About Cuba
Posted on | December 16, 2011 | No Comments
Cuba is a socialist state in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country’s capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. To the north of Cuba lies the United States and the Bahamas, Mexico is to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.
Quick detail about Cuba
Visa- All visitors require a tourist card (CUC$15), which is usually issued with your plane ticket or can be bought at airports.
Money- Cuban convertible peso (CUC$) and Cuban peso (CUP; also known as moneda nacional, MN); CUC$1 = US$1.08 = €0.82 = UK £0.76
Official name- Republic of Cuba
Departure tax- CUC$25 (cash only)
Area- 110, 860 sq km
Population- 11.3 million
Famous for- Cigars, rum, Fidel Castro, salsa, classic cars
Country code- 53
Language- Spanish
Capital- Havana
Phrase- Qué bolá asere? (What’s up, brother?); chao/chaocito (goodbye/bye)
Number of cell phones- 198,000
Cuba is an archipelago of islands located in the northern Caribbean Sea at the confluence with the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It lies between latitudes 19° and 24°N, and longitudes 74° and 85°W. The United States lies to the north-west, the Bahamas to the north, Haiti to the east, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to the south, and Mexico to the west. Cuba is the principal island, surrounded by four smaller groups of islands: the Colorados Archipelago on the northwestern coast, the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago on the north-central Atlantic coast, the Jardines de la Reina on the south-central coast and the Canarreos Archipelago on the southwestern coast.
The main island is 1,199 km (745 mi) long, constituting most of the nation’s land area (105,006 km2 (40,543 sq mi)) and is the largest island in the Caribbean and 16th-largest island in the world by land area. The main island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains apart from the Sierra Maestra mountains in the southeast, whose highest point is Pico Turquino (1,975 m (6,480 ft)). The second-largest island is Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) in the Canarreos archipelago, with an area of 3,056 km2 (1,180 sq mi). Cuba has a total land area of 110,860 km2 (42,803 sq mi).
Languages in Cuba
The official language of Cuba is Spanish and the vast majority of Cubans speak it. Spanish as spoken in Cuba is known as Cuban Spanish and is a form of Caribbean Spanish. Lucumi, a dialect of the West African language Yoruba, is also used as a liturgical language by practitioners of Santería, and so only as a second language. Haitian Creole is the second largest language in Cuba, and is spoken by Haitian immigrants and their descendants. Other languages spoken by immigrants include Catalan and Corsican.
Culture in Cuba
Cuban culture is influenced by its melting pot of cultures, primarily those of Spain and Africa. Sport is Cuba’s national passion. Due to historical associations with the United States, many Cubans participate in sports which are popular in North America, rather than sports traditionally promoted in other Spanish-speaking nations. Baseball is by far the most popular; other sports and pastimes include basketball, volleyball, cricket, and athletics. Cuba is a dominant force in amateur boxing, consistently achieving high medal tallies in major international competitions.
About Costa Rica
Posted on | December 16, 2011 | No Comments
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east
Costa Rica, which means “”Rich Coast”", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world’s 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index, ranked 62nd in the world in 2010, and is cited by the UNDP as one of the countries that has attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels. The country is ranked 3rd in the world, and 1st among the Americas, in terms of the 2010 Environmental Performance Index.
Quick detail about Costa Rica
Happy Planet Index rating- 76.1 (which makes Costa Rica the happiest place on the planet)
Currency- what’s the Costa Rican colón worth today?
Annual coffee consumption per person- 3.9kg (USA: 4.2kg)
Full of beans- coffee was thought to energize workers, so in 1840 the government decreed that all labourers building roads should be given one cup of coffee every day
Tico/a- male/female Costa Rican (also a Costarricense)
Slow movers- two-toed sloths descend from the trees once every two weeks to defecate
Population- four million
Head of state- President Laura Chinchilla
Coffeeganda- in the 1940s children learned to read with a text that stated, ‘Coffee is good for me. I drink coffee every morning’
Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, lying between latitudes 8° and 12°N, and longitudes 82° and 86°W. It borders the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the Pacific Ocean (to the west), with a total of 1,290 kilometres (800 mi) of coastline, 212 km (132 mi) on the Caribbean coast and 1,016 km (631 mi) on the Pacific.
Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north (309 km or 192 mi of border) and Panama to the south-southeast (639 km or 397 mi of border). In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 square kilometres (19,700 sq mi) plus 589 square kilometres (227 sq mi) of territorial waters.
The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, at 3,819 metres (12,530 ft), and is the fifth highest peak in Central America. The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú Volcano (3,431 m or 11,257 ft). The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.
Languages in Costa Rica
The primary language spoken in Costa Rica is Spanish. Some native languages are still spoken in indigenous reservations the most numerically important are the Bribri, Maléku, Cabécar and Ngäbere languages some of which have several thousand speakers in Costa Rica – others a few hundred. Some languages like Teribe and Boruca have less than a thousand speakers. A Creole-English language (also known as Mekatelyu)Jamaican Patois is spoken in the Caribbean coast. Around 10.7% of Costa Rica’s adult population (18 or older) also speaks English, 0.7% French, and 0.3% speaks Portuguese or German as a second language.
Religion in Costa Rica
Christianity is the predominant religion, and Roman Catholicism is the official state religion according to the 1949 Constitution, which at the same time guarantees freedom of religion.
According to the most recent nationwide survey of religion, conducted in 2007 by the University of Costa Rica, 70.5% of Costa Ricans are Roman Catholics, 44.9% of the population are practicing Catholics, 13.8% are Evangelical Protestants (many of them Pentecostal), 11.3% report that they do not have a religion, and 4.3% belonged to another.
Because of the recent small but continuous immigration from Asia and the Middle East, other religions have grown, the most popular being Buddhism (because of a growing Chinese community of 40,000), and smaller numbers of Hindu, Jewish, Bahá’í, and Muslim adherents.
About Colombia
Posted on | December 16, 2011 | No Comments
Colombia is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia also shares maritime borders with Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. With a population of over 45 million people, Colombia has the 29th largest population in the world and the second largest in South America, after Brazil. Colombia has the third largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico and Spain.
Quick detail about Colombia
Population- 46 million
Head of state- President Juan Manuel Santos
He said it- All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret – Gabriel García Márquez
Famous for- Gabriel García Márquez, Shakira, salsa, cumbia, Betty La Fea (the original Ugly Betty), FARC, Fernando Botero, coffee, a certain white powder, three kinds of passionfruit…
A bit of Colombian slang… guayabo – hangover, chulo – cool, hacer la tarea – to have sex (literally, to do homework), hacerse el gringo – to feign ignorance (literally, to act like an American), tombo – police officer
Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by Panama and the Caribbean Sea; and to the west by Ecuador and the Pacific Ocean. Including its Caribbean islands, it lies between latitudes 14°N and 5°S, and longitudes 66° and 82°W.
Religion in Colombia
The National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) does not collect religious statistics, and accurate reports are difficult to obtain. However, based on various studies, more than 95% of the population adheres to Christianity, the vast majority of which (between 81% and 90%) are Roman Catholic. About 1% of Colombians adhere to indigenous religions and under 1% to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. However, despite high numbers of adherents, around 60% of respondents to a poll by El Tiempo reported that they did not practice their faith actively.
While Colombia remains an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country, the Colombian constitution guarantees freedom and equality of religion. Religious groups are readily able to obtain recognition as organized associations, although some smaller ones have faced difficulty in obtaining the additional recognition required to offer chaplaincy services in public facilities and to perform legally recognised marriages.
Culture in Colombia
Colombia lies at the crossroads of Latin America and the broader American continent, and as such has been hit by a wide range of cultural influences. Native American, Spanish and other European, African, American, Caribbean, and Middle Eastern influences, as well as other Latin American cultural influences, are all present in Colombia’s modern culture. Urban migration, industrialization, globalization, and other political, social and economic changes have also left an impression.
Historically, the country’s imposing landscape left its various regions largely isolated from one another, resulting in the development of very strong regional identities, in many cases stronger than the national. Modern transport links and means of communication have mitigated this and done much to foster a sense of nationhood, but social and political instability, and in particular fears of armed groups and bandits on intercity highways, have contributed to the maintenance of very clear regional differences. Accent, dress, music, food, politics and general attitude vary greatly between the Bogotanos and other residents of the central highlands, the paisas of Antioquia and the coffee region, the costeños of the Caribbean coast, the llaneros of the eastern plains, and the inhabitants of the Pacific coast and the vast Amazon region to the south east.
About China
Posted on | December 16, 2011 | No Comments
China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity. With nearly 4,000 years of continuous history, China is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Prior to the 19th century, it possessed one of the most advanced societies and economies in the world; but through successive dynasties it then missed the Industrial Revolution in Europe and began to decline. In the 19th and 20th century, imperialism, internal weakness and civil wars damaged the country and its economy, and led to the overthrow of imperial rule.
Quick detail about China
Population- 1.3 billion
Chief of state- President Hu Jintao
Currency- What’s the Chinese yuan worth today?
Largest dinosaur fossil site in the world? Zhoucheng, China, where more than 50 metric tons of bones have thus far been discovered beneath the town.
Guinness World Records- most people painting each other’s faces simultaneously in one location (13,413), largest bottle of cooking oil (containing 3212 litres), most couples hugging (3009 couples)
Internet users- 135 million
Milk beer- from Inner Mongolia, an alternative to the traditional mare’s-milk wine
Squirrel fish- whole mandarin fish deep-fried and manipulated to resemble a squirrel
Number of chinese characters- over 56, 000
China ranges from mostly plateaus and mountains in the west to lower lands in the east. Principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze (central), the Yellow River (Huang He, north-central), and the Amur (northeast), and sometimes toward the south (including the Pearl River, Mekong (river), and Brahmaputra), with most Chinese rivers emptying into the Pacific Ocean.
In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea there are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains. On the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, grasslands can be seen. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges. In the central-east are the deltas of China’s two major rivers, the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. Most of China’s arable lands lie along these rivers, and they were the centers of China’s major ancient civilizations. Other major rivers include the Pearl River, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur. Yunnan Province is considered a part of the Greater Mekong Subregion, which also includes Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Languages in China
Most languages in China belong to the Sino-Tibetan languages family, spoken by 29 ethnicities. There are also several major linguistic groups within the Chinese language itself. The most spoken varieties are Mandarin (spoken by over 70% of the population), Wu, Yue (Cantonese), Min, Xiang, Gan, and Hakka. Non-Sinitic languages spoken widely by ethnic minorities include Zhuang (Thai), Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur (Turkic), Hmong and Korean.
Classical Chinese was the written standard in China for thousands of years, and allowed for written communication between speakers of various unintelligible languages and dialects in China. Written vernacular Chinese, or baihua, is the written standard based on the Mandarin dialect and first popularized in Ming Dynasty novels. It was adopted with significant modifications during the early 20th century as the national standard. Classical Chinese is still part of the high school curriculum and is thus intelligible to some degree to many Chinese.
Religion in China
The “”official”" orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China since at least the Shang Dynasty (1766 BC) until the overthrow of the last dynasty (1911 AD) centered on the worship of Shangdi (“”Supreme God”") or “”Heaven”" as an omnipotent force. This faith system pre-dated the development of Confucianism and Taoism and the introduction of Buddhism, Islam and Christianity.
It has features of monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, endowed with personality but no corporeal form. From the writings of Confucius, we find that Confucius himself believed that Heaven cannot be deceived, Heaven guides people’s lives and maintains a personal relationship with them, and that Heaven gives tasks for people to fulfill to teach them righteousness (yi, 義). However, this faith system was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshiped along with Shangdi. Still, variants such as Mohism approached high monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of Shangdi, which included observing “”universal love”" (jian’ai, 兼爱) and shunning fatalism.
Acout Chile
Posted on | December 16, 2011 | No Comments
Chile is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Along with Ecuador, it is one of two countries in South America that do not border Brazil. The Pacific coastline of Chile is 6,435 kilometres (4000 mi). Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
Quick detail about Chile
Pisco produced annually- 50 million liters
Head of state- President Sebastian Piñera
Famous for- Tierra del Fuego, Pablo Neruda, Isabel Allende, pisco, wine, General Pinochet, Patagonia
Did you know? that Chile is the world’s fifth largest exporter of wine?
She said it- You can tell the deepest truths with the lies of fiction – Isabel Allende
Highest point- Ojos del Salado (6893m)
Population- 16,601,700 (4.6% of which is indigenous)
Number of moai on Easter Island (Rapa Nui)- 887
The oldest known Chinchorro mummy… dates back to c 5050 BC (some 2000 years before Egypt started mummifying its dead)
Number of vicuña remaining in Chile- 25,000
A long and narrow coastal Southern Cone country on the west side of the Andes Mountains, Chile stretches over 4,630 kilometres (2,880 mi) north to south, but only 430 kilometres (265 mi) at its widest point east to west. This encompasses a remarkable variety of landscapes. It contains 756,950 square kilometres (292,260 sq mi) of land area. It is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Including its offshore islands, but excluding its Antarctic claim, Chile lies between latitudes 17° and 56°S, and longitudes 66° and 81°W.
The northern Atacama Desert contains great mineral wealth, primarily copper and nitrates. The relatively small Central Valley, which includes Santiago, dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. This area also is the historical center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century, when it integrated the northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests, grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. The Andes Mountains are located on the eastern border. Chile is the longest north-south country in the world, and also claims 1,250,000 km2 (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica as part of its territory. However, this latter claim is suspended under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty, of which Chile is a signatory.
Languages in Chile
The Spanish spoken in Chile is distinctively accented and quite unlike that of neighbouring South American countries because final syllables and “”s”" sounds are dropped, and some consonants have a soft pronunciation. Accent varies only very slightly from north to south; more noticeable are the small differences in accent based on social class or whether one lives in the city or the country. That the Chilean population was largely formed in a small section at the center of the country and then migrated in modest numbers to the north and south helps explain this relative lack of differentiation, which was maintained by the national reach of radio, and now television, which also helps to diffuse and homogenize colloquial expressions.
There are several indigenous languages spoken in Chile: Mapudungun, Quechua, Aymara and Rapa Nui. After the Spanish invasion, Spanish took over as the lingua franca and the indigenous languages have become minority languages, with some now extinct or close to extinction.
Religion in Chile
In the most recent census (2002), 70 percent of the population over age 14 identified as Roman Catholic and 15.1 percent as evangelical. In the census, the term “”evangelical”" referred to all non-Catholic Christian churches with the exception of the Orthodox Church (Greek, Persian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and Armenian), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Seventh-day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Approximately 90 percent of evangelicals are Pentecostal. Wesleyan, Lutheran, Reformed Evangelical, Presbyterian, Anglican, Episcopalian, Baptist and Methodist churches are also present. Irreligious people, atheists and agnostics, account for around 8% of the population.
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contribute to the generally free practice of religion. The law at all levels protects this right in full against abuse, either by governmental or private actors.
About Canada
Posted on | December 16, 2011 | No Comments
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world’s second largest country by total area. Canada’s common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world.
Quick detail about Canada
Canadians who speak only French- 13.3%
Hours TV watched per week- 21.4
Median family income- $67, 600
Amount of world’s diamonds produced- 15%
Defense budget- $10.9 billion
Annual potato consumption- 15.8kg per person
Unemployment rate- 6%
Population- 33 million
Life expectancy- women 83.7 years, men 76.9 years
Annual beer consumption- 77 L per person over age 15
Canada occupies a major northern portion of North America, sharing the land borders with the contiguous United States to the south and the U.S. state of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean. By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second-largest country in the world—after Russia. By land area, Canada ranks fourth. The country lies between latitudes 41° and 84°N, and longitudes 52° and 141°W.
Language in Canada
Canada’s two official languages are English and French. Official bilingualism is defined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Official Languages Act, and Official Language Regulations; it is applied by the Commissioner of Official Languages. English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions. Citizens have the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French, and official-language minorities are guaranteed their own schools in all provinces and territories.
English and French are the mother tongues of 59.7% and 23.2% of the population respectively. Approximately 98% of Canadians speak English or French (57.8% speak English only, 22.1% speak French only, and 17.4% speak both). English and French Official Language Communities, defined by First Official Language Spoken, constitute 73.0% and 23.6% of the population respectively.
The Charter of the French Language makes French the official language in Quebec. Although more than 85% of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, there are substantial Francophone populations in Ontario, Alberta, and southern Manitoba; Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec. New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province, has a French-speaking Acadian minority constituting 33% of the population. There are also clusters of Acadians in southwestern Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island, and through central and western Prince Edward Island.
Economy in Canada
Canada is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, with a high per-capita income, and it is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G8. It is one of the world’s top ten trading nations. Canada is a mixed market, ranking above the U.S. on the Heritage Foundation’s index of economic freedom and higher than most western European nations. The largest foreign importers of Canadian goods are the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
In the past century, the growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to a more industrial and urban one. Like other First World nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians. Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of its primary sector, in which the logging and petroleum industries are two of the most important.
Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy. Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas, and Alberta has large oil and gas resources. The immense Athabasca Oil Sands give Canada the world’s second-largest oil reserves, behind Saudi Arabia.
About Brazil
Posted on | November 25, 2011 | No Comments
Brazil is the largest country in South America. It is the world’s fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 190 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country in the world.
Quick detail about Brazil
Head of state- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Area- 8,456,510 sq km (about the size of the continental United States
Number of times the Brazilian football team has won the World Cup five: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002
Capital- Brasilia
Famous for Carnaval, the Amazon, music, football, beaches, caipirinhas, supermodels, soap operas (telenovelas), Jorge Amado, corrupt politicians
Languages- Portuguese and 180 indigenous languages
Population- 198 million
Phrases- legal, bacana – cool; repugnante – disgusting; festa – party
Artists who’ve covered “”The Girl from Ipanema”" Astrud Gilberto, Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Eartha Kitt, The Supremes, Sammy Davis Jr & Count Basie, Sergio Mendes
Estimated number of insect species in Brazil- 10-15 million
Brazil occupies a large area along the eastern coast of South America and includes much of the continent’s interior, sharing land borders with Uruguay to the south; Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest; Bolivia and Peru to the west; Colombia to the northwest; and Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the French overseas department of French Guiana to the north. It shares a border with every country in South America except for Ecuador and Chile. It also encompasses a number of oceanic archipelagos, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. Its size, relief, climate, and natural resources make Brazil geographically diverse. Including its Atlantic islands, Brazil lies between latitudes 6°N and 34°S, and longitudes 28° and 74°W.
Languages in Brazil
The official language of Brazil is Portuguese, which almost all of the population speaks and is virtually the only language used in newspapers, radio, television, and for business and administrative purposes. The exception to this is in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira where Nheengatu, an indigenous language of South America, has been granted co-official status with Portuguese. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity and giving it a national culture distinct from those of its Spanish-speaking neighbors.
Religion in Brazil
Roman Catholicism is the country’s predominant faith. Brazil has the world’s largest Catholic population. According to the 2000 Demographic Census (the PNAD survey does not inquire about religion), 73.57% of the population followed Roman Catholicism; 15.41% Protestantism; 1.33% Kardecist spiritism; 1.22% other Christian denominations; 0.31% Afro-Brazilian religions; 0.13% Buddhism; 0.05% Judaism; 0.02% Islam; 0.01% Amerindian religions; 0.59% other religions, undeclared or undetermined; while 7.35% have no religion.
About Botswana
Posted on | November 25, 2011 | No Comments
Botswana is a country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as Batswana (singular: Motswana). Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. It has held free and fair democratic elections since independence.
Quick detail about Botswana
Time- GMT/UTC +2
Population- 1.63 million
Borders- South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe (all overland crossings)
Seasons- Wet (November to March); dry (May to August)
Telephone- Country code 267; international access 00
ATMs- Found in large towns
Budget- US$40 to US$70 a day
Capital- Gaborone
Visa- None required for citizens of Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, the UK, Ireland,
Canada or the USA
Area- 582, 000 sq km
Language- English, Setswana
Money- Pula (P); US$1 = 6.4P
At 600,370 km2 (231,804 sq mi) Botswana is the world’s 47th-largest country (after Ukraine). It is comparable in size to Madagascar, and is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Texas or the Canadian province of Manitoba. It lies between latitudes 17° and 27°S, and longitudes 20° and 30°E.
The country is predominantly flat, tending toward gently rolling tableland. Botswana is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers up to 70% of its land surface. The Okavango Delta, the world’s largest inland delta, is in the northwest. The Makgadikgadi Pan, a large salt pan, lies in the north.
Language in Botswana
The official language of Botswana is English although Setswana is widely spoken across the country. In Setswana prefixes are more important than they are in many other languages. These prefixes include “”Bo”", which refers to the country, “”Ba”", which refers to the people, “”Mo”", which is one person, and “”Se”" which is the language. For example, the main tribe of Botswana is the Tswana people, hence the name Botswana for its country. The people as a whole are Batswana, one person is a Motswana, and the language they speak is Setswana.
Religion in Botswana
An estimated 70 percent of the country’s citizens identify themselves as Christians. Anglicans, Methodists, and the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa make up the majority of Christians. There are also congregations of Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists, the Dutch Reformed Church, Mennonites, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other Christian sects.
According to the 2001 census, the country’s Muslim community, primarily of South Asian origin, numbers slightly more than 5,000. The 2001 census also lists approximately 3,000 Hindus and 700 Baha’is. Approximately 20 percent of citizens espouse no religion. Religious services are well attended in both rural and urban areas.
About Barbados
Posted on | November 25, 2011 | No Comments
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is 34 kilometres (21 mi) in length and as much as 23 kilometres (14 mi) in width, amounting to 431 square kilometres (166 sq mi). It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about 168 kilometres (104 mi) east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and 400 kilometres (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt.
Quick detail about Barbados
Visa- Not required for US, EU or Commonwealth visitors.
Money- Barbados dollar (B$ or BBD); B$1 = US$0.50 = €0.32 = UK£0.25
Official name- Barbados
Departure tax- B$55
Area- 432 sq km
Population- 282, 000
Famous for- Beaches, rum, flying-fish sandwiches
Country code- 246
Capital- Bridgetown
Phrase- Goodie (in response to most questions, eg ‘how was your weekend?’)
People- Barbadian (formal), Bajan (slang)
Barbados is the easternmost island in the Lesser Antilles. It is flat in comparison to its island neighbours to the west, the Windward Islands. The island rises gently to the central highland region, with the highpoint of the nation being Mount Hillaby, in the Scotland District, 340 metres (1,120 ft) above sea level. The island is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, east of the other West Indies Islands.
Geologically composed of coral (90 m/300 ft thick), the land falls in a series of “”terraces”" in the west and goes into an incline in the east. Much of the country is circled by coral reefs.
Languages in Barbados
English is the root official language of Barbados, and is used for communications, administration, and public services all over the island. In its capacity as the official language of the country, the standard of English tends to conform to the vocabulary, pronunciations, spellings, and conventions akin to, but not exactly the same as, those of British English. A regional variant of English, referred to locally as Bajan, is spoken by most Barbadians in everyday life, especially in informal settings. In its full-fledged form, Bajan sounds markedly different from the Standard English heard on the island.
The degree of intelligibility between Bajan and general English changes depending on the speakers’ origins and the “”rawness”" of one’s accent. In rare instances, a Bajan speaker may be completely unintelligible to an outside English speaker if sufficient slang terminology is present in a sentence. Bajan is somewhat differentiated from, but highly influenced by other Caribbean English dialects; it is a fusion of British English and elements borrowed from the languages of West Africa. Hindi and Bhojpuri are also spoken on the island by a small Indo-Bajan minority. Spanish is considered the most popular second language on the island, followed by French.
Religion in Barbados
Most Barbadians of African and European descent are Christians (95%), chiefly Anglicans (40%). Other Christian denominations with significant followings in Barbados are the Roman Catholic Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist and Spiritual Baptists. The Church of England was the official state religion until its legal disenfranchisement by the Parliament of Barbados following independence. Religious minorities include Hindus, Muslims, the Baha’i Faith, and Jews.
About Bhrain
Posted on | November 25, 2011 | No Comments
Bahrain is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.
Quick detail about Bahrain
Official name- Kingdom of Bahrain
Capital- Manama
Area 706 sq km
Population- 723,000
Country code- 973
Head of state- King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa
Annual number of tourists- 3.5 million
Stereotypes- The ‘pleasure dome’ of the Gulf for regional visitors
Surprises- Five percent of Bahrain’s landmass is covered by burial tombs
Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km (34 mi) long by 18 km (11 mi) wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway. Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain. The planned Qatar Bahrain Causeway will link Bahrain and Qatar and become the world’s longest marine causeway. due to its combination of modern infrastructure with a Persian Gulf identity. Unlike other countries in the region, its prosperity is not solely a reflection of the size of its oil wealth, but is also related to the creation of an indigenous middle class. This unique socioeconomic development has meant that Bahrain is generally more liberal than its neighbors. While Islam is the main religion, Bahrainis are known for their tolerance; Catholic and Christian churches, Hindu temples, Sikh Gurdwara and a Jewish synagogue can be found alongside mosques. The country is home to several communities that have faced persecution elsewhere.
It is too early to say whether political liberalization under King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has augmented or undermined Bahrain’s traditional pluralism. The new political space for Shia and Sunni Islamists has meant that they are now more able to pursue programs that often seek to directly confront this pluralism. At the same time, political reforms have encouraged an opposite trend whereby society becomes more self-critical and shows a greater willingness to examine previous social taboos.
In common with the rest of the Muslim world, though Bahrain has take strong strides for women’s rights, it does not recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.
Another facet of the new openness is Bahrain’s status as the most prolific book publisher in the Arab world, with 132 books published in 2005 for a population of 700,000. In comparison, the 2005 average for the entire Arab world was seven books published per one million people, according to the United Nations Development Programme. Ali Bahar is the most famous singer in Bahrain.