Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
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
Environment - international agreements: selected international environmental agreements are included under the Environment - international agreements entry for each country and in the Selected International Environmental Agreements appendix
@World:People
Population: 5,849,699,041 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31% (male 922,447,462; female 877,221,909) 15-64 years: 63% (male 1,856,697,495; female 1,808,219,116) 65 years and over: 6% (male 166,513,212; female 218,599,847)
Population growth rate: 1.4% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (1997 est.)