final

1_

1_

Fact

s

Vatican City

Size - 0.2 Square milesPopulation - 770Language - ItalianLocation - ItalyCurrency - EuroCapital City - Vatican City

The Vatican City is a city and a state so the state is called Vatican City and the capital is called Vatican City.

The Pope is an elected non-hereditary monarch and has complete judicial, executive and legislative control over the Vatican State - which means he is at present the only absolute monarch in Europe.

Piazza di San Pietro (St Peter’s Square) and the colonnade were designed and built by Bernini (completed in 1667). At 314 meters long and 240 meters wide it is the largest square in Rome. Bernini (with the help of his pupils) designed the 140 statues of saints which decorate the colonnade.

It has it’s own Post office and issues its own stamps. The Vatican mail system is widely used by Romans as in most cases is a lot quicker than Italian mail.

The Vatican’s radio station is located in a tower inside the Vatican Gardens and broadcasts in 20 languages throughout the world.

The city issues its own passports; the Pope, cardinals, members of the Swiss guard and clergy being the recipients.

Italians are allowed to donate 8% of their yearly taxes to the Vatican (this is instead of paying it to the Italian Government).

In 2007 the Vatican opted to become the first Carbon neutral state by offsetting their carbon footprint with the creation of a forest in Hungary.

2_

Size - 0.7 Square milesPopulation - 32,000Language - FrenchLocation - French Mediterranean coastCurrency - EuroCapital City - Monaco

Monaco

Mo

naco

Facts

Despite Monaco being independent, its national defence is the responsibility of France.

The official religion is Roman Catholicism. The constitution provides for freedom of other religions.

The Monaco Gran Prix has been held in Monaco since 1929. It takes six weeks to set up the circuit and three weeks to remove it.

Monaco has the highest number of police per person than any country (just over 500 police for 33,000 people).

Known as Europe’s tax haven, each and every individual of Monaco enjoys a tax-free lifestyle which begone in the 1870s.

At present, Monaco’s current efforts to diversify its economy have made tourism its number one source of income and casino profits now only generate about 5%.

It has no navy or air force. They have a small military with just over 100 people.

France are responsible for defending Monaco if it is attacked by another nation.

Citizens of Monaco are not allowed to gamble, nor even visit the casinos.

It only has 12 schools in total within its bounders.

The flag is identical to the Indonesian flag.

3_ Nauru2_

Size - 8.18 Square milesPopulation - 13,700 Language - NauruanLocation - Micronesia in the South PacificCurrency - Australian DollarCaptial City - No official capital

Nau

ru

Briti

sh Cap

tain J

ohn F

earn

, a w

hale

hunt

er, w

as th

e first

West

erner

to vi

sit th

e isla

nd in

1798

and n

amed

it Pl

easan

t Isla

nd.

Nauru

ach

ieved

its i

ndep

ende

nce

in 1

968

and

join

ed th

e

UN in 1

999,

as th

e wor

ld’s

small

est i

ndep

ende

nt re

publ

ic.

The n

eare

st ne

ighb

or o

f the

cou

ntry

is B

anab

a Isl

and,

in

the R

epub

lic o

f Kiri

bati,

300

km

due

east.

Facts

The m

ain r

eligi

on p

racti

ced

on t

he i

sland

is

Christ

ianity

. Abo

ut tw

o-th

ird Chr

istian

s ar

e

Prot

estan

t an

d on

e-th

ird

Roman

Cath

olic.

There

is al

so a

cons

ider

able

Bahá

'í an

d Bu

ddhi

st

popu

latio

n on

the i

sland

.

Nauru

was

onc

e on

e of

thre

e gr

eat p

hosp

hate

rock

isla

nds

in t

he P

acifi

c Oce

an,

the

othe

rs

bein

g Ba

naba

(Oce

an I

sland

) in

Kiri

bati

and

Mak

atea

in Fr

ench

Polyn

esia.

Phos

phate

was

disc

over

ed o

n th

e isla

nd in

190

0, b

y pro

spec

tor

Alber

t Elli

s

Nauru

has

close

dipl

omati

c tie

s w

ith A

ustra

lia,

Peop

le’s R

epub

lic o

f Chi

na an

d Taiw

an.

The island of Nauru has a 30 km stretch of

coastline, ringed on all sides by the amazing

expanse of the Pacific Ocean. The sandy beaches

rise to a fertile coastal belt around raised coral

reefs.Angam Day is the m

ain yearly festival, which is

held on 26 October. The day comm

emorates the

recovery of the Nauruan population after the

two World W

ars.

4_ Tuvalu

4_

Size - 9.89 Square milesPopulation - 10,544Language - Tuvaluan and EnglishLocation - PolynesiaCurrency - Tuvaluan dollarCapital City - Funafuti (which is a separate island known as an atoll)

Tuva

lu

Facts

The first European to sight islands of Tuvalu (Nui and Niulakita) was the Spanish navigator Alvaro Mendana de Neyrain 1598 Tuvalu was named the Ellice Islands when a ship belonging to Edward Ellice, a British Member of Parliament, visited Funafuta in 1819. In 1892 Tuvalu became part of the British Protectorateof the Gilbert Kiribati and Ellice Islands. Between 1916 and 1925 the UK administered Tokelau along with the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) and the Ellice Islands (Tuvalu). Towards the end of the nineteenth century, scientists visited Tuvalu to explore Charles Darwin’s theory that coral islands, or atolls, were built on the top of submerged volcanoes. Boreholes were made on Funafuti (David’s Drill) but did not reach the volcanic base. In 1974 the Ellice Islands voted for separation from the Gilbert Islands. The Ellice Islands became the British Colony of Tuvalu in 1975 and gained independence in 1978. The people of Tuvalu are particularly concerned about global warming. It is thought that climate change will see the disappearance of the low-lying islands with rising sea levels. The internet domain letters for Tuvalu are “tv”. This has proved valuable for the economy of Tuvalu through the lease of the domain letters “tv” to a media organization.

5_ San M

arino

5_

Size - 23.63 Square milesPopulation - 29,973 Language - ItalianLocation - Surrounded by ItalyCurrency - EuroCapital City - San Marino

San M

arino Sa

n Mar

ino i

s th

e old

est

surv

iving

sove

reig

n stat

e an

d

consti

tutio

nal re

public

in th

e world

. The

officia

l date

of

its fo

unding

is Se

ptember

3, 3

01 by

Sain

t Mar

inus.

In t

erm

s of

per c

apita

GDP,

San M

arin

o is

one of

the

wealth

iest c

ountries

in th

e world

. It a

lso e

njoys

a bu

dget

surp

lus a

nd no n

ational

debt.

With

no b

order

form

alitie

s, pas

sage

from

Ital

y to

San

Mar

ino is

sea

mles

s. Fo

reig

n visi

tors

may

enter

with

out

show

ing a

pas

sport.

If yo

u’d like

your p

assp

ort sta

mped

as

a souve

nir, th

ere’s

a 5-e

uro ch

arge

.

The city

is v

isited

by

more

than

thre

e mill

ion p

eople

per

year,

and h

as d

evelo

ped p

rogr

essiv

ely a

s a to

urist c

enter

.

Of the t

ourists,

85% ar

e Ital

ian. T

here a

re al

so m

ore th

an a

thousa

nd retai

l outle

ts, w

here o

ne can

find a

grea

t var

iety

of pro

ducts.

Facts

Liechtenstein 6_ 6_

Size - 61.77 Square milesPopulation - 35,322 Language - German Location - bordered by Austria and Switzerland.Currency - Swiss francCapital City - Vaduz

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein is the smallest German-speaking country and the only German-speaking nation that doesn’t share a border with Germany.

79% of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics, while only 8% are Protestants.

Liechtenstein has been a member of the European Economic Area (an organization serving as a bridge between the ‘European Free Trade Association’ (EFTA) and the EU since May 1995.

During winter the temperature can get as low as -15°C, while during summer; it ranges between 20°C to 28°C.

It has the highest per capita income in the world!

Most of Liechtenstein’s terrain is mountainous, which consequentially makes it a fabulous winter sports destination.

Liechtenstein is a constitutional monarchy and is divided into 11 municipalities.

It played neutral in the Second World War and wholly depended upon Switzerland for assistance and guidance. Liechtenstein had safeguarded family treasures within the war zone.

Prince Hans-Adam II is the present reigning prince of Liechtenstein. He ascended the throne in 1989.

Facts

7_

7_

Size -70.05 Square milesPopulation - 60,000 Language - Marshallese and English Location - Pacific Ocean Currency - US DollarCapital City - Majuro

Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands com

prise of two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls in

Oceania. Each atoll is further made up of m

any small islets.

The nation of the Marshall Islands also com

prises five singled islands that lie to the

north of the Pacific Ocean, just about half way between the continent of Australia

and the islands of Hawaii.

The islands experience a tropical climate characterized w

ith its heat and humidity.

The wet season, however, begins in May and extends to Novem

ber.

Sand islands and low coral limestone m

ake for most of the terrain in the M

arshall Islands.

The Marshall Islands now

function as a democratic presidential republic and its

government is currently headed by President Jurelang Zedkaia.

The atolls of the Marshall Islands are m

ost famous for their papaya and coconut

plantations, pandanus and breadfruit trees.

Most tourists w

ho visit the Marshall Islands stop first at either the capital city of

Majuro or Ebeye. From

here, the tourists head out to the picturesque outer islands

of the Marshall Islands.

Fact

s

8_

8_

Size - 104.01 Square milesPopulation - 42,696 Language - EnglishLocation - West IndiesCurrency - East Caribbean DollarsCapital City - Basseterre

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Sai

nt K

itts

and

Nev

is

When Christopher Columbus discovered the island, he named it after his patron saint, St. Christopher. Later it was shortened to St. Kitts, his nickname. It was considered the mother colony of the West Indies.

In 1958 St. Kitts and Nevis joined the West Indies Federation and remained in that association until its dissolution in 1962.

The country has a Parliamentary Democracy, and belongs to the Commonwealth.

The legal system is based on English common law; St Kitts and Nevis has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

Various international financial agencies had blacklisted the country for improprieties in its off-shore financial-services industry, but it had been removed from all such lists by 2002.

The nation’s economy was devastated through the mid-1980’s because of a drop in world sugar prices.

Facts

9_

9_

Size - 115.05 Square milesPopulation - 350,000 Language - Dhivehi Location - Indian Ocean Currency - Maldivian RufiyaaCapital - Male

Maldives

Mald

ives

has

1199

cor

al isl

ands

, gro

uped

in tw

enty

-six

majo

r ato

lls.

Mal

dives

is t

he sm

alle

st M

uslim

nat

ion i

n the

world.

Tour

ism an

d fis

hery

form

the

two

majo

r in

dustr

ies

supp

ortin

g th

e Mald

ivian

econ

omy.

Mald

ives

was un

der

Portu

gues

e oc

cupa

tion

betw

een

1558

and

157

3. I

t bec

ame

a Dut

ch p

rote

ctora

te in

the

seve

ntee

nth

cent

ury.

In 1

887,

Mald

ives b

ecam

e a

Briti

sh

prote

ctora

te an

d rem

ained

so ti

ll 1965, w

hen it

gai

ned Fact

s

full

inde

pend

ence

from

the U

nite

d Kin

gdom

.

It ha

s bee

n an

inde

pend

ent s

tate

all th

roug

h its

hist

ory,

exce

pt fo

r a b

rief s

tint o

f 15

year

s whe

n th

e Po

rtugu

ese

occu

pied

it in

the 1

6th

cent

ury.

It als

o ho

lds t

he re

cord

for b

eing

the

flatte

st co

untry

in

the w

orld

.

10_ 10_ 10_ 10_ 10_ 10_ The main ethnic groups in Malta include Maltese, along with British and others (including Sicilian, French, Spanish and Italian).

Malta follows the system of ‘Parliamentary Republic’.

Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom, on 21st September 1964. It became a republic on 13th December 1974.

In the past, there used to be a bridge connecting Malta with Sicily.

Malta was earlier known as Melita, meaning the island of honey, by ancient Greeks and Romans.

Ghar Dalem Cave of Malta holds the earliest evidence of inhabitation in the country.

The Temple at Ggantija traces back its foundation to a time period much before the Egyptian pyramids.

The megalithic temples in Malta boast of having a lineage older than England’s Stonehenge.

A submerged archway and underwater structures have been discovered off the

coast of Malta.

10_

Size -121.66 Square milesPopulation - 420,000 Language - Maltese and EnglishLocation - Mediterranean Sea Currency - EuroCapital - Valletta

Mal

ta

Facts

Malta