Maps of the world. (atlas).

If the world were an island with 100 people on it, 60 would be Asian, 13 would be African, 12 European, nine from Latin America and just five would be from North America.

Only 20 would be white, and 33 would be Christian. Thirteen would suffer from malnutrition, 17 wouldn't know how to read, and 25 would live in substandard housing. Twenty people would earn 89 percent of the island's wealth. Just two people would have a college education, and only four would own a computer.

The planet isn't quite that small, but it is increasingly interconnected, making it impossible for us to shut out the world beyond our town limits and our national borders. What happens out there touches us and can change our lives in an instant.

In this year's World Affairs Annual, you'll find the latest available information from around the globe, with updated maps and vital statistics on every country.

RELATED ARTICLE: Focus: maps help explain relations between countries

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students understand that maps reflect the world's economic, political, and geographical diversity.

Discussion Questions:

* Look at the map of North America. About how far from the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and near Washington, D.C., is your community located? (Residents of Hawaii may use the Economic Map of the World to calculate approximate distance.)

* How does a region's location--proximity to oceans or deserts, for example--affect the way its people live?

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

Critical Thinking: Link the world atlas to the news. Have students find Afghanistan on the map of Asia. What about Afghanistan's geography prompted the U.S. to seek the assistance of countries like Pakistan in the pursuit of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden? (Afghanistan's physical isolation required access through a neighboring country.)

Next, ask students to examine the Economic Map of the World, on pages 18-19, to get a sense of the distance between the U.S. and Afghanistan. (The distance from the east coast of the U.S. to central Afghanistan is approximately 9,000 miles.) What does this distance and Afghanistan's isolation suggest about the difficulty of conducting sustained military operations there?

Tell students that maps also offer clues about history. Look at the map of Europe. Ask what the map suggests about why Europe has historically been a continent at war. Did the concentration of so many different countries contribute to battles for land?

Next, have students look at the U.S. on the Economic Map. What about this country's location explains why for most of its history it has remained untouched by outside invaders? (Isolation, plus weak neighbors, protected the U.S. from aggression.)

Consumer Geography: Spark interest in maps by having students look at labels in their clothing. How many clothes are imports? Can students name foreign-made cars or other consumer products? Have students locate countries of origin on the maps. Then find each country's per capita GDP in The World in Focus. Which kinds of goods are made in poor countries? Which kinds of goods are made in wealthier countries?