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ABOUT FACTS NET
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Little Known Countries
Pictures and some text supplied by CIA
First let me say that this article's title in not meant to be an insult to anyone living in any of the countries I am about to discuss. I just thought that it might be interesting to investigate some of the countries that we are less familiar with. I wasn't sure how many countries there were in the world when I started to write this article, but it looks like there are 264 at the moment. The world is broken up into 192 independent states and 72 dependencies. I have to say at the moment because things are always changing. For example when the USSR broke up, many of its former provinces became countries thus increasing the amount of nations on the list. Comoros
Southern Africa, group of islands at the northern mouth of the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique. The total land area is 2,170 sq km. The population is 651,901. There have been 19 coups or attempted coups since 1975 when they gained their independence from France. Sao Tome Principe
Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon The total land area is 1,001 sq km. The population is 181,565. The country has a merchant marine of 24 ships. Andorra
Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain The total land area is 468 sq km. The population is 69,865. Andorra is a small country about 2 1/2 times the size of Washington, D.C. France and Spain supply the defense for this tiny country as it has no military forces. Faroe Islands
Northern Europe, island group between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Iceland to Norway. The total land area is 1,339 sq km. The population is 46,662. The islands are considering proposals for full independence. The islands are self governing but are part of the Kingdom of Denmark overseas administrative division. Jan Mayen
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland. The total land area is 373 sq km. There are no people inhabiting this island on a permanent basis but there are a couple of bases. This desolate, mountainous island was named after a Dutch whaling captain who indisputably discovered it in 1614 (earlier claims are inconclusive). Visited only occasionally by seal hunters and trappers over the following centuries, the island came under Norwegian sovereignty in 1929. The long dormant Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg volcano resumed activity in 1970; it is the northernmost active volcano on earth. The Norwegian government has delegated its authority to a station commander of the Norwegian Defense Communication Service. Djibouti
Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia. The total land area is 22,980 sq km. The population is 466,900. This country was formerly the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas and became Djibouti in 1977. Benin
Western Africa, bordering between Nigeria and Togo Total land area is 110,620 sq km. The population is 7,250,033. Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. Burkina Faso
Western Africa, north of Ghana. The total land area is 273,800. The population is 13,574,820. Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Guinea-Bissau
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal. Total land area is 28,000 sq km. The population is 1,388,363. This country is a former Portuguese colony. Turkmenistan
Stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 325 international land boundaries separate the 192 independent states and 72 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries. Maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for national security at sea. Boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized.Most disputes over the alignment of political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and territorial disputes. not demarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation. Territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition. Ethnic clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary conflict. Other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land, nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource disputes peacefully. Regional discord directly affects the sustenance and welfare of local populations, often leaving the world community to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, deforestation, and desertification. |
