15 interesting facts about Afghanistan

1. Afghanistan is 99% Muslim (84% Sunni/15% Shia).
2. Afghanistan is about the size of California and Oregon combined.
3. Afghanistan’s life expectancy is 44.2 years (44.4-women) 44 for men.
4. Half of the people in Afghanistan speak Persian, 1/3rd speak Pashto, 1/10th speak Uzbek or Turkmen.
5. One in five women can read. One in two men can read.
6. There is only one doctor per every 5,000+ people.
7. There is no AIDS in Afghanistan.
8. There is only one telephone for every 333 people
9. There is only one radio for every 8 people.
10. There are no internet hosts.
11. There is only one television for every 85 people.
12. Afghanistan is 90% dependent on aid as it rebuilds.
13. There is about one car for every 500 people and only 1/4th of all roads are paved.
14. Some 92% of the world’s heroin comes from poppies grown in Afghanistan.
15. Only 2 in 5 schools in Afghanistan have buildings.

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12 interesting facts about Austria

Mozart, Austrian composer

1. Many world famous composers, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Liszt, J. Strauss, Mahler and Bruckner, were Austrian.

2. The German name for Austria is Osterreich, which means ‘Eastern Empire’, referring to the time when Austria was a part of the Holy Roman Empire.

3. A mummified body from the Stone Age was found in the ice of the Otztal Alps, between Austria and Italy, in 1991.

4. Austrian flag is one of the oldest national flags in the world.

5. Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria.

6. In the 16th century, the Austrian Empire included Austria, Belgium, Czecho-slovakia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, Spanish American colonies, parts of Italy and the former Yugoslavia.

7. Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of 'Porsche' company, was an Austrian.

8. The largest natural lake in Austria is Lake Neusiedler.

9. Marie-Antoinette, the wife of France's King Louis XVI, was the daughter of Marie Theresa, the Habsburg ruler of Austria.

10. Tiergarten Schönbrunn of Vienna, founded in 1752 is the oldest zoological garden in the world.

11. The sewing machine was invented by Josef Madersperger, an Austrian.

12. Vienna's Central Cemetery has over 2.5 million tombs (more than the city's present population), including those of Beethoven, Brahms, Gluck, Schubert, Schoenberg and Strauss.



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10 facts about Belgium

1. Belgium was the scene of Napoleon's final defeat, at Waterloo, south of Brussels.

2. The St Nicholas Church, one of the oldest churches in Brussels, was named after the patron saint of traders.

3. Since the fifteenth century Belgium has been famous for tapestry-making. Lace is also a notable local product.

4. Brussel sprouts have been grown in the Brussels area for over four hundred years.

5. Belgium has around four hundred different kinds of beer; some of the most famous are made by Trappist monks.

6. Belgium is famous for its high quality chocolates.

7. King Albert I led the defence of his country against the German invasion during the First World War.

8. Bruges is known as the "Venice of the North" because of its many canals.

9. The Channel Tunnel opened up direct rail connections between London and Brussels.

10. The Atomium was built for the 1958 Brussels exhibition in the shape of the atomic structure of iron, with nine steel spheres connected by tubes which contain escalators to carry visitors to the top.


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What country eats more fruit?

On Christopher Columbus' travels to the New World, he never set foot in what is now the United States, but on his fourth and final trip, Columbus arrived in Central America, on a cape that is now part of the nation of Honduras.

Similar in size to the state of Pennsylvania, Honduras has a long Atlantic coastline and a shorter Pacific coastline. The name Honduras comes from of the depths of the coastlines and that enter between the hills and valleys of the Honduran coastline.

The population of Honduras is about 9,112,867 and is growing faster than any other nation in the Western Hemisphere. The hundreds of thousands of El Salvador's neighbors who have moved to Honduras count a lot in this increase.

Bananas are Honduras' main export. Hondurans eat more fruits per capita than people from any other country in the world, about 244 kilos per person per year, more than double the U.S. average.

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Which African country can be seen from Spain?

Five nations in Africa border the Mediterranean Sea, and many other African countries border the Atlantic Ocean. But only one African nation has a coastline on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean: Morocco.

Morocco is located in the northwest corner of Africa, where the Mediterranean joins the Atlantic. With its western coast, bathed by the Atlantic, Morocco is the only Arab country that touches the ocean. It is also the closest Arab country to Europe, as part of the Moroccan coast is within sight of Spain.

This African nation has an area of 446,550 square kilometers, larger than California, and a population of more than 35 million people. Most Moroccans live in the fertile strips of land along both coasts, the rest of the country is covered by mountains and deserts.

Morocco was conquered by Arab invaders in the 7th century. The Muslim people of Morocco, whose inhabitants were called Moors, finally conquered most of Spain and formed a kingdom that stretched from Spain to the borders of Egypt.

In later times, the paintings were reversed: Morocco was conquered by the Europeans and divided between France and Spain. In 1956, Morocco gained its independence.

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What are the driest islands in the world?

Cape Verde is a cape in the westernmost part of Africa. It is also the name of a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, about 650 kilometers from Cape Verde in Africa. It is an archipelago consisting of ten islands and five islets, this nation has an area of only 4,033 km².

The Cape Verde Islands were discovered in 1460 by Portuguese sailors. The islands were uninhabited when they were discovered, today they have a population of around 539,560 people. Portuguese is the official language, but each island has its own dialect. Cape Verde became an independent nation in 1975.

The islands of Cape Verde are of volcanic origin, and seven of the largest islands are mountainous. One of the peaks found on the Islands is over 2,700 meters high, higher than any mountain in Portugal, or anywhere else that was once the vast Portuguese empire!

Situated at the same latitude as the Sahara desert, the Cape Verde Islands are warm and dry. Drought is always a problem, even though the nation is surrounded by water.
Cape Verde is very poor, with no railways, no infrastructure and only a few telephones. Much of the country's income comes from recharging ships and planes on their way to other places.

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What are the differences between Niger and Nigeria?

The nations of Niger and Nigeria both take their names from the Niger River, which flows through both countries. However, Niger and Nigeria could not be more different from each other.

Niger has an area of 1,267,000 km², while Nigeria has 923,768 km² . With a population of 186 million people, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. Niger has a population of only 20 million and is one of the least densely populated countries on Africa.

French is the official language of Niger, while English is one of the official languages of Nigeria. The majority of the population in Niger is Muslim, while about 35 percent of all Nigerians are Christian. Nigeria is largely fertile and forested, with many rivers and a long coastline, while in Niger 80% of its territory is desert and completely isolated from the sea.

Although the Niger River flows through Niger, the many rapids along the river prevent boats from using the navigable waterways to reach the sea from Niger. Niamey, the capital of Niger, is about 1000 kilometres from the nearest port. And there isn't a stretch of railway in the whole country.

By the way, a person in Niger is called a Nigerien, while someone in Nigeria is called a Nigerian.

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What is the most populous country in Africa?

Nearly a quarter of all black Africans live in one nation: Nigeria.

Although only two-thirds the size of Alaska, Nigeria has a population of 186 million (2015), the largest population of any country in Africa.

In fact, Nigeria is the seventh most populous country on the planet, with more people than any other country in Europe.

Nigeria is located in the Gulf of Guinea, where the delta of West Africa's largest river, the Niger, flows. Nigeria's coastal regions are swampy, but rainforests and grassy plains cover a large area of the interior. The northern part of the country is bordered by the Sahara desert.

About 250 tribal groups live in this populous country. The Yoruba, who live in the west, and the Ibo, who live in the east of the country, each represent about 15 percent of the population. In the north live the Hausa and Fulani Muslim peoples, who together account for about 30 percent of Nigeria's population.

After almost a century as a British colony, Nigeria gained its independence in 1960. But in 1967, the Ibo people declared that their country was going to be an independent nation, Biafra.

Troops from other parts of Nigeria invaded the homeland of the Ibo, and the fighting caused a famine that killed more than 1 million people. The Ibo abandoned their struggle in 1970, but conflicts between the peoples of Nigeria continued.

Today, most of Nigeria's income comes from the sale of oil. Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and the eighth largest producer in the world. About 6 percent of all the oil used by Americans comes from Nigeria.

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What great country has a very small coastline?

Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a huge country, the eleventh largest in the world. So it's not surprising that Zaire has one of the longest land borders, with a total of 9,893 kilometres. That's not much less than the total U.S. land border of 11,991 kilometers long.

But it is a surprise that this great nation has one of the shortest coastlines of any other country that has an outlet to the sea. On a map, it might appear that Zaire has no coastline, with no outlet in the ocean.

But Zaire has a narrow strip of land on the north bank of the Congo River that reaches the Atlantic Ocean. The total length of this coast of Zaire is only 37 kilometers.

Apart from the small island nations and the small nation of Monaco in Europe, the only nation with a coastline, which is not enclosed by other nations, with a smaller coastline than Zaire is Jordan, which has a coastline of only 25 kilometers over the Gulf of Aqaba.

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Which country is the largest producer of vanilla?

When you think of Madagascar, you immediately think of the main crops on this island, which are cocoa, sugar and vanilla.

Vanilla is a member of the orchid family. Like cocoa, vanilla is native to Mexico. At first, it was used as a sweetener for chocolate products. Vanilla was later used on its own as a flavor of its own, but it was found that the plant did not grow elsewhere, but only in Mexico.

Then, in 1836, a scientist discovered that for pollination, the vanilla plant depends on a certain type of bee that lives only in Mexico. He then invented a way to artificially pollinate the plant, so that it could be cultivated in any hot climate nation.

Today, Madagascar and a number of other islands in the Indian Ocean account for about three-quarters of the world's vanilla production.

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Who was The Wizard of Mauritius?

Why was Bottineau called the "Wizard of Mauritius"?

Before radio was invented, there was no way for a ship to communicate with land, so there was no way to know when a ship could reach port.

A man who lived on Mauritius discovered a way to predict the arrival of ships. No one has so far been able to figure out how he did it!

The man's name was Bottineau. Born in France, Bottineau moved to Mauritius in 1764. While there, he surprised everyone by correctly predicting the arrival of ships that were still three or four days from the island.

But he could not only predict the arrival of a ship. Equally surprising, he could also tell how many ships made up an approaching fleet.

The "Wizard of Mauritius," as he came to be called, presumed that he could read certain signs in the sky. He said that these signs appeared just above the horizon when the ships were at a certain distance. But he never told anyone exactly what kind of signs they were.

After 20 years in Mauritius, Bottineau returned to France and offered to reveal his secret to the French government. His offer was rejected.

The "Magician" died around 1802, and the secret of his art of prediction died with him.

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Is the Garden of Eden in the Seychelles?

Why were the Seychelles called the Garden of Eden?

The Seychelles is an archipelago of some 90 islands in the Indian Ocean, near the equator and 1,600 kilometres from Africa.

The total area of the islands is only 451 km², making the Seychelles the smallest country in Africa and one of the smallest nations on Earth.

The Seychelles were uninhabited when they were discovered by Europeans. The islands were colonized in the 18th century, and now have a population of over 87,000. The Seychelles was a British colony for many years before gaining independence in 1976.

There are few places on Earth with a more pleasant climate than these islands in the Indian Ocean, at least in terms of temperature. Over a long period of time, at a weather station in the Seychelles, the temperature never dropped below 20 degrees Celsius and never rose above 32 degrees Celsius.

The islands are so pleasant that early European visitors believed that the Seychelles should have been the site of the original Garden of Eden!

But there is one small climate problem in the Seychelles: rain. The islands receive more than 2.25 m of rainfall per year, and in some parts they receive 3.70 m.

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How many countries are separated by the world's smallest border?

How many nations are separated by the shortest border in the world?

One of the meanings of the word border is that of boundary between two nations. The smaller the nation, of course, the smaller that country's border with another nation will be.

The tiny nation of Vatican City, for example, has a border of about 4 kilometers, and the colony of Gibraltar, on the Mediterranean, has a border of only 1,500 meters.

Curiously, the shortest border in the world is the boundary between some of Africa's largest nations, not just two, but four! This border between 4 nations is where Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia meet.

If you were there, you could put one foot in each of the nations of Namibia and Zimbabwe, and put one hand in Zambia and the other in Botswana, and you would be in all four countries at the same time!

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What is the largest country in Africa?

Map of Sudan

Sudan is a nation in northeast Africa, south of Egypt. The country borders the Red Sea and shares a border with eight other nations.

The reason why Sudan borders many other countries is that it is the largest nation in Africa and the tenth largest country on Earth. Its area is 2,505,810 square kilometers, about one-third the size of the United States without Alaska!

The Nile River flows through Sudan. In fact, the Nile travels a greater path within Sudan than in Egypt. Sudan's capital, Khartoum, lies at the junction of two major branches of the Nile, the Blue Nile and the White Nile.

The northern part of Sudan is a desert region, just like Egypt. But much of the country lies within the so-called Sudan grass belt, and the southern part of the nation is a land of swamps and tropical forests. The people living in the northern part of the country are Muslims and speak Arabic.

In the southern part, where there are few Muslims, more than 30 African languages are spoken. A civil war between the north and south of the country lasted for 17 years before ending in the early 1970s.

The northern part of Sudan was known as Nubia by the ancient Egyptians. It was said to contain large gold mines. In the 19th century, the joint British-Egyptian rule over the country led to the region being known as Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.

Then, in 1948, the people of this territory voted to decide whether to join Egypt or become an independent country. The Sudanese opted for independence, and Sudan became a nation by right in 1956.

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Where were the first skyscrapers built?

What are skyscrapers?

 Skyscrapers were born in the United States. Although several high-rise buildings had already been built by the end of the 19th century, the first skyscraper itself was the Home Insurance Building built in 1899, which was 30 stories high.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, nine of the ten tallest buildings were built in that country. The tenth was in Toronto, Canada.

Today there are only two in the U.S. (the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Empire State Building in New York), while the other eight rise in Asia. U.S. developers are not encouraged to build so high because of the economy and the terrorist attacks of September 11.

Even before this date, in Western countries, skyscrapers had lost their symbol as a parameter of wealth, power and importance, unlike the rest of the world where they still retain that status.

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Ecuador

   This small South American country was named Ecuador for a good reason. The equator crosses it. And the Spanish word for equator is ecuador.
   The people of Ecuador speak Spanish. Some of them have only Spanish ancestors. But most people there are either Indian or part Spanish and part Indian. More than 400 years ago, Spaniards conquered the Indians living there. Spain ruled the land for about 300 years. But since 1830 Ecuador has been a free republic. It is as large as Florida and Georgia together. Between 14.5 and 15.5 million people live in Ecuador.
   The Andes Mountains run north and south through Ecuador. They are very high here. The land between them and the Pa­cific coast is low, wet, and always hot. So is the land east of them. And the mountains shut off eastern Ecuador from the coast.
   About three-fourths of Ecuador's people live in its mountains. Nearly all the rest of the population live in the coastal lowland. Important crops in the mountain valleys are wheat and potatoes. Quito, the capital, is a highland city very near the equator. Even though it is near the equator, every day there is like a cool spring day.
   Before Ecuador had railroads and airlines, its highland people were much shut off from the rest of the world. There were only mule and llama trains to carry loads between the high land and the low coast. Such travel was slow and hard.
   Most things that Ecuador sells to other countries come from its coastal lowland. From forests there come vegetable ivory, kapok, and balsa wood. Sugar cane, ba­nanas, coffee, and cacao are raised on plan­tations. From cacao beans, chocolate is made. Hats made in Ecuador from leaves of jipijapa palms, and called Panama hats, are worn in many lands.

Some facts about Ecuador

• The Republic of Ecuador (Equator) is a representative democratic republic in South America.
• Ecuador borders the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru.
• The capital of the country is Quito
• Quito was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1970s.
• Ecuador's largest city is Guayaquil
• Official language: Spanish
• 95 percent of Ecuador's population is Roman Catholic
• Ethnic groups Mestizo 65%, Indigenous 25%, White 7% and Black 3%
• Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands are slightly smaller than Nevada.
• Area - 109,483 sq mi (272,046 km²)
• Population - 2010 estimate 14,790,608
• Demonym Ecuadorian
• Ecuador became independent in 1830
• Ecuador is one of only 2 countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border with Brazil.
• The country has a tropical climate along the coast, becoming cooler inland and at higher elevations.
• Its main natural resources are fish, petroleum, timber and hydropower.
• Ecuador's main agricultural products are cocoa, bananas, rice, coffee, plantains, potatoes, sugarcane, manioc (tapioca), cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products, balsa wood, fish and shrimp.

Facts about the Republic of Turkey

Mount Ararat

• Capital Ankara
• The country's official name is the Republic of Turkey
• The English word "Turkey" is derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia.
• Turkey is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe.
• Turkey's predominant religion by number of people is Islam.
• Istanbul is the largest city of Turkey
• Official language Turkish
• Area - 302,535 sq mi (783,562 km²)
• Population - 73,722,988
• Currency Turkish lira
• Demonym Turkish
• The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited regions in the world.
• The famous Trojan Wars took place in Western Turkey Truva town.
• The oldest known human settlement in Turkey is Catalhoyuk (7th Millennium B.C.)
• Noah's Ark landed on Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi) in Eastern Turkey.
• The city of Istanbul is located on two continents.
• The First University in History is in Harran, Turkey

Facts about Serbia

• The country's official name is the Republic of Serbia.
• The Republic of Serbia was formed on June 6, 2006.
• The capital of Serbia and its largest city is Belgrade.
• Official language: Serbian.
• Other recognized languages spoken in the country are Romanian, Hungarian, Croatian, Slovak, Albanian and Rusyn.
• Ethnic groups 83 percent Serbs, 4 percent Hungarians, 2 percent Bosniaks, 11 percent others
• Demonym Serbian
• Area - 34 116 sq mi (88 361 km²)
• Population 7,306,677
• The main religion in the country is Christian Orthodox.
• Serbia is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans.
• Currency - Serbian Dinar (RSD).
• About 95% of the world’s top quality raspberries come from Serbia.
• The Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, was born in Nis, Serbia, in 274 AD.

South Korea facts

• South Korea is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula.
• The country lies in a humid continental and humid subtropical climate region with a predominantly mountainous terrain.
• South Korea is known as ‘Hermit Kingdom’ and ‘Land of the Morning Calm’.
• The capital and largest city of South Korea is Seoul.
• Its major cities are Seoul, Pusan, Taegu, Inchan and Kwangju.
• Official language: Korean
• In South Korea, when you enter a home, the first thing you do is remove your shoes.
• Demonym: South Korean, Korean
• The martial art 'Tae kwon do' originated in Korea.
• Area- 38,691 sq mi (100,210 km²)
• Population estimate 48,875,000
• Seoul, capital of South Korea, reaches a population of 10,421,782.
• Hallasan, an extinct volcano at a height of 6,397 ft (1950 meters) is the highest point in the country.
• Currency South Korean won (₩)
• South Korea is known as one of the Four Asian Tiger economies.
• The border between South and North Korea remains one of the heaviest militarized zones in the world.