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{{Otheruses}}
{{Earth Labelled Map|float=right}}
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The '''World''' is a name for the planet ''']''' seen from a ] point of view, as a place inhabited by human beings. It is often used to mean the sum of human ] and ], or the ']' in general.<ref>'This is the excellent foppery of the world...' -- ], '']'', I.ii</ref> There are approximately 6.6 ] (or 6600 million) people living on the Earth.<ref>{{cite news
| first= Leonard
| last= David
| url= http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060224_world_population.html
| title= Planet's Population Hit 6.6 Billion Saturday
| work= Live Science
| date= ]
| accessdate= 2006-04-02
}}</ref>

Especially in a ] context, it can also refer to everything that makes up ], the ]: see ].

==Etymology==
In ], ''world'' is rooted in a compound of the obsolete words ''],'' man, and ''eld,'' age; thus, its oldest meaning is "age or life of man".<ref> </ref>

==Usage==
'World' distinguishes the entire ] or ] from any particular ] or ]: ''world affairs'' are those which pertain not just to one place but to the whole world, and '']'' is a field of ] which examines events from a ] (rather than a national or a regional) perspective. ''Earth'', on the other hand, refers to the planet as a ] entity, and distinguishes it from other planets and physical objects.

In ], the <nowiki>'</nowiki>''World''<nowiki>'</nowiki> connotes the corrupt, mortal order of society outside the community of believers (which is worldly as opposed to heavenly). It is often cited alongside ''the flesh'' and ''the Devil'' as a source of ] that ]s should flee. The adjective ''worldly'' refers to ''world'' in this sense: 'mortal', 'mundane', 'devoted to the interests of this world'. See ].

<nowiki>'</nowiki>''World''<nowiki>'</nowiki> can also be used attributively, as an ], to mean 'global', 'relating to the whole world', forming usages such as ]. See ].

By extension, a <nowiki>'</nowiki>''world''<nowiki>'</nowiki> may refer to any planet or ], especially when it is thought of as inhabited.

In the study of ] and ], the '']'' is a place, often thought of as below the world, where ]s go upon death. In some mythologies there were numerous underworlds, the choice of which depended on the soul's virtue or worth: the ] are an example from ].

<nowiki>'</nowiki>''World''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, when qualified, can also refer to a particular domain of human experience.

* The ''world of work'' describes paid work and the pursuit of a career, in all its social aspects, to distinguish it from home life and ] study.
* The ''fashion world'' describes the environment of the designers, ]s and ]s that make up the ].
* The '']'' is a part of the world discovered or colonized later than other parts; it usually refers to the ] continents or to ]. The '']'' refers, by contrast, to the continents of ], ] and north ].

==Physical characteristics==
===Earth dimensions===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Physical feature
!
|-
| Superficial area
| 510,000,000 km² (196,950,000 Sq. miles)
|-
| Land surface
| 149,000,000 km² (57,510,000 Sq. miles)
|-
| Water surface
| 361,000,000 km² (139,440,000 Sq. miles)
|-
| Equatorial circumference
| 40,077 km (24,902 miles)
|-
| Meridional circumference
| 40,009 km (24,860 miles)
|-
| Equatorial diameter
| 12,757 km (7,926 miles)
|-
| Polar diameter
| 12,714 km (7,899.988 miles)
|-
| Polar radius
| 6,356.89 km (3,949.99 miles)
|-
| Volume of the Earth
| 1,080,000,000,000 km³ (260,000,000,000 cubic miles)
|-
| Mass
| 5,980,000,000,000,000,000,000 tonnes (6,592,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons)
|}

===Continents and population===

<table>
<tr><td>
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" | Size
|-
| ''']'''
| '''area (km²)'''
| '''percent'''
|-
|World || 149&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 100
|-
|] || 84&nbsp;580&nbsp;000 || 57
|-
|] || 54&nbsp;210&nbsp;000 || 36
|-
|] || 43&nbsp;810&nbsp;000 || 29
|-
|] || 42&nbsp;330&nbsp;000 || 28
|-
|] || 30&nbsp;370&nbsp;000 || 20
|-
|] || 24&nbsp;490&nbsp;000 || 16
|-
|] || 17&nbsp;840&nbsp;000 || 12
|-
|] || 13&nbsp;720&nbsp;000 || 9.2
|-
|] || 10&nbsp;400&nbsp;000 || 7.0
|-
|]|| 9&nbsp;010&nbsp;000 || 6.0
|-
|] || 8&nbsp;500&nbsp;000 || 5.7
|-
|]|| 7&nbsp;600&nbsp;000 || 5.1
|}
</td><td>
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" | Human Population
|-
| ''']'''
| '''approx. population'''
| '''percent'''
|-
|World || 6&nbsp;450&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 100
|-
|] || 5&nbsp;400&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 84
|-
|] || 4&nbsp;510&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 70
|-
|] || 3&nbsp;800&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 59
|-
|] || 890&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 14
|-
|] || 886&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 14
|-
|] ||710&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 11
|-
|] ||515&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 8.0
|-
|] ||371&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 5.8
|-
|] ||35&nbsp;800&nbsp;000 || 0.55
|-
|] || 30&nbsp;000&nbsp;000 || 0.5
|-
|] || 21&nbsp;000&nbsp;786 || 0.3
|-
|] ||1&nbsp;000 || 0.00002
|}
</td></tr></table>

==See also==

* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==External links==
*
*{{CIA World Factbook link|xx|World}}

==References==

{{reflist}}
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Revision as of 16:14, 14 September 2007