Note on Sources for Population Figures

Recent population figures for many areas of the world are often difficult to obtain. Some countries have never taken a census; some only take partial censuses; some which do take censuses publish them completely only many years after the census is taken; some publish only part of the results of a census; and some have been known to suppress all results of a census. The population figures presented in this book are the best obtainable at the time of printing. The figures of the most recent complete census have been presented wherever possible. Finland's and Suriname's are from 1996, for instance. Recent official estimates have been used either when they were the result of careful annual corrections based on an earlier census or when there were no recent census figures, as in the case of Malta. Unofficial estimates, as in the case of Afghanistan, have been used only when no official figures of any kind were obtainable. Some population figures duplicate those in the fifth edition of The Columbia Encyclopedia (Anguilla, for instance), which were the best figures obtainable at the time of that book's printing in 1993.