Area 1,137 square mi (2,944 square km) Population 191,800 2014 Capital Apia Highest Point Mauga Silisili 6,092 ft (1,857 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $800.4 million 2014 Primary Natural Resources hardwood forests, fish. THE SAMOAN ARCHIPELAGO lies approximately midway between the Hawaiian islands and NEW ZEALAND and consists of scores of islands and atolls. Human […]

Area 152 square mi (389 square km) Population 109,400 2014 Capital Kingstown Highest Point Soufriere 4,072 ft (1,234 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $729.3 million 2014 Primary Natural Resources hydropower, cropland. THE COUNTRY OF Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is located in the Windward Islands section of the Antilles chain, between SAINT LUCIA and GRENADA in […]

Area 238 square mi (616 square km) Population 183,600 2014 Capital Castries Highest Point 3,135 ft (950 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $1.404 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources forests, minerals (pumice), geothermal potential. THE COUNTRY OF SAINT LUCIA is the secondlargest and the most picturesque of the Windward Islands. The island is known for its beauty […]

Area 102 square mi (261 square km) Population 54,940 2014 Capital Basseterre Highest Point 3,815 ft (1,156 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $852.2 million 2014 Primary Natural Resources arable land, sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables. THE FEDERATION OF SAINT KITTS and Nevis together form one of the newest nations in the Western Hemisphere. Formerly part of the […]

Area 16,365 square mi (26,338 square km) Population 11.34 million (2014) Capital Kigali Highest Point 14,826 ft (4,519 m) Lowest Point 3,100 ft (950 m) GDP $7.890 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources gold, cassiterite (tin ore). RWANDA, LOCATED in Central Africa, is a landlocked country of savanna GRASSLAND with a population that is predominantly rural. It is […]

Area 6.6 million square mi (17 million square km) Population 143.8 million 2014 Capital Moscow Highest Point 18,476 ft (5,633 m) Lowest Point -91 ft (-28 m) GDP $1.861 trillion 2014 Primary Natural Resources oil, natural gas, coal. STRETCHING IN A GIGANTIC arc around the ARCTIC OCEAN and North Pole, the Russian Federation spans 11 time zones, nearly half the globe from east […]

Area 91,000 square mi (237,500 square km) Population 19.91 million 2014 Capital Bucharest Highest Point 8,346 ft (2,544 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $199.0 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources oil, natural gas, timber, coal, iron ore. ROMANIA IS AN OVAL-shaped country in southeastern Europe. Situated in the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, it is halfway between the ATLANTIC OCEAN and the […]

Area 4,415 square mi (11,437 square km) Population 2.172 million 2014 Capital Doha Highest Point Qurayn Abu al Bawl 338 ft (103 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $210.1 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, natural gas, fish. QATAR IS LOCATED in the MIDDLE EAST; it is a peninsula projecting into the PERSIAN GULF and bordered […]

THE ESTADO LIBRE Asociado de Puerto Rico is a densely populated island in the eastern Greater Antilles in the CARIBBEAN SEA, divided into 78 counties. Even though it is a possession of the UNITED STATES, Puerto Rico is an independent commonwealth and has selfgovernance in all its local affairs. The rectangularshaped, mostly mountainous volcanic island […]

Area 35,672 square mi (92,391 square km) Population 10.40 million 2014 Capital Lisbon Highest Point Pico 7,713 ft (2,351 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $229.6 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources forests, cork, marble, fisheries. THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC is located in southwestern Europe, sharing the Iberian Peninsula with SPAIN, which it borders to the north […]

Area 120,728 square mi (312,685 square km) Population 38.00 million 2014 Capital Warsaw Highest Point 8,199 ft (2,499 m) Lowest Point -6.6 ft (-2 m) GDP $548.0 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver. POLAND IS LOCATED in eastern Europe, and is surrounded by the Baltic Sea to the northwest, GERMANY […]

Area 115,831 square mi (300,000 square km) Population 99.14 million 2014 Capital Manila Highest Point 9,691 ft (2,954 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $284.6 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, gold. OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST of mainland Asia lies the Philippines, a southeast Asian country that consists of an archipelago in […]

Area 496,226 square mi (1,285,220 square km) Population 30.97 million 2014 Capital Lima Highest Point 22,205 ft (6,768 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $202.9 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron. PERU IS A country of contrasts. The fourth-largest country in Latin America, Peru has an amazing geography, a […]

Area 157,047 square mi (406,750 square km) Population 6.553 million 2014 Capital Asuncion Highest Point 2,762 ft (842 m) Lowest Point 151 ft (46 m) GDP $30.98 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources cotton, sugarcane, soybeans. THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY is a LANDLOCKED country located in the central region of South America bordered by BOLIVIA, ARGENTINA, […]

Area 178,707 square mi (462,840 square km) Population 7.464 million 2014 Capital Port Moresby Highest Point 14,793 ft (4,509 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $15.41 billion 2013 Primary Natural Resources gold, silver, copper, natural gas, timber. PAPUA NEW GUINEA IS an archipelago that includes the eastern half of the equatorial island of New Guinea, […]

Area 30,193 square mi (78,200 square km) Capital Panama City Population 3.868 million 2014 Highest Point 11,400 ft (3,475 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $46.21 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane. The Republic of Panama is a Central American country bordered both by the CARIBBEAN SEA and the PACIFIC OCEAN, […]

Area 179 square mi (458 square km) Population 21,100 2014 Capital Koror Highest Point Mount Ngerchel-chuus 798 ft (242 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $250.6 million 2014 Primary Natural Resources forests, minerals, gold. PALAU (OR BELAU to its natives) is one of the world's newest nations, finally securing independence (in Free Association status) with […]

Area 310,413 square mi (803,940 square km) Population 185.0 million 2014 Capital Islamabad Highest Point 28,251 ft (8,611 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $246.9 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources natural gas, petroleum, coal, iron ore. PAKISTAN CAME INTO being in 1947 when British colonial India, upon independence, was divided into Muslim-dominated East Pakistan (BANGLADESH as […]

Area 82,031 square mi (212,460 square km) Population 4.236 million 2014 Capital Muscat Highest Point 9,776 ft (2,890 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $81.80 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, copper, asbestos, natural gas. OMAN IS LOCATED in the MIDDLE EAST, bordering the ARABIAN SEA, Gulf of Oman, and PERSIAN GULF, between YEMEN and […]

Area 125,182 square mi (324,220 square km) Population 5.136 million 2014 Capital Oslo Highest Point 8,148 ft (2,469 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $500.1 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel. NORWAY IS A LONG, narrow country, stretching from the North Sea to the ARCTIC OCEAN, roughly the same length […]

Area 100 square mi (260 square km) Population 2,145 Capital Alofi Highest Point unnamed hill near the town of Mutalau 223 ft (68 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP per capita $3,600 Primary Natural Resources agriculture. ONE OF THE WORLD'S largest coral islands and smallest countries, Niue is about the size of metropolitan District of […]

Area 356,667 square mi (923,768 square km) Population 177.5 million (2014) Capital Abuja Highest Point 7,936 ft (2,419 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $568.5 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources oil, coal, tin, palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber. NIGERIA, THE MOST populous nation in Africa, is bordered to the south by the Gulf of Guinea […]

Area 489,191 square mi (1,267,000 square km) Population 19.11 million (2014) Capital Niamey Highest Point 6,634 ft (2,022 m) Lowest Point 656 ft (200 m) GDP $8.169 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources uranium, coal, iron ore, tin. A LANDLOCKED republic in West Africa, Niger is bordered by ALGERIA to the northwest, MALI and BURKINA FASO […]

Area 49,998 square mi (129,494 square km) Population 6.014 million 2014 Capital Managua Highest Point 7,998 ft (2,438 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $11.81 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources gold, silver, cooper, tungsten, lead, zinc. BORDERED by COSTA RICA and HONDURAS, Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. The country is divided into […]

Area 107,737 square mi (268,680 square km) Population 4.510 million 2014 Capital Wellington Highest Point 12,283 ft (3,754 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $188.4 billion 2013 Primary Natural Resources natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal. IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN, the country of New Zealand lies to the southeast of AUSTRALIA. However, while Australia […]

Area 16,033 square mi (41,526 square km) Population 16.85 million 2014 Capital Amsterdam Highest Point 1,063 ft (322 m) Lowest Point -23 ft (-7 m) GDP $869.5 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources natural gas, petroleum, arable land. THERE IS A SAYING that God created the world, but the Dutch created Netherlands. Since roughly the 12th century, […]

Area 87,489 square mi (140,800 square km) Population 28.17 million 2014 Capital Katmandu Highest Point 29,035 ft (8,850 m) Lowest Point 230 ft (70 m) GDP $19.64 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources quartz, water, timber. NEPAL, LOCATED between two Asian giants INDIA and CHINA, is a small country of approximately the size of the American state […]

Area 8 square mi (21 square km) Population 12,570 Capital None, government offices in Yaren District Highest Point 200 ft (61 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP per capita $5,000 Primary Natural Resources phosphates, fish. NAURU, LOCATED near the equator south of the MARSHALL ISLANDS in the south PACIFIC OCEAN, is the world's smallest independent republic. […]

Area 318,696 square mi (825,418 square km) Population 2.403 million (2014) Capital Windhoek Highest Point 8,550 ft (2,606 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $13.43 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources diamonds, gold, tin, copper, lead, zinc. NAMIBIA, FORMERLY known as South West Africa (SWA), is located in southern Africa. It borders the South ATLANTIC OCEAN, […]

Area 261,970 square mi (678,500 square km) Population 53.44 million 2014 Capital Rangoon Highest Point 9,692 ft (2,954 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $64.33 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper. A KITE-SHAPED country with a 1,243-mi (2,000-km) north-south stretch, Myanmar has its apex in the north, bordering INDIA and […]

Area 309,496 square mi (801,590 square km) Population 27.22 million (2014) Capital Maputo Highest Point 7,992 ft (2,436 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $16.39 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources coal, natural gas, titanium ore, iron ore. MOZAMBIQUE IS located in southeast Africa and is about twice the size of CALIFORNIA. It is bordered on […]

Area 172,413 square mi (446,550 square km) Population 33.92 million (2014) Capital Rabat Highest Point 13,665 ft (4,165 m) Lowest Point -180 ft (-55 m) GDP $107.0 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources agriculture, phosphate mining, minerals. MOROCCO REPRESENTS the finest example of multicultural fusion, combining 2,000 years of languages, rituals and customs, cuisine and foods, […]

Area 604,250 square mi (1,565,000 square km) Population 2.910 million 2014 Capital Ulaanbaatar Highest Point 14,350 ft (4,374 m) Lowest Point 1,699 ft (518 m) GDP $12.02 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources oil, coal, copper, tin, nickel. ONCE ONE OF THE world's largest empires (under Genghis Khan), Mongolia eventually became a territory of CHINA, then […]

Area .75 square mi (1.95 square km) Population 37,620 2014 Capital Monaco-Ville Highest Point Mount Agle 460 ft (140 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $6.075 billion 2011 Primary Natural Resources climate for tourism. WHILE EXTREMELY SMALL at only 48 acres (19.4 hectares) in area bordering FRANCE and ITALY, Monaco still has several distinct geographic […]

Area 13,067 square mi (33,843 square km) Population 3.556 million 2014 Capital Chisinau Highest Point 1,419 ft (430 m) Lowest Point 6.6 ft (2 m) GDP $7.944 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources lignite, phosphorites, gypsum. THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA is the second-smallest former Soviet republic and the most densely populated, located in the borderlands between […]

Area 271 square mi (702 square km) Population 104,000 2014 Capital Palikir Highest Point 791 m (2,595 ft) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $316.2 million 2013 Primary Natural Resources forest products, fish, marine products, deep sea minerals. MICRONESIA CONSISTS of four Pacific island groups located between the Marianas and MARSHALL ISLANDS, 1,000 mi (1,600 km) […]

Area 761,605 square mi (1,972,550 square km) Population 125.4 million 2014 Capital Mexico City Highest Point 18,700 ft (5,700 m) Lowest Point -33 ft (-10 m) GDP $1.283 trillion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, silver, copper, gold. OFFICIALLY KNOWN AS the Estados Unidos Mexicanos (United Mexican States), Mexico is a country in North America. It […]

Area 788 square mi (2,040 square km) Population 1.261 million 2014 Capital Port Louis Highest Point 2,732 ft (828 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $12.62 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources arable land, sugarcane, tea, cattle, goats, fish. MAURITIUS IS AN island nation in the INDIAN OCEAN, located about 500 mi (800 km) east of […]

Area 397,955 square mi (1,030,700 square km) Population 3.970 million (2014) Capital Nouakchott Highest Point 2,985 ft (910 m ) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $5.061 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources fish, iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphates, salt. MAURITANIA IS LOCATED in Northwest Africa on the coast of the ATLANTIC OCEAN. It covers an area […]

Area 70.7 square mi (181.3 square km) Capital Majuro Population 52,900 2014 Highest Point 33 ft (10 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $190.9 million 2013 Primary Natural Resources coconut products, marine products, seabed minerals. THE REPUBLIC OF THE Marshall Islands, formerly a component of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (administered […]

Area 122 square mi (316 square km) Population 427,400 2014 Capital Valletta Highest Point 830 ft (253 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $9.643 billion 2013 Primary Natural Resources globigerina limestone, petroleum, tourism. THE COUNTRY OF MALTA, which calls itself the Repubblika Ta' Malta, is an archipelago made up of five islands: Malta, Gozo, Comino, […]

Area 478,640 square mi (1,240,000 square km) Population 17.09 million (2014) Capital Bamako Highest Point 3,789 ft (1,155 m) Lowest Point 75 ft (23 m) GDP $12.07 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone. A LANDLOCKED REPUBLIC and the largest country in West Africa, Mali is bordered by ALGERIA to the northeast, […]

Area 115 square mi (300 square km) Population 357,400 2014 Capital Male Highest Point 7.8 ft (2.4 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $3.032 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes, fish, tourism. THE COUNTRY OF THE Maldive Islands is located in southern Asia, in the INDIAN OCEAN, as a group of atolls […]

Area 127,316 square mi (329,750 square km) Population 29.90 million 2014 Capital Kuala Lumpur Highest Point 13,450 ft (4,100 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $326.9 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore. MALAYSIA IS LOCATED in the heart of Southeast Asia and is divided into two geographical sections: Peninsular Malaysia […]

Area 45,745 square mi (118,480 square km) Population 16.70 million (2014) Capital Lilongwe Highest Point 9,843 ft (3,002 m) Lowest Point 105 ft (37 m) GDP $4.258 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources almost entirely agricultural. MALAWI IS A SMALL, landlocked country in central southeastern Africa. It is about the size of LOUISIANA or somewhat larger […]

Area 364,500 square mi (587,040 square km) Population 23.57 million (2014) Capital Antananarivo Highest Point 9,435 ft (2,876 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $10.59 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz. MADAGASCAR, THE WORLD'S fourth-largest island, after GREENLAND, New Guinea, and BORNEO, is located 250 mi (400 km) off the southeast […]

Area 9,781 square mi (25,333 square km) Population 2.076 million 2014 Capital Skopje Highest Point 9,085 ft (2,753 m) Lowest Point 165 ft (50 m) GDP $11.32 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources chromium, lead, zinc, manganese. THE REPUBLIC OF Macedonia is a country in the southern Balkans but covers only part of the larger historical […]

Area 998 square mi (2,586 square km) Population 556,100 2014 Capital Luxembourg Highest Point 1,834 ft (559 m) Lowest Point 436 ft (133 m) GDP $60.13 billion 2013 Primary Natural Resources arable land. LUXEMBOURG IS a small LANDLOCKED western European country, within the EUROPEAN UNION (EU), and given its small population size, the country does […]

Area 25,173 square mi (65,200 square km) Population 2.929 million 2014 Capital Vilnius Highest Point Juozapine/Kalnas 954 ft (292 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $48.17 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources peat, arable land. THE REPUBLIC OF Lithuania in northern Europe is a lowland country that borders LATVIA to the north, BELARUS to the east […]

Area 62.4 square mi (160 square km) Population 37,290 2014 Capital Vaduz Highest Point 8,577 ft (2,599 m) Lowest Point 1,419 ft (430 m) GDP $5.488 billion 2012 Primary Natural Resources hydroelectric potential. ONE OF WESTERN Europe's five microstates, the story-book principality of Liechtenstein is in reality one of the few “absolutist” states in the […]

Area 679,362 square mi (1,759,540 square km) Population 6.259 million (2014) Capital Tripoli Highest Point 7,437 ft (2,267 m) Lowest Point -154 ft (-47 m) GDP $41.12 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources crude oil, petroleum products. A RELATIVELY LARGE country, similar in size to the state of ALASKA, Libya largely consists of broad rolling deserts, […]

Area 43,000 sq. mi. (111,370 sq. km) Population 4.397 million (2014) Capital Monrovia Highest Point 4,540 ft (1,383 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $2.027 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources rubber, coffee, cocoa, timber. LIBERIA, “LAND OF THE FREE,” in western Africa, borders the north ATLANTIC OCEAN, between COTE D'IVOIRE and SIERRA LEONE. It has 10 […]

Area 11,720 square mi (30,355 square km) Population 2.109 million (2014) Capital Maseru Highest Point 11,425 ft (3,482 m) Lowest Point 4,265 ft (1,301 m) GDP $2.088 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources water, diamonds, minerals. LESOTHO IS LOCATED literally within SOUTH AFRICA: This small southern African country is landlocked and surrounded on all sides by […]

Area 4,015 square mi (10,400 square km) Population 4.547 million 2014 Capital Beirut Highest Point 10,131 ft (3,088 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $45.73 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources limestone, iron ore, salt, water, arable land. LEBANON, ONE OF the world's smallest countries, is on the eastern shore of the MEDITERRANEAN SEA. SYRIA is […]

Area 24,937 square mi (64,589 square km) Population 1.990 million 2014 Capital Riga Highest Point Gaizinkalns 1,017 ft (311 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $31.92 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources peat, limestone, dolomite, amber. ON THE EASTERN shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe, the Republic of Latvia is a flat country that […]

Area 91,429 square mi (236,800 square km) Population 5,921,545 Capital Vientiane Highest Point 9,240 ft (2,817 m) Lowest Point 230 ft (70 m) GDP per capita $326 Primary Natural Resources timber, hydropower, gypsum. LAOS, THE ONLY landlocked (without any ocean coastline) Southeast Asian country, is one of the poorest of the world, with 40 percent […]

Area 76,641 square mi (198,500 square km) Population 5.834 million 2014 Capital Bishkek Highest Point 24,407 ft (7,439 m) Lowest Point 433 ft (132 m) GDP $7.404 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources hydropower, gold, coal, oil. LANDLOCKED AND MOUNTAINOUS, the Kyrgyz Republic achieved its independence in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan […]

Area 6,880 square mi (17,280 square km) Population 3.753 million 2014 Capital Kuwait City Highest Point 1,004 ft (306 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $175.8 billion 2013 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas. KUWAIT IS A COUNTRY in the MIDDLE EAST, bordering the PERSIAN GULF, between IRAQ and SAUDI ARABIA. The establishment […]

Area 38,294 square mi (98,190 square km) Population 50.42 million 2014 Capital Seoul Highest Point 6,435 ft (1,950 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $1.410 trillion 2014 Primary Natural Resources coal, tungsten, lead, hydropower potential. AN ECONOMIC GIANT of East Asia, South Korea's economy took off after the Korean War of the 1950s. South Koreans […]

Area 46,541 square mi (120,540 square km) Population 25.03 million 2014 Capital P'yongyang Highest Point 9,055 ft (2,744 m) Lowest Point 0 m Primary Natural Resources coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite. THE DEMOCRATIC People's Republic of Korea, North Korea, is one of the world's most politically isolated countries. Separated from its sister nation (South KOREA) […]

Area 313 square mi (811 square km) Population 110,500 2014 Capital Bairiki Highest Point Banaba Island 243 ft (81 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $166.8 million 2014 Primary Natural Resources phosphate (depleted by 1979), copra. THE REPUBLIC OF Kiribati consists of 33 atolls straddling the equator and the INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE. The country is […]

Area 224,900 square mi (582,488 square km) Capital Nairobi Population 44.86 million (2014) Highest Point 17,058 ft (5,199 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $60.94 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources coffee, tea, corn, vegetables, livestock. KENYA, WHICH LIES astride the equator on the eastern coast of Africa, is bordered in the north by SUDAN and […]

Area 1,049,155 square mi (2,717,300 square km) Population 17.29 million 2014 Capital Astana Highest Point 23,084 ft (6,995 m) Lowest Point -436 ft (-132 m) GDP $212.2 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, natural gas, coal. THE REPUBLIC OF Kazakhstan occupies the center of the Eurasian supercontinent, the second largest of the former Soviet republics […]

Area 35,536 square mi (92,300 square km) Population 6.607 million 2014 Capital Amman Highest Point 5,689 ft (1,734 m) Lowest Point -1,340 ft (-408 m) GDP $35.83 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources phosphates, potash, shale. JORDAN IS A MIDDLE Eastern country located in southwest Asia. Its official name is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and […]

Area 145,843 square mi (377,835 square km) Population 127.1 million 2014 Capital Tokyo Highest Point 12,389 ft (3,776 m) Lowest Point -13 ft (-4 m) GDP $4.601 trillion 2014 Primary Natural Resources coal, copper, rice, sugar beets. JAPAN IS AN ISLAND nation occupying a long, relatively narrow mountainous archipelago of four large and about 3,000 […]

Area 6,829 square mi (10,991 square km) Population 2.721 million 2014 Capital Kingston Highest Point 7,401 ft (2,256 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $14.36 billion 2013 Primary Natural Resources bauxite, gypsum, limestone, sugarcane. JAMAICA, SOME 62 mi (100 km) south of CUBA, is the third-largest island in the CARIBBEAN SEA and is full of […]

Area 116,306 square mi (301,230 square km) Population 61.34 million 2014 Capital Rome Highest Point 15,577 ft (4,748 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $2.144 trillion 2014 Primary Natural Resources limited natural gas, minerals, beef, arable land. ITALY, IN SOUTHWESTERN Europe, is a peninsula bordered by FRANCE to the northwest, SWITZERLAND to the north, SLOVENIA […]

Area 8,019 square mi (20,770 square km) Population 8.215 million 2014 Capital Jerusalem Highest Point 3,974 ft (1,208 m) Lowest Point -1,338 ft (-408 m) GDP $304.2 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources timber, potash, copper ore. THE STATE OF ISRAEL is located on the eastern shore of the MEDITERRANEAN SEA, bordering the Gaza Strip to […]

Area 27,135 square mi (70,280 square km) Population 4.613 million 2014 Capital Dublin Highest Point 3,414 ft (1,041 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $245.9 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources zinc, lead, natural gas, barite, copper, gypsum. THE REPUBLIC OF Ireland covers five-sixths of the island of Ireland and shares its only border with Northern […]

Area 168,754 square mi (437,072 square km) Population 34.81 million 2014 Capital Baghdad Highest Point 11,847 ft (3,611 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $220.5 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, natural gas, phosphates. IRAQ IS A MIDDLE EASTERN country, bordering the PERSIAN GULF, between IRAN and KUWAIT. Iraq is also bordered by TURKEY, SYRIA, […]

Area 636,296 square mi (1,648,000 square km) Population 78.14 million 2014 Capital Tehran Highest Point 18,605 ft (5,671 m) Lowest Point -91 ft (-28 m) GDP $415.3 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, natural gas, coal. IRAN IS A MIDDLE EASTERN country, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the PERSIAN GULF, and the CASPIAN SEA, between IRAQ […]

Area 741,110 square mi (1,919,440 square km) Population 254.5 million 2014 Capital Jakarta Highest Point 16,502 ft (5,030 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $888.5 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, natural gas, nickel, copper. COMPOSED OF 17,000 islands, Indonesia is the world's sixth-largest nation and the world's largest archipelago, stretching over 5,000 mi (8,047 […]

Area 1,284,215 square mi (3,287,590 square km) Population 1.295 billion 2014 Capital New Delhi Highest Point 28,201 ft (8,598 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $2.067 trillion 2014 Primary Natural Resources coal, iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite. INDIA IS LOCATED in South Asia bordering the INDIAN OCEAN, ARABIAN SEA, and the BAY OF BENGAL in […]

Area 39,769 square mi (103,000 square km) Population 327,600 2014 Capital Reykjavik Highest Point 6,950 ft (2,119 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $17.07 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources hydropower, geothermal heat. ICELAND IS A volcanic island lying on the Mid-Atlantic Rift 170 mi (280 km) southeast of GREENLAND and 500 mi (800 km) northwest […]

Area 35,919 square mi (93,030 square km) Population 9.862 million 2014 Capital Budapest Highest Point 3,346 ft (1,014 m) Lowest Point 257 ft (78 m) GDP $137.1 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources bauxite, coal, natural gas. HUNGARY IS UNIQUE among the nations of Europe in many ways: a relatively flat country among hillier neighbors, a […]

Area 43,278 square mi (112,090 square km) Population 6,669,789 Capital Tegucigalpa Highest Point 9,416 ft (2,870 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP per capita $2,600 Primary Natural Resources timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc. Honduras is located right in the heart of Central America, sharing borders with EL SALVADOR, NICARAGUA, and GUATEMALA. Most of the […]

Area 27,750 square mi (44,658 square km) Population 10.57 million 2014 Capital Port-au-Prince Highest Point 8,792 ft (2,680 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $8.713 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold. HAITI IS LOCATED on the western third of the island of Hispaniola in the CARIBBEAN SEA. The country is mainly […]

Area 76,772 square mi (196,850 square km) Population 763,900 2014 Capital Georgetown Highest Point 9,355 ft (2,835 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $3.228 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood. THE NAME Guyana possibly comes from a local native word meaning “land of water,” but it could also derive from the word […]

Area 13,942 square mi (36,120 square km) Capital Bissau Population 1.801 million (2014) Highest Point 984 ft (300 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $1.022 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, petroleum. THE REPUBLIC OF Guinea-Bissau, commonly called Guinea-Bissau, is a tropical West African nation-state. The borders include the ATLANTIC OCEAN on […]

Area 94,925 square mi (245,857 square km) Population 12.28 million (2014) Capital Conakry Highest Point 5,748 ft (1,752 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $6.624 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, precious metals. GUINEA IS LOCATED in the southwestern part of West Africa. It is bordered by GUINEA-BISSAU, SENEGAL, and MALI to […]

Area 67,661 square mi (108,890 square km) Population 16.02 million 2014 Capital Guatemala City Highest Point 13,815 ft (4,211 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $58.73 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, nickel, rare woods. THE REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA is located in Central America and is bordered by the PACIFIC OCEAN, the Gulf of Honduras, […]

Area 133 square mi (344 square km) Population 106,300 (2014) Capital Saint George's Highest Point 2,756 ft (840 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $882.2 million 2014 Primary Natural Resources timber, tropical fruit, agricultural products. GRENADA IS AN independent island country in the CARIBBEAN SEA. It is a member of the British Commonwealth. The country was in the news in 1983, […]

Area 51,012 square mi (130,800 square km) Capital Athens Population 10.96 million 2014 Highest Point 9,626 ft (2,917 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $237.6 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum. FOR OVER 4,000 years, Greece has been at the crossroads of civilizations. The great empires of the Western and Eastern worlds […]

Area 92,090 square mi (238,500 square km) Population 26.44 million (2014) Capital Accra Highest Point 2,904 ft (885 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $38.65 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources gold, bauxite, diamonds, hydropower. GHANA IS LOCATED in west-central Africa and is bordered by COTE D'IVOIRE to the west, TOGO to the east, and BURKINA […]

Area 137,845 square mi (357,021 square km) Population 80.89 million 2014 Capital Berlin Highest Point 9,721 ft (2,963 m) Lowest Point -11 ft (-3.54 m) GDP $3.853 trillion 2014 Primary Natural Resources iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite. THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC of Germany is one of the largest countries and has the largest population in […]

Area 43,310 square mi (69,700 square km) Population 4.504 million 2014 Capital T'bilisi Highest Point 17,064 ft (5,201 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $16.53 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources forests, hydropower, manganese, iron ore, copper. LOCATED IN THE REGION known as the Caucasus or Caucasia, Georgia is a small country, about the size of […]

Area 4,361 square mi (11,300 square km) Population 1.909 million (2014) Capital Banjul Highest Point 174 ft (53 m) Lowest Point 0 m, GDP $807.1 million (2014) Primary Natural Resources peanuts, millet, sorghum, corn, sesame, cassava. GAMBIA IS BORDERED by the ATLANTIC OCEAN on the west and surrounded on the remaining three sides by SENEGAL. […]

Area 103,347 square mi (267,669 square km) Population 1.711 million (2014) Capital Libreville Highest Point 3,215 ft (980 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $17.23 billion (2014) Natural Resources cocoa, coffee, timber, minerals (gold). LOCATED ON THE ATLANTIC OCEAN coast in Central Africa, Gabon shares borders with CAMEROON, Republic of the CONGO, and EQUATORIAL GUINEA. […]

FRENCH POLYNESIA IS a French overseas territory situated in the south central PACIFIC OCEAN. There are five inhabited archipelagos: the Society, Tuamotu, Gambier, Australes, and Marquesas island chains. The islands are volcanic but the Tuamotu chain is made up of low coral atolls of which there are 80. French Polynesia numbers 121 islands in all, […]

FRENCH GUIANA, or Guyane francaise, is the only one of the three Guianas (British, Dutch, and French) to retain its political links with Europe. Having been a full part of the French state as an overseas department since 1946—and thus a part of the EUROPEAN UNION— its citizens look to Europe more than to South […]

Area 212,796 square mi (545,630 square km) Population 66.20 million 2014 Capital Paris Highest Point 15,863 ft (4,807 m) Lowest Point -6.6 ft (-2 m) GDP $2.829 trillion 2014 Primary Natural Resources coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, potash, timber. ONE OF THE DOMINANT nations of Europe since the 9th century, and of the world since […]

Area 130,500 square mi (338,000 square km) Population 5.464 million 2014 Capital Helsinki Highest Point 4,426 ft (1,328 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $270.7 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources timber, metals arable land. AS CITIZENS OF the northernmost country in Europe, the people of Finland have long experienced the effects of their nation's absolute […]

Area 6,767 square mi (18,270 square km) Population 887,000 2014 Capital Suva Highest Point Tomanivi 4,343 ft (1,324 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $4.030 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil. THE REPUBLIC OF the Fiji Islands, a part of Oceania, is an archipelago in the South PACIFIC OCEAN, about […]

Area 435,184 square mi (1,127,127 square km) Population 96.51 million (2014) Capital Addis Ababa Highest Point 15,158 ft (4,620 m) Lowest Point -410 ft (-25 m) GDP $54.80 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources precious metals, natural gas. ETHIOPIA IS LOCATED in northeastern Africa, an area rich in geography, climate, and history. The Great Rift Valley, […]

Area 16,852 square mi (43,211 square km) Population 1.314 million 2014 Capital Tallinn Highest Point 1,050 ft (318 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $25.90 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, dolomite. FOR CENTURIES DOMINATED by its larger and stronger neighbors, since independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, […]

Area 46,662 square mi (121,320 square km) Population 6.536 million (2014) Capital Asmura Highest Point 9,959 ft (3,018 m) Lowest Point -248 ft (-75 m) GDP $3.858 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources precious metals, natural gas. ERITREA IS LOCATED in northeastern Africa, an area known as the HORN OF AFRICA, where the RED SEA empties […]

Area 10,831 square mi (28,051 square km) Population 778,100 (2014) Capital Malabo Highest Point 9,870 ft (3,008 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $14.31 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources petroleum, wood uranium, gold, manganese. EQUATORIAL GUINEA is located in west-central Africa just north of the equator. It is made up of Rio Muni on the African […]

Area 8,108 square mi (21,000 square km) Population 6.384 million 2014 Capital San Salvador Highest Point 8,956 ft (2,730 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $25.22 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans. THE REPUBLIC of El Salvador is located on the PACIFIC OCEAN in Central America, between GUATEMALA and HONDURAS. It […]

Area 622,272 square mi (1,001,450 square km) Population 83.39 million (2014) Capital Cairo Highest Point 8,625 ft (2,629 m) Lowest Point -436 ft (-133 m) GDP $286.5 billion (2014) Primary Natural Resources cotton, rice, corn. EGYPT HAS BEEN a unified state for more than 5,000 years and is one of humanity’s oldest civilizations of great […]

Area 109,483 square mi (283,560 square km) Population 15.98 million 2014 Capital Quito Highest Point 20,561 ft (6,267 m) Lowest Point 0 m GDP $100.5 billion 2014 Primary Natural Resources petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower. ECUADOR IS A SMALL country located on the west coast of South America. The equator crosses the country, thus giving Ecuador […]