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24: Most likely to disappear beneath the waves, Maldives
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With all the talks of global warming and rising sea levels, it is the residents of the Maldives that have the greatest reason to fear.
With an average height of around 1.8 meters above sea level their nation is the lowest on Earth.
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23: Most overweight population, Nauru
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With over 95% of its population being overweight, the small island nation of Nauru is by far the fattest country on Earth.
Its obesity epidemic is primarily attributed to the importation of western fast food that coincided with an increased standard of living in the 20th century due to the global popularity of its phosphate exports. It's almost non sequitur,almost.
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22: Roads made of coral, Guam
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Because Guam doesn't have any natural sand, but rather coral, the island nation makes its asphalt using a mix of ground coral and oil rather than importing sand from abroad.
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21: Has 350 sheep for every person, Falkland Islands ( UK )
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With only about 3,000 people the Falkland Islands are home to approximately half-a million-sheep. Not surprisingly wool is a major export.
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20: Oldest sovereign state, Egypt
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This largely depends upon your definition of a sovereign state but if you are going by first acquisition of sovereignty then Egypt would be the first country in the world to achieve sovereignty based upon the formation of the first dynasty in 3100 BC.
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19: Most lakes in the world, Canada
WITH OVER THREE MILLION LAKES , 9% of CANADIAN TERRITORY is actually FRESH water and OVER 60% of ALL THE LAKES IN THE WORLD are found WITHIN ITS BORDERS.
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18: Least likely place to meet your neighbor, Mongolia
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At 4 people per square mile Mongolia is the least densely populated country on Earth.
Compare this to the Mongo Kok district of Hong Kong that has the highest population density in the world with 340,000 people per square mile.
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17: Largest number of tanks, Russia
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It is a strange title to hold, but Russia has by far the most tanks of any army in the world (21,000).
Unfortunately for the motherland most of these outdated machines are tributes to its past,
and although outnumbered (16,000), the United States has a much more advanced tank inventory.
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16: The land of no rivers, Saudi Arabia
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Sounds a bit strange doesn't?t it? For a country as big as Saudi Arabia there has to be at least some sort of flowing water.
Well, there isn't. Most of their fresh water comes from desalinization plants or underground reservoirs.
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15: Youngest population of any country, Niger
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Generally the world's youngest country is determined by calculating the portion of the population that is younger than 15.
Presently it is Niger that holds this distinction with roughly half of its population having barely reached puberty (49%).
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14: Most diverse country in the world, India
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In almost every category, culturally, economically, climatically, racially, linguistically, ethnically, and religiously
India is either the most diverse countries in the world, or the runner-up.
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13: Fastest disappearing nation, Ukraine
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With a natural decrease in population of .8% annually, between now and 2050 Ukraine is expected to lose around 30% of its people.
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12: Most of its citizens live abroad, Malta
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After some rough economic times coupled with an increased birth rate, Malta experienced significant immigration.
It was so significant that there are now more Maltese living abroad than within the country itself.
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11: Smaller than Central Park in New York City , Monaco
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Although Vatican City is smaller (.17 sq. mi) than Monaco (.8 sq. mi), unlike Monaco it doesn't have any permanent residents
which leaves Monaco as the smallest permanently inhabited nation in the world, smaller than Central Park .
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10: Almost entirely covered in jungle, Suriname
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With 91% of its land covered in jungle Suriname 's half-a-million residents live primarily along the coast near the capital.
Only 5% of the population (mainly indigenous people) live inland.
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9: Almost entirely treeless, Haiti
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Haiti , a country that has been so badly deforested that you can tell where
it borders the Dominican Republic by looking at a satellite image ( Haiti is on the left in the photo above).
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8: Largest country with NO farms, Singapore
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Although there are a number of small nations in the world that show no hint of having an agriculture based economy,
(take Vatican City for example) Singapore is the largest of these urban city-states.
7: Most languages spoken, Papua New Guinea
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Although English is its official language, only 1-2% of the population actually speak it.
As the most linguistically diverse country in the world, over 820 languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea , or 12% of the world's total.
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6: Most educated people, Canada
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With 50% of its population having been educated at the POST SECONDARY level, Canada easily has the most educated populace in the world.
It is followed by Israel at 45% and Japan at 44%.
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5: The country desert, Libya
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With 99% of the country covered in desert, Libya is one of the most arid places in the world and in some regions DECADES may go by without a single drop of rain.
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4: Least peaceful nation in the world, Somalia
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photo? latimes.com
Although for the last three years IRAQ has been ranked as the least peaceful country in the world, according to the 'Global Peace Index', Somalia overtook it this year for the top spot.
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3: Produces most of the world's oxygen, Russia
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Siberia is home to approximately 25% of the world's forests that span an area larger than the continental United States ,
making Russia the largest converter of CO2 into breathable compounds.
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2: World's largest opium producer, Afghanistan
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Producing a whopping 95 PERCENT of the world's opium, not even 10 years of occupation by American forces have slowed down the industry.
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1: Most people behind bars, United States - (Really makes you proud, doesn't?)
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When it comes to incarcerating its population, the United States is the WORLD'S UNCONTESTED LEADER.
With 2.2 million people BEHIND BARS, it has 5% of the WORLD'S population, but 25% of the WORLD'S INCARCERATED POPULATION.
China comes in second place at 1.5 million and Russia comes third at 870,000.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
With all the talks of global warming and rising sea levels, it is the residents of the Maldives that have the greatest reason to fear.
With an average height of around 1.8 meters above sea level their nation is the lowest on Earth.
**************************************************
23: Most overweight population, Nauru
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
With over 95% of its population being overweight, the small island nation of Nauru is by far the fattest country on Earth.
Its obesity epidemic is primarily attributed to the importation of western fast food that coincided with an increased standard of living in the 20th century due to the global popularity of its phosphate exports. It's almost non sequitur,almost.
**************************************************
22: Roads made of coral, Guam
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Because Guam doesn't have any natural sand, but rather coral, the island nation makes its asphalt using a mix of ground coral and oil rather than importing sand from abroad.
***************************************************
21: Has 350 sheep for every person, Falkland Islands ( UK )
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
With only about 3,000 people the Falkland Islands are home to approximately half-a million-sheep. Not surprisingly wool is a major export.
*********************************************************
20: Oldest sovereign state, Egypt
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
This largely depends upon your definition of a sovereign state but if you are going by first acquisition of sovereignty then Egypt would be the first country in the world to achieve sovereignty based upon the formation of the first dynasty in 3100 BC.
******************************************
19: Most lakes in the world, Canada
WITH OVER THREE MILLION LAKES , 9% of CANADIAN TERRITORY is actually FRESH water and OVER 60% of ALL THE LAKES IN THE WORLD are found WITHIN ITS BORDERS.
*********************************************
18: Least likely place to meet your neighbor, Mongolia
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
At 4 people per square mile Mongolia is the least densely populated country on Earth.
Compare this to the Mongo Kok district of Hong Kong that has the highest population density in the world with 340,000 people per square mile.
***********************************************
17: Largest number of tanks, Russia
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
It is a strange title to hold, but Russia has by far the most tanks of any army in the world (21,000).
Unfortunately for the motherland most of these outdated machines are tributes to its past,
and although outnumbered (16,000), the United States has a much more advanced tank inventory.
**************************************************
16: The land of no rivers, Saudi Arabia
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Sounds a bit strange doesn't?t it? For a country as big as Saudi Arabia there has to be at least some sort of flowing water.
Well, there isn't. Most of their fresh water comes from desalinization plants or underground reservoirs.
**************************************************
15: Youngest population of any country, Niger
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Generally the world's youngest country is determined by calculating the portion of the population that is younger than 15.
Presently it is Niger that holds this distinction with roughly half of its population having barely reached puberty (49%).
******************************************
14: Most diverse country in the world, India
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
In almost every category, culturally, economically, climatically, racially, linguistically, ethnically, and religiously
India is either the most diverse countries in the world, or the runner-up.
********************************************
13: Fastest disappearing nation, Ukraine
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
With a natural decrease in population of .8% annually, between now and 2050 Ukraine is expected to lose around 30% of its people.
***************************************************
12: Most of its citizens live abroad, Malta
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
After some rough economic times coupled with an increased birth rate, Malta experienced significant immigration.
It was so significant that there are now more Maltese living abroad than within the country itself.
********************************************************
11: Smaller than Central Park in New York City , Monaco
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Although Vatican City is smaller (.17 sq. mi) than Monaco (.8 sq. mi), unlike Monaco it doesn't have any permanent residents
which leaves Monaco as the smallest permanently inhabited nation in the world, smaller than Central Park .
*******************************************************
10: Almost entirely covered in jungle, Suriname
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
With 91% of its land covered in jungle Suriname 's half-a-million residents live primarily along the coast near the capital.
Only 5% of the population (mainly indigenous people) live inland.
*************************************************
9: Almost entirely treeless, Haiti
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Haiti , a country that has been so badly deforested that you can tell where
it borders the Dominican Republic by looking at a satellite image ( Haiti is on the left in the photo above).
*************************************************
8: Largest country with NO farms, Singapore
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Although there are a number of small nations in the world that show no hint of having an agriculture based economy,
(take Vatican City for example) Singapore is the largest of these urban city-states.
7: Most languages spoken, Papua New Guinea
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Although English is its official language, only 1-2% of the population actually speak it.
As the most linguistically diverse country in the world, over 820 languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea , or 12% of the world's total.
*************************************************
6: Most educated people, Canada
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
With 50% of its population having been educated at the POST SECONDARY level, Canada easily has the most educated populace in the world.
It is followed by Israel at 45% and Japan at 44%.
******************************************************
5: The country desert, Libya
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
With 99% of the country covered in desert, Libya is one of the most arid places in the world and in some regions DECADES may go by without a single drop of rain.
*****************************************************
4: Least peaceful nation in the world, Somalia
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
photo? latimes.com
Although for the last three years IRAQ has been ranked as the least peaceful country in the world, according to the 'Global Peace Index', Somalia overtook it this year for the top spot.
************************************************
3: Produces most of the world's oxygen, Russia
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Siberia is home to approximately 25% of the world's forests that span an area larger than the continental United States ,
making Russia the largest converter of CO2 into breathable compounds.
**************************************************
2: World's largest opium producer, Afghanistan
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Producing a whopping 95 PERCENT of the world's opium, not even 10 years of occupation by American forces have slowed down the industry.
****************************************************
1: Most people behind bars, United States - (Really makes you proud, doesn't?)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
When it comes to incarcerating its population, the United States is the WORLD'S UNCONTESTED LEADER.
With 2.2 million people BEHIND BARS, it has 5% of the WORLD'S population, but 25% of the WORLD'S INCARCERATED POPULATION.
China comes in second place at 1.5 million and Russia comes third at 870,000.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
