Countries of the World Hotlist

Countries of the World Hotlist Where in the world are the countries of Kyrgyzstan (a popular drink in this country is fermented mare's milk), Burkino Faso (the residents of this country call themselves Burkinab�s), and Vanuatu (a popular dish is laplap, a paste of ground manioc, taro, or yam with wild spinach and grated coconut)?

The following links are a hotlist of places where you can find out everything you ever wanted to know about the country of Sierra Leone.

CIA WorldFactBook
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Who knows more about worldwide regions than the Central Intelligence Agency? If you haven't visited this site in awhile, it has been redesigned and no longer has those pesky frames. The reference maps are good; they're also available in pdf format for easy printing. The information is generally very current.

Find a country that is slightly smaller than New Jersey. It has almost no arable land that is suitable for cultivation, so it imports most of its food. It has more than 20% of the world's known nickel resources, but its economy has suffered lately because of depressed international demand for nickel. Its main ports and harbors are Mueo, Noumea, and Thio.

Altapedia Online
http://www.atlapedia.com/

Select a country and locate almanac-type country information and maps.

This country's main natural resource is peat. Its capital is Vilnius. What country is it? (Use the Altapedia Map Pages Online and find out what peat is and what it is used for.)

Library of Congress Country Studies
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html

The listing of country studies at the Library of Congress is not complete, but new ones are being added as they are ready. In addition, some of the older studies are being revised to include charts and maps.

Gross national product is a nation's total output of goods and services in a given period, usually one year. The three major components of GNP are consumer purchases, private investment, and government spending. A country's GNP is an indicator of its economic health.
Gross domestic product is similar to GNP but covers only goods and services produced inside a nation's borders. It is also an indicator of the performance of a country's economy.
Using sites like the Library of Congress Country Studies compare and contrast the GNP and GDP of several countries. For instance, in 1990 the GNP of Albania was $4.1 billion (in US dollars) and the GDP was $16,234 million (in US dollars). During that same period, the GNP of Japan was $3.7 trillion, and the GDP was $3.3 trillion. What can you infer about the economy of Albania vs the economy of Japan?

US Department of State Country Background Notes
http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/index.html

Background Notes provide information on geographic entities and international organizations and are updated periodically.

Where is the Republic of Maldives? The entire country only has a population of about 245,000. The climate is hot and humid. It was a British protectorate until 1965. The official and common language is Dhivehi. The economy of the country is predominantly based on tourism and fishing.

InfoPlease Countries of the World
http://www.infoplease.com/countries.html

InfoPlease is a great all-around reference source. The information is very current.

This country's main languages are Kirundi, French (official), and Swahili. Its capital is Bujumbura. What country is it?

Infonation
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation/e_infonation.htm

Infonation is an interesting page that lets users compare statistical information between countries. It's part of the United Nations CyberSchoolBus site. From the main menu, you can select up to 7 countries. Then select "Data Menu". From this Data Menu, select your areas for comparison and then click "View Info".

Compare Somalia, Nepal, France, Cuba, Fiji, Uruguay, and India. Of these 7 countries, find out which country has the highest population density, the lowest life expectancy, the greatest number of threatened species, and the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Countries at a Glance - Infonation
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation/e_glance.htm

This is also part of the United Nations CyberSchoolBus site. From this portion of the site, you select 1 country and then click on "View Info". You'll get the chosen country's flag, latitude & longitude, total area, total population, population density, capital city, languages, largest city (and its population),currency, UN membership date, GDP, GDP, etc.

What is the capital of Uganda?

Global Statistics
http://www.geohive.com/

Biggest, highest, largest, lowest, longest, most, least....You'll find these statisitcs for the world as well as for individual countries and regions.

List the 10 most populous countries in the world. (Here's a hint--#1 is China and #10 is Nigeria.)

GeoTeacher Country Studies
http://home.att.net/~rmmwms/students/countrystudies.html

Many links to specific areas of the world as well as to megasites for countries.

A popular dish in this country is pork roasted on a spit over an open fire, garnished with congri rice and boiled mandioc with garlic dressing, but fish and seafood are also very popular. The country is the largest of the Caribbean islands. One fourth of the country is covered with mountain forests of pine and mahogany. What country is it?

GeoTeacher Geography Links
http://home.att.net/~rmmwms/geography.html

Countries, maps, world news, general geography, cultural geography, physical geography.

The major languages of this country are Arabic (official), Berber dialects, and French. Its industries are phosphate rock mining and processing, leather goods, textiles, and tourism. Its capital is Rabat. What country is it?

Zoom School
http://www.ZoomSchool.com/

There are resources for Africa, Australia, Antarctica, Japan, the United States, and Canada. The resources are basically geared to elementary schools. The music resources are excellent. You can find music and lyrics to many songs from these countries.

Which country sounds like it might have a song called Gumtree Canoe?

Weather Underground
http://www.wunderground.com/

Type the name of the country to see that country�s weather..

What is the weather in Belize today? November through March is the best time to visit the country because May through October in their rainy season, and hurricanes are possible.

Web of Culture
http://www.webofculture.com/

Select "Reference" from the menu on the left. Then choose from a variety of categories such as Holidays, Languages, Currency, Headlines, Time Zones, and Weather.

Find a recipe for Revani cake. It is a popular, moist Turkish dessert. Then find an Irish recipe for Dublin coddle. Is coddle a main dish or a dessert?

World Travel Guide
http://www.wtgonline.com/country.asp

Choose an area of the world from the menu. Then select resource areas from the pull-down menus.

Which Canadian province is home to Green Gables, where Anne, Marilla, and Matthew from the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery lived?

Foreign Government Resources on the Web
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/foreign.html

You'll find government information and statistics for the countries of the world.

Locate Bolivian government websites.

Author: LINDA MOSBACKER - Email linda.mosbacker@slc.k12.ut.us