Every Country Cards

Fun factAfrica's most populous country, with more than 500 languages spoken.

SpecialNollywood releases more films per year than Hollywood, and Lagos is one of the fastest-growing megacities on Earth.

Fun factThe Great Pyramid stayed the tallest human-made structure for roughly 3,800 years.

SpecialTranscontinental: the Sinai Peninsula lies in Asia. The Nile runs about 6,650 km, among the longest rivers in the world.

Fun factThree capitals share power: executive, legislative and judicial.

SpecialTwelve official languages (South African Sign Language joined in 2023). The Cullinan diamond, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found at 3,106 carats, was mined here in 1905.

Fun factThe Great Migration brings over a million wildebeest across the Mara every year.

SpecialMount Kenya (5,199 m) is Africa's second-highest peak, and the country is famous for its world-class long-distance runners.

Fun factFollows a 13-month calendar that runs about seven years behind the Gregorian one.

SpecialWidely regarded as the birthplace of coffee (the Kaffa region). The 3.2-million-year-old hominin “Lucy” was discovered here in 1974.

Fun factChefchaouen, the “Blue City”, paints its whole old town in shades of blue.

SpecialThe University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, founded in 859 CE, is among the oldest continuously operating universities in the world.

Fun factIn 1957 it became the first sub-Saharan country to win independence from colonial rule.

SpecialThe world's second-largest cocoa producer. Lake Volta is one of the largest reservoirs on Earth by surface area.

Fun factKilimanjaro (5,895 m) is Africa's highest point and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.

SpecialThe Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar all lie here. The name blends “Tanganyika” and “Zanzibar”.

Fun factThe largest country in Africa by area, at about 2.38 million km².

SpecialMore than 80% of the land is Sahara. Tassili n'Ajjer holds over 15,000 prehistoric rock engravings and paintings.

Fun factAround 90% of its wildlife, every lemur included, exists nowhere else on Earth.

SpecialThe world's fourth-largest island; it separated from the Indian landmass roughly 88 million years ago.

Fun factAll sections of the Great Wall combined stretch over 21,000 km.

SpecialRuns on a single official time zone despite spanning five geographic ones. Home of paper, printing, gunpowder and the compass.

Fun factOvertook China in 2023 to become the world's most populous country.

SpecialTwenty-two scheduled languages. Chess descends from the ancient Indian game chaturanga, and the numeral zero was formalised here.

Fun factA 2023 recount found Japan has about 14,000 islands, double the old figure.

SpecialGreater Tokyo, with around 37 million people, is the largest urban area on Earth. The Shinkansen bullet train has run since 1964.

Fun factThe world's largest archipelago, with more than 17,000 islands.

SpecialHome of the Komodo dragon, more than 700 living languages, and the largest Muslim-majority population.

Fun factK2 (8,611 m), the world's second-highest mountain, rises in the Karakoram range.

SpecialCradle of the Indus Valley Civilisation (Mohenjo-daro). The Karakoram Highway is one of the highest paved international roads.

Fun factThe Sundarbans is the world's largest mangrove forest and a Bengal tiger habitat.

SpecialOne of the most densely populated large countries. Cox's Bazar has one of the longest natural sea beaches, about 120 km.

Fun factEight of the world's fourteen peaks above 8,000 m stand in Nepal.

SpecialThe only country with a non-rectangular national flag. Lumbini is the birthplace of the Buddha, and Nepal was never colonised.

Fun factThe Hangul alphabet was created in 1443 under King Sejong.

SpecialAmong the fastest internet speeds in the world. Jeju Island is a volcanic UNESCO site, and K-pop and K-dramas are global exports.

Fun factHa Long Bay contains about 1,600 limestone islands and islets.

SpecialThe second-largest coffee exporter on Earth. Son Doong is one of the largest known cave passages.

Fun factThe only Southeast Asian country never colonised by a European power.

SpecialBangkok's full ceremonial name runs to roughly 168 letters. The country has more than 40,000 Buddhist temples.

Fun factOne of the world's oldest continuous civilisations, heir to the Persian Empire.

SpecialNowruz, the Persian New Year, falls on the spring equinox. The Lut Desert has logged some of the hottest land-surface readings ever measured, around 70 °C.

Fun factThe largest country in the world without a single permanent river.

SpecialGuardian of Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest cities. The Rub' al Khali is the largest continuous sand desert on Earth.

Fun factIstanbul is the only major city that straddles two continents, Europe and Asia.

SpecialGöbekli Tepe, more than 11,000 years old, is among the oldest monumental sites known. Tulips reached Europe by way of the Ottoman court.

Fun factAn archipelago of more than 7,600 islands.

SpecialOne of the world's largest English-speaking populations, a deep karaoke culture, and the colourful jeepney as a national icon.

Fun factSigiriya is a 5th-century rock fortress rising about 200 m above the plains.

SpecialElected the world's first female prime minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, in 1960. Famed for Ceylon tea and native cinnamon.

Fun factMeasures national progress with Gross National Happiness rather than GDP alone.

SpecialCarbon negative, with a constitution that requires at least 60% forest cover. Thimphu has no traffic lights.

Fun factThe least densely populated sovereign country, at about two people per km².

SpecialUlaanbaatar is the coldest national capital. The first confirmed dinosaur eggs were found in the Gobi in 1923.

Fun fact“Big Ben” is the bell; the tower itself is Elizabeth Tower.

SpecialFour constituent countries. The London Underground (1863) is the world's oldest underground railway, and Stonehenge predates the pyramids.

Fun factBuilt for the 1889 World's Fair, the tower grows up to 15 cm taller in summer heat.

SpecialThe most visited country in the world. The Louvre is the largest art museum, and there are more than 1,000 varieties of cheese.

Fun factHome to more than 20,000 castles.

SpecialLong stretches of the Autobahn have no speed limit. Gutenberg's press (around 1440) started the printing revolution, and there are over 1,500 kinds of sausage.

Fun factRome is over 2,700 years old, yet Italy as a unified state only dates to 1861.

SpecialAmong the countries with the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Venice is built across 118 small islands, and two microstates (Vatican City and San Marino) sit inside Italy.

Fun factThe Sagrada Família has been under construction since 1882.

SpecialThe second most visited country. Spanish is the second most spoken native language on Earth, and flamenco comes from Andalusia.

Fun factIts borders are among Europe's oldest, essentially fixed since 1249.

SpecialProduces about half the world's cork. Bertrand in Lisbon (1732) is the oldest operating bookshop, and Portuguese is spoken by around 260 million people.

Fun factRoughly a quarter of the country lies below sea level.

SpecialMore bicycles than people and the tallest population on average. The Hague hosts the seat of government and the international courts.

Fun factFour national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh.

SpecialNeutral since 1815. CERN sits near Geneva, and the Gotthard Base Tunnel (57 km) is the world's longest railway tunnel.

Fun factStockholm spreads across 14 islands linked by more than 50 bridges.

SpecialHome of the Nobel Prizes (except Peace). Allemansrätten grants everyone the right to roam, and IKEA and Spotify were born here.

Fun factMore than 1,000 fjords carve the coast, which, counting islands, runs about 100,000 km.

SpecialMidnight sun north of the Arctic Circle, the highest electric-car share on the planet, and one of the largest sovereign wealth funds ever built.

Fun factWarsaw's Old Town was rebuilt so faithfully after WWII that it became a UNESCO site.

SpecialBirthplace of Copernicus, Marie Curie and Chopin. The Wieliczka Salt Mine has chapels carved entirely from salt.

Fun factAthenian democracy took shape around 508 BCE.

SpecialAbout 6,000 islands, only around 227 inhabited. The ancient Olympic Games began at Olympia in 776 BCE, and roughly 80% of the land is mountainous.

Fun factThe largest country by area (17.1 million km²), covering 11 time zones.

SpecialLake Baikal is the deepest lake (about 1,642 m) and holds around a fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh water. The Trans-Siberian Railway runs 9,289 km.

Fun factHalloween traces back to the Celtic festival of Samhain.

SpecialIrish and English are both official. The Newgrange passage tomb is older than the Giza pyramids, and the Book of Kells dates to around 800 CE.

Fun factOne of the very few countries with no mosquitoes.

SpecialThe Althing (930 CE) is among the oldest parliaments in the world. Almost 100% of electricity is renewable, and there are around 130 volcanoes.

Fun factThe Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, dedicated in 1886.

SpecialFifty states. Yellowstone (1872) was the world's first national park, and Alaska alone is larger than the next three biggest states combined.

Fun factThe longest coastline of any country, about 243,000 km.

SpecialMore lakes than the rest of the world combined, two official languages, and the second-largest country by area.

Fun factThe pyramid of Kukulcán has 365 steps, one for each day of the year.

SpecialChocolate, vanilla, corn and tomatoes were all domesticated in Mesoamerica. Sixty-eight indigenous languages are officially recognised, and the capital sits on a drained lakebed and is slowly sinking.

Fun factThe largest island in the Caribbean.

SpecialFamous for 1950s American cars kept running for decades. The bee hummingbird, the world's smallest bird, lives only here.

Fun factBirthplace of reggae and Bob Marley.

SpecialA sprinting powerhouse (Usain Bolt). Blue Mountain coffee is among the priciest in the world, and Jamaica was the first Caribbean colony to gain independence from Britain, in 1962.

Fun factTikal's Maya temples rise more than 70 m above the rainforest.

SpecialTwenty-two Mayan languages are spoken. The quetzal is both the national bird and the currency, and Lake Atitlán fills a volcanic caldera.

Fun factHolds about 5% of the world's biodiversity on 0.03% of its land.

SpecialAbolished its army in 1948 and generates around 99% of its electricity from renewables. “Pura vida” is both a greeting and a philosophy.

Fun factThe canal opened in 1914 and handles roughly 14,000 ship transits a year.

SpecialThe isthmus bends so that the sun rises over the Pacific and sets over the Atlantic. The “Panama hat” is actually made in Ecuador.

Fun factAround 60% of the Amazon rainforest lies within Brazil.

SpecialThe largest Portuguese-speaking country. Brasília was planned and built in just four years (1956–60), and Brazil holds a record five FIFA World Cup titles.

Fun factAconcagua (6,961 m) is the highest peak outside Asia.

SpecialBirthplace of tango. Ushuaia bills itself as the southernmost city, and the country's name comes from argentum, Latin for silver.

Fun factThe longest north-to-south country, stretching about 4,300 km.

SpecialThe Atacama is the driest non-polar desert. Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and its moai lie 3,500 km offshore, and Chile hosts the ALMA observatory.

Fun factMachu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel perched at about 2,430 m.

SpecialMore than 3,000 potato varieties. Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake, and the Nazca Lines are best seen from the air.

Fun factThe only South American country with both Pacific and Caribbean coastlines.

SpecialMore bird species than any other country (around 1,900). Source of most of the world's fine emeralds, and home to Caño Cristales, the “river of five colours”.

Fun factAngel Falls (979 m) is the tallest uninterrupted waterfall on Earth.

SpecialCatatumbo lightning storms flash on 140 to 160 nights a year, and the country holds the world's largest proven oil reserves.

Fun factNamed after the equator, which crosses the country just north of Quito.

SpecialDarwin's Galápagos observations shaped evolutionary theory. Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point from Earth's centre, and Ecuador is the true home of the Panama hat.

Fun factSalar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat, about 10,500 km².

SpecialLa Paz is the highest seat of government at around 3,600 m. Thirty-six official languages, and Lake Titicaca is shared with Peru.

Fun factThe Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system and is visible from space.

SpecialThe only country that is also a continent. Kangaroos outnumber people, and Uluru is a sacred sandstone monolith.

Fun factIn 1893 it became the first self-governing country to give women the vote.

SpecialSheep outnumber people roughly five to one. Wellington is the southernmost capital, and there are no native land snakes.

Fun factAn archipelago of 333 islands, about 110 of them inhabited.

SpecialOlympic rugby sevens champions in 2016 and 2020. Fire-walking is a Sawau tradition, and relaxed “Fiji time” is a way of life.

Fun factThe most linguistically diverse country on Earth, with around 840 living languages.

SpecialHome to most species of birds-of-paradise. Mount Wilhelm rises 4,509 m, and large areas remain barely explored.

Fun factSkipped 30 December 2011 entirely by jumping west across the International Date Line.

SpecialThe word “tattoo” comes from the Samoan tatau. Robert Louis Stevenson spent his last years here and is buried above Apia.