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Notes and Definitions

Along with regular information updates, The World Factbook features
several new or revised fields. In the Economy category, the Factbook is
now reporting national GDP figures in US dollars converted at Official
Exchange Rates (OER) in addition to GDP at Purchasing Power Parity
(PPP) rates, since both measures contain information useful to our
readers. Traditionally, only PPP-converted GDP values had been
reported. In the Transportation category, the former Highways entry is
now Roadways, while Ports and harbors has been retitled Ports and
terminals.

Abbreviations

This information is included in Appendix A: Abbreviations, which
includes all abbreviations and acronyms used in the Factbook, with
their expansions.

Acronyms

An acronym is an abbreviation coined from the initial letter of each
successive word in a term or phrase. In general, an acronym made up
solely from the first letter of the major words in the expanded form is
rendered in all capital letters (NATO from North Atlantic Treaty
Organization; an exception would be ASEAN for Association of Southeast
Asian Nations). In general, an acronym made up of more than the first
letter of the major words in the expanded form is rendered with only an
initial capital letter (Comsat from Communications Satellite
Corporation; an exception would be NAM from Nonaligned Movement).
Hybrid forms are sometimes used to distinguish between initially
identical terms (WTO: for World Trade Organization and WToO for World
Tourism Organization.)

Administrative divisions

This entry generally gives the numbers, designatory terms, and first-
order administrative divisions as approved by the US Board on
Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been reported but not yet
acted on by BGN are noted.

Age structure

This entry provides the distribution of the population according to
age. Information is included by sex and age group (0-14 years, 15-64
years, 65 years and over). The age structure of a population affects a
nation's key socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations
(high percentage under age 15) need to invest more in schools, while
countries with older populations (high percentage ages 65 and over)
need to invest more in the health sector. The age structure can also be
used to help predict potential political issues. For example, the rapid
growth