Whitaker's Almanack Definitions

est = estimate; (m) = male; (f) = female

BIRTH RATE – figures are per 1,000 population

CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX (CPI) SCORE – the perception of the degree of public sector corruption as seen by business people and country analysts; ranging between 10 (very clean) and 0 (highly corrupt). © Transparency International

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX (WPFI) SCORE – the perception of press freedom based on assessments carried out by journalists and human rights activists; ranging between 0 (low censorship) and 105 (high censorship). Overall position given in parentheses. © Reporters Without Borders (2010)

DEATH PENALTY:

Retained (not used) – countries that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes such as murder but can be considered to have abolished it in practice
Retained for certain crimes – countries whose laws provide for the death penalty only for exceptional crimes ('Last used' = date of last execution)
Retained – countries that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes

GROSS ENROLMENT RATIO – the ratio of total enrolment, regardless of age, to the total population of the relevant age group expressed as a percentage; this figure can be above 100 per cent where, for example, a greater number of children are attending classes designed for six-year-olds than there are six-year-olds in the country, owing to some children starting school late or skipping a year

GROSS NATIONAL INCOME (GNI) – the total income earned by a country's residents; the second figure is GNI divided by the population to give a per capita figure

HIV/AIDS ADULT PREVALENCE – estimate of the percentage of the total adult population (aged 15–49) infected with HIV/AIDS

INFANT MORTALITY RATE – averages for male and female infants under one year old and per 1,000 live births

LIFE EXPECTANCY – averages, at birth, for males and females

MORTALITY RATE – figures are per 1,000 population. This indicator is significantly affected by age distribution, and most countries will eventually show a rise in the overall death rate, in spite of continued decline in mortality at all ages, as declining fertility results in an ageing population

POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LINE – although strict definitions of poverty vary considerably between nations, this figure most commonly represents the percentage of the adult population whose income is less than US$1 per day

TOTAL EXTERNAL DEBT – the total public and private debt owed to non-residents repayable in foreign currency, goods or services