The World Guide: Global Reference, Country by Country

Completely revised and updated, "The World Guide, 11th edition" profiles every country on the planet. It is unique in combining social and developmental analysis with historical and political content. For students, teachers and readers of all levels, this accessible guide provides a refreshing world perspective. Drawing on United Nations and other mainstream data, "The World Guide" includes all the facts, history, political and economic analysis you would find in a conventional reference work. But it is unique in also offering information on the issues central to the lives of people in the Global South, such as child health, literacy, maternal mortality and land use. "The World Guide" is a South-North collaborative effort between the Third World Institute in Uruguay and the New Internationalist. With a clear, country-by-country format, it is the most accessible work of reference for development studies, comparative studies, travel research and fact-checking.
The key features include: up-to-date information plus a complete history for every country of the world, including Montenegro, Palestine, Somaliland, West Papua and Western Sahara; Interactive world maps, which can be viewed through development indicators such as demography, health, education, economy, energy, communications, food, land use and public expenditure; Slide shows for every country; At-a-glance information on each country's human rights, indigenous peoples, health, education and environment; 25 new reports on topical global issues such as green economics, energy scenarios, the gender gap, Latin American politics and security; and, the latest Amnesty International reports on human rights in more than 150 countries and hundreds of Social Watch reports showing how countries measure up in terms of development targets. It also includes the World in Figures - a comprehensive section of data and statistics on child health, literacy, maternal mortality, land use, public expenditure and other issues. There is factual information on key issues such as debt, communications, corruption and trade, plus a unique guide to Sexual Minorities and the Law.