The New Concise World Atlas offers a fresh look at the world in a clear and direct manner, opening with six pages of compiled statistics on world population, climate and geography--important points of reference for the global citizen. The highly illustrated "Earth in Space" thematic section that follows provides a broad overview of the planet on a macro level, placing our planet in the larger context of the universe. In twenty-two compact yet compelling essays, the Earth's human and natural processes are explained through a balanced combination of informative text, instructive charts and graphs, and vibrant photography and mapping. As part of a suite of atlases that are updated annually, the New Concise offers information other atlases lack: revised province names and boundaries in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Czech Republic, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Paraguay and Venezuela, as well as the introduction of the Euro to the European economy. With 128 pages of the latest maps at carefully selected scales, every region from the Arctic Ocean to The Volga Basin is rendered in layer-colored contours, revealing detailed political and topographical information about each of the 191 countries recognized by the United Nations. Mirroring style changes made to the popular Atlas of the World , page number indicators have been added throughout which, along with refined locator windows, allow for easy identification of adjacent map pages. Historical cross-references have also been added to the comprehensive 55,000-entry index, and a "Regions in the News" element highlights those geographic areas that have struggled with strife and turmoil over the last twelve months. These thematic maps illustrate local ethnic populations and occupied territories, helping to decode some of the issues plaguing Colombia, Afghanistan, and Kashmir. With hundreds of dramatic full-color, large-format maps produced by Europe's finest team of cartographers, the New Concise World Atlas stands out as the most affordable and superlative mid-size atlas available today. The New Concise is bound to become the standard geographic reference for everyone concerned with the state of the world around them.