Glossary

Short meanings for the words these docs use. Across the guides, a word with a dotted underline links here, and pointing at it shows its meaning.

alpha-2 code: A two-letter country code from the ISO 3166 standard, such as JP for Japan. PyWorldAtlas accepts it anywhere a country name works.
antipode: The point exactly opposite a place on the other side of the Earth. A straight tunnel through the center of the Earth would come out there.
border crossing: One step from a country into a neighboring country over a shared land border.
capital: A country’s capital city, as given by the atlas’s sources. The capital is usually where the national government meets.
coastline: The length of a country’s coast along the sea, in kilometers.
great-circle distance: The shortest distance between two places over the curved surface of the Earth, the route a plane would ideally fly.
Köppen climate zone: A climate class from the Köppen system, such as Cfb for a mild ocean climate. The first letter is the main group: A tropical, B dry, C mild, D cold winters, and E polar.
landlocked: Having no coast on the open sea, such as Austria or Switzerland.
latitude: How far north or south of the equator a place is, from 90° S to 90° N. South is negative, so 12° S is written -12.
local name: A country’s name in its own language and writing system, such as 日本 (Nihon) for Japan.
longitude: How far east or west of the prime meridian through Greenwich a place is, from 180° W to 180° E. West is negative.
pack: An optional download that adds more data, such as 3D maps or statistics. Install one with pyworldatlas get, then it works offline.
region: A group of countries from the United Nations M49 list, such as Western Europe or South America.
World Heritage site: A place listed by UNESCO for its cultural or natural value to all of humanity, such as Machu Picchu.