New Zealand | |
|---|---|
| Land Area | 264537km² |
| Land Area + Seaarea | |
| Population | 4509900 |
| Population density | 17.0 / km² |
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It includes two main landmasses--the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)--and about 600 smaller islands, covering a total area of 268,021 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi). New Zealand is roughly 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's diverse topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. Owing to their remoteness, the islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable lands to be settled by humans. Between approximately 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands, and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which announced British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire and in 1907 it became a dominion; it gained complete statutory independence in 1947 and the British monarch remained the head of state. Now, the majority of New Zealand's population of 5 million is of European descent; the native Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language, with English being very dominant. A developed country, New Zealand ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, government transparency, and economic freedom. New Zealand underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalised free-trade economy. The service sector dominates the national economy, followed by the industrial sector, and agriculture; international tourism is a substantial source of revenue. Nationally, legislative authority is vested in an elected, unicameral Parliament, while executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, headed by the prime minister, currently Jacinda Ardern. Queen Elizabeth II is the nation's monarch and is represented by a governor-general, currently Dame Patsy Reddy. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government functions. The Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent territory); the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing states in free association with New Zealand); and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ASEAN Plus Six, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum.
Source: WikipediaSudan | |
|---|---|
| Land Area | 1861484km² |
| Land Area + Seaarea | |
| Population | 39379358 |
| Population density | 21.2 / km² |
Sudan (; Arabic: السودان as-Sūdān), officially the Republic of the Sudan (Arabic: جمهورية السودان Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in North-East Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, Libya to the northwest, Chad to the west, the Central African Republic to the southwest, South Sudan to the south, Ethiopia to the southeast, Eritrea to the east, and the Red Sea to the northeast. Sudan has a population of 43 million (2018 quote ) and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres (728,215 square miles), making it Africa's third-largest country and also the third-largest in the Arab world. It was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world by area prior to the secession of South Sudan in 2011. Sudan's history goes back to the Pharaonic period, witnessing the Kingdom of Kerma (c. 2500--1500 BC), the following rule of the Egyptian New Kingdom (c. 1500 BC--1070 BC) and the growth of the Kingdom of Kush (c. 785 BC--350 AD), which would in turn control Egypt itself for almost a century. Following the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia, with the latter two lasting until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries a lot of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads. In the 16th--19th centuries, eastern and central Sudan were dominated by the Funj sultanate, while Darfur dominated the west and the Ottomans the far north. From 1820 to 1874 the entirety of Sudan was defeated by the Muhammad Ali dynasty. Between 1881 and 1885, the harsh Egyptian reign was eventually met with a successful revolt headed by the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, leading to the formation of the Caliphate of Omdurman. This state was eventually toppled in 1898 by the British, who would then govern Sudan together with Egypt.The 20th century saw the rise of Sudanese nationalism and in 1953 Britain granted Sudan self-government. Independence was proclaimed on 1 January 1956. Since independence, Sudan has been ruled by a series of unstable parliamentary governments and military regimes. Under Jaafar Nimeiry, Sudan instituted Islamic law in 1983. This exacerbated the rift between the Islamic north, the seat of the government and the Animists and Christians in the south. Differences in language, religion, and political power erupted in a civil war between government forces, strongly influenced by the National Islamic Front (NIF), and the southern rebels, whose strongest faction was the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), eventually concluding in the liberty of South Sudan in 2011. Between 1989 and 2019, Sudan experienced a 30-year-long military dictatorship headed by Omar al-Bashir accused of widespread human rights abuses including torture, persecution of minorities and especially, ethnic genocide due to its part in the War in the Darfur region that broke out in 2003. Overall, the program's actions killed between 300,000 and 400,000 people. Protests erupted in late 2018, demanding Bashir's resignation, which resulted in a successful coup d'état on April 11, 2019.
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