world

(wûrld)
n.

1. The earth.
2. The universe.
3. The earth with its inhabitants.
4. The inhabitants of the earth; the human race.
5. 1. Humankind considered as social beings; human society: turned her back on the world.
   2. People as a whole; the public: The event amazed the world.
6. often World A specified part of the earth: the Western World.
7. A part of the earth and its inhabitants as known at a given period in history: the ancient world.
8. A realm or domain: the animal world; the world of imagination.
9. 1. A sphere of human activity or interest: the world of sports.
   2. A class or group of people with common characteristics or pursuits: the scientific world.
10. A particular way of life: the world of the homeless.
11. All that relates to or affects the life of a person: He saw his world collapse about him.
12. Secular life and its concerns: a man of the world.
13. 1. Human existence; life: brought a child into the world.
    2. A state of existence: the next world.
14. A large amount; much. Often used in the plural: did her a world of good; candidates that are worlds apart on foreign policy.
15. A celestial body such as a planet: the possibility of life on other worlds.

adj.

1. Of or relating to the world: a world champion.
2. Involving or extending throughout the entire world: a world crisis.

idioms:

for all the world

1. In all respects; precisely: She looked for all the world like a movie star.

in the world

1. Used as an intensive: How in the world did they manage? I never in the world would have guessed.

out of this world Informal.

1. Extraordinary; superb: The dinner was out of this world.

the world over

1. Throughout the world: known the world over.

world without end

1. Forever.

[Middle English, from Old English weorold.]

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noun

1. The celestial body where humans live: earth (often uppercase). See place.
2. The totality of all existing things: cosmos, creation, macrocosm, nature, universe. See matter, part/whole.
3. The human race: earth, flesh, Homo sapiens, humanity, humankind, man, mankind, universe. See culture/nature.
4. A sphere of activity, experience, study, or interest: area, arena, bailiwick, circle, department, domain, field, orbit, province, realm, scene, subject, terrain, territory. Slang bag. See territory.
5. The totality of surrounding conditions and circumstances affecting growth or development: ambiance, atmosphere, climate, environment, medium, milieu, mise en scène, surroundings. See be, limited/unlimited, place.
6. A great deal: abundance, mass, mountain, much, plenty, profusion, wealth. Informal barrel, heap, lot, pack, peck², pile. Regional power, sight. See big/small/amount.

Idioms beginning with world:
world is one's oyster, the
world of good, a

See also all over the place (world); best of both worlds; bring into the world; come up (in the world); dead to the world; for all the world; go out (of the world); in one's own world; it's a small world; laugh and the world laughs with you; man of the world; move up (in the world); not for all the tea in china (for the world); on earth (in the world), what; on top of the world; out of this world; set the world on fire; think a lot (the world) of; third world; with the best will in the world.

Background:

Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).

Geographic overview:	The surface of the earth is approximately 70.9% water and 29.1% land. The former portion is divided into large water bodies termed oceans. The World Factbook recognizes and describes five oceans, which are in decreasing order of size: the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. The land portion is generally divided into several, large, discrete landmasses termed continents. Depending on the convention used, the number of continents can vary from five to seven. The most common classification recognizes seven, which are (from largest to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Asia and Europe are sometimes lumped together into a Eurasian continent resulting in six continents. Alternatively, North and South America are sometimes grouped as simply the Americas, resulting in a continent total of six (or five, if the Eurasia designation is used). North America is commonly understood to include the island of Greenland, the isles of the Caribbean, and to extend south all the way to the Isthmus of Panama. The easternmost extent of Europe is generally defined as being the Ural Mountains and the Ural River; on the southeast the Caspian Sea; and on the south the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean. Africa's northeast extremity is frequently delimited at the Isthmus of Suez, but for geopolitical purposes, the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula is often included as part of Africa. Asia usually incorporates all the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The islands of the Pacific are often lumped with Australia into a "land mass" termed Oceania or Australasia. Although the above groupings are the most common, different continental dispositions are recognized or taught in certain parts of the world, with some arrangements more heavily based on cultural spheres rather than physical geographic considerations.
Map references:	Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:	total: 510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.9% of the world's surface is water, 29.1% is land
Area - comparative:	land area about 16 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:	the land boundaries in the world total 251,060 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries note: 45 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
Coastline:	356,000 km note: 94 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan
Maritime claims:	a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm
Climate:	a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two large areas of cold and dry polar climates
Terrain:	the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,555 m note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
Natural resources:	the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in some countries of Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Land use:	arable land: 10.57% permanent crops: 1.04% other: 88.38% (2005)
Irrigated land:	2,770,980 sq km (2003)
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; global warming becoming a greater concern
Geography - note:	the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13.7-billion-year age estimated for the universe

Population:	6,790,062,216 (July 2009 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 27.2% (male 950,127,898/female 894,359,186) 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 2,235,114,476/female 2,192,071,874) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 227,748,114/female 290,640,668) (2009 est.)
Median age:	total: 28.4 years male: 27.7 years female: 29 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:	1.167% (2009 est.)
Birth rate:	19.95 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate:	8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Urbanization:	urban population: 48.6% of total population (2005) rate of urbanization: 1.98% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.) ten largest urban agglomerations: Tokyo (Japan) - 35,676,000; New York-Newark (US) - 19,040,000; Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico) - 19,028,000; Mumbai (India) - 18,978,000; Sao Paulo (Brazil) - 18,845,000; Delhi (India) - 15,926,000; Shanghai (China) - 14,987,000; Kolkata (India) - 14,787,000; Dhaka (Bangladesh) - 13,458,000; Buenos Aires (Argentina) - 12,795,000 (2007)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 40.85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 43.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 37.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 66.57 years male: 64.52 years female: 68.76 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:	2.58 children born/woman (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:	NA 0.8% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:	33 million (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:	2 million (2007 est.)
Religions:	Christians 33.32% (of which Roman Catholics 16.99%, Protestants 5.78%, Orthodox 3.53%, Anglicans 1.25%), Muslims 21.01%, Hindus 13.26%, Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.35%, Jews 0.23%, Baha'is 0.12%, other religions 11.78%, non-religious 11.77%, atheists 2.32% (2007 est.)
Languages:	Mandarin Chinese 13.22%, Spanish 4.88%, English 4.68%, Arabic 3.12%, Hindi 2.74%, Portuguese 2.69%, Bengali 2.59%, Russian 2.2%, Japanese 1.85%, Standard German 1.44%, French 1.2% (2005 est.) note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 82% male: 87% female: 77% note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, the Arab states, South and West Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)

Administrative divisions:	265 nations, dependent areas, and other entities
Legal system:	all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court

Economy - overview:	Global output rose by 3.8% in 2008, down from 5.2% in 2007. Among major economies, growth was led by China (9.8%), Russia (7.4%), and India (7.3%). Worldwide, nations varied widely in their growth results, with Macau (15%), Azerbaijan (13.2%), and Angola (11.6%), registering the highest. Growth rates slowed in all the major industrial countries and most developing countries, because of uncertainties in the financial markets and lowered consumer confidence. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, notably the EU. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. The complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continued through 2008.
GDP (purchasing power parity):	$69.49 trillion (2008 est.) $67.2 trillion (2007) $65.95 trillion (2006) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):	GWP (gross world product): $62.25 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:	3.8% (2008 est.) 5.2% (2007 est.) 5.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):	$10,400 (2008 est.) $10,200 (2007 est.) $9,800 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:	agriculture: 4% industry: 32% services: 64% (2008 est.)
Labor force:	3.167 billion (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:	agriculture: 40% industry: 20.6% services: 39.4% (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate:	30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:	lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 29.9% (2002 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):	21.9% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):	developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 20% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in one Third World country (Zimbabwe); inflation rates have declined for most countries for the last several years, held in check by increasing international competition from several low wage countries (2008 est.)
Stock of money:	$12.35 trillion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:	$27.31 trillion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:	$69.9 trillion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:	$66.82 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)
Industries:	dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Industrial production growth rate:	2.2% (2008 est.)
Electricity - production:	19.02 trillion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:	17.48 trillion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports:	674 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:	622.6 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:	fossil fuel: NA hydro: NA nuclear: NA other: NA
Oil - production:	85.54 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:	85.22 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:	66.19 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:	65.41 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:	1.332 trillion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:	3.021 trillion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:	3.198 trillion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:	929.9 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:	957.6 billion cu m (2007)
Natural gas - proved reserves:	175.4 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Exports:	$16.28 trillion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities:	the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services top ten - share of world trade: electrical machinery, including computers 14.8%; mineral fuels, including oil, coal, gas, and refined products 14.4%; nuclear reactors, boilers, and parts 14.2%; cars, trucks, and buses 8.9%; scientific and precision instruments 3.5%; plastics 3.4%; iron and steel 2.7%; organic chemicals 2.6%; pharmaceutical products 2.6%; diamonds, pearls, and precious stones 1.9% (2006 est.)
Exports - partners:	US 13.7%, Germany 7.3%, China 6.2%, France 4.6%, UK 4.5%, Japan 4.1% note: these data show the share of world exports to the specified countries (2007)
Imports:	$16.21 trillion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:	the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services top ten - share of world trade: see listing for exports
Imports - partners:	China 10.7%, Germany 9.2%, US 8.3%, Japan 5.1%, France 4% note: these data show the share of world imports from the specified countries (2007)
Debt - external:	$54.62 trillion note: this figure is the sum total of all countries' external debt, both public and private (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:	World total DFI $16.65 trillion (2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:	World total DFI $16.22 trillion (2008 est.)

Telephones - main lines in use:	1,263,367,600 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:	2,168,433,600 (2005)
Telephone system:	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: NA
Radio broadcast stations:	AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios:	NA
Television broadcast stations:	NA
Televisions:	NA
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):	10,350 (2000 est.)
Internet users:	1,018,057,389 (2005)

Airports:	total airports - 49,024 top ten by passengers: Atlanta (ATL) - 89,379,287; Chicago (ORD) - 76,177,855; London (LHR) - 68,068,304; Tokyo (HND) - 66,823,414; Los Angeles (LAX) - 61,896,075; Paris (CDG) - 59,922,177; Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) - 59,786,476; Frankfurt (FRA) - 54,161,856; Beijing (PEK) - 53,583,664; Madrid (MAD) - 52,122,702 top ten by cargo (metric tons): Memphis (MEM) - 3,840,491; Hong Kong (HKG) - 3,773,964; Anchorage (ANC) - 2,825,511; Shanghai (PVG) - 2,559,310; Inch'on (ICN) - 2,555,580; Paris (CDG) - 2,297,896; Tokyo (NRT) - 2,254,421; Frankfurt (FRA) - 2,127,646; Louisville (SDF) - 2,078,947; Miami (MIA) - 1,922,985 (2007)
Heliports:	1,359 (2007)
Railways:	total: 1,370,782 km (2006)
Roadways:	total: 68,937,575 km (2008)
Waterways:	671,886 km (2004)
Ports and terminals:	top ten container ports as measured by Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs): Singapore - 27,935,500; Shanghai - 26,150,000; Hong Kong - 23,999,000; Shenzhen (China) - 21,099,100; Pusan (South Korea) - 13,254,703; - Rotterdam - 10,790,604; Dubai (UAE) - 10,650,000; Kaohsiung (Taiwan) - 10,256,829; Hamburg - 9,917,180; Qingdao (China) - 9,462,000 (2007)

Military expenditures:

roughly 2% of GDP of gross world product (2005 est.)

Disputes - international:	stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 322 international land boundaries separate 194 independent states and 71 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; most maritime states have claimed limits that include territorial seas and exclusive economic zones; overlapping limits due to adjacent or opposite coasts create the potential for 430 bilateral maritime boundaries of which 209 have agreements that include contiguous and non-contiguous segments; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries tend to encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation and internal displacement of the estimated 6.6 million people and cross-border displacements of 8.6 million refugees around the world as of early 2006; just over one million refugees were repatriated in the same period; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially hydrocarbon) resources, fisheries, and arable land; armed conflict prevails not so much between the uniformed armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation
Refugees and internally displaced persons:	the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that in December 2006 there was a global population of 8.8 million registered refugees and as many as 24.5 million IDPs in more than 50 countries; the actual global population of refugees is probably closer to 10 million given the estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees displaced throughout the Middle East (2007)
Trafficking in persons:	current situation: approximately 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked annually across national borders, not including millions trafficked within their own countries; at least 80% of the victims are female and up to 50% are minors; 75% of all victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation; almost two-thirds of the global victims are trafficked intra-regionally within East Asia and the Pacific (260,000 to 280,000 people) and Europe and Eurasia (170,000 to 210,000 people) Tier 2 Watch List: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, India, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Niger, Panama, Republic of the Congo, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe Tier 3: Algeria, Burma, Cuba, Fiji, Iran, Kuwait, Moldova, North Korea, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria (2008)
Illicit drugs:	cocaine: worldwide coca leaf cultivation in 2007 amounted to 232,500 hectares; Colombia produced slightly more than two-thirds of the worldwide crop, followed by Peru and Bolivia; potential pure cocaine production decreased 7% to 865 metric tons in 2007; Colombia conducts an aggressive coca eradication campaign, but both Peruvian and Bolivian Governments are hesitant to eradicate coca in key growing areas; 551 metric tons of export-quality cocaine (85% pure) is documented to have been seized or destroyed in 2005; US consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been in excess of 380 metric tons opiates: worldwide illicit opium poppy cultivation continued to increase in 2007, with a potential opium production of 8,400 metric tons, reaching the highest levels recorded since estimates began in mid-1980s; Afghanistan is world's primary opium producer, accounting for 95% of the global supply; Southeast Asia - responsible for 9% of global opium - saw marginal increases in production; Latin America produced 1% of global opium, but most was refined into heroin destined for the US market; if all potential opium was processed into pure heroin, the potential global production would be 1,000 metric tons of heroin in 2007

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IN BRIEF: The earth and all the people on it.

Share and save the world. — Maitreya.

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sign description: Both W-handshapes circle around each another.

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Quotes:

"First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is." - Zen Aphorism

"The earth is the very quintessence of the human condition." - Hannah Arendt

"Until Eve arrived, this was a man's world." - Richard Armour

"The earth is the Lord s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. [Psalms 24:1]" - Bible

"I have been in love, and in debt, and in drink, this many and many a year." - Alexander Brome

"If this were a logical world, men would ride side saddle." - Rita Mae Brown

See more famous quotes about World

noun
noun, US, military

the world The territorial United States, 'home'; esp. in phr. to go (get, etc.) back to the world (i.e. after active service overseas). (1971 —) .
D. A. Dye You'll kill boo-coo gooks before you go on back to the World (1987).

Previous:	working stiff, working girl, work
Next:	worry-guts, wot, wotcher

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See words rhyming with "world."

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - verden
adj. - verden, folk

idioms:

• all over the world    over hele verden, verden rundt
• best of both worlds    det bedste fra begge verdener
• come down in the world    miste prestige, falde i standard
• go up in the world    stige i status, komme frem i verden
• not for the world    ikke for alt i verden
• out of this world    ude af denne verden, fra en helt anden verden
• outside world    verden udenfor
• the world and his wife    alverden, utroligt mange mennesker
• the world over    verden over
• the world to come    de kommende generationer
• think the world of    tro det bedste om
• this world    denne verden
• Who in the world    hvem i alverden
• world beater    talenteret, kan slå alle andre i sin klasse
• world power    verdensstyrke
• world view    verdensanskuelse, verdensopfattelse
• worlds apart    forskellige verdener, forskellige synspunkter

Nederlands (Dutch)
wereld, aardbol aan lager wal raken

Français (French)
n. - monde, pays, univers
adj. - mondial, du monde, autour du monde

idioms:

• a world of    un monde de
• all over the world    dans le monde entier
• come down in the world    déchoir
• come into the world    voir le jour (bébé)
• come up in the world    faire du chemin
• for all the world    pour rien au monde, (être) exactement comme si
• go up in the world    faire son chemin
• in the world    au monde
• not for the world    pas pour tout l'or du monde
• out of this world    extraordinaire
• the outside world    le reste du monde
• the world and his wife    tout le monde (hum)
• the world of    (ne jurer) que par (qn)
• the world over    le monde entier
• the world to come    l'au-delà, l'autre monde
• think the world of    penser le plus grand bien de (qn)
• this world    le monde d'ici-bas, de cette espèce (gens)
• Who in the world    Qui diable...
• world beater    personne qui surpasse les autres, produit qui se vend le mieux
• world music    musiques du monde
• world power    puissance mondiale
• world view    conception du monde, vision du monde
• worlds apart    (avoir un point de vue) diamétralement opposé

Deutsch (German)
n. - Welt
adj. - Welt...

idioms:

• a world of    (meaning/trouble) eine unendliche Bedeutungsfülle/Fülle von Schwierigkeiten, (difference) ein weltweiter Unterschied
• all over the world    auf der ganzen Welt
• come down in the world    (gesellschaftlich) absteigen
• come into the world    auf die Welt kommen
• come up in the world    zur Welt kommen, auf die Welt kommen
• for all the world    beinahe wie ...
• go up in the world    (gesellschaftlich) aufsteigen
• in the world    auf der Welt
• not for the world    nicht um alles in der Welt
• out of this world    (ugs.) phantastisch
• the outside world    die Außenwelt, das Leben draußen
• the world and his wife    alle Welt
• the world of    die Welt (Gen.)
• the world over    auf der ganzen Welt, überall
• the world to come    das jenseits
• think the world of    große Stücke halten auf
• this world    diese Welt
• Who in the world    Wer in aller Welt?
• world beater    Mensch od. Ding der Spitzenklasse
• world music    Weltmusik
• world power    Weltmacht
• world view    Weltsicht
• worlds apart    Welten voneinander entfernt

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κόσμος, δημιουργία, πλάση, σύμπαν, υφήλιος, γη, (η) κοινωνία, (τα) εγκόσμια

idioms:

• all over the world    σε όλο τον κόσμο
• best of both worlds    τα πλεονεκτήματα από δύο καταστάσεις
• come down in the world    ξεπέφτω κοινωνικά
• free world    ελεύθερος κόσμος
• go up in the world    αναδεικνύομαι, πετυχαίνω στη ζωή, προκόβω
• not for the world    για τίποτα στον κόσμο
• out of this world    καταπληκτικός, εξαίσιος, απίστευτος, περίφημος
• outside world    ο έξω κόσμος
• the world and his wife    όλος ο κόσμος, άντρες και γυναίκες
• the world over    στον κόσμο όλο
• the world to come    μέλλουσα ζωή
• think the world of    έχω περί πολλού
• this world    ο κόσμος μας
• Who in the world    ποιος στην ευχή
• world beater    πρωταθλητής στο είδος του
• world power    παγκόσμια δύναμη
• world view    κοσμοθεωρία
• worlds apart    (που απέχουν) παρασάγγας

Italiano (Italian)
mondo, globo, mondiale

idioms:

• best of both worlds    il meglio di entrambi i lati
• come down in the world    impoverirsi
• gone up in the world    arricchirsi
• next world    aldilà
• not for the world    per nulla al mondo
• out of this world    incredibile
• outside world    mondo esterno
• the world and his wife    tutti e tutte
• the world over    in tutto il mondo
• the world to come    l'aldilà
• think the world of    apprezzare
• this world    questo mondo
• Who in the world!    Chi diavolo!
• world beater    campione
• world power    potenza mondiale
• world view    visione del mondo
• worlds apart    agli estremi opposti

Português (Portuguese)
n. - o planeta Terra (m), humanidade (f), qualquer extensão muito grande (f)

idioms:

• all over the world    em todo o mundo
• best of both worlds    dentro do melhor possível
• come down in the world    decair, enfraquecer
• gone up in the world    subir, tornar-se mais forte
• next world    (no mundo) após a morte
• not for the world    não ser possível
• out of this world    extraordinário
• outside world    impossível
• the world and his wife    todo o mundo
• the world over    em todo o mundo
• the world to come    (no mundo) após a morte
• think the world of    jurar para...
• this world    este mundo, este século
• Who in the world!    Quem?!
• world beater    que costuma dar mais certo que outras
• world power    potência mundial
• world view    visão global
• worlds apart    completamente distintos

Русский (Russian)
мир, свет, земля, земной шар, планета, вселенная, человечество, область, сфера, период истории, жизнь (человека), окружающая среда, общество, уйма, относящийся ко всему миру

idioms:

• all over the world    во всем мире, по всему миру
• best of both worlds    всюду успеть
• come down in the world    утратить прежнее положение в обществе
• gone up in the world    преуспеть в социальном и экономическом плане
• next world    тот свет, загробная жизнь
• not for the world    ни в коем случае, ни за что на свете
• out of this world    необычайный, изумительный, замечательный
• outside world    "внешний мир"
• the world and his wife    "весь свет", все без исключения
• the world over    по всему миру
• the world to come    "тот свет"
• think the world of    быть чрезвычайно высокого мнения (о ком-л.)
• this world    этот свет, этот (бренный) мир
• Who in the world!    Кто бы мог подумать!
• world beater    чемпион мира, артист, музыкант мирового класса, нечто замечательное
• world power    мировая держава, власть мира сего
• world view    мировоззрение
• worlds apart    (между ними) лежит пропасть

Español (Spanish)
n. - mundo, tierra, mundillo, esfera, círculo
adj. - del mundo

idioms:

• a world of    un mundo de
• all over the world    el mundo entero, todas partes, alrededor del mundo
• come down in the world    venir a menos
• come into the world    venir al mundo
• come up in the world    enriquecer
• for all the world    por nada del mundo, en todo concepto, exactamente
• go up in the world    mejorar en la vida, enriquecer, ascender socialmente
• in the world    en el mundo entero
• not for the world    por nada del mundo
• out of this world    increíble, fantástico, nunca visto
• the outside world    mundo exterior, mundo ajeno
• the world and his wife    Dios y todo el mundo
• the world of    el mundo de
• the world over    el mundo entero, todas partes
• the world to come    el otro mundo
• think the world of    tener muy buena opinión o un alto concepto de
• this world    esta vida, este mundo
• Who in the world    ¿quién diablos o demonios...?, Quién en el mundo?
• world beater    campeón del mundo, lo mejor del mundo
• world music    música del mundo (tradicional, del mundo desarrollado)
• world power    potencia mundial
• world view    cosmovisión, visión del mundo
• worlds apart    los separa un abismo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - värld

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
世界, 世人, 地球, 世界的

idioms:

• all over the world    全世界
• best of both worlds    两边受益, 左右逢源
• come down in the world    落魄
• go up in the world    发迹, 兴盛, 飞黄腾达
• not for the world    决不, 不管怎样, 无论如何
• out of this world    极好的
• outside world    外界, 外面的世界
• the world and his wife    所有的人, 各色人等, 尤指有社会地位的人
• the world over    全世界
• the world to come    来世, 下辈子
• think the world of    极其看重
• this world    今生
• Who in the world    到底是谁
• world beater    举世无比的人, 出人头地者
• world power    世界强国
• world view    世界观
• worlds apart    相差甚远, 天差地远

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 世界, 世人, 地球
adj. - 世界的

idioms:

• all over the world    全世界
• best of both worlds    兩邊受益, 左右逢源
• come down in the world    落魄
• go up in the world    發跡, 興盛, 飛黃騰達
• not for the world    決不, 不管怎樣, 無論如何
• out of this world    極好的
• outside world    外界, 外面的世界
• the world and his wife    所有的人, 各色人等, 尤指有社會地位的人
• the world over    全世界
• the world to come    來世, 下輩子
• think the world of    極其看重
• this world    今生
• Who in the world    到底是誰
• world beater    舉世無比的人, 出人頭地者
• world power    世界強國
• world view    世界觀
• worlds apart    相差甚遠, 天差地遠

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 세계, 분야
adj. - 세계적인, 유명한

idioms:

• go up in the world    출세하다
• the world and his wife    (신사 숙녀의) 그 누구나, 어중이떠중이 모두
• the world over    온 세계에서
• the world to come    저승, 내세, 미래
• think the world of    ~을 대단히 중하게 여기다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 世界, 世界中の人, 宇宙, 天体, 上流社会, 現世, 世間, 大量, 大いに, …界

idioms:

• all over the world    世界中で
• come down in the world    落ちぶれる
• not for the world    断じて…でない
• out of this world    無類で
• the world and his wife    だれもかれも
• the world is someone's oyster    ～の思いのまま
• the world over    世界中で
• the world to come    来世
• this world    この世
• world beater    世界的バッシング
• world power    世界的強国
• world view    世界観

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الدنيا, العالم, الناس, , الكون, مقدار كبير أصبح فقيرا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עולם, העולם, תבל, העולם הגשמי, היקום, כמות גדולה, האנושות, חיי יום-יום, כל מה שקיים מחוץ לעצמיות - העולם החיצון, אנשים ממוצעים, מכובדים או מקובלים, דיעותיהם ומנהגיהם, כל מה שנוגע לאנשים המשתייכים למעמד, זמן או תחום-פעולה מסוים‬
adj. - ‮של העולם, עולמי‬

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