[dfc]

The numbers do not add up. According to the CIA in 2012 there were 43,794 airports or airfields that are recognizable from the air. This number includes airfields that are "unpaved (grass, earth, sand, or gravel surfaces) and may include closed or abandoned installations." The 2010 figure is 43,982.[2][3]

[1] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/...

[2] http://web.archive.org/web/20120208135324/https://www.cia.go...

[3] I found this to be interesting: Afghanistan lost an airport/airfield over those two years.