American Samoa (U.S.)

Australia

Cook Is. (New Zealand)

Fiji

Guam (U.S.)

Kiribati

Marshall Is.

Micronesia

Nauru

New Zealand

Niue (New Zealand)

Norfolk I. (Australia)

Northern Mariana Is. (U.S.)

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Pitcairn Is. (U.K.)

Samoa

Solomon Is.

Australia & Oceania

Anguilla (U.K.)

Antigua and Barbuda

Bahamas

Barbados

Bermuda (U.K.)

British Virgin Is. (U.K.)

Cayman Is. (U.K.)

Dominica

Grenada

Jamaica

Seychelles

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Lucia

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Trinidad and Tobago

Turks and Caicos Is. (U.K.)

U.S. Virgin Is. (U.S.)

Caribbean

Hong Kong S.A.R. (China)

East Asia

Guernsey (U.K.)

Ireland

Jersey (U.K.)

Malta

Montserrat (U.K.)

United Kingdom

Europe

Belize

Guyana

Latin America

Mauritius

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Sint Maarten (Neth.)

Tonga

Vanuatu

None

Canada

United States

North America

India

Pakistan

South Asia

Brunei

Malaysia

Philippines

Singapore

Southeast Asia

Botswana

Cameroon

eSwatini

Gambia

Ghana

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia

Malawi

Namibia

Nigeria

Rwanda

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Africa

Sudan

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Sub-Saharan Africa

A map shows countries where English is an official or de facto language. The countries are highlighted in red, and include United Kingdom, Canada, U S A, India, Australia, Nigeria, Sudan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Papua New Guinea.

Countries where English is an official (or serves as a de facto) language

Countries

World

Ethnologue

English as Official or de facto Language

Dominican Republic

Haiti

Cuba

Kazakhstan

Afghanistan

Central Asia

South Korea

Mongolia

Nepal

China

Taiwan

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Russia

Eurasia

Holy See (Vatican City)

Austria

Iceland

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czechia

Spain

Estonia

France

Lithuania

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Greece

Croatia

Hungary

Italy

Latvia

Moldova

Northern Macedonia

Montenegro

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Ukraine

Kosovo

Chile

Argentina

Bolivia

Colombia

Costa Rica

Ecuador

Guatemala

Honduras

Panama

Peru

Paraguay

El Salvador

Uruguay

Brazil

Nicaragua

Venezuela

Mauritania

New Caledonia (France)

Mexico

Bhutan

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

Indonesia

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Cambodia

Vietnam

Myanmar

United Arab Emirates

Algeria

Jordan

Lebanon

Morocco

Oman

Tunisia

Egypt

Iraq

Palestine

Saudi Arabia

Iran

Libya

Syria

Turkey

Yemen

Southwest Asia and North Africa

Angola

Benin

Côte d'Ivoire

Republic of the Congo

Niger

Togo

Tanzania

Burkina Faso

Ethiopia

Madagascar

Chad

Central African Republic

Democratic Republic of Congo

Eritrea

Mali

A map highlights the regions of the world with areas affected by wind erosion highlighted in dark red and water erosion-affected areas highlighted in dark blue.

Areas of soil degradation where human activities result in high or very high levels of water and wind erosion

Soil Erosion

In North America, wind erosion significantly impacts the Great Plains in southern Canada and the adjacent northern Great Plains of the United States. This issue extends to the southern plains, affecting regions in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Water erosion is prevalent in the eastern plains, the Midwest, parts of the Mississippi River Valley, Michigan, southern Ontario, and the mountainous areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. In the western United States, water erosion affects parts of California and eastern Washington, while wind erosion is notable in the deserts of southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. Western Mexico faces water erosion along its length, which continues through Central America to Panama and includes major Caribbean islands like Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Wind erosion is also observed in northern Mexico. In South America, water erosion is prominent along the Andes mountains from Venezuela to Bolivia, in central Chile south of Santiago, and along Brazil's Atlantic coast from Recife southward to southeastern areas. The southern Andes of Bolivia and northern Chile experience wind erosion, as does east-central Brazil. Northwestern Europe sees minimal soil erosion, but water erosion does occur in Spain, southeastern and central Europe, and western Russia, extending into Siberia in Asia. Ukraine and southern Russia are susceptible to wind erosion. In North Africa, wind erosion affects the northern Sahara from Algeria to western Egypt and extends across the Sahel from Mauritania to Sudan. Sub-Saharan Africa has scattered water erosion patches in West Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, southern Africa (notably South Africa), and Madagascar. Southwest Asia experiences widespread wind erosion on the Arabian Peninsula and in Iran, while water erosion impacts Turkey, northern Iran, Yemen, and southern Oman. Central Asia faces water erosion in northwestern Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. In South Asia, northwest India deals with wind erosion, whereas water erosion is widespread across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and parts of Bangladesh. Southeast Asia encounters extensive water erosion in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia (particularly Borneo and Java). East Asia experiences water erosion in large parts of eastern China and wind erosion in northern China, eastern Mongolia, and various areas in western China. In Oceania, small areas of water erosion are found in eastern and western Australia, Vanuatu, and New Zealand’s North Island.

ISRIC World Soil Information

Anthropogenic Biomes

English as Official or de facto Language	Soil Erosion
Value	Wind erosion	Water erosion
		2.64%
		30.3%
	3.39%	3.82%
	2.81%	18.0%
	3.18%	1.43%
	22.9%	24.9%
	2.18%	6.98%
	22.2%	76.2%
	2.27%	11.4%
	2.72%	5.61%
		27.1%
	18.0%	27.1%
	14.8%	14.3%