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Countries of the World: The surface of the earth is approximately 70.9% water and 29.1% land. The former portion is divided into large water bodies termed oceans. The World Factbook recognizes and describes five oceans, which are in decreasing order of size: the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. The land portion is generally divided into several, large, discrete landmasses termed continents. Depending on the convention used, the number of continents can vary from five to seven. The most common classification recognizes seven, which are (from largest to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Asia and Europe are sometimes lumped together into a Eurasian continent resulting in six continents. Alternatively, North and South America are sometimes grouped as simply the Americas, resulting in a continent total of six (or five, if the Eurasia designation is used). Read On

• Afghanistan   Names of cities in afghanistan Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
• Armenia   Names of cities in Armenia Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey
• Azerbaijan   Names of cities in Azerbaijan Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range
• Bahrain   Middle East Names of cities in Bahrain
• Bangladesh   Southern Asia Names of cities in Bangladesh
• Bhutan   Southern Asia Names of cities in Bhutan
• British Indian Ocean Territory   Names of cities in British Indian Ocean Territory
• Brunei Southeastern Asia Names of cities in Brunei
• Burma - Myanmar - Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
• Cambodia - Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos
• China - People's Republic of
• Christmas Island - Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
• Cocos Islands
• Cyprus - Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey
• East Timor - 
• Egypt - Sinai Peninsula - Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula
• Georgia - Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia
• Hong Kong - Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
• India - Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
• Indonesia - Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
• Iran - Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
• Iraq - Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
• Israel - Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
• Japan - Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
• Jordan - Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia
• Kazakhstan - Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe
• Korea North - Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
• Korea South - Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
• Kuwait - Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
• Kyrgyzstan - Central Asia, west of China
• Laos - Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
• Lebanon - Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
• Macau - Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
• Malaysia - Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
• Maldives - Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
• Mongolia - Northern Asia, between China and Russia
• Myanmar - Burma - Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
• Nepal - Southern Asia, between China and India
• Oman - Oman adopted Islam in the seventh century A.D., during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad
• Pakistan - Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north
• Philippines - The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth.
• Qatar - Natives of the Arabian Peninsula, most Qataris are descended from a number of migratory tribes that came to Qatar in the 18th century to escape the harsh conditions of the neighboring areas of Nejd and Al-Hasa.
• Saudi Arabia
• Singapore - Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
• Sri Lanka - The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C.
• Syria
• Taiwan- Republic of China
• Tajikistan
• Thailand - Thailand's population is relatively homogeneous. More than 85% speak a dialect of Thai and share a common culture. This core population includes the central Thai (33.7% of the population, including Bangkok), Northeastern Thai (34.2%), northern Thai (18.8%), and southern Thai (13.3%)
• Timor-Leste The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timor in the early 16th century and colonized it in mid-century.
• Turkey - Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL
• Turkmenistan
• United Arab Emirates - Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
• Uzbekistan - Central Asia, north of Afghanistan
• Vietnam - Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
• Yemen - Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
• List of Asian Countries

• Algeria   Names of cities in Algeria Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
• Angola - Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Benin - Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
• Botswana - Southern Africa, north of South Africa
• Burkina Faso - Western Africa, north of Ghana Africa
• Burundi  - A Republic. Democratically elected, post-transition government established August 26, 2005. Located in Eastern Africa.
• Cameroon      -----     Middle Africa
• Cape Verde      -----     Western Africa
• Central African Republic -----  Middle Africa
• Chad      -----     Middle Africa
• Comoros      -----     Eastern Africa
• Congo      -----     Middle Africa
• Côte d'Ivoire      -----     Western Africa
• Democratic Republic of the Congo  ---- Middle Africa
• Djibouti      -----     Eastern Africa
• Egypt - Northern Africa - Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world and the second-most populous on the African Continent.
• Eritrea     -----     Eastern Africa
• Equatorial Guinea      -----     Middle Africa
• Ethiopia     -----     Eastern Africa
• Gabon      -----     Middle Africa
• Gambia      -----     Western Africa
• Ghana      -----     Western Africa
• Guinea      -----     Western Africa
• Guinea-Bissau      -----     Western Africa
• Ivory Coast      -----     Western Africa
• Kenya     Cushitic-speaking people from what is now Sudan and Ethiopia moved into the area that is now Kenya beginning around 2000 BC.
• Lesotho     -----     Southern Africa
• Liberia      -----     Western Africa
• Libya      -----     Northern Africa
• Madagascar     -----     Eastern Africa
• Malawi     -----     Eastern Africa
• Mali      -----     Western Africa
• Mauritania      -----     Western Africa
• Mauritius     -----     Eastern Africa
• Mayotte (France)    -----     Eastern Africa
• Morocco      -----     Northern Africa
• Mozambique     -----     Eastern Africa
• Namibia     -----     Southern Africa
• Niger      -----     Western Africa
• Nigeria      -----     Western Africa
• Réunion (France)     -----     Eastern Africa
• Rwanda     -----     Eastern Africa
• Saint Helena (UK)      -----     Western Africa
• São Tomé and Príncipe   -----   Middle Africa
• Senegal      -----     Western Africa
• Seychelles     -----     Eastern Africa
• Sierra Leone      -----     Western Africa
• Somalia     -----     Eastern Africa
• South Africa     -----     Southern Africa
• Sudan      -----     Northern Africa
• Swaziland     -----     Southern Africa
• Tanzania     -----     Eastern Africa
• Togo      -----     Western Africa
• Tunisia      -----     Northern Africa
• Uganda     -----     Eastern Africa
• Western Sahara      -----     Northern Africa
• Zambia   Names of cities in Zambia Eastern Africa
• Zimbabwe     -----     Eastern Africa
• List of African Countries

Background: Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).

Geography Overview: The surface of the earth is approximately 70.9% water and 29.1% land. The former portion is divided into large water bodies termed oceans. The World Factbook recognizes and describes five oceans, which are in decreasing order of size: the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. The land portion is generally divided into several, large, discrete landmasses termed continents. Depending on the convention used, the number of continents can vary from five to seven. The most common classification recognizes seven, which are (from largest to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Asia and Europe are sometimes lumped together into a Eurasian continent resulting in six continents. Alternatively, North and South America are sometimes grouped as simply the Americas, resulting in a continent total of six (or five, if the Eurasia designation is used). North America is commonly understood to include the island of Greenland, the isles of the Caribbean, and to extend south all the way to the Isthmus of Panama. The easternmost extent of Europe is generally defined as being the Ural Mountains and the Ural River; on the southeast the Caspian Sea; and on the south the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean. Africa's northeast extremity is frequently delimited at the Isthmus of Suez, but for geopolitical purposes, the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula is often included as part Africa. Asia usually incorporates all the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The islands of the Pacific are often lumped with Australia into a "land mass" termed Oceania or Australasia. Although the above groupings are the most common, different continental dispositions are recognized or taught in certain parts of the world, with some arrangements more heavily based on cultural spheres rather than physical geographic considerations.

Area: total: 510.072 million sq km
           land: 148.94 million sq km
           water: 361.132 million sq km
           note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land

Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 251,060 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries
note: 45 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked.

Coastline: 356,000 km
note: 94 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan

Maritime claims: a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm

Climate: a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two large areas of cold and dry polar climates

Terrain: The greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m

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