coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Comparative areas are based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres). Birth rate: The average annual number of births during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate. Dates of information: In general, information available as of 1 January 1995 is used in the preparation of this edition. Population figures are estimates for 1 July 1995, with population growth rates estimated for calendar year 1995. Major political events have been updated through April 1995. Death rate: The average annual number of deaths during a year per l,000 population at midyear; also known as crude death rate. Digraphs: The digraph is a two-letter "country code" that precisely identifies every entity without overlap, duplication, or omission. AF, for example, is the digraph for Afghanistan. It is a standardized geopolitical data element promulgated in the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS) 10-3 by the National Bureau of Standards (now called National Institute of Standards and Technology) at the US Department of Commerce and maintained by the Office of the Geographer at the US Department of State. The digraph is used to eliminate confusion and incompatibility in the collection, processing, and dissemination of area-specific data and is particularly useful for interchanging data between databases. Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic relations with 184 nations, including 178 of the 185 UN members (excluded UN members are Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, former Yugoslavia, and the US itself). In addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 6 nations that are not in the UN - Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, Switzerland, Tonga, and Tuvalu. Economic aid: This entry refers to bilateral commitments of official development assistance (ODA) and other official flows (OOF). ODA is defined as financial assistance which is concessional in character, has the main objective to promote economic development and welfare of LDCs, and contains a grant element of at least 25%. OOF transactions are also official government assistance, but with a main objective other than development and with a grant element less than 25%. OOF transactions include official export credits (such as Ex-Im Bank credits), official equity and portfolio investment, and debt reorganization by the official sector that does not meet concessional terms. Aid is considered to have been committed when agreements are initialed by the parties involved and constitute a formal declaration of intent. Entities: Some of the nations, dependent areas, areas of special sovereignty, and governments included in this publication are not independent, and others are not officially recognized by the US Government. "Nation" refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory. "Dependent area" refers to a broad category of political entities that are associated in some way with a nation. Names used for page headings are usually the short-form names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names. There are 266 entities in The World Factbook that may be categorized as follows: NATIONS 184 -- UN members (excluding the former Yugoslavia, which is still counted by the UN) 7 -- nations that are not members of the UN--Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu OTHER 1 -- Taiwan DEPENDENT AREAS 6 -- Australia--Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island 2 -- Denmark--Faroe Islands, Greenland 16...