Reserves of fresh water on earth by country. Earth's water resources

At present, water, especially fresh water, is an extremely important strategic resource. In recent years, the world's water consumption has increased, and there are fears that there simply won't be enough for everyone. According to the World Commission on Water, today every person needs 20 to 50 liters of water daily for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

However, about a billion people in 28 countries around the world do not have access to so many vital resources. About 2.5 billion people live in areas experiencing moderate or severe water scarcity. It is assumed that by 2025 this number will increase to 5.5 billion and will amount to two-thirds of the world's population.

, in connection with the negotiations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic on the use of transboundary waters, ranked 10 countries with the largest reserves of water resources in the world:

10th place

Myanmar

Resources - 1080 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 23.3 thousand cubic meters. m

The rivers of Myanmar - Burma are subject to the monsoon climate of the country. They originate in the mountains, but do not feed on glaciers, but on precipitation.

More than 80% of the annual river nutrition is rain. In winter, the rivers become shallow, some of them, especially in central Burma, dry up.

There are few lakes in Myanmar; the largest of them is the tectonic lake Indoji in the north of the country with an area of ​​210 sq. km.

9th Place

Venezuela

Resources - 1,320 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 60.3 thousand cubic meters. m

Almost half of the thousand rivers in Venezuela run off the Andes and the Guiana Plateau into the Orinoco, the third largest river in Latin America. Its basin covers an area of ​​about 1 million square meters. km. The Orinoco drainage basin occupies approximately four-fifths of the territory of Venezuela.

8th place

India

Resources - 2085 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 2.2 thousand cubic meters. m

India has a large amount of water resources: rivers, glaciers, seas and oceans. The most significant rivers are: Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Narbada, Mahanadi, Kaveri. Many of them are important as sources of irrigation.

Eternal snows and glaciers in India occupy about 40 thousand square meters. km of territory.

7th place

Bangladesh

Resources - 2,360 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 19.6 thousand cubic meters. m

There are many rivers flowing through Bangladesh, and the floods of large rivers can last for weeks. Bangladesh has 58 transboundary rivers, and issues arising from the use of water resources are very sensitive in discussions with India.

6th place

Resources - 2,480 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 2.4 thousand cubic meters. m

The United States occupies a vast territory, on which there are many rivers and lakes.

5th place

Indonesia

Resources - 2,530 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 12.2 thousand cubic meters. m

In the territories of Indonesia, a fairly large amount of precipitation falls all year round, because of this, the rivers are always full-flowing and play a significant role in the irrigation system.

4th place

China

Resources - 2,800 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 2.3 thousand cubic meters. m

China has 5-6% of the world's water reserves. But China is the most populous country in the world, and its water distribution is highly uneven.

3rd place

Canada

Resources - 2,900 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 98.5 thousand cubic meters. m

Canada is one of the richest countries in the world with lakes. On the border with the United States are the Great Lakes (Upper, Huron, Erie, Ontario), connected by small rivers into a huge basin of more than 240 thousand square meters. km.

Less significant lakes lie on the territory of the Canadian Shield (Great Bear, Great Slave, Athabasca, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis), etc.

2nd place

Russia

Resources - 4500 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 30.5 thousand cubic meters. m

Russia is washed by the waters of 12 seas belonging to three oceans, as well as the inland Caspian Sea. On the territory of Russia there are over 2.5 million large and small rivers, more than 2 million lakes, hundreds of thousands of swamps and other objects of the water fund.

1 place

Brazil

Resources - 6,950 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 43.0 thousand cubic meters. m

The rivers of the Brazilian Plateau have significant hydropower potential. The largest lakes in the country are Mirim and Patos. Main rivers: Amazon, Madeira, Rio Negro, Parana, Sao Francisco.

Also list of countries by total renewable water resources(based on the CIA Country Directory).

The topic "Geography of the World's Natural Resources" is one of the central topics in the school geography course. What are natural resources? What types of them stand out, and how are they distributed around the planet? What factors determine geography Read about this in the article.

What are natural resources?

The geography of the world's natural resources is extremely important for understanding the development of the world economy and the economies of individual states. This concept can be interpreted in different ways. In the broadest sense, it is the whole complex of natural goods necessary for man. In a narrow sense, natural resources mean a set of goods of natural origin that can serve as sources for production.

Natural resources are not just used in economic activities. Without them, in fact, the existence of human society as such is impossible. One of the most important and urgent problems of modern geographical science is the geography of the world's natural resources (grade 10 of secondary school). Both geographers and economists are studying this issue.

Classification of the natural resources of the Earth

The natural resources of the planet are classified according to various criteria. So, allocate exhaustible and inexhaustible resources, as well as partially renewable. According to the prospects for use, natural resources are divided into industrial, agricultural, energy, recreational and tourist, etc.

According to the genetic classification, natural resources include:

• mineral;
• land;
• water;
• forest;
• biological (including resources of the World Ocean);
• energy;
• climatic;
• recreational.

Features of the planetary distribution of natural resources

What features are represented by geography? How are they distributed around the planet?

It should be noted right away that the world's natural resources are distributed extremely unevenly between states. So, several countries (such as Russia, the USA or Australia) have endowed nature with a wide range of minerals. Others (for example, Japan or Moldova) have to be content with only two or three types of mineral raw materials.

As for the volume of consumption, about 70% of the world's natural resources are used by the countries of the USA, Canada and Japan, in which no more than nine percent of the world's population lives. But a group of developing countries, which account for about 60% of the world's population, consume only 15% of the planet's natural resources.

The geography of world natural resources is uneven not only in relation to minerals. In terms of stocks of forest, land, water resources, countries and continents also differ greatly from each other. Thus, most of the planet's fresh water is concentrated in the glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland - regions with minimal population. At the same time, dozens of African states are experiencing acute

Such an uneven geography of world natural resources forces many countries to solve the problem of their shortage in different ways. Some do this with the help of active financing of geological exploration activities, others introduce the latest energy-saving technologies, reduce the material intensity of their production as much as possible.

World natural resources (mineral) and their distribution

Mineral raw materials are natural components (substances) that are used by humans in production or to generate electricity. Mineral resources are important for the economy of any state. The earth's crust of our planet contains about two hundred minerals. 160 of them are actively mined by man. Depending on the method and scope of use, mineral resources are divided into several types:

Perhaps the most important mineral resource today is oil. It is rightly called “black gold”, major wars were fought (and are still being fought to this day) for it. As a rule, oil occurs together with associated natural gas. The main regions for the extraction of these resources in the world are Alaska, Texas, the Middle East, and Mexico. Another fuel resource is coal (stone and brown). It is mined in many countries (more than 70).

Ore mineral resources include ores of ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals. Geological deposits of these minerals often have a clear reference to the zones of crystalline shields - ledges of the platform foundation.

Non-metallic mineral resources find completely different uses. So, granite and asbestos are used in the construction industry, potassium salts - in the production of fertilizers, graphite - in nuclear energy, etc. The geography of world natural resources is presented below in more detail. The table includes a list of the most important and sought after minerals.

mineral resource	Leading countries in its production
	Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, USA, Iran
Coal	USA, Russia, India, China, Australia
oil shale	China, USA, Estonia, Sweden, Germany
Iron ore	Russia, China, Ukraine, Brazil, India
manganese ore	China, Australia, South Africa, Ukraine, Gabon
copper ores	Chile, USA, Peru, Zambia, DR Congo
uranium ores	Australia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Niger, Namibia
Nickel ores	Canada, Russia, Australia, Philippines, New Caledonia
	Australia, Brazil, India, China, Guinea
	USA, South Africa, Canada, Russia, Australia
	South Africa, Australia, Russia, Namibia, Botswana
Phosphorites	USA, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Iraq
	France, Greece, Norway, Germany, Ukraine
Potassium salt	Russia, Ukraine, Canada, Belarus, China
Native sulfur	USA, Mexico, Iraq, Ukraine, Poland

Land resources and their geography

Land resources are one of the most important wealth of the planet and any country in the world. This concept means a part of the Earth's surface suitable for life, construction and agriculture. The world land fund is about 13 billion hectares of area. It includes:

Different countries have different land resources. Some have at their disposal vast expanses of free land (Russia, Ukraine), while others feel an acute shortage of free land (Japan, Denmark). Agricultural land is extremely unevenly distributed: about 60% of the world's arable land is in Eurasia, while Australia is only 3%.

Water resources and their geography

Water is the most common and most important mineral on Earth. It was in it that earthly life was born, and it is water that is necessary for each of the living organisms. The water resources of the planet mean all surface and underground waters that are used by humans or can be used in the future. Fresh water is in particular demand. It is used in everyday life, in production and in the agricultural sector. The maximum reserves of fresh river runoff fall on Asia and Latin America, and the minimum - on Australia and Africa. Moreover, on one third of the world's land, the problem with fresh water is particularly acute.

Brazil, Russia, Canada, China and the USA are among the richest countries in the world in terms of fresh water reserves. But the five countries least provided with fresh water looks like this: Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Jordan.

Forest resources and their geography

Forests are often referred to as the "lungs" of our planet. And completely justified. After all, they play the most important climate-forming, water-protective, recreational role. Forest resources include forests themselves, as well as all their useful qualities - protective, recreational, medicinal, etc.

According to statistics, about 25% of the earth's land is covered with forests. Most of them fall on the so-called "northern forest belt", which includes such states as Russia, Canada, the USA, Sweden, Finland.

The table below shows the countries that are leaders in terms of forest cover in their territories:

	Percentage of area covered by forests
french guiana
Mozambique

Biological resources of the planet

Biological resources are all plant and animal organisms that are used by humans for various purposes. Floristic resources are more in demand in the modern world. In total, there are about six thousand species of cultivated plants on the planet. However, only a hundred of them are widely distributed around the world. In addition to cultivated plants, a person actively breeds livestock and poultry, uses bacterial strains in agriculture and industry.

Biological resources are classified as renewable. Nevertheless, with their modern, sometimes predatory and ill-conceived use, some of them are threatened with destruction.

Geography of world natural resources: problems of ecology

Modern nature management is characterized by a number of serious environmental problems. Active mining not only pollutes the atmosphere and soils, but also significantly alters the surface of our planet, changing some landscapes beyond recognition.

What words are associated with the modern geography of world natural resources? Pollution, depletion, destruction… Unfortunately, this is true. Thousands of hectares of ancient forests annually disappear from the face of our planet. Poaching destroys rare and endangered animal species. Heavy industry pollutes soils with metals and other harmful substances.

It is urgent and at the global level to change the concept of human behavior in the natural environment. Otherwise, the future of world civilization will not look very rosy.

The Resource Curse Phenomenon

The "paradox of abundance" or "resource curse" is the name of a phenomenon in economics, which was first formulated in 1993 by Richard Authy. The essence of this phenomenon is as follows: states with significant natural resource potential, as a rule, are characterized by low economic growth and development. In turn, countries “poor” in natural resources achieve great economic success.

There are indeed a lot of examples in the modern world that confirm this conclusion. For the first time, the “resource curse” of countries began to be discussed back in the 80s of the last century. Some researchers even then traced this trend in their works.

Economists identify several main reasons for this phenomenon:

• lack of desire on the part of the authorities to carry out effective and necessary reforms;
• development of corruption on the basis of "easy money";
• a decrease in the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy that are not so strongly “tied” to natural resources.

Conclusion

The geography of the world's natural resources is extremely uneven. This applies to almost all their types - mineral, energy, land, water, forest.

Some states own large reserves of minerals, but the mineral resource potential of other countries is significantly limited by just a few of their types. True, the exceptional endowment with natural resources does not always guarantee a high standard of living, the development of the economy of a particular state. A striking example of this are such countries as Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others. This phenomenon has even got its name in the economy - "resource curse".

Water is the most abundant substance on our planet: although in varying amounts, it is available everywhere and plays a vital role for the environment and living organisms. Fresh water is of the greatest importance, without which human existence is impossible, and it cannot be replaced by anything. People have always consumed fresh water and used it for a variety of purposes, including domestic, agricultural, industrial and recreational uses.

Water reserves on Earth

Water exists in three aggregate states: liquid, solid and gaseous. It forms the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and groundwater located in the upper layer of the crust, and the soil cover of the Earth. In the solid state, it exists in the form of snow and ice in polar and mountainous regions. A certain amount of water is contained in the air in the form of water vapor. Huge volumes of water are found in various minerals in the earth's crust.

Determining the exact amount of water in the world is quite difficult, since water is dynamic and is in constant motion, changing its state from liquid to solid to gaseous, and vice versa. As a rule, the total amount of water resources of the world is estimated as the totality of all waters of the hydrosphere. This is all free water that exists in all three states of aggregation in the atmosphere, on the surface of the Earth and in the earth's crust to a depth of 2000 meters.

Current estimates have shown that our planet contains a huge amount of water - about 1386,000,000 cubic kilometers (1.386 billion km³). However, 97.5% of this volume is salt water and only 2.5% is fresh water. Most of the fresh water (68.7%) is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in the Antarctic, Arctic, and mountain regions. Further, 29.9% exists as groundwater, and only 0.26% of the total fresh water on Earth is concentrated in lakes, reservoirs and river systems, where it is most readily available for our economic needs.

These indicators were calculated over a long period of time, however, if shorter periods (one year, several seasons or months) are taken into account, the amount of water in the hydrosphere may change. It has to do with the exchange of water between the oceans, land and atmosphere. This exchange is generally referred to as the , or global hydrological cycle.

Fresh water resources

Fresh water contains a minimum amount of salts (no more than 0.1%) and is suitable for human needs. However, not all resources are available to people, and even those that are available are not always usable. Consider fresh water sources:

• Glaciers and snow covers occupy about 1/10 of the world's land and contain about 70% of fresh water. Unfortunately, most of these resources are located far from settlements, and therefore are difficult to access.
• Groundwater is by far the most common and accessible source of fresh water.
• Freshwater lakes are mainly located at high altitudes. Canada contains about 50% of the world's freshwater lakes. Many lakes, especially those located in arid regions, become salty due to evaporation. The Caspian Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Great Salt Lake are among the world's largest salt lakes.
• The rivers form a hydrological mosaic. There are 263 international river basins on Earth, which cover more than 45% of the land of our planet (the exception is Antarctica).

Water resources objects

The main objects of water resources are:

• oceans and seas;
• lakes, ponds and reservoirs;
• swamps;
• rivers, canals and streams;
• soil moisture;
• underground waters (soil, ground, interstratal, artesian, mineral);
• ice caps and glaciers;
• atmospheric precipitation (rain, snow, dew, hail, etc.).

Problems in the use of water resources

For many hundreds of years, human impact on water resources was insignificant and was of an exclusively local nature. The excellent properties of water - its renewal due to the cycle and the ability to purify - make fresh water relatively purified and with quantitative and qualitative characteristics that will remain unchanged for a long time.

However, these features of water gave rise to the illusion of the immutability and inexhaustibility of these resources. Out of these prejudices, a tradition has arisen of the careless use of vital water resources.

The situation has changed a lot in recent decades. In many parts of the world, the results of long-term and wrong actions towards such a valuable resource have been discovered. This applies to both direct and indirect use of water.

Throughout the world, for 25-30 years, there has been a massive anthropogenic change in the hydrological cycle of rivers and lakes, affecting the quality of water and their potential as a natural resource.

The volume of water resources, their spatial and temporal distribution, are determined not only by natural climate fluctuations, as before, but now also by the types of economic activities of people. Many parts of the world's water resources are becoming so depleted and heavily polluted that they can no longer meet ever-increasing demands. It may
become the main factor hindering economic development and population growth.

Water pollution

The main causes of water pollution are:

• Wastewater;

Domestic, industrial and agricultural wastewater pollutes many rivers and lakes.

• Waste disposal in the seas and oceans;

The dumping of garbage in the seas and oceans can cause huge problems, because it negatively affects the living organisms that live in the waters.

• Industry;

Industry is a huge source of water pollution, which produces substances that are harmful to people and the environment.

• radioactive substances;

Radioactive pollution, in which there is a high concentration of radiation in the water, is the most dangerous pollution and can spread into ocean waters.

• Oil spill;

An oil spill poses a threat not only to water resources, but also to human settlements located near a contaminated source, as well as to all biological resources for which water is a habitat or a vital necessity.

• Leaks of oil and oil products from underground storage facilities;

A large amount of oil and oil products are stored in tanks made of steel, which corrodes over time, which in consequence creates leakage of harmful substances into the surrounding soil and groundwater.

• Precipitation;

Precipitation, such as acid precipitation, is formed when air is polluted and changes the acidity of water.

• Global warming;

An increase in water temperature causes the death of many living organisms and destroys a large number of habitats.

• Eutrophication.

Eutrophication is the process of reducing the quality characteristics of water associated with excessive enrichment with nutrients.

Rational use and protection of water resources

Water resources provide for rational use and protection, from individuals to enterprises and states. There are many ways we can reduce our impact on the aquatic environment. Here are some of them:

Water saving

Factors such as climate change, population growth and increasing aridity are increasing pressure on our water resources. The best way to conserve water is to reduce consumption and avoid rising wastewater.

At the household level, there are many ways to save water, such as: shorter showers, installing water-saving appliances, and low-flow washing machines. Another approach is to plant gardens that do not require much water.

Until relatively recently, water, like air, was considered one of the free gifts of nature, only in areas of artificial irrigation it always had a high price. Recently, the attitude towards land water resources has changed.

Over the past century, the consumption of fresh water in the world has doubled, and the planet's water resources do not meet such a rapid increase in human needs. According to the World Commission on Water, today every person needs 40 (20 to 50) liters of water daily for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. However, about a billion people in 28 countries around the world do not have access to so many vital resources. More than 40% of the world's population (about 2.5 billion people) lives in areas experiencing moderate or severe water scarcity. It is expected that by 2025 this number will increase to 5.5 billion and will amount to two-thirds of the world's population. The vast majority of fresh water is, as it were, conserved in the glaciers of Antarctica, Greenland, in the ice of the Arctic, in mountain glaciers and forms a kind of "emergency reserve" that is not yet available for use. Different countries differ greatly in fresh water reserves. Below is a ranking of countries with the largest fresh water resources in the world. However, this ranking is based on absolute figures and does not match per capita figures.

10. Myanmar

1080 km3 Per capita

23.3 thousand m3 The rivers of Myanmar - Burma are subject to the monsoon climate of the country. They originate in the mountains, but do not feed on glaciers, but on precipitation. More than 80% of the annual river nutrition is rain. In winter, the rivers become shallow, some of them, especially in central Burma, dry up. There are few lakes in Myanmar; the largest of them is the tectonic lake Indoji in the north of the country with an area of ​​210 square meters. km. Despite the relatively high absolute figures, the inhabitants of some areas of Myanmar suffer from a lack of fresh water.

9. Venezuela

1320 km3 Per capita

60.3 thousand m3 Almost half of the thousand-odd rivers of Venezuela run off the Andes and the Guiana Plateau into the Orinoco, the third largest river in Latin America. Its basin covers an area of ​​about 1 million square meters. km. The Orinoco drainage basin occupies approximately four-fifths of the territory of Venezuela.

2085 km3 Per capita

2.2 thousand m3 India has a large amount of water resources: rivers, glaciers, seas and oceans. The most significant rivers are: Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Narbada, Mahanadi, Kaveri. Many of them are important as sources of irrigation. About 40,000 km2 of territory is occupied by eternal snows and glaciers in India. However, given India's huge population, the per capita supply of fresh water is quite low.

7. Bangladesh

2360 km3 Per capita

19.6 thousand m3 Bangladesh is one of the countries in the world with the highest population density. This is largely due to the extraordinary fertility of the Ganges Delta and regular floods caused by monsoon rains. However, overcrowding and poverty have become a real disaster for Bangladesh. There are many rivers flowing through Bangladesh, and the floods of large rivers can last for weeks. Bangladesh has 58 transboundary rivers and issues related to the use of water resources are very sensitive in discussions with India. However, despite the relatively high level of water resources, the country faces a problem: the water resources of Bangladesh are often subject to arsenic poisoning due to its high content in the soil. Up to 77 million people are exposed to arsenic poisoning through drinking contaminated water.

2480 km3 Per capita

2.4 thousand m3 of the United States occupy a vast territory, which is home to many rivers and lakes. However, despite the fact that the United States has such fresh water resources, this does not save California from the worst drought in history. In addition, given the high population of the country, the supply of fresh water per capita is not so high.

5. Indonesia

2530 km3 Per capita

12.2 thousand m3 The special relief of the territories of Indonesia, combined with a favorable climate, at one time contributed to the formation of a dense river network in these lands. In the territories of Indonesia, a fairly large amount of precipitation falls all year round, because of this, the rivers are always full-flowing and play a significant role in the irrigation system. Almost all of them flow from the Maoke Mountains north into the Pacific Ocean.

2800 km3 Per capita

2.3 thousand m3 China has 5-6% of the world's water reserves. But China is the most populous country in the world, and its water distribution is highly uneven. The south of the country has been fighting for thousands of years and today is fighting floods, building and building dams to save crops and people's lives. The north of the country and the central regions are suffering from lack of water.

2900 km3 Per capita

98.5 thousand m3 Canada has 7% of the world's renewable fresh water resources and less than 1% of the total population of the Earth. Accordingly, per capita income in Canada is one of the highest in the world. Most of Canada's rivers belong to the basin of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and much fewer rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean. Canada is one of the richest countries in the world with lakes. On the border with the United States are the Great Lakes (Upper, Huron, Erie, Ontario), connected by small rivers into a huge basin of more than 240 thousand square meters. km. Less significant lakes lie on the territory of the Canadian Shield (Great Bear, Great Slave, Athabasca, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis), etc.

4500 km3 Per capita

30.5 thousand m3 In terms of reserves, Russia accounts for more than 20% of the world's fresh water resources (excluding glaciers and groundwater). In calculating the volume of fresh water per inhabitant of Russia, there are about 30 thousand m3 of river runoff per year. Russia is washed by the waters of 12 seas belonging to three oceans, as well as the inland Caspian Sea. On the territory of Russia there are over 2.5 million large and small rivers, more than 2 million lakes, hundreds of thousands of swamps and other objects of the water fund.

1. Brazil

6950 km3 Per capita

43.0 thousand m3 Brazil's water resources are represented by a huge number of rivers, the main of which is the Amazon (the largest river in the world). Almost a third of this large country is occupied by the Amazon River basin, which includes the Amazon itself and more than two hundred of its tributaries. This gigantic system contains a fifth of all the river waters of the world. The rivers and their tributaries flow slowly, during the rainy seasons they often overflow their banks and flood vast areas of tropical forests. The rivers of the Brazilian Plateau have significant hydropower potential. The largest lakes in the country are Mirim and Patos. Main rivers: Amazon, Madeira, Rio Negro, Parana, Sao Francisco.

 Unitary republics  Federal republics  Unitary monarchies  Federal monarchies

7. Least of all in the world there are:  Unitary republics  Federal republics  Unitary monarchies  Federative monarchies

8. Republican countries are:  Spain, France and Turkey  Argentina, Pakistan and Nigeria  Japan, Norway and Malaysia  Italy, Morocco and Belgium

9. Countries with a monarchical form of government are:  Spain, France and Indonesia  Argentina, Brazil and Mexico  The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates  Italy, Thailand and Denmark

10. Absolute monarchies are:  Sweden and Malaysia  Malaysia and Nepal  Nepal and Kuwait  Kuwait and Saudi Arabia

11. Most of the explored reserves of oil and natural gas are concentrated in:  Asia  Australia and Oceania  Africa  Latin America

12. Examine the table data: Indicator Oil reserves (2001) billion tons Oil production (2000) million tons Saudi Arabia 36.0 400 Kuwait 13.3 106 Libya 3.8 81 Venezuela 11.2 173 If the volume of production does not change  Saudi Arabia  Kuwait  Libya  Venezuela

13. Examine the table data: Index Oil reserves (2001) billion tons Oil production (2000) million tons Iran 12.3 193 UAE 13.0 121 Great Britain 0.7 127 Iraq 15.2 133 then the country least provided with oil reserves should be considered:  Iran  UAE  Great Britain  Iraq

14. Examine the data in the table: Indicator Explored coal reserves billion tons Coal production volume (2000) million tons Poland 25,162 China 105,1045 Australia 85,285 India 23,333 If the volume of production does not change, then the country with the most coal reserves should be considered:  Poland  China  Australia  India

15. Examine the data in the table: Indicator Explored iron ore reserves billion tons Iron ore production (2000) million tons Sweden 3.4 20.6 Canada 25.3 37.8 Brazil 49.3 197.7 Australia 23.4 172 ,9 If the volume of production does not change, then the country with the most iron ore reserves should be considered:  Sweden  Canada  Brazil  Australia

16. The largest reserves of water resources (total river flow) are:  Russia  Brazil  Sweden  Bangladesh

17. The world population is:  About 4 billion people  A little less than 5 billion people  About 450 million people  More than 6 billion people

18. Of these countries, the population exceeds 100 million people. only in:  Japan  Saudi Arabia  Poland  South Africa

19. In terms of freight turnover, the leading mode of transport in the world is:  Road  Rail  Sea  Pipeline

20. In terms of passenger turnover, the leading mode of transport in the world is:  Road  Rail  Sea  Pipeline

21. In Japan, in terms of passenger traffic, the leading mode of transport is:  Road  Rail  Sea  Pipeline

22. What is not a global problem:  Environmental  Demographic  Urbanization  Food

23. The most environmentally hazardous sector of the economy is:  Production of building materials  Service sector  Rail transport  Pulp and paper industry

24. Acid rainfall is primarily associated with air pollution by enterprises:  Metallurgy and energy  Transport  Chemical industry  Textile industry