Notes:

The designations employed and the materialin this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever onthe part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal statusof any country, territory or area or its authorities, or concerning thedelimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.The designation "moredeveloped" and "less developed" regions are intended forstatistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about thestage reached by a particular country or area in the development process. Theterm "country" as used in this publication also refers, asappropriate, to territories or areas.

The figures presented are from the mediumvariant of the 2002 Revision of the official United Nations populationestimates and projections prepared by the United Nations Population Division.Versions of the data in digital from can be purchased. Consult www.unpopulation.org for moreinformation or contact The Director, Population Division, Department ofEconomic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York, NY 10017, USA; faxnumber: 1(212) 963-2147.

Two dots (..) indicate that data are notavailable.

An em dash (—) indicates that the amount is nil or very small.

a Moredeveloped regions comprise all regions of Europe plus Northern America,Australia/New Zealand and Japan.

b Lessdeveloped regions comprise all regions of Africa, Asia (excluding Japan) andLatin America and the Caribbean, as well as Melanesia, Micronesia andPolynesia.

c Leastdeveloped countries, as defined by the United Nations General Assembly in2001, include 49 countries: 34 in Africa; 9 in Asia; 1 in Latin America andthe Caribbean, and 5 in Oceania. The full list is:Afghanistan, Angola,Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde,Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo,Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea,Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho,Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar,Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone,Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Republic ofTanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen and Zambia.

1 IncludingAgalega, Rodrigues and Saint Brandon.

2 IncludingAscension and Tristan da Cunha.

3 Forstatistical purposes, the data for China do not include Hong Kong and Macao,Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of China.

4 As of 1July 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China.

5 As of 20December 1999, Macao became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China.

6 Refers tothe Vatican City State.

7 The formerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

8 IncludingChristmas Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island.

9 Thepopulation of Pitcairn is 66 in 2003, 2025 and 2050.

United Nations publication

(ST/ESA/SER.A/224)

Sales No. E.03.XIII.9

Copyright © United Nations 2003

All rights reserved

Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica

Inquiries should be directed to:

The Director, Population Division

Department of Economic and Social Affairs

United Nations, New York, NY 10017, USA

Fax number 1(212) 963-2147

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