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IN THE 22 PAGES that follow, you'll find MAPS and the LATEST DATA on the world's 195 COUNTRIES--everything from languages and literacy rates to the percentage of young people in [...]

THE ASIA/PACIFIC REGION'S RESPONSE to the emerging and sometimes heated debate on aviation's role in contributing to climate change is divided, reflecting the vast cultural and socioeconomic differences among nations [...]

U.S. and NATO forces are helping President Hamid Karzai of AFGHANISTAN battle a growing challenge from Taliban rebels. The Taliban, hard-line Islamists who let Afghanistan become a training ground for […]

The Asia-Pacific region continues to play an increasingly significant role in global manufacturing, but it still lags other regions when it comes to consumer spending. Between 2000 and 2005, the [...]

The middle classes throughout Asia have ever increasing disposable incomes and countries are seeing a consumer boom, including South Korea where 70% of the population regard themselves as middle class. The middle class are better educated and have fewer children and they demand greater convenience and efficient private and public services. Many quality foreign retailers have entered some markets, such as Marks & Spencer and Benetton, and also companies such as Makro, the Dutch deep discounter. Western products are popular and the US Ponderosa chain of steak and salad restaurant has seen success in Seoul.

The global population looks sure to change drastically over the coming years. This report reviews recent changes in the world's demographic structure and dwells on the ongoing aging of the [...]

If demography is destiny, then, on the face of it, Britain should be feeling pretty smug. In late May the number of people in the UK finally passed the 60 [...]

A number of cities with populations over 10 million will become megacites by the year 2015, the largest of which is predicted to be Tokyo, Japan. A study estimated that between 1996-2026, 90% of the increase in the worldwide population will occur in cities. Money invested from abroad is a stimulus to the expansion in the size of cities. Cities are seen to be the wealth producing areas, therefore governments encourage growth by relaxing planning rules and by allowing private enterprise freedom to operate without regulation, yet it is necessary to plan to prevent environmental damage.

Asian leaders are struggling with an inappropriate and inefficient set of old-age pensions and plans as their populations age rapidly. By 2030 the proportion of people aged 60+ in E Asia will double, from 10% to 20%. The World Bank's 1994 report 'Averting the Old Age Crisis' advocates a blend of the two social-insurance schemes common in E Asia: defined-benefit, in which an established amount is paid out, and defined-contribution, in which workers can choose who manages their predetermined retirement savings.

More than 80 percent hail from Africa and Asia--thanks to sky-high fertility rates (the average number of children a woman will bear in her lifetime, shown here by region). Rich [...]

It is almost impossible to generalise about the Asian infrastructure story. In a sprawling region that includes 44 economies, from the central Asia republics to the Pacific islands, it is [...]

Adrian Lowcock, senior investment adviser, Bestinvest In Asia, the dividend yield is 4.8 per cent and well covered. That is an appealing option when compared with Western equity yields, which […]

After having experienced two strong years of growth since the Sars epidemic, Asia's bull story is not about to reverse its course. Despite some decelerating growth, the Asian region is [...]

WOMEN IN ASIA: UNDERPAID, UNDERVALUED AND UNDEREMPLOYED 'Across South-East and East Asia, the Asian financial crisis has toppled women hack into uncertain, exploitative and poorly paid work, struggling to keep [...]

Lean on me This edition's Fact File examines dependency ratios in Asia-Pacific nations. A dependency ratio is defined as the combined population of people aged between 0-14 and over 65 […]

Signs of life This edition's Fact File examines three life-and-death indicators in Asia-Pacific nations: population growth rates, birth rates and death rates. Birth and death rates are annual figures per […]

Blood brothers This edition's Fact File examines the ethnic make-up of nations in the Asia-Pacific region. AUSTRALIA Caucasian 95% Asian 4% Aboriginal & other 1% CHINA Han Chinese 91.9% Zhuan, […]

COUNTRY PERSONS PER PHYSICIAN 1975 1985 1996 AUSTRALIA N/A N/A 400 CAMBODIA 16,248 16,489 8120 CHINA 3184 752 629 HONG KONG 1528 1126 715 INDIA 3039 2437 2106 INDONESIA 26,988 […]

AUSTRALIA capital: Canberra Population (1997): 18.6 million Currency: Australian dollar CHINA Capital: Beijing Population (1997 est): 1230 million Currency: Yuan HONG KONG Capital: Hong Kong Population (1997): 6.6 million Currency: […]

COUNTRY POPULATION DENSITY (PERSONS/SQ KM) 1975 1985 1997 AUSTRALIA (*)1.83 (†)2.09 2.43 BANGLADESH 543 676 872 CAMBODIA 39 41 60 CHINA 97 109 128 HONG KONG 4231 5246 6075 INDIA […]

KUAIA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA * Bonded by passion for the plight and cause of Asian women and bridged by geographic location, 31 women from all over Asia (together with a couple [...]