The Penguin state of the world atlas

About the author

Introduction

The problem with maps

Acknowledgements

Part 1. Who We Are

The States of the World: Most states are relatively recent creations

Population: Global population continues to grow but the rate of increase is slowing

Life Expectancy: Average life expectancy is higher than ever before and rising

Ethnicity and Diversity: People divided by ethnic difference live side by side in peace more often than they fight

Religious Beliefs: Difference within religions are often as intense as differences between them

Literacy & Education: More teachers are needed if the trend towards greater school enrolment is to continue

Urbanization: For the first time in history, most people live in cities

Diversity of Cities: Cities reflect the diversity of the world

Part 2. Wealth & Poverty

Income: Economic growth continues to outpace the growth in world population

Inequality: While 2.6 billion people live in poverty, there are more billionaires than ever

Quality of Life: Rich countries inevitably offer a high quality of life

Transnationals: The revenues of the largest corporations outstrip those of many countries

Banks: Despite everything, bankers continue to reap huge financial rewards

Corruption: Corruption is pervasive, some countries run on it

DEBT: Debt has soared but not everybody, everywhere is equally in debt

Tourism: Tourism is predicted to rise, bringing much-needed income to many smaller economies

Goals for Development: Development progress is real but patchy

Part 3. War & Peace

Wars in the 21st Century: This is an era of growing peace, despite the wars that persist

Warlords, Ganglords, & Militias: Armed conflicts fought between non-state armed forces are proliferating

Military Muscle: Despite the global economic crisis, military spending remains buoyant

The New Front Line: Warfare has evolved and is now entering cyber space

Casualities of War: Data on war deaths are incomplete and contentious

Refugees: 30 million people are refugees from war and repression

Peacekeeping: After a period of rapid increase, the number of peacekeeping missions has started to decline

Global Peacefulness: Understanding what makes societies peaceful is a significant step towards the world becoming more peaceful

Part 4. Rights & Respect

Political Systems: The global trend is for more countries to become democratic

Religious Rights: Almost a quarter of the worlds states have formal links to a religion

Human Rights: In some countries the greatest menace citizens face comes from the state

Childrens Rights: Although respect for childrens rights is increasing, millions still stuffer terrible abuse

Womens Rights: Thought gender equality is advancing, women worldwide remain financially and politically disadvantaged

Gay Rights: Gay people experience varying degrees of acceptance from fellow citizens and authorities

Part 5. Health of the People

Malnutrition: Many of the worlds poor suffer from diets deficient in calories and/or vital nutrients

Obesity: Many of the worlds rich suffer from diets deficient in nutrients, but over-packed with unnecessary calories

Smoking: Between a third and a half of smokers die from tobacco-related diseases

Cancer: As countries become more prosperous, and their lifestyles and diets are changing, their cancer rate is rising

HIV/AIDS: Education and treatment are beginning to slow the rate of new HIV/AIDS infections and deaths

Mental Health: Poor countries lack the resources needed to treat mental and behavioural disorders

Living with Disease: Years of healthy life are lost to disease and disability

Part 6. Health of the Planet

Warning Signs: Things are changing in the natural world-and not many of the changes are to the good

Biodiversity: Efforts to slow the loss of species of animals and plants have not been successful so far

Water Resources: By 2025, two-thirds of the world population will have an inadequate supply of water

Waste: Waste, especially plastic waste, is a serious global problem on both land and sea

Energy Use: World energy use is increasing, especially in the most rapidly developing economies

Climate Change: The build-up of carbon emissions has reached a critical point

Planetary Boundaries: There are limits beyond which human impact on the Earths balanced ecosystems will have as yet unknown consequences

Part 7. Vital Statistics

World Tables

Notes & Sources

Index