Adolescent fertility rate
The number of births per 1,000 of woman ages 15 to 19.
Biomass fuel
Fuel that derives from plant material and animal waste.
Breeder reactor
A nuclear power plant that creates its own fuel from plutonium.
Demand
The quantity of something that consumers are willing and able to buy.
Developed Country (MDC)
Country identified as those that have a medium to high standard of living with well-established governments and education systems. They have a stable economic growth, with a high GDP per capita and are often described as 'industrialized'.
Developing Country (LDC)
Country identified as those that have not achieved significant industrial growth relative to increase in population. Their GDP remains relatively low and as a result, their standard of living is low. Their structures such as governments and education systems are often unstable.
Development
A process of improvement in the material conditions of people through diffusion of knowledge and technology.
Fair Trade
A trade that emphasizes small businesses, worker-owned, fair wages, permits unions, and comply with safety and environmental precautions.
Female Labor Force Participation Rate
The percentage of woman holding full-time jobs outside the home.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Investment made by a foreign company in the economy of another country.
Fossil Fuel
An energy source formed from the residue of plants and animals buried millions of years ago.
Fracking (Hydraulic Fracturing)
The pumping of water at high pressure to break apart rocks in order to release natural energy.
Gender Inequality Index (GII)
A measure of the extent of each's country gender inequality.
Geothermal Energy
Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or underground rocks.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The value of the total input of goods and services produced in a country in a given time period (usually one year)
Gross National Income (GNI)
The value of the output of goods and services produced in a country in a year, including money that leaves and enters the country.
Human Development Index (HDI)
An indicator of the level of development for each country, constructed by the United Nations, that is based on income, literacy, education, and life expectancy.
Hydroelectric Power
Power generated from moving water.
Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI)
Modification of an HDI to account for inequality within a country.
Infant Mortality Rate
The total number of deaths in a year among infants under one year old for every 1000 live births in a society.
Life Expectancy
A figure indicating how long, on average, a person may be expected to live.
Literacy Rate
The percentage of a country's people who can read and write.
Maternal Mortality Ratio
The number of women who die in childbirth per 100,000 births.
Microfinance (Microloans)
Provision of small loans and other financial services to individuals and small businesses in developing countries.
Millennium Development Goals
A set of eight goals set by 191 United Nations member countries that have the goal of halving world poverty by the year 2015.
Nonrenewable Energy
A source of energy that has a finite supply capable of being exhausted.
Potential Reserve
The amount of energy in deposits not yet identified but thought to exist.
Primary Sector
The portion of the economy concerned with the direct extraction of materials from Earth's surface, generally through agriculture, although sometimes by mining, fishing, and forestry.
Productivity
The value of a particular product compared to the amount of labor needed to make it.
Proven Reserve
The amount of a resource remaining in discovered deposits.
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)
Monetary measurement which take account of what money actually buys in each country
Quaternary Sector
The portion of the economy concerned with the collection, processing, and manipulation of information and capital.
Radioactive Waste
Materials from a nuclear reaction that emit radiation.
Renewable Energy
Resources that have a theoretically unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by humans.
Secondary Sector
The portion of the economy concerned with manufacturing useful products through processing, transforming, and assembling raw materials.
Structural Adjustment Program
Economic policies imposed on less developed countries by international agencies to create conditions encouraging international trade, such as raising taxes, reducing government spending, controlling inflation, selling publicly owned utilities to private corporations, and charging citizens more for services.
Supply
The quantity of something that producers have available for sale.
Tertiary Sector
The portion of the economy concerned with transportation, communications, and utilities, sometimes extended to the provision of all goods and services to people in exchange for payment.
Uneven Development
Development of core regions at the expense of those on the periphery.
Value Added
The gross value of the product minus the costs of raw materials and energy.
Ancillary Activities
economic activities that surround and support large-scale industries such as shipping and food service