONGEST RIVERS AFRICA ZAMBIA
Mayotte
on this island and nowhere else
NAME RIVER MOUTH LENGTH (miles) on Earth (other than zoo The Equator
G E O G R A P H Y Nile Mediterranean 4,144 populations). NAMIBIA ZIMBABWE MOZAMBIQUE Mauritius
MADAGASCAR Réunion
FACTFILE Congo Atlantic Ocean 2,900
• See page 24
Tropic of Capricorn
BOTSWANA
Niger Atlantic Ocean 2,597 AMAZON RAINFOREST FACTS
Total land area: Zambezi Indian Ocean 2,200 SWAZILAND
11,697,000 square miles
SOUTH
Largest country: LARGEST ISLANDS • Namibia was the first country in
AFRICA
LESOTHO
Sudan: 967,499 square miles the world to include protecting MOUNT KILIMANJARO
NAME AREA (sq miles) the environment in its
Smallest country:
Mayotte: 144 square miles Madagascar Indian Ocean 226,657 constitution. Around 14% of
Réunion Indian Ocean 972 Namibia is now protected
Largest lake:
Lake Victoria, East Africa
including the entire Namib
26,641 square miles Desert coast.
• See page 11 WORLD’S 10 LARGEST LAKES
Largest desert: • Ancient rock paintings show
Sahara Desert, North Africa
that 8,000 years ago the
3.5 million square miles OIL CONSUMPTION Sahara Desert was a lush, green
Largest desert in the world
The amount of oil produced, TOP 5 CONSUMERS OF OIL place that was home to many
Highest waterfall:
bought and sold, and used in the (USAGE PER DAY) wild animals.
Tugela Falls, South Africa
Total drop: 3,110 feet world is measured in barrels.
• It is believed that the first place
A barrel is equivalent to Egypt 562,000 barrels Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro is an extinct volcano. It is the highest Due to rainforest
in the world to cultivate coffee
42 gallons. South Africa 460,000 barrels mountain in the world that it is possible to scale without special destruction, many
• See page 33 was Ethiopia. It was grown in
Nigeria 275,000 barrels climbing skills or equipment. Around 22,000 people climb Kilimanjaro Madagascan animals,
AFRICA FACTFILES the Kefa region of Ethiopia such as this ring-tailed
Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of Libya 216,000 barrels every year, making it the world’s most climbed mountain.
around 1000 years ago. lemur, are endangered.
oil—2,356,000 barrels per day Algeria 209,000 barrels

28 29
 EUROPE
P E O P L E
FACTFILE EUROPE POLITICAL MAP OF EUROPE

E
Total population:
urasia is one giant landmass, comprising
800,000,000 (includes total the continents of Europe and Asia. The
population of the Russian
Federation) vast Russian Federation’s capital,
Highest population: Moscow, is in Europe, but the country spreads for
Russian Federation 143,420,309 thousands of miles across northern Asia. The
Lowest population: landscapes of Europe vary from frozen regions in
Vatican City 921
the Arctic Circle to hot countries that border the
Most populous city:
Moscow, Russia Mediterranean Sea. There are few remaining
10,672,000 residents wilderness areas in Europe, and the continent is The giant Rock of Gibraltar
Life expectancy: towers over the Strait of
crossed by railways and roads joining large towns Gibraltar that links the Atlantic
Male: 73 years
Female: 80 years and cities. Ocean and the Mediterranean
Sea. The rock is 1,398 feet high.
Highest infant mortality rate:
Turkey: 41 deaths per 1,000 births

• See the GLOSSARY for

HIGHEST MOUNTAINS (BY COUNTRY) FAST FACTS
definitions of LIFE EXPECTANCY NAME LOCATION HEIGHT (feet) • Vatican City is the smallest
and INFANT MORTALITY RATE.
Elbrus Russia 18,510* country in the world. It covers
Average annual income Mont Blanc France/Italy 15,774 an area of just 109 acres in the
per person (in USD): Monte Rosa Italy/Switzerland 15,203 centre of Rome. Vatican City is
Highest: Luxembourg $58,900
Matterhorn Italy 14,692 the headquarters of the Roman
Lowest: Moldova $1,900
* Elbrus is the highest mountain in Europe. Catholic Church.

LONGEST RIVERS • Large parts of the Netherlands

G E O G R A P H Y NAME RIVER MOUTH LENGTH (miles) were once part of the North
FACTFILE Volga Caspian Sea 2,299 Sea. Long embankments, called
Danube Black Sea 1,771 dykes, have been built to hold
Total land area:
3,843,000 square miles Ural Caspian Sea 1,575 back the ocean and parts of the
(including European Russia) coast have been reclaimed and
Dnieper Black Sea 1,420
Largest country in Europe:
pumped dry. These areas are
called polders.
European Russia: LARGEST ISLANDS
1,658,068 square miles
Russia spans the continents of
NAME AREA (sq miles) • The city of Venice, Italy is made
Europe and Asia with its total area
divided between both. Great Britain (mainland) North Sea/Altlantic Ocean 88,757 up of 117 small islands of land
that were built hundreds of
Iceland Atlantic Ocean 39,769
Smallest country: years ago on salt marshes. The
Vatican City: 0.17 square miles Ireland Atlantic Ocean 27,135
islands are joined to each other
There are no deserts in Europe by 409 bridges. There are 150

channels stretch far inland from the

Fjords can be very deep. San Fjord,

Largest lake:
OIL CONSUMPTION seawater canals running

A boat travels through one of the

ASIA

sea snaking between high cliffs.

Lake Baykal, Russia between the islands. Workers,

in Norway, is 4,291 feet at its

Norwegian Fjords. These long
11,969 square miles The amount of oil produced, TOP 5 CONSUMERS OF OIL
bought and sold, and used in the residents, and visitors travel
Highest waterfall:
(USAGE PER DAY)
around the city by boat.

Arctic Circle
world is measured in barrels. A

EUROPE

AFRICA
Utigard, Norway
Total drop: 2,625 feet barrel is equivalent to 42 gallons. Germany 2,891,000 barrels
Russia 2,310,000 barrels • The coast of the United Kingdom

deepest point.
• See page 44 SIBERIA. Russia is Europe’s largest producer France 2,026,000 barrels has so many indents that no

Tropic of
Cancer
• See page 41 of oil—8,420,000 barrels per day Italy 1,866,000 barrels point in the UK is more than 70
EUROPE FACTFILES UK 1,692,000 barrels miles from the sea.

36 37
 ASIA
P E O P L E
FACTFILE ASIA POLITICAL MAP OF ASIA
Kuwait is a desert country with
no rivers or lakes. Sea water is
Arctic Circle

A
Total population:
sia is the world’s largest continent, and it processed for drinking and stored
ASIA
3,840,000,000 includes many vast countries with huge in huge water towers.

Highest population: populations, such as China, India, and AFRICA

China 1,306,313,812
the Russian Federation. The landscape includes A R C T I C
Lowest population: The Equator
Maldives 349,106 Arctic tundra, tropical rainforests, and the world’s O C E A N
Most populous city in Asia highest mountains, the Himalayas. Rice is Asia’s Zemlya Novosibirskiye
Frantsa Iosifa Severnaya Ostrova Bering
and the world: most important food crop, and paddy fields can be Barents
Zemlya
mlya Sea
Tokyo, Japan Sea ya Ze
35,327,000 seen dotted across Southeast Asia—one fifth of a
v

No
Life expectancy: the world’s rice is grown in this part of Asia. A worldwide symbol of
Male: 67 years conservation, China’s Giant
Female: 72 years Panda lives in the mountainous
Highest infant mortality rate: forests of southwestern China. R U S S I A N
Afghanistan: HIGHEST MOUNTAINS (BY COUNTRY)
163 deaths per 1,000 births
• See page 10 WORLD’S 10 HIGHEST MOUNTAINS for
OIL CONSUMPTION Bl
F E D E R A T I O N
ac
information on Asia’s highest mountains. k
• See the GLOSSARY for The amount of oil produced, Se
a
definitions of LIFE EXPECTANCY bought and sold, and used in T URKEY
and INFANT MORTALITY RATE. NAME LOCATION HEIGHT (feet) GEORGIA KAZAKHSTAN

ea
the world is measured in barrels. CYPRUS
Aral Sea of

C a s p ia n S
Qullai Ismoili Somoni Tajikistan 24,590 LEBANON
ARMENIA
Sea Japan
Average annual income A barrel is equivalent AZERBAIJAN MONGOLIA NORTH
Damavand Iran 18,386 GAZA SYRIA
to 42 gallons. UZBEKISTAN KOREA JAPAN
per person (in USD): WEST BANK
JORDAN
Highest: Hong Kong $34,200 Punkak Jaya Indonesia 16,503 ISRAEL IRAQ TURKMENISTAN KYRGYZSTAN
SOUTH
KOREA
Lowest: East Timor $400 Kinabalu Borneo, Malaysia 13,432 Yellow
Saudi Arabia is the world’s I R A N TAJIKISTAN Sea
Fuji San Japan 12,388 largest producer of oil— KUWAIT
AFGHANISTAN East
SAUDI China
G E O G R A P H Y 9,021,000 barrels each day. C H I N A

R e d
ARABIA Sea
LARGEST LAKES QATAR
FACTFILE BAHRAIN UNITED ARAB
PA K I S TA N
NE PACIFIC
NAME LOCATION AREA (sq. miles) 25% of the world’s proven oil EMIRATES PA
L

S e a
TAIWAN
BHUTAN
Caspian Sea Asia 143,244*
Total land area: reserves are in Saudi Arabia. YEMEN
OMAN OCEAN

P h
BANGLADESH
17,177,000 square miles Aral Sea Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan 11,076 INDIA

il
MYANMAR South
(including Asian Russia) Arabian L A

ip
(BURMA)
Lake Balqash Kazakhstan 7,143 TOP 5 CONSUMERS OF OIL O China

pi
Largest countries: Sea Bay of Sea

S
Ysyk Kol Kyrgyzstan 2,394 THAILAND

ne
Asian Russia: IN ASIA Bengal PHILIPPINES
CAMBODIA VIETNAM

Se
4,934,704 square miles * The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest lake. (USAGE PER DAY)

a
China: 3,705,407 square miles
I N D I A N Celebes
Smallest country: LARGEST ISLANDS SRI LANKA BRUNEI
Sea
Macau: 9.8 square miles Japan 5,290,000 barrels O C E A N M A L AY S I A I N D O N E S I A
NAME LOCATION AREA (sq miles)
Highest mountain in Asia and China 4,956,000 barrels MALDIVES BORNEO
Borneo Southeast Asia 287,399 SINGAPORE
the world: India 2,130,000 barrels E SUMATRA

Mt. Everest, China/Nepal Sumatra Indonesia 182,858 A

29,035 feet
South Korea 2,070,000 barrels S JAVA
EAST TIMOR
Honshu Japan 87,992 T
E
S
Saudi Arabia 1,550,000 barrels I N D I
Longest river:
Yangtze: 3,964 miles
• See page 10 WORLD’S 10 LONGEST RIVERS
Largest dessert:
This image of the Himalayas mountain range in Asia was taken
Arabian Desert, Arabian Peninsula
900,000 square miles SIBERIA from the International Space Station. The Himalayas are the
highest mountains in the world. There are more than 110 peaks
Highest waterfall: The Russian Federation covers plains, tundra regions and taiga the world. The 5,778-mile journey over 24,000 feet in the Himalayas range, which include the world’s
Jog Falls, India
around 11% of the Earth’s surface. forests of Siberia. from Moscow to Vladivostok (on ten highest mountains.
Total drop: 830 feet
the Pacific coast) takes around
• Over 5 million square miles of the • The Trans-Siberian railway is the eight days. • See page 10 WORLD’S 10 HIGHEST MOUNTAIN PEAKS
• See page 49
ASIA FACTFILES country form the great barren longest stretch of railway track in

44 45
 OCEANIA
P E O P L E
FACTFILE OCEANIA NORTHERN
POLITICAL MAP OF OCEANIA
N O R T H

n a s Tr c h
Total population: he term Oceania generally refers to the MARIANA P A C I F I C

en
32,700,000 countries of Australia, New Zealand, Papua ISLANDS HAWAIIAN
Guam
O C E A N ISLANDS (U.S.)
Highest population: New Guinea, and the islands of the South

aria
M I MARSHALL
Australia 20,090,437 PALAU M C R
Pacific. Oceania stretches across a vast area of ISLANDS
O

A
Lowest population: ocean and includes 20,000 or so islands that M E L N
A N E
Tuvalu 11,636 E S S KIRIBATI
make up the regions of Micronesia, Melanesia NAURU
I
PAPUA I A
INDONESIA A

I
Most populous city: Tokelau
Sydney, Australia
and Polynesia. Thousands of the islands are NEW SOLOMON
GUINEA ISLANDS
4,000,000 uninhabited, and many are formed from coral reefs

S
TUVALU
VANUATU American
Life expectancy: and underwater volcanoes. Papua New Guinea is French Polynesia

Gre
Coral Sea FIJI TONGA Samoa
The Great Barrier Reef is

at
Male: 68.5 years

E
made up of the eastern half of the island of New Tahiti
a complex of coral reefs, WALLIS AND

Ba
Female: 74 years New
Cook

rri
Guinea and around 600 smaller islands. sandbanks, and islets off the Caledonia FUTUNA ISLANDS
Islands

er
AUSTRALIA

N
Highest infant mortality rate: northeastern coast of Australia.

Ree
Vanuato: 55 deaths per 1,000 births Norfolk Islands
South West

Y
FAST FACTS HIGHEST MOUNTAINS (BY COUNTRY) Pacific
• See the GLOSSARY for Ta s m a n Basin
definitions of LIFE EXPECTANCY SASIA
O U T Tropic
H of Cancer

L
NAME LOCATION HEIGHT (feet) Sea NEW
and INFANT MORTALITY RATE. INDIAN PACIFIC
• The Great Barrier Reef spreads Mt Wilhelm Papua New Guinea 14,793 O
for 1,250 miles along OCEAN ZEALAND
Mt Cook New Zealand 12,316 P O C E A N The Equator
Average annual income Australia’s coast. It covers an
Mt Kosciuszko Australia 7,316
per person (in USD): area of 135,000 square miles. Tropic of Capricorn OCEANIA
Highest: Australia $30,700
Lowest: Kiribati $800 • The capital of New Zealand, LARGEST ISLANDS
Wellington, is the southernmost
capital city in the world. NAME LOCATION AREA (sq. miles)
New Guinea Island 316,990
G E O G R A P H Y • Australia has a total of 529,346
(total island including Indonesian part)
ULURU LAND USE
FACTFILE square miles of desert—18% Uluru in the desert of central Australia is a sacred place to Australian Forest, including trees
of Australia is desert land. South Island New Zealand 58,108 grown for timber
aboriginal people. This oval-shaped, giant block of sandstone is at least
Total land area: North Island New Zealand 44,286 Permanent pasture 18.8%
• The Kwajalein atoll, in the 450 million years old. Uluru is 2.2 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. 24.3%
Tasmania Australia 26,178 Permanent crops,
3,303,000
Marshall Islands, is a ring of such as fruit trees or 6.2%
Largest country: coral enclosing a lagoon of * Australia is too large to be an island. It is a continental landmass. grapevines 0.4%
Australia: 2,967,909 square miles around 1,100 square miles. It is Arable crops, such as 50.3%
the biggest atoll in the world. wheat and rice, that are
Smallest country:
HABITATS replanted each year
Nauru: 8.11 square miles
• The Marshall islands comprise Other roads, towns,
This map shows the different types and barren land
Longest river: two island chains which include
of habitat across the continent.
Murray-Darling, Australia 30 atolls and 1,152 islands.
2330 miles CLIMATE: OCEANIA
• The 5.5 million people of Papua
Largest desert: New Guinea speak around 800 TEMPERATURES TEMPERATURES
KEY IN JANUARY IN JULY
Great Victoria Desert, Australia different languages.
134,653 square miles
over 90º F 15º to 30º F
• New Zealand uses hydro-electric 75º to 90º F 0º to 15º F
Highest waterfall:
power and has very little 60º to 75º F -10º to 0º F
Wallaman Falls, Australia TROPIC OF CAPRICORN TROPIC OF CAPRICORN

Total drop: 1000 feet

industry so it is one of the 45º to 60º F below -10º F
cleanest, least-polluted countries
30º to 45º F
in the world. KEY
Mountains/barren land Semidesert
• See page 55 Forest Desert
OCEANIA FACTFILES Grassland

52 53