Atlas by murraybooks

Atlas

ATLAS BOOKS

First published in 2019 by Murray Books (Australia) www.murraybooks.com

All rights reserved. This publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Author : Peter Murray : Images: Shutterstock

The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the information contained in this book was correct at the time of going to press and accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person or organisation using this book.

This compact Atlas is restricted by the number of pages available to detail each country in the world. We have endeavoured to cover all regions in the World and have included major countries of each region.

COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD

UNITED S

The United States of America is made up of 50 states and five self-

governing territories scattered over mainland North America, the

Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. By total area, the United States

is the fourth-largest and third-most populous country in the world.

Alaska, the largest of the country's states, covers an area of

7,663,940.6 km2 (2,959,064 sq mi), while the total area covered by

the five self-governing territories is 23,789 km2 (9,185 sq mi). In the

mainland's north, the Atlantic coastline is overlooked by deciduous

forests that eventually rise to become the Appalachian Mountains.

OFFICIAL TITLE

United States of America

turn becomes the vast grasslands of the country's Midwest. Through

SIZE

3,796,742 sq mi (9,833,520 km2)

north to south, giving life to the prairies of the Great Plains. Those

MAIN RELIGION

Christianity

Those mountains then drop away to the Great Lakes area, which in the heart of America the Mississippi-Missouri River complex runs from

prairies stretch west until they meet with the towering Rocky Mountains, which eventually give way to vast desert country or to

meet with the Pacific coast in more fertile regions in the south. Such a vast mainland offers virtually every type of climate, including

tropical, continental, Mediterranean, alpine and arid. The country is also subject to extremes that range from regular tornadoes in the south and the midwest to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and

volcanic activity in Hawaii and Alaska.

TIME ZONE

POPULATION

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES CURRENCY

CALLING CODE

INTERNET SUFFIX ANTHEM

UTC-4 to +11 324,542,000 English

Washington, D.C. - 38°53′N 77°01′W New York City - 40°43′N 74°00′W United States Dollar (USD) +1

.com

The Star-Spangled Banner

STATES OF AMERICA

CANADA

Canada is the second-largest country in the world

and is situated in the north of the North American

continent. The country extends from the Atlantic

to the Pacific Oceans and the United States

border to Alaska and the Arctic Ocean. The country is divided into 10 provinces and three

territories and is chiefly dominated by mountains, dense forest, tundra and lakes. Most of Canada's population lives near the southern border, and

Canadian cities are home to 82 percent of the entire population. The capital city of Canada is Ottawa, with Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal its

largest cities. Other major centres include

Edmonton, Calgary, Hamilton, Winnipeg and

Quebec City. Geologically, Canada is volcanically

active, and its most notable non-dormant craters

are on Mount Meagher, Mount Cayley, Mount Garibaldi and the volcanic complex of Mount

Edziza. The largest recorded eruption was in 1775

in British Columbia. The Great Lakes are situated

on the border of Canada and the USA, connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the inland of the country

through the Saint Lawrence River. The lakes are the largest freshwater group of lakes in the world

and account for 21 percent of the world's surface fresh water. Canada's climate varies between its

vast regions, and many parts of the country

experience harsh winters. In the interior, the Prairie lands are the country's food bowl and

experience an average daily temperature in winter of −15°C (5°F), and occasionally drop to below

−40°C (−40°F). Much of Canada's coastal areas are

snow-covered for half of the year, and the warmest areas in the country are found between

the east and west coasts and can climb to 30°C

(86°F).

OFFICIAL TITLE

TIME ZONE

SIZE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

CURRENCY

CALLING CODE

INTERNET SUFFIX

ANTHEM

Canada

UTC-3.5 to -8

9,984,670 km2 (3,855,100 sq mi)

35,151,728

Christianity

English, French

Ottawa - 45°24'N 75°40'W

Toronto - 43°42'N 79°24'W

Canadian Dollar (CAD)

.ca

O Canada

SOUTH AMERICA

South America is a continent in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It may also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas, which is how it is viewed in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions of the Americas. The reference to South America instead of other regions (like Latin America or the Southern Cone) has increased in the last decades due to changing geopolitical dynamics (in particular, the rise of Brazil). It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. It includes twelve sovereign states (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela), a part of France (French Guiana), and a non-sovereign area (the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory though this is disputed by Argentina). In addition to this, the

BRAZIL

ABC islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,

Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama may also be considered part of South America.

OFFICIAL TITLE

UTC-1 to -5

POPULATION

206,440,850

SIZE

8,515,767 km2 (3,287,956 sq mi)

MAIN RELIGION

Christianity (Roman Catholicism)

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Brasilia - 15°47'S 47°52'W

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE/S

Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world by

Federative Republic of Brazil

TIME ZONE

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Portuguese

São Paulo - 23°33'S 46°38'W

both population and area. Bordered by the

CURRENCY

Real (BRL)

country outside of Ecuador and Chile, it is also

INTERNET SUFFIX

.br

Atlantic Ocean and every other South American the largest Portuguese speaking country in the

world. Covering over 8.5 million km2 (3.3 million

sq mi), Brazil spans four time zones and has both the Tropic of Capricorn and the Equator running through it. The landscape of Brazil is a diverse

one, and most of its terrain sits at between 200

m (660 ft) and 800 m (2,600 ft). The country has

a vast network of rivers that include the Amazon

and the Paraná, and its entire river system is one

of the most extensive on Earth. The climate of Brazil is varied and is generally considered

equatorial, although there are five sub types of

climate across the country. Brazil's capital city is Brasilia, and its most populous city is São Paulo.

The third-most populous city in Brazil is Rio de

Janiero,

which

one

the

Southern

Hemisphere's most visited cities and the centre of carnivals, dance culture and beach lifestyle.

CALLING CODE ANTHEM

+55

Hino Nacional Brasileiro

CENTRAL AMERICA

Central America is sometimes defined as a subcontinent of the Americas. This region is bordered by Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south. Central America consists of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. The combined population of Central America is estimated to be 42 million.

HONDURAS

The Republic of Honduras was once known as the

Spanish Honduras and it sits on the southern Pacific

Gulf of Fonseca and the northern Caribbean Gulf of

Honduras. On land, Honduras is bordered by El

Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The majority of

Honduras' landscape is covered with mountains, with a lowland jungle in the north-east, a densely

populated lowland in the north-west and narrow plains

along the coastline. Offshore from the north coast are

the Swan Islands and the Islas de la Bahía. Natural

resources within Honduras include gold, silver, timber,

lead, copper, iron ore, zinc, fish, coal and shrimp.

There are 18 departments that comprise Honduras

administratively. Of those, Francisco Morazán is a

department in Honduras' central district, and it is

home to the country's capital, Tegucigalpa. Honduras is a biodiverse country, renowned for its plant and

animal species. Over 600 species of orchid can be found in the country, along with 250 species of

amphibians and reptiles, 110 mammal species and 700

bird species. Half of the mammals indigenous to Honduras are bats. The forestry of Honduras is world

renowned, and the north-east of the country is home

to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Río Plátano

Biosphere Reserve. As well as rainforests, Honduras

has cloud forests that sit at levels of up to 3,000m

(9,700 ft). Other notable geographic features of Honduras are savanna, mangroves, pine and oak

forests, and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.

OFFICIAL TITLE

TIME ZONE

SIZE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

CURRENCY

CALLING CODE

INTERNET SUFFIX

ANTHEM

Republic of Honduras

UTC-6

112,492 km2(43,433 sq mi)

8,249,574

Christianity

Spanish

Tegucigalpa - 14°6′N 87°13′W

Lempira (HNL)

+504

.hn

Himno Nacional de Honduras

CARIBBEAN

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region has more than 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays. Island arcs delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea: The Greater Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago on the north and the Lesser Antilles and the on the south and east (which includes the Leeward Antilles). The Lucayan Archipelago (the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands), do not border the Caribbean Sea, but are still within the boundaries of the Caribbean region. On the mainland, Belize, Nicaragua, the Caribbean region of Colombia, Cozumel, the Yucatán Peninsula, Margarita Island, and the Guyanas are often included due to their political and cultural ties with the region. OFFICIAL TITLE

JAMAICA

TIME ZONE

UTC-5

POPULATION

2,950,210

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

English

SIZE

MAIN RELIGION

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

+1-876

ANTHEM

Jamaica, Land We Love

INTERNET SUFFIX

islands.

Jamaica's

nearest

Republic on the island of Hispaniola, while its closer southern neighbour is Cuba. The island is

dominated by the Blue Mountains, which are

surrounded by a coastal plain that is home to the

capital city of Kingston and its huge natural harbour.

Other significant towns and cities within Jamaica

are Spanish Town, Portmore, Port Antonio,

Mandeville, Ocho Ríos, Montego Bay and Negril.

Jamaica has a large tourism industry, and attractions

include numerous luxury resorts and sites of

interest. Situated in a tropical zone, Jamaica is home to a wide variety of ecosystems, which

include terrestrial limestone forests, riparian

woodland, rainforests and caves. The centre of Jamaica's economy lies within its capital city,

Kingston. The densely populated city is home to the

headquarters of many multi-national companies and financial institutions, which stimulate a healthy

economy. Geographically, Kingston is surrounded by the Blue Mountains, Long Mountain, Red Hills

and Kingston Harbour.

Kingston - 17°59′N 76°48′W

CALLING CODE

Greater

Antilles

Christianity

Kingston - 17°59′N 76°48′

CURRENCY

neighbours to the west are Haiti and the Dominican

10,991 km2 (4,244 sq mi)

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

The island country of Jamaica is located in the

Caribbean Sea, and it is the third-largest of the

Jamaica

Jamaican Dollar (JMD)

.jm

EUROPE Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere

and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic

Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Asia to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia.

Europe is most commonly considered to be separated from Asia by

the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas and the waterways of the Turkish

Straits. Although the term "continent" implies physical geography,

the land border is somewhat arbitrary and has been redefined several

times since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of

Eurasia into two continents reflects East-West cultural, linguistic and ethnic differences which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp

dividing line. The geographic border between Europe and Asia does

not follow any state boundaries: Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan are transcontinental countries. France, Portugal,

Netherlands, Spain and United Kingdom are also transcontinental in that the main portion is in Europe while pockets of their territory are located in other continents.

Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi),

or 2% of the Earth's surface (6.8% of land area). Politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the

continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a total

population of about 741 million (about 11% of the world population) as of 2016.

Europe, in particular ancient Greece and ancient Rome, was the

birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman

Empire in 476 AD and the subsequent Migration Period marked the

end of ancient history and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Renaissance humanism, exploration, art and science led to the

modern era. Since the Age of Discovery started by Portugal and Spain, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between

the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at various

times the Americas, almost all of Africa and Oceania and the majority

of Asia.

gERMANY

GERMANY

Germany is a central-western European country. It is the most populous European Union member state,

and is also the most popular destination for

OFFICIAL TITLE

Federal Republic of Germany

coastline is comprised of the Baltic Sea in the north

SIZE

357,168 km2(137,903 sq mi)

immigrants behind the United States. Germany's

and north-east, while land borders are shared with

TIME ZONE

POPULATION

Republic, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the

MAIN RELIGION

Switzerland is comprised of Lake Constance, which

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Poland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech

Netherlands. Germany's border between Austria and

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE/S

is Central Europe's third-largest lake. The country's

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

capital and largest city is the formerly divided Berlin, while other significant cities include Frankfurt,

Munich,

Hamburg,

Stuttgart,

Cologne

and

Düsseldorf. Between Germany's coast and its highest

point in the Alps (Zugspitze), elevation rises to 2,962 m (9,718 ft). In its northern lowlands, Germany's river

system is a vast one, and the Danube, Rhine and Elbe

Rivers are significant transport and tourism routes.

The major part of Germany experiences a temperate,

seasonal climate, which is moderated through the effects of the North Atlantic Drift's warmer waters.

In the east of Germany, the climate is more continental, with cold winters, very warm summers

and less rainfall than the west. The plant and animal

life of Germany is common to most of Central

Europe, and oak, beech and assorted deciduous

trees mainly populate one-third of the country's

forests. In mountainous areas, conifers, firs and

spruce trees grow widely. The country's 16 national

parks, 15 biosphere reserves, 98 nature parks and over 400 zoos are home to numerous animals, with

the latter including the world famous Berlin Zoo.

CURRENCY

CALLING CODE

INTERNET SUFFIX ANTHEM

UTC+1

82,175,700

Christianity German

Berlin - 52°31′N 13°23′E

Berlin - 52°31′N 13°23′E Euro (EUR) +49 .de

Deutschlandlied

FRANCE

France, officially known as the French Republic, is a

Western European country with a number of overseas territories and regions. On the European mainland, France extends from the Mediterranean

Sea in the south and sits along the English Channel, the North Sea and Germany's Rhine River. The capital

and most populous city in France is Paris, which is

OFFICIAL TITLE

French Republic

SIZE

643,801 km2(248,573 sq mi)

also the most popular tourism destination in the

TIME ZONE

Bordeaux, Nice, Lille, Marseille, Toulouse and Lyon. The countries that border mainland France are

POPULATION

66,991,000

and Belgium in the north-west, Spain and Andorra in

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE/S

French

world. Other major urban centres of France include

Switzerland and Germany in the east, Luxembourg

the south and south-west respectively, and Monaco

and Italy in the south-east. The eastern border of France is comprised of the Alps, the Pyrenees and

the Rhine River. Overseas territories and regions include French Guiana in South America, the

Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean, French

Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean and Adélie Land in

Antarctica. Additionally, the Atlantic islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon and the Antilles islands of

Martinique, Clipperton Island, Saint Barthélemy and

Guadeloupe are also part of the French Republic. Geographically, France is the largest country of the

European Union, and including its non-Antarctic

overseas regions and territories, the country covers

45 percent of the world's entire land mass. The

highest point in France is Mont Blanc, which sits in

the Alps at an elevation of 810.45 m (15,782 ft). The

climate of France is varied, and most of its western regions experience an oceanic climate between

Flanders and the Basque Country. Inland France is

protected by mountains and is considered semi-

oceanic, while the coastal southern areas are

Mediterranean. The Alps and Pyrenees regions are

alpine, and overseas territories and regions are

situated in areas that experience sub-polar, tropical and equatorial climates.

MAIN RELIGION

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES CURRENCY

CALLING CODE

INTERNET SUFFIX

ANTHEM

UTC+1

Christianity Paris - 48°51.4′N 2°21.05′E

Paris - 48°51.4′N 2°21.05′E Euro (EUR) +33

.fr

La Marseillaise

ITALY

Italy is located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea

and shares land borders with Switzerland, France,

Austria, Slovenia, Vatican City and San Marino. The

territory of Italy is a complex one, and the islands of

Sardinia and Siciliy join many smaller Mediterranean

islands to form part of the country. Additionally,

OFFICIAL TITLE

TIME ZONE

SIZE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Vatican City and San Marino are sovereign state

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia. Further territory

CALLING CODE

enclaves within Italy, while Switzerland is home to the

includes five full comuni and two part comuni within

the Danube's drainage basin, as well as the Val di Lei

in the Rhine Basin. Due to the country's boot-shape, locals often refer to their homeland as lo Stivale, or

the Boot. Italy has the European Union's fourth-

largest population, and its major urban centres are

renowned around the world. The country's capital and

largest city, Rome, is dominated by services that

include an enormous tourism sector. Milan is Italy's

second-largest city and is the centre of fashion and

design. Events and fairs form a large part of Milan's year, and the city is also home to a multitude of

academies, cultural institutions and universities.

Naples is Italy's third-largest city and is also one of the world's

oldest

continually

inhabited

cities.

Geographically, Italy is situated at the point where The Eurasian and African plates meet, and the result is

volcanic

and

seismic

activity

that

has

been

documented throughout the country's history. The

most famous was the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in

AD 79, when the cities of Pompeii and Herculanum were destroyed.

CURRENCY

INTERNET SUFFIX

ANTHEM

Italian Republic

UTC+1

301,338 km2(116,347 sq mi)

60,674,003

Christianity (Roman Catholicism)

Italian

Rome - 41°54′N 12°29′E

Euro (EU)

+39

.it

Il Canto degli Italiani

SPAIN

SPAIN Spain

sits

south-western

Europe's

Iberian

Peninsula. Its overseas territories include the two large archipelagos that comprise the Canary Islands along

the North African coast, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, several small islands in the

OFFICIAL TITLE

Kingdom of Spain

SIZE

505,990 km2(195,360 sq mi)

TIME ZONE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

Alboran Sea near Morocco, the North African cities of

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

Peninsula. On the Spanish mainland and with the

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Melilla and Ceuta, and the Vélez de la Gomera

exception of Gibraltar, the country is bordered by the

Mediterranean Sea to the east and south, the Bay of Biscay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the

north-west. Land borders are shared with Portugal,

Andorra and France. Spain's African territories

comprise almost five percent of its population, and it is the largest of Southern Europe's countries. Mount Teide in Tenerife is Spain's highest mountain peak and

the third largest of the world's volcanoes. In mainland Spain, the Pyrenees Mountains comprise the French

and Andorra borders, while the border between Spain

and Portugal is the longest of the European Union's uninterrupted borders. Most of mainland Spain is

mountainous, and outside of the Pyrenees, the main

ranges are the Sierra Nevada, the Cordillera

Cantábrica, the Sistema Ibérico, the Sistema Bético,

the Sistema Central and the Meseta Central. The

capital city of Madrid lies in the centre of the Spanish

mainland, and its economy is driven by the service sector. As the largest and most commercially

important of Spain's cities, Madrid is light on the

industry and construction sectors, but is nevertheless involved in high-technology production along with Barcelona.

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

CURRENCY

CALLING CODE

INTERNET SUFFIX

ANTHEM

UTC+1

46,423,064

Christianity (Roman Catholicism)

Spanish

Madrid - 40°26′N 3°42′W

Euro (EUR)

+34

.es

Marcha Real

Scandinavia The name Scandinavia originally referred to the former Danish, now Swedish, region of Scania. Scandinavia and Scandinavian entered usage in the late 18th century, being introduced by the early linguistic

and cultural Scandinavist movement. The majority of the population

of Scandinavia are descended from several North Germanic tribes

who originally inhabited the southern part of Scandinavia and spoke

a Germanic language that evolved into Old Norse. Icelanders and the Faroese are to a significant extent descended from the Norse and are

therefore often seen as Scandinavian. Finland is mainly populated by

Finns, with a minority of approximately 5% of Swedish speakers. A

small minority of Sami people live in the extreme north of Scandinavia. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish languages form a dialect

continuum and are known as the Scandinavian languagesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all of which are considered mutually intelligible with one another. Faroese and

Icelandic, sometimes referred to as insular Scandinavian languages, are intelligible in continental Scandinavian languages only to a limited

extent. Finnish and MeĂ¤nkieli are closely related to each other and

more distantly to the Sami languages, but are entirely unrelated to

the Scandinavian languages. Apart from these, German, Yiddish and Romani are recognized minority languages in parts of Scandinavia.

Whereas the term "Scandinavia" is relatively straightforward as

traditionally relating to the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden there exists some ambiguity as regards the ethnic aspect of the concept in the modern era. Traditionally, the term refers

specifically to the majority peoples of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, their states, their Germanic languages and their culture. In the modern

era, the term will often include minority peoples such as the Sami and MeĂ¤nkieli speakers in a political and to some extent cultural sense as

they are citizens of Scandinavian countries and speak Scandinavian languages either as their first or second language. However,

Scandinavian is still also seen as an ethnic term for the Germanic majority peoples of Scandinavia and as such the inclusion of Sami and

Finnish speakers can be seen as controversial within these groups.

NORWAY

OFFICIAL TITLE

Kingdom of Norway

TIME ZONE

UTC+1

POPULATION

5,252,166

SIZE

385,178[3] km2(148,718 sq mi)

The Kingdom of Norway is in Northern Europe and

MAIN RELIGION

western region. Additional territory includes the

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Oslo - 59°56′N 10°41′E

CURRENCY

Norwegian Krone (NOK)

is comprised of the Scandinavian Peninsula's

Svalbard archipelago and Jan Mayen Island, as well

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

Christianity (Church of Norway)

Norwegian, Sami

at Peter I Island in Antarctica and Bouvet Island in

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Russia, Finland and Sweden, and its coastline is

CALLING CODE

+47

ANTHEM

Ja, vi elsker dette landet

sub-Antarctica. Norway shares land borders with

comprised of the Barents Sea in the north, the Norwegian Sea in the west and the North Sea in

the south. The long and rugged Norwegian

coastline is dominated by enormous fjords and

many thousands of islands, and it stretches over a distance of 25,000 km (16,000 mi). Most of

Norway's land is comprised of gniess rock and hard

granite, with limestone, sandstone and slate in

much smaller quantities. As a result of prevailing westerly winds and the Gulf Stream, Norway

experiences higher temperatures than other

countries sharing the same latitude. Norway's

landscape is a varied one, packed with dramatic

scenery and stunning views throughout the country. The fjord regions of the country are some of the

most photographed natural features in the world,

as well as a listed 'top ten' tourist destination. Natural resources form the backbone of Norway's

economy and include petroelum, natural gas, fish,

forests and hydro-electric power. The capital city of Norway is Oslo, which is the hub of Norway's trade,

industry, banking and shipping. The maritime

sector is also largely represented in Oslo, and the

city houses many of the world's largest shipping and maritime insurance companies.

INTERNET SUFFIX

Oslo - 59°56′N 10°41′E

.no

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Russia, or the Russian Federation, is the world's largest

OFFICIAL TITLE

Russian Federation

all of Northern Asia and the vast majority of Eastern

SIZE

17,075,200 km2(6,592,800 sq mi)

country. Located in Eurasia, the country extends across

Europe, spanning 11 time zones and home to a diverse

number of landforms and environments. Russia shares maritime borders with the United States along Alaska's

Bering Strait, and also with Japan through the Sea of

Okhotsk. On land, the country shares borders with

Finland, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan,

Mongolia, North Korea and China. Within Russia, there are 23 World Heritage Sites, 40 biosphere reserves, 101

nature reserves and 41 national parks. The country is also

a source of many natural resources, including petroleum,

natural gas, timber, ores and other minerals. The most

populated section of Russia is the western part, and

nearly 80 percent of the entire Russian population live there. The capital city of Moscow is one of the world's

largest cities. At its greatest width, Russia is 8,000 km

(4,971 mi) wide between the Vistula Split near Poland and

the south-eastern extent of the Kuril Islands. The majority

of Russia's landscape is filled with vast plains and

mountain ranges in the south, dense forests in the north

and tundra along the northern coastline. The north-south line of the Ural Mountains forms the boundary between

Asia and Europe. The coastline of Russia is vast and measures more than 37,000 km (22,991 mi).

TIME ZONE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES CURRENCY

CALLING CODE

INTERNET SUFFIX ANTHEM

UTC+2 to +12 144,554,993

Christianity (Orthodox) Russian

Moscow - 55°45′N 37°37′E

Moscow - 55°45′N 37°37′E Russian Ruble (RUB) +7

.ru

Gosudarstvenný gimn Rossijskoj Federaci

MIDDLE EAST

The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia, Turkey (both Asian and European), and Egypt (which is mostly in North Africa). Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest Middle Eastern nation while Bahrain is the smallest. The corresponding adjective is Middle Eastern and the derived noun is Middle Easterner. The term has come into wider usage as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early 20th century. Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azeris (excluding Azerbaijan) constitute the largest ethnic groups in the region by population. Arabs constitute the largest ethnic group in the region by a clear margin. Indigenous minorities of the Middle East include Jews, Baloch, Assyrians, Berbers (who primarily live in North Africa), Copts, Druze, Lurs, Mandaeans, Samaritans, Shabaks, Tats, and Zazas. European ethnic groups that form a diaspora in the region include Albanians, Bosniaks, Circassians (including Kabardians), Crimean Tatars, Greeks, Franco-Levantines, and Italo-Levantines. Among other migrant populations are Chinese, Filipinos, Indians, Indonesians, Pakistanis, Pashtuns, Romani, and subSaharan Africans.

OFFICIAL TITLE

TIME ZONE SIZE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

CURRENCY

CALLING CODE

SAUDI ARABIA

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is situated in Western Asia

and occupies the majority of the Arabian Peninsula. The land borders of Saudi Arabia are formed by the countries

of Iraq and Jordan to the north, Bahrain, Qatar and the

United Arab Emirates to the east, Kuwait to the northeast, Yemen to the south and Oman to the south-east.

The Gulf of Aqaba separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel, and the country is the only one that has both a

Persian Gulf and a Red Sea coastline. Most of Saudi Arabia's landscape is characterised by the Arabian Desert

and its surrounding semi-desert areas. The largest continuous sand desert in the world, the Rub' al Khali, is

located in the southern sector of the country. Saudi

Arabia's most populous city is its capital, Riyadh, located in the centre of the Arabian Peninsula.

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ANTHEM

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

UTC+

2,149,690] km2 (830,000 sq mi)

33,000,000

Sunni Islam

Arabic

Riyadh - 24°39′N 46°46′E

Saudi Riyal (SAR)

+966

.sa

as-Salām al-Malakiyy

AFRICA

Africa is the world's second largest and second most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area. With 1.2 billion people, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. The majority of the

SOUTH AFRICA

continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Republic of South Africa is the African continent's southern-most country. Its coastline stretches along the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans, and it is bordered by Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Mozambique and Lesotho. As the world's 25th-largest county, South Africa is the only country to border both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and its coastline covers over 2,500 km (1,553 mi). South Africa's interior is comprised of a vast plateau that varies in altitude from 1,000 m (3,300 ft) to 2,100 m (6,900 ft), sloping down from the east to other points of the compass. Around the interior plateau sits the Great Escarpment, which at its highest (and eastern-most) point is known as the Drakensberg. To the south of the plateau lies the Great Karoo Plain, which runs north to become the dry and arid Bushmanland of South Africa before meeting with the Kalahari Desert. The middle of the country's interior plateau is the Highveld, which forms the hub of South Africa's commercial farming activities. The country's north-east is home to the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces and the world renowned Kruger National Park, and its opposite south-west corner is comprised of the Cape Peninsula and the legislative capital city of Cape Town. South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg, also known as Joburg, Jozi and eGoli, is one of the world's 50-largest urban areas. Located in South Africa's wealthiest province (Gauteng), Johannesburg is also the seat of South Africa's Constitutional Court and the centre of the country's lucrative diamond and gold trade.

OFFICIAL TITLE TIME ZONE SIZE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Cape Town

Bloemfontein

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

CURRENCY

Republic of South Africa UTC+2

1,221,037 km2(471,445 sq mi)

54,956,900

Christianity

Afrikaans, English, Northern Sotho, Zulu, Ndebele, Sotho, Venda, Swazi, Xhosa, Tswana and Tsonga

Pretoria (Executive) - 25°44′46″S 28°11′17″E

(Legislative) - 33°55′31″S 18°25′26″E

(Judicial) - 29°07′S 26°13′E

Johannesburg - 26°12′16″S 28°2′44″E

South African Rand (ZAR)

CALLING CODE

+27

ANTHEM

National Anthem of South Africa

INTERNET SUFFIX

.za

INDIA

India is the world's seventh-largest country by area and the second-largest by population. The

country is situated on the Indian Sub-continent

and is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal to the

south-east, the Indian Ocean to the south and

the Arabia Sea to the south-west. India also shares land borders with Pakistan, Nepal, China,

Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Nearby countries include Sri-Lanka and the

Maldives, while the Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands are also part of India's territory. The coastline of India, including its islands, is 7,517 km (4,700 mi) long, and the

majority of the mainland coastline is comprised

equally of sandy beaches and mudflats. Rivers of

Himalayan origin flow through India, and the

most important to the country's people is the

Ganges, followed by the Brahmaputra. Both

rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal. Other major

rivers include the Krishna, Godavari, Kaveri and

Mahanadi Rivers on the Bay of Bengal side, while the Tapti and Narmada drain into the Arabian

Sea. The Himalayas and the Thar Desert have a

major impact upon India's climate and are the

source of the seasonal monsoons experienced

throughout the country. India is one of the

world's 17 megadiverse countries, and it is home

to a large number of exotic animal species. Those animals live in habitats that are often

covered in canopied forests and comprise a little

over 20 percent of the entire country, or are part

of the Western Ghats, the Andaman Islands, North-Eastern India or the coniferous forests of

the Himalayas.Within protected habitats, the

most endangered of India's species are the

Bengal tiger, the Asiatic lion, the Indian white-

rumped vulture and the snow leopard.

OFFICIAL TITLE

TIME ZONE

SIZE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

Republic of India

UTC+5:30

3,287,263 km2(1,269,219 sq mi)

1,293,057,000

Hinduism

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

Hindi, English

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Mumbai - 18°58′N 72°49′E

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

CURRENCY

New Delhi - 28°36.8′N 77°12.5′E

Indian Rupee (INR)

CALLING CODE

+91

ANTHEM

Jana Gana Mana

INTERNET SUFFIX

.in

KOREAN PENINSULA

Until the end of World War II, Korea was a single political entity whose territory roughly coincided with the Korean Peninsula. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Imperial Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, and liberated Korea north of the 38th parallel. U.S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was divided into two regions, with separate governments. Both claimed to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither accepted the border as permanent. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union and China— moved into the south on 25 June 1950. Since the Armistice Agreement ended the Korean War in 1953, the northern section of the peninsula has been governed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, while the southern portion has been governed by the Republic of

KOREA (SOUTH) Korea.

South Korea is officially known as the Republic of Korea, and it sits on the Korean Peninsula to the south of North Korea and the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Maritime borders include the Sea of Japan to the east, the Yellow Sea to the west and the East China Sea and the Korea Strait at the country's southern tip. There are four distinct geographical regions within South Korea, those being the narrow coastal plains and high mountain ranges of the east, the broad coastal plains and hills and river basins of the west, and the Nakdong River basin in the south-east. Most of South Korea is mountainous and difficult to farm, and the centres of population, agriculture and industry are concentrated on the plains. South Korea's territory also extends to several thousand islands that sit off of the country's southern coast. The largest of the country's offshore islands is Jeju-do, which is 100 km (62 mi) away and has a total land area of 1,845 km2 (712 sq mi). On the South Korean mainland there are only 20 national parks, which are located away from the coast, as a vast majority of the country's coastal lands are devoted to urbanisation. Most South Koreans live in towering high-rise buildings, which are concentrated in the country's capital city of Seoul. In total, the population of the greater Seoul Capital Area sits at approximately 25 million people, and it is the fourth-largest of the world's metropolitan areas. The city of Seoul itself is home to 10 million South Koreans.

OFFICIAL TITLE

Republic of Korea

SIZE

100,210 km2(38,690 sq mi)

TIME ZONE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES CURRENCY

UTC+9

50,801,405

Christianity, Buddhism Korean

Seoul - 37°33′N 126°58′E

South Korean Won (KRW)

CALLING CODE

+82

ANTHEM

Aegukga

INTERNET SUFFIX

.kr

JAPAN

Japan is an island nation of Eastern Asia, situated in the Pacific Ocean off of the Asian mainland's eastern

coast. Its nearest mainland neighbours are China,

Russia and Korea. The nation is comprised of 6,852

islands that extend along the East Asian Pacific

coastline, and the main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido,

OFFICIAL TITLE

Japan

SIZE

377,972.28 km2(145,935.91 sq mi)

MAIN RELIGION

Shinto

TIME ZONE

POPULATION

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

+81

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Japan's coastal areas, which have enormous

population densities. Most of the islands are located

within a volcanic area on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and

over 100 volcanoes are currently active within Japan.

Destructive earthquakes are not uncommon in Japan

as a result of its position, and the country is ranked

at 15th on the World Risk Index as a result. Due to the

distance between the country's islands, the climate of

Japan is a varied one and generally considered to be

temperate. The country's capital, Tokyo, is located on the island of Honshu in the Kantō Region. The city is

technically classified as a metropolis, and its main centre sits to the north-west of Tokyo Bay. Tokyo's

climate is a humid subtropical one, and its warmest

month is August, wherein temperatures average

26.4°C (79.5°F). In winter, the city receives sporadic snowfall, and temperatures average 5.2°C (41.4°F) in

the coldest month of January.

Tokyo - 35°41′N 139°46′E

CALLING CODE

covered in mountainous forest, which is unsuitable for

most activity and human habitation is centred in

Japanese

Tokyo - 35°41′N 139°46′E

CURRENCY

human habitation, agriculture or industry. As a result,

126,860,000

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Kyushu and Shikoku. Also significant are the islands of Okinawa and Ryukyu. Over 70 percent of Japan is

UTC+9

ANTHEM

Yen (KPY)

.jp

Kimigayo

CHINA

China is the most populous country in the world and is made up of 22 provinces and five

autonomous regions. An additional four directly

OFFICIAL TITLE

People's Republic of China

of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongging, while

the two self-governing administrative regions of the

SIZE

9,596,961 km2 (3,705,407 sq mi)

of China is a diverse one, and it varies significantly

MAIN RELIGION

country's east, alluvial plains sit along the shores of

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

controlled municipalities are made up of the cities

TIME ZONE

country are Hong Kong and Macau. The landscape

POPULATION

from east to west and north to south. In the

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE/S

the East China and Yellow Seas, while vast

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Plateau. In the high north, the Gobi and Taklamakan

CALLING CODE

grasslands dominate the northern Inner Mongolian

Deserts typify the region's arid climate. Central

China is populated by the deltas of the Yangtze and

Yellow Rivers, and the country's south is filled with

low mountain ranges and hills. The most significant

of the country's mountains are the Himalayas in the west, and the highest point on Earth (Mount

Everest) lies on the Sino-Nepalese border. Most of

China's climate is dominated by wet monsoons and

dry seasons, and the divide between winter and

summer is great. Plant and animal life in China is

abundant and includes more than 34,000 species. Of those, 551 mammal species, 333 amphibian

species, 424 reptile species and 1,221 bird species

make China an official 'megadiverse' country and the world's most biodiverse behind Brazil and

Colombia.

CURRENCY

INTERNET SUFFIX ANTHEM

UTC+8

1,376,049,000

Taoism, Confucianism Standard Chinese

Beijing - 39째55'N 116째23'E

Shanghai - 31째13'N 121째28'E Renminbi Yuan (CNY) +86 .cn

March of the Volunteers

OCEANIA Oceania is a geographic region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Spanning the eastern and western

hemispheres, Oceania has a land area of 8,525,989 square kilometres

(3,291,903 sq mi) and a population of 40 million. Situated in the

southeast of the Asia-Pacific region, Oceania, when compared to

continental regions, is the smallest in land area and the second smallest in population after Antarctica.

Definitions of Oceania vary; however, the islands at the geographic

extremes of Oceania are generally considered to be the Bonin Islands,

a politically integral part of Japan; Hawaii, a state of the United States;

Clipperton Island, a possession of France; the Juan Fernรกndez Islands, belonging to Chile; and Macquarie Island, belonging to Australia. (The

United Nations has its own geopolitical definition of Oceania, but this consists of discrete political entities, and so excludes the Bonin

Islands, Hawaii, Clipperton Island, and the Juan Fernรกndez Islands,

along with Easter Island.) Oceania has a diverse mix of economies

from the highly developed and globally competitive financial markets

of Australia and New Zealand, which rank high in quality of life and

human development index, to the much less developed economies

that belong to countries such as Kiribati and Tuvalu, while also including medium-sized economies of Pacific islands such as Palau,

Fiji and Tonga. The largest and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, with Sydney being the largest city of both Oceania and

Australia. In the 1950s Indonesia and Philippines were removed from

Oceania and added to Asia; this resulted in Oceania as a "great division" of the world being replaced by the concept of the continent

of Australia.

The first settlers of Australia, New Guinea, and the large islands just

to the east arrived more than 60,000 years ago. Oceania was first explored by Europeans from the 16th century onward. Portuguese

navigators, between 1512 and 1526, reached the Tanimbar Islands, some of the Caroline Islands and west Papua New Guinea. On his first

voyage in the 18th century, James Cook, who later arrived at the

highly developed Hawaiian Islands, went to Tahiti and followed the east coast of Australia for the first time. The Pacific front saw major

action during the Second World War, mainly between Allied powers

the United States and Australia, and Axis power Japan.

AUSTRALIA

Australia is comprised of a vast mainland, the

island state of Tasmania and a large number of

smaller islands. As the world's sixth-largest

country by land mass, Australia is surrounded by

sea, which is chiefly comprised of the vast Pacific

Ocean to the east and the Indian Ocean to the

west. Considered the largest island in the world, the country has a coastline that stretches for

OFFICIAL TITLE

TIME ZONE

Commonwealth of Australia

UTC+8 to 10.5

34,218 kilometres (21,262 mi). Australia's closest

SIZE

7,692,024 km2 (2,969,907 sq mi)

Indonesia, New Zealand, Vanuatu and the

MAIN RELIGION

Christianity

neighbours are Papua New Guinea, East Timor,

Solomon Islands. Due to its size, the country has a

POPULATION

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE/S

24,364,400

English

wide variety of landscapes and climates. While it

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

Canberra - 35°18′S 149°07′E

also home to the largest surface area of annual

CURRENCY

Australian Dollar (AUD)

is known for its deserts and beaches, Australia is snow anywhere in the world. Semi-arid land and

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

desert take up much of the continent's hot inland

CALLING CODE

of the world's smallest as a result. In Australia's

ANTHEM

areas, and the country's population density is one

east, the Great Dividing Range runs parallel to the

country's long coastline, which is also home to the Great Barrier Reef and the tropical far north

coastline of Queensland. At the country's very heart lies Uluru (Formerly known as Ayers Rock),

which is an ancient sandstone monolith left over from the Ice Age. Drought is a common

occurrence in Australia, and much of the country's

weather patterns are influenced by the greater La Niña weather pattern. Following drought, many areas of Australia experience widespread flooding.

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Sydney - 33°51′S 151°12′E

+61

.au

Advance Australia Fair

INDONESIA

Indonesia is a transcontinental country that lies mainly in Southeast Asia and has territories in Oceania. The country sits

between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and is the largest island country in the world. Indonesia plays host to over 17,000

islands, 6,000 of which are inhabited. Within the world's fourth-largest country by population, half of Indonesia's

population lives on the island of Java. Outside of Java, islands belonging to Indonesia include Sumatra, Borneo (shared

with Malaysia and Brunei), Sulawesi and New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea), among others. Outside of its

shared island borders, Indonesia also shares maritime borders with Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Palau

and Australia. The capital city of Jakarta is on the island of Java, and it is also Indonesia's most populous city. Outside

of the country's numerous cities and towns, Indonesia is a country of high mountain lakes and vast rivers that act as

significant transportation and trade routes. There are at least 150 active volcanoes on Indonesia's islands, and the most

active of those today include Tambora and Krakatoa. Indonesia enjoys a relatively even climate on a year-round basis,

and it proximity to the Equator sees no great extremes between summer and winter. Across the majority of the country,

the wet season lasts from November to March, while the dry season arrives in April and ends in October. Outside of the higher mountainous regions, monsoons are common in Indonesia, and much of the country's landscape has been

shaped by seasonal rainfall. Outlying islands, including parts of Sulawesi and Sumba, have a drier climate.

OFFICIAL TITLE

TIME ZONE

SIZE

POPULATION

MAIN RELIGION

NATIONAL LANGUAGE/S

CAPITAL CITY / CO-ORDINATES

LARGEST CITY / CO-ORDINATES

CURRENCY

CALLING CODE

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ANTHEM

Republic of Indonesia

UTC+7 to +9

1,904,569 km2(735,358 sq mi)

255,461,700

Islam

Indonesian

Jakarta - 6°10.5′S 106°49.7′E

Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)

+62

.id

Indonesia Raya

Atlas

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Atlas

Assembly Instructions

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