The State of the World Atlas

'Unique and uniquely beautiful... A single map here tells us more about the world today than a dozen abstracts or scholarly tomes.' - Los Angeles Times. 'These are the bad dreams of the modern world, given colour and shape and submitted to a grid that can be grasped instantaneously.' - New York Times. 'Outspoken cataloguing of global oppressions and inequities, painstakingly sourced.' - Independent on Sunday. 'Packed with fascinating facts and figures on everything from the international drugs industry to climate change.' - Evening Standard. 'A political reference book which manages to translate hard, boring statistics into often shocking visual statements... required reading.' - NME. 'A striking new approach to cartography.' - International Herald Tribune. 'An indispensable survey of current events and social trends.' - Pure Living. 'The book is an object lesson in how to enhance understanding without dumbing down. Indispensable.' - Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative. 'Nothing else to compare with this Atlas, its wide-ranging content and striking maps and charts makes it a must-have for any concerned citizen.' - Lovereading. 'Very lively and beautifully produced - one of the definite must-buys of books reviewed this year.' - Ecological and Environmental Education.

Dan Smith is the Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. From 2003 to 2015 he was Secretary General of the London-based international peacebuilding organization International Alert, and before that Director of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo. From 2014 to 2017 he was also a Professor at the University of Manchester's Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute. He has held fellowships at the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Hellenic Foundation for Foreign and European Policy. He was Chair of the Advisory Group for the UN Peacebuilding Fund in 2010 and 2011 and from 1992 to 2006 was the Chair of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Smith has been writing on peace and security issues for 40 years and, among other works, is the author of The State of the Middle East Atlas, as well as successive editions of The State of the World Atlas and The Atlas of War and Peace. Smith was awarded the OBE in 2002, and blogs on international politics at www.dansmithsblog.com.