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Algeria | |
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Land Area | 2381741km² |
Land Area + Seaarea | |
Population | 40263711 |
Population density | 16.9 / km² |
Algeria ( (listen) al-JEER-ee-ə, Arabic: الجزائر al-Jazā'ir), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country on the Mediterranean shore. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the tenth-largest country on earth, and the largest by area from the African Union and the Arab world. With an estimated population of over 44 million, it is the eighth-most populous country in Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the southeast by Niger, to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and the Western Saharan territory, to the west by Morocco, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country has a semi-arid geography, with the majority of the populace living in the fertile north and the Sahara dominating the geography of the south. This arid geography makes the country very vulnerable to climate change.Pre-1962 Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including early Numidians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisid, Aghlabid, Rustamid, Fatimids, Zirid, Hammadids, Almoravids, Almohads, Zayyanids, Spaniards, Ottomans and finally, the French colonial empire. The majority of the populace is Arab-Berber, practicing Islam and using the official languages of Arabic and Berber. However, French functions as an administrative and education language in certain contexts, and Algerian Arabic is the primary spoken language. Algeria has a semi-presidential republic, with local constituencies comprising 58 provinces and 1,541 communes. Algeria is a regional and middle power. It has the highest human development index of all non-island African countries and one of the biggest economies on the continent, based mostly on energy exports. Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world and the second biggest in Africa, while it has the ninth largest reserves of natural gas. Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa, supplying large amounts of natural gas to Europe. Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget. It is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the United Nations, and the Arab Maghreb Union, of which it is a founding member.
Source: WikipediaIceland | |
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Land Area | 100250km² |
Land Area + Seaarea | |
Population | 320000 |
Population density | 3.2 / km² |
Iceland (Icelandic: Ísland; [ˈistlant] (listen)) is a Nordic island nation in the North Atlantic, with a population of 364,134 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated nation in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the nation are home to over two-thirds of the populace. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior includes a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and lots of glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, with the majority of the archipelago with a polar climate. According to the ancient manuscript Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. In the following centuries, Norwegians, and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, emigrated to Iceland, bringing with them thralls (i.e., slaves or serfs) of Gaelic origin. The island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the Althing, among the world's oldest functioning legislative assemblies. After a period of civil strife, Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century. The establishment of the Kalmar Union in 1397 united the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Iceland thus followed Norway's integration in that marriage, coming under Danish rule following Sweden's secession from the union in 1523. Although the Danish kingdom introduced Lutheranism forcefully in 1550, Iceland remained a remote semi-colonial territory in which Danish institutions and infrastructures were conspicuous by their absence. In the wake of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918 and the founding of a republic in 1944. Although its parliament (Althing) was suspended from 1799 to 1845, the island republic has been credited with sustaining the world's oldest and longest-running parliament. Until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence agriculture and fishing. Industrialisation of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid following World War II brought prosperity and Iceland became one of the richest and most developed countries on earth. In 1994, it became a part of the European Economic Area, which further diversified the economy into sectors like finance, biotechnology, and manufacturing. Iceland has a market economy with relatively low taxes, compared to other OECD countries, in addition to the highest trade union membership in the world. It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. Iceland ranks high in economic, democratic, social stability, and equality, ranking third in the world by median wealth per adult. In 2018, it was rated as the most developed nation in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index, and it ranks first on the Global Peace Index. Iceland runs almost completely on renewable energy. Hit hard by the global financial crisis, the country's full banking system systemically failed in October 2008, resulting in an economic crisis and the collapse of the country's three largest banks. The crisis prompted substantial political unrest, the Icesave dispute, and the establishment of capital controls (enforced in 2008 and lifted in 2017). By 2014, the Icelandic economy had made a substantial recovery, in large part due to a surge in tourism.Icelandic culture is based upon the country's Scandinavian heritage. Most Icelanders are descendants of Norse and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is descended from Old West Norse and is closely linked to Faroese. The country's cultural heritage includes traditional Icelandic cuisine, Icelandic literature, and medieval sagas. Iceland has the smallest population of any NATO member and is the only one without a standing military, with a lightly armed coast guard.
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