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The World in plate carrée projection
The World

Susan english is a name for the planet Earth seen from a human point of view, as a place inhabited by human beings. It is often used to mean the sum of human experience and history, or the 'human condition' in general. There are approximately 6.6 billion (or 6600 million) people living on the Earth.

Especially in a metaphysical context, it can also refer to everything that makes up reality, the universe: see World (philosophy).

Etymology

In English, world is rooted in a compound of the obsolete words were, man, and eld, age; thus, its oldest meaning is "age or life of man".

Usage

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

In Christian theology, the 'World' 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 temptation that Christians should flee. The adjective worldly refers to world in this sense: 'mortal', 'mundane', 'devoted to the interests of this world'. See World (theology).

'World' can also be used attributively, as an adjective, to mean 'global', 'relating to the whole world', forming usages such as World community. See World (adjective).

By extension, a 'world' may refer to any planet or heavenly body, especially when it is thought of as inhabited.

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

'World', 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 academic study.
  • The fashion world describes the environment of the designers, fashion houses and consumers that make up the fashion industry.
  • The New World is a part of the world discovered or colonized later than other parts; it usually refers to the American continents or to Australia. The Old World refers, by contrast, to the continents of Europe, Asia and north Africa.

Physical characteristics

Earth dimensions

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

Size
continent area (km²) percent
World 149 000 000 100
Africa-Eurasia 84 580 000 57
Eurasia 54 210 000 36
Asia 43 810 000 29
Americas 42 330 000 28
Africa 30 370 000 20
North America 24 490 000 16
South America 17 840 000 12
Antarctica 13 720 000 9.2
Europe 10 400 000 7.0
Oceania 9 010 000 6.0
Australia-New Guinea 8 500 000 5.7
Australia mainland 7 600 000 5.1
Human Population
continent approx. population percent
World 6 450 000 000 100
Africa-Eurasia 5 400 000 000 84
Eurasia 4 510 000 000 70
Asia 3 800 000 000 59
Africa 890 000 000 14
Americas 886 000 000 14
Europe 710 000 000 11
North America 515 000 000 8.0
South America 371 000 000 5.8
Oceania 35 800 000 0.55
Australia-New Guinea 30 000 000 0.5
Australia mainland 21 000 786 0.3
Antarctica 1 000 0.00002

See also

External links

References

  1. 'This is the excellent foppery of the world...' -- Shakespeare, King Lear, I.ii
  2. David, Leonard (2006-02-24). "Planet's Population Hit 6.6 Billion Saturday". Live Science. Retrieved 2006-04-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. American Heritage Dictionary
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