Time Warp

Borders are mankind's way of measuring power. They expand and shrink, bend and break at the touch of human ambition. But as the century's empires came and left, life kept up its relentless pace

1900

Western colonialism dominated Africa and the Asian islands. The Russian, Ottoman, German, Austro-Hungarian and Chinese empires had passed their peaks

WORLD POPULATION 1.6 billion

CITY POPULATIONS IN MILLIONS London 6.6 New York 3.4 Paris 2.7 Berlin 1.9 Chicago 1.7 Vienna 1.7 Tokyo 1.5 Wuhan, China 1.5 Philadelphia 1.3 St. Petersburg 1.3

LEADERS Britain Marquis of Salisbury France Emile Loubet Germany Emperor William II Japan Emperor Mutsuhito Russia Nicholas II U.S. William McKinley

SIZE OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 11 million sq. mi.

The empire occupied almost 20% of the world's landmass and included 400 million people, or 25% of the population

LIFE EXPECTANCY U.S. 47 Italy 44 Japan 44 Mexico 33

OLYMPICS Second Olympics (summer), Paris 22 nations attended 1,319 men, 11 women (first one they came to) France won the most medals, 102 (29 gold) Some events: golf, cricket, croquet, tug-of-war

WORLD FORESTLAND 15 billion acres

INFANT MORTALITY PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS U.S. 140 Britain 154 India 232

UNEMPLOYMENT Germany 2.0% Britain 2.5% U.S. 5.0% France 6.8%

MILES OF RAILROAD U.S. 193,000 Russia 33,000 India 26,000 France 24,000 Britain 19,000

IRRIGATED CROPLAND 100 million acres

NUMBERS OF U.S. FARMS 5.7 million

CARS SOLD WORLDWIDE 4,000

U.S. ENERGY SUPPLY Coal 74% Wood 23% Oil 3%

AVERAGE WEEKLY WORKING HOURS Germany 51.6 France 51.7 Japan 51.7 Netherlands 52.0 U.S. 52.0 Britain 52.4

CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION 150 million bbl. per year

ENTERTAINMENT Play You Never Can Tell by G.B. Shaw Song A Bird in a Gilded Cage Touring Houdini

PERCENTAGE OF THE WORK FORCE IN FARMING France 40% U.S. 42% Italy 59% Portugal 65%

AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS IN THE U.S. $9.70

TALLEST BUILDING Eiffel Tower 984 ft.

U.S. POPULATION 76 million

BY REGION East 27% Midwest 35% South 32% West 6%

AGE Under 5 12% 5-14 22% 15-24 20% 25-34 16% 35-44 12% 45-54 9% 55-64 5% 65 and over 4%

MEDIAN AGE IN THE U.S. 23

MARRIAGES IN THE U.S. 709,000

DIVORCES IN THE U.S. 55,751

MEDIAN AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE Men 26 Women 22

DOCTORS PER 100,000 157

U.S. EVERYDAY LIFE 1 in 7 homes had a bathtub 1 in 13 homes had a telephone Brownie camera $1 lb. of sugar 4[cents] dozen eggs 14[cents] lb. of butter 24[cents]

BEST SELLER To Have and to Hold by Mary Johnston

NOW

Africa's nations are all independent. The Soviet empire is broken into 15 separate states, and democratic capitalism is on the rise

WORLD POPULATION 5.9 billion

CITY POPULATIONS IN MILLIONS Tokyo 27 Mexico City 17 Sao Paulo 17 New York 16 Bombay 15 Shanghai 14 Buenos Aires 12 Calcutta 12 Los Angeles 12 Seoul 12

LEADERS Britain Tony Blair France Jacques Chirac Germany Helmut Kohl Japan Ryutaro Hashimoto Russia Boris Yeltsin U.S. Bill Clinton

LIFE EXPECTANCY Japan 80 Italy 78 U.S. 76 Mexico 74

SIZE OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 1 million sq. mi. Only 14 dependent territories, total population 60 million

OLYMPICS 18th Olympics (winter), Nagano, Japan 72 nations attended 1,512 men, 827 women Germany won the most medals, 29 (12 gold) Some events: curling, snowboarding, ski jumping

WORLD FORESTLAND 8 billion acres

INFANT MORTALITY PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS Britain 6.3 U.S. 6.6 India 69

UNEMPLOYMENT U.S. 4.6% Britain 4.9% Germany 11.5% France 12.1%

MILES OF RAILROAD U.S. 149,000 Russia 54,000 India 38,000 France 21,000 Britain 11,000

IRRIGATED CROPLAND 600 million acres

NUMBERS OF U.S. FARMS 2 million

CARS SOLD WORLDWIDE 54 million

U.S. ENERGY SUPPLY Oil 40% Gas 24% Coal 21% Nuclear 7% AVERAGE WEEKLY WORKING HOURS Japan 38.3 U.S. 37.9 Britain 35.6 France 31.7 Netherlands 30.8 Germany 29.0

CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION 24 billion bbl. per year

ENTERTAINMENT Play Disney's The Lion King Song My Heart Will Go On (from Titanic) Touring Riverdance

PERCENTAGE OF THE WORK FORCE IN FARMING U.S. 3% France 6% Italy 9% Portugal 15%

AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS IN THE U.S. $435

TALLEST BUILDING Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur 1,483 ft.

U.S. POPULATION 269 million

BY REGION East 20% Midwest 23% South 35% West 22%

AGE Under 5 7% 5-14 13% 15-24 15% 25-34 14% 35-44 16% 45-54 13% 55-64 9% 65 and over 13%

MEDIAN AGE IN THE U.S. 35

MARRIAGES IN THE U.S. 2,336,000

DIVORCES IN THE U.S. 1,169,000

MEDIAN AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE Men 26 Women 24

DOCTORS PER 100,000 236

U.S. EVERYDAY LIFE 81% of the population has a VCR in the home There are 2.3 TVs per household 20% of the U.S. is connected to the Internet lb. of sugar $0.43 dozen eggs $1.12 lb. of butter $2.35

BEST SELLER Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

SOURCES: HAMMOND'S ATLAS OF THE 20TH CENTURY; THE TIMETABLES OF HISTORY; OUR TIMES, THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE 20TH CENTURY; THE PEOPLE'S CHRONOLOGY; WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE