Asia's States and Capitals

Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar:Mongolia Listeni/mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/ (Mongolian: ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ [Monggol Ulus] in Mongolian script; Монгол Улс [Mongol Uls] in Mongolian Cyrillic) is a landlocked sovereign state in East Asia. It is bordered by China to the south and Russia to the north. While it does not share a border with Kazakhstan, Mongolia is separated from Kazakhstan by only 36.76 kilometres (22.84 mi). Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the country's population. The area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Turkic Khaganate, and others. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, and his grandson Kublai Khan conquered China to establish the Yuan dynasty. After the collapse of the Yuan, the Mongols retreated to Mongolia and resumed their earlier pattern of factional conflict, except during the era of Dayan Khan and Tumen Zasagt Khan. In the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism began to spread in Mongolia, being further led by the Manchu-founded Qing dynasty, which absorbed the country in the 17th century. By the early 1900s, almost one-third of the adult male population were Buddhist monks.[13][14] During the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongols established the Temporary Government of Khalkha on November 30, 1911. This was before the abdication of the last Qing emperor and the establishment of the Republic of China. On December 29, 1911, Mongolia declared independence from the Qing dynasty; the National Revolution of 1911 ended over 200 years of Qing rule, though it was not until the Revolution of 1921 that de facto independence from the Republic of China was firmly established. Shortly thereafter, the country came under the control of the Soviet Union, which had aided its independence from China. In 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was declared as a Soviet satellite state.[15] After the anti-Communist revolutions of 1989, Mongolia conducted its own peaceful democratic revolution in early 1990. This led to a multi-party system, a new constitution of 1992, and transition to a market economy. At 1,564,116 square kilometres (603,909 sq mi), Mongolia is the 19th largest and one of the most sparsely populated independent countries in the world, with a population of around 3 million people. It is also the world's second-largest landlocked country. The country contains very little arable land, as much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately 30% of the population is nomadic or semi-nomadic; horse culture is still integral. The majority of its population are Buddhists. The non-religious population is the second largest group. Islam is the dominant religion among ethnic Kazakhs. The majority of the state's citizens are of Mongol ethnicity, although Kazakhs, Tuvans, and other minorities also live in the country, especially in the west. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization in 1997 and seeks to expand its participation in regional economic and trade groups

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi:The United Arab Emirates (Listeni/juːˌnaɪtᵻd ˌærəb ˈɛmɪrᵻts/; Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة‎ Dawlat al-Imārāt al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE,[note 1] is a country located at the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar and Iran. In 2013, the UAE's total population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates.[8][9] Established in December 1971, the country is a federation of seven emirates. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi (which serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by an absolute monarch; together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates. Islam is the official religion of the UAE, and Arabic is the official language, although English is widely spoken and is the language of business and education, especially in Dubai. The UAE is a highly developed country with a high level of human development and is one of the wealthiest countries in the Middle East. It is also one of the world's fastest growing countries. The UAE's oil reserves are the seventh-largest in the world,[10] while its natural gas reserves are the world's seventeenth-largest.[11] The late Sheikh Zayed, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the first President of the UAE, oversaw the development of the Emirates and steered oil revenues into healthcare, education and infrastructure.[12] The UAE's economy is the most diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, with its most populous city of Dubai emerging into a global city and international aviation hub.[13][14] Nevertheless, the country remains extremely reliant on its export of petroleum and natural gas.[2][15][16] The UAE has been criticized for its human rights record, including the role of Sharia law in its legal system.[17][18][19] The UAE's rising international profile has led some analysts to identify it as a regional and middle power.[

Jordan

Amman:Jordan (/ˈdʒɔːrdən/; Arabic: الأردن‎ Al-Urdun), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية‎ Al-Mamlakah Al-Urduniyah Al-Hashimiyah[needs IPA]), is an Arab kingdom in Western Asia, on the East Bank of the Jordan River. Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and south, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, and Israel and Palestine to the west.[5] The country has a strategic location at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe.[6] Inhabited since the Paleolithic period by individual communities, three self-governed kingdoms later emerged on the territory of modern Jordan at the very end of the Bronze Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom.[7] The lands were later part of several kingdoms and empires, most notably the Nabatean Kingdom, the Roman Empire and finally the Ottoman Empire.[8] After the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I by Britain and France, the Emirate of Transjordan was established as a British protectorate and was officially recognized by the Council of the League of Nations in 1922.[9] In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. Jordan captured the West Bank during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the name of the state was changed to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on 1 December 1948.[10] Jordan is a small almost landlocked country with a population numbering at 9.5 million.[5] In midst of surrounding turmoil it has been hospitable, accepting refugees from almost all surrounding conflicts as early as 1948, with most notably the estimated 2 million Palestinians and the 1.4 million Syrian refugees residing in the country.[11] Jordan continues to demonstrate hospitality, despite the substantial strain the Syrian refugees are holding on national systems and infrastructure.[12] The kingdom is also a refuge to thousands of Iraqi Christians fleeing the Islamic State.[13] Jordan is considered to be among the safest of Arab countries in the Middle East,[14] and has managed to keep itself away from terrorism and instability.[15] Jordan has large investments despite having very limited natural resources. The country is not to be confused with oil-rich Arab states.[16] Although Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, the king holds wide executive and legislative powers.[17] Jordan is classified as a country of "high human development" by the 2014 Human Development Report.[4] Jordan has an "upper middle income" economy,[18] and is a major tourist destination in the region,[19] it also attracts medical tourism due to its well developed medical sector.[20] Jordan is a founding member of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).[21] The kingdom is one of two Arab states to have signed a peace treaty with Israel.[22] Sunni Islam is the dominant religion in Jordan making about 92% of the country's population along with a Christian minority

Turkey

Ankara:Turkey (Listeni/ˈtɜːrki/; Turkish: Türkiye [ˈtyɾcije]), officially the Republic of Turkey (Turkish: About this sound Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info); pronounced [ˈtyɾcije d͡ʒumˈhuɾijeti]), is a parliamentary republic in Eurasia, largely located in Western Asia, with the smaller portion of Eastern Thrace in Southeast Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Syria and Iraq to the south; Iran, Armenia, and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the east; Georgia to the northeast; Bulgaria to the northwest; and Greece to the west. The Black Sea is to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the west. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.[5] Turkey's location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.[6] Turkey has been inhabited since the paleolithic age,[7] including various ancient Anatolian civilizations, Aeolian, Dorian and Ionian Greeks, Thracians, Armenians, and Assyrians.[8][9][10] After Alexander the Great's conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process which continued under the Roman Empire and its transition into the Byzantine Empire.[9][11] The Seljuk Turks began migrating into the area in the 11th century, starting the process of Turkification, which was greatly accelerated by the Seljuk victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.[12] The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, upon which it disintegrated into several small Turkish beyliks.[13] Starting from the late 13th century, the Ottomans united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, becoming a major power in Eurasia and Africa during the early modern period. The empire reached the peak of its power between the 15th and 17th centuries, especially during the 1520-66 reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. After the second Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683 and the end of the Great Turkish War in 1699, the Ottoman Empire entered a long period of decline. The Tanzimat reforms of the 19th century, which aimed to modernize the Ottoman state, proved to be inadequate in most fields, and failed to stop the dissolution of the empire.[14] The Ottoman Empire entered World War I (1914-18) on the side of the Central Powers and was ultimately defeated. During the war, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against its Armenian, Assyrian and Pontic Greek citizens.[15] Following the war, the huge conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new states.[16] The Turkish War of Independence (1919-22), initiated by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his colleagues in Anatolia, resulted in the establishment of the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923, with Atatürk as its first president.[17] Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage.[18][19] The country's official language is Turkish, a Turkic language spoken natively by approximately 85 percent of the population.[20] According to the World Factbook, 70-75 percent of the population are ethnic Turks, while the Kurds are the largest minority at 18%.[18] The vast majority of the population is Sunni Muslim, with Alevis making up the largest religious minority.[18] Turkey is a member of the UN, NATO, OECD, OSCE, OIC and the G-20. After becoming one of the first members of the Council of Europe in 1949, Turkey became an associate member of the EEC in 1963, joined the EU Customs Union in 1995 and started full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005.[21] Turkey's growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power

Turkmenistan

Ashgabat:Turkmenistan (Listeni/tɜːrkˈmɛnᵻstæn/ or Listeni/tɜːrkmɛnᵻˈstɑːn/; Turkmen: Türkmenistan/Түркменистан, pronounced [tyɾkmeniˈθtan]) is a country in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north and east, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, and the Caspian Sea to the west. Turkmenistan has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. In medieval times, Merv was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road, a caravan route used for trade with China until the mid-15th century. Annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881, Turkmenistan later figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1924, Turkmenistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR); it became independent upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[5] Turkmenistan possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources.[6] Most of the country is covered by the Karakum (Black Sand) Desert. Since 1993, citizens have received government-provided electricity, water and natural gas free of charge.[7] Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov until his death in 2006. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was elected president in 2007. According to Human Rights Watch, "Turkmenistan remains one of the world's most repressive countries. The country is virtually closed to independent scrutiny, media and religious freedoms are subject to draconian restrictions, and human rights defenders and other activists face the constant threat of government reprisal." President Berdimuhamedow promotes a personality cult in which he, his relatives, and associates enjoy unlimited power and total control over all aspects of public life

Kazakstan

Astana:Kazakhstan (Listeni/ˌkæzækˈstɑːn, ˌkɑː-, -zɑːk-, -ˈstæn/;[8] Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country in Central Asia, with a minor part west of the Ural River and thus in Europe.[3] Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country by land area and the ninth largest country in the world. Its territory of 2,724,900 square kilometres (1,052,100 sq mi) is larger than all of Western Europe.[3][9] By 2006, Kazakhstan had become the dominant nation of Central Asia economically, generating 60% of the region's GDP, primarily through its oil/gas industry. Kazakhstan has vast mineral resources.[10] It has borders with (clockwise from the north) Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea. The terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands, steppe, taiga, rock canyons, hills, deltas, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. Kazakhstan has an estimated 18 million people as of 2014,[11] Given its large land area, its population density is among the lowest, at less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 people per sq. mi.). The capital is Astana, where it was moved in 1997 from Almaty. The territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic tribes. This changed in the 13th century, when Genghis Khan occupied the country as part of the Mongolian Empire. Following internal struggles among the conquerors, power eventually reverted to the nomads. By the 16th century, the Kazakh emerged as a distinct group, divided into three jüz (ancestor branches occupying specific territories). The Russians began advancing into the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century, they nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution and subsequent civil war, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganized several times. In 1936 it was made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, considered an integral part of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The current President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has been leader of the country since then, and is characterized as authoritarian, with a government history of human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition.[10] Kazakhstan has worked to develop its economy, especially its dominant hydrocarbon industry.[10] Human Rights Watch says that "Kazakhstan heavily restricts freedom of assembly, speech, and religion,"[12] and other human rights organizations regularly describe Kazakhstan's human rights situation as poor. Kazakhstan is populated by 131 ethnicities, including Kazakhs (who make up 63 percent of the population), Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars, and Uyghurs.[13] Islam is the religion of about 70% of the population, with Christianity practiced by 26%;[14] Kazakhstan officially allows freedom of religion, but religious leaders who oppose the government are suppressed. The Kazakh language is the state language, and Russian has equal official status for all levels of administrative and institutional purposes

Baku

Azerbaijan:Baku (Azerbaijani: Bakı, IPA: [bɑˈcɯ]) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located 28 metres (92 ft) below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, alongside the Bay of Baku. At the beginning of 2009, Baku's urban population was estimated at just over two million people.[4] Officially, about 25 percent of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku's metropolitan area. Baku is divided into eleven administrative districts (raions) and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on the islands of the Baku Archipelago, and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 km (37 mi) away from Baku. The Inner City of Baku, along with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. According to the Lonely Planet's ranking, Baku is also among the world's top ten destinations for urban nightlife.[5] The city is the scientific, cultural and industrial center of Azerbaijan. Many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there, including SOCAR, one of the world's top 100 companies.[6] The Baku International Sea Trade Port is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargoes per year.[7] In recent years, Baku has become an important venue for international events. It hosted the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 and the 2015 European Games, and will host the 2016 European Grand Prix and UEFA Euro 2020. The city is renowned for its harsh winds. This is reflected in the city's nickname, the "City of Winds."

Iraq

Baghdad:Iraq (/ɪˈræk/, Listeni/ɪˈrɑːk/, or /aɪˈræk/; Arabic: العراق‎ al-'Irāq, Kurdish: Êraq), officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: About this sound جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūrīyat al-'Irāq; Kurdish: كۆماری عێراق‎ Komar-i 'Êraq), is a country in Western Asia. The country is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west. The southern part of Iraq is within the Arabian Peninsula. The capital, Baghdad, is in the centre of the country and its largest city. The largest ethnic groups in Iraq are Arabs and Kurds. Other ethnic groups include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, and Kawliya.[6] Around 95% of the country's 36 million citizens are Shia or Sunni Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 miles) on the northern Persian Gulf and its territory encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert.[7] Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through the centre of Iraq and flow into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is most often referred to as humanity's cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, and live in cities under an organised government—notably Uruk, from which Iraq was derived. The area has been home to continuous successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the centre of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian empires. It was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.[8] Iraq's modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres. Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic was created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1968 until 2003. After an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011,[9] but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country

brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan:Brunei (Listeni/bruːˈnaɪ/, broo-nye), officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace[9] (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: نڬارا بروني دارالسلام‎, Chinese: 文莱达鲁萨兰国), is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, the country is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo; the remainder of the island's territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was 408,786 in July 2012.[10] At the peak of the Bruneian Empire, Sultan Bolkiah (reigned 1485-1528) is alleged to have had control over most regions of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu archipelago off the northeast tip of Borneo, Seludong (modern-day Manila), and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The maritime state was visited by Spain's Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in 1578's Castille War. During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline. The Sultanate ceded Sarawak (Kuching) to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British resident as colonial manager in 1906. After the Japanese occupation during World War II, in 1959 a new constitution was written. In 1962, a small armed rebellion against the monarchy was ended with the help of the British.[11] Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984. Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, with the GDP increasing 56% from 1999 to 2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country. It has developed wealth from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields. Brunei has the second-highest Human Development Index among the Southeast Asia nations, after Singapore, and is classified as a "developed country".[12] According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brunei is ranked fifth in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity. The IMF estimated, in 2011, that Brunei was one of two countries (the other being Libya) with a public debt at 0% of the national GDP. Forbes also ranks Brunei as the fifth-richest nation out of 182, based on its petroleum and natural gas fields

Thailand

Bangkok:Thailand (/ˈtaɪlænd/ ty-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/ ty-lənd;[12] Thai: ประเทศไทย, Paiboon transliteration: "bprà-têet tai", rtgs: Prathet Thai); IPA: [pra(ʔ)˨˩.tʰeːt̚˥˩ tʰaj˧] ( listen), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, Paiboon transliteration: "raa-chá aa-naa-jàk tai", rtgs: Ratcha-anachak Thai; IPA: [raː˧.t͡ɕʰa(ʔ)˦˥ ʔaː˧.naː˧.t͡ɕak̚˨˩ tʰaj˧] ( listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; rtgs: Sayam), is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. Thailand is governed by the National Council for Peace and Order that took power in the May 2014 coup d'état.[13] Its monarchy is headed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has reigned since 1946 as Rama IX, as he is the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. He is currently the world's longest-serving head of state and the country's longest-reigning monarch;[14] he has reigned for 69 years, 302 days. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), Thailand is the world's 51st-largest country. It is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, which is Thailand's political, commercial, industrial, and cultural hub. About 75-95% of the population is ethnically Tai, which includes four major regional groups: central Thai, northeastern Thai (Khon [Lao] Isan),[2] northern Thai (Khon Mueang); and southern Thai. Thai Chinese, those of significant Chinese heritage, are 14% of the population,[5] while Thais with partial Chinese ancestry comprise up to 40% of the population.[15] Thai Malays represent 3% of the population, with the remainder consisting of Mons, Khmers and various "hill tribes". The country's official language is Thai and the primary religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is practised by around 95% of the population. Thailand experienced rapid economic growth between 1985 and 1996, becoming a newly industrialised country and a major exporter. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy.[16][17] Among the ten ASEAN countries, Thailand ranks third in quality of life.[11] and the country's HDI is rated as "high". Its large population and growing economic influence have made it a middle power in the region and around the world

China

Beijing:China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a sovereign state in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.38 billion.[15] The PRC is a one-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the capital city of Beijing.[16] It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces; five autonomous regions; four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing); two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau); and claims sovereignty over Taiwan. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, China is the world's second-largest country by land area,[17] and either the third or fourth-largest by total area, depending on the method of measurement.[i] China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes and the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts in the arid north to subtropical forests in the wetter south. The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometres (9,000 mi) long, and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas. China is a cradle of civilization, with its known history beginning with an ancient civilization - one of the world's earliest - that flourished in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties. Since 221 BCE, when the Qin Dynasty first conquered several states to form a Chinese empire, the country has expanded, fractured and reformed numerous times. The Republic of China (ROC) replaced the last dynasty in 1912, and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the People's Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, while the ROC government relocated to Taiwan with its present capital in Taipei. Both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China. China had the largest economy in the world for most of the past two thousand years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline.[18][19] Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China has become one of the world's fastest-growing major economies. As of 2014, it is the world's second-largest economy by nominal total GDP and largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). China is also the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods.[20] China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world's largest standing army and second-largest defence budget.[21][22] The PRC has been a United Nations member since 1971, when it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the BCIM and the G-20. China is a great power and a major regional power within Asia, and has been characterized as a potential superpower

Kyrgystan

Bishek:Kyrgyzstan (/kɜːrɡɪˈstɑːn/ kur-gi-stahn;[7] Kyrgyz: Кыргызстан Kyrgyzstan (IPA: [qɯrʁɯsˈstɑn]); Russian: Киргизия or Кыргызстан), officially the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyz: Кыргыз Республикасы Kyrgyz Respublikasy; Russian: Кыргызская Республика Kyrgyzskaya Respublika), formerly known as Kirghizia, is a country located in Central Asia.[8] Landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south west and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan's history spans over 2,000 years, encompassing a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its highly mountainous terrain - which has helped preserve its ancient culture - Kyrgyzstan has historically been at the crossroads of several great civilizations, namely as part of the Silk Road and other commercial and cultural routes. Though long inhabited by a succession of independent tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically come under foreign domination and attained sovereignty as a nation-state only after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since independence, Kyrgyzstan has officially been a unitary parliamentary republic, although it continues to endure ethnic conflicts,[9][10] revolts,[11] economic troubles,[12][13] transitional governments[14] and political party conflicts.[15] Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Turkic Council, the TÜRKSOY community and the United Nations. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's 5.7 million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians. The official language, Kyrgyz, is closely related to the other Turkic languages, although Russian remains widely spoken, a legacy of a century-long policy of Russification. The majority of the population (64 percent) are non-denominational Muslims.[16] In addition to its Turkic origins, Kyrgyz culture bears elements of Persian, Mongolian and Russian influence.

Sri Lanka

Colombo:Sri Lanka (/sriːˈlɑːŋkə, -ˈlæŋkə/ or Listeni/ʃriː-/;[6][7] Sinhalese: ශ්‍රී ලංකා Śrī Laṃkā, Tamil: இலங்கை Ilaṅkai), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon (/sᵻˈlɒnˌ seɪ-ˌ siː-/), is an island country in South Asia near south-east India. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest. Its documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years.[8] Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road[9] through to World War II.[10] A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, and languages.[11] In addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda.[12] Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, dates back to the Fourth Buddhist council in 29 BC.[13][14] Sri Lanka's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when Sri Lankan military defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.[15] Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a Semi-presidential system. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the commercial capital and largest city, Colombo. Sri Lanka has had a long history of international engagement, as a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G77, and the Non-Aligned Movement. Along with Maldives it is one of the two countries in South Asia that are currently rated "high" on the Human Development Index

Syria

Damascus:Syria (Listeni/ˈsɪ.rɪə/; Arabic: سوريا‎ or سورية, Sūriyā or Sūrīyah), officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia. De jure Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest, but the government's control now extends to approximately 30-40% of the de jure state area and less than 60% of the population.[7] A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians,[8] Mandeans[9] and Turks. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, and Yazidis. Sunni Arabs make up the largest population group in Syria. In English, the name "Syria" was formerly synonymous with the Levant (known in Arabic as al-Sham), while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Its capital Damascus is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.[10] In the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The modern Syrian state was established after the end of centuries of Ottoman control in World War I as a French mandate, and represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Arab Levant. It gained independence as a parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945 when Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French Mandate - although French troops did not leave the country until April 1946. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a large number of military coups and coup attempts shook the country in the period 1949-71. In 1958, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic, which was terminated by the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. The Arab Republic of Syria came into being in late 1961 after December 1 constitutional referendum, and was increasingly unstable until the Ba'athist coup d'état, since which the Ba'ath Party has maintained its power. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, and its system of government is considered to be non-democratic by American NGO Freedom House[11] Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000.[12] Syria is a member of one international organization other than the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement; it is currently suspended from the Arab League[13] and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,[14] and self-suspended from the Union for the Mediterranean.[15] Since March 2011, Syria has been embroiled in an uprising against Assad and the Ba'athist government as part of the Arab Spring, a crackdown that contributed to the Syrian Civil War and to Syria's becoming one of the most violent countries in the world.[16] The Syrian Interim Government was formed by the opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition, in March 2013. Representatives of this alternative government were subsequently invited to take up Syria's seat at the Arab League

Bangladesh

Dhaka:Bangladesh (Listeni/ˌbæŋɡləˈdɛʃ/; /ˌbɑːŋɡləˈdɛʃ/; বাংলাদেশ, pronounced: [ˈbaŋlad̪eʃ] ( listen), lit. "The land of Bengal"), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônôprôjatôntri Bangladesh), is a country in South Asia, bordered by India and Myanmar, at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. It is separated from Nepal and Bhutan by the narrow Siliguri Corridor.[9] It is the world's eighth most populous country and the ninety-second largest country by area, making it one of the most densely populated nations on Earth. The majority of the population are Muslims, followed by Hindus, with diverse Buddhist and Christian communities. The official language is Bengali, which is also spoken in the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura. Dominated by the fertile Bengal delta, Bangladesh is rich in biodiversity and is home to the world's largest mangrove forest, a mountainous east and a 600 km (370 mi) coastline that has one of the world's longest beaches. The region was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Gangaridai.[10] The mighty Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers connected Bengal to India and China, making the region a central entrepot of the historic Silk Road.[11] During the Pala and Sena periods, the people of the land developed their own language, script, literature, music, art and architecture. Islam was established in the second millennium CE under the Delhi Sultanate, the Bengal Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Annexed by the British East India Company in 1765, the region was a part of British-ruled India until the creation of Pakistan in 1947. The present-day borders of Bangladesh took shape during the Partition of Bengal and the British India in 1947, when East Bengal came to be known as East Pakistan, as a part of the newly formed state of Pakistan. It was separated from West Pakistan by 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) of Indian territory. Because of political exclusion, ethnic and linguistic discrimination and economic neglect by the politically dominant western wing, Bengali nationalism, popular agitation and civil disobedience led to the Bangladesh Liberation War and independence in 1971. After independence, the new state endured poverty, famine, political turmoil and military coups. The restoration of democracy in 1991 has been followed by relative calm and economic progress. In 2014, the Bangladeshi general election was boycotted by major opposition parties, resulting in a parliament and government dominated by the Awami League and its smaller coalition partners. Bangladesh is a unitary parliamentary republic with an elected parliament called the Jatiyo Sangshad. The native Bengalis form the country's largest ethnic group, along with indigenous peoples in northern and southeastern districts. Geographically, the country is dominated by the fertile Bengal delta, the world's largest delta. This also gives Bangladesh a unique name tag as "the land of rivers". Bangladesh has a rich heritage of ancient civilization.[12][13] Bangladesh's documented history spans 4,000 years.[14][15] Bangladesh human history has lasted for more than 20,000 years.[16] Bangladesh is the Next Eleven emerging economy. It has achieved significant strides in human and social development since independence, including progress in gender equality, universal primary education, food production, health, and population control.[17][18][19] Bangladesh continues to face numerous political, economic, social and environmental challenges, including political instability, corruption, poverty, overpopulation, and global warming. Bangladesh is the founding member of SAARC, the Developing 8 Countries and BIMSTEC. Bangladesh contributes one of the largest peacekeeping forces to the United Nations. Bangladesh is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement.

East Timor

Dili:East Timor (Listeni/ˌiːst ˈtiːmɔːr/) or Timor-Leste (/tiˈmɔːr ˈlɛʃteɪ/), Tetum: Timór Lorosa'e, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (Portuguese: República Democrática de Timor-Leste, Tetum: Repúblika Demokrátika Timór-Leste),[6] is a sovereign state in Maritime Southeast Asia.[3] It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The country's size is about 15,410 km2 (5,400 sq mi).[7] East Timor was colonised by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until November 1975, when the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) declared the territory's independence. Nine days later, it was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year. The Indonesian occupation of East Timor was characterised by a highly violent decades-long conflict between separatist groups (especially FRETILIN) and the Indonesian military. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory. East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on 20 May 2002 and joined the United Nations and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. In 2011, East Timor announced its intention to gain membership status in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations by applying to become its eleventh member.[8] It is one of only two predominantly Christian nations in Southeast Asia, the other being the Philippines.

Qatar

Doha:Qatar (/ˈkæˌtɑːr/,[8] Listeni/ˈkɑːtɑːr/, /ˈkɑːtər/ or Listeni/kəˈtɑːr/;[9] Arabic: قطر‎ Qaṭar [ˈqɑtˤɑr]; local vernacular pronunciation: [ɡɪtˤɑr]),[10][11] officially the State of Qatar (Arabic: دولة قطر‎ Dawlat Qaṭar), is a sovereign country located in Southwest Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait in the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island of Bahrain, as well as sharing sea borders with the United Arab Emirates and Iran. Following Ottoman rule, Qatar became a British protectorate in the early 20th century until gaining independence in 1971. Qatar has been ruled by the House of Thani since the early 19th century. Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani was the founder of the State of Qatar. Qatar is a hereditary constitutional monarchy and its head of state is Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.[12] The constitution was overwhelmingly approved in a constitutional referendum, with almost 98% in favour.[13][14] In 2013, Qatar's total population was 1.8 million: 278,000 Qatari citizens and 1.5 million expatriates.[15] After Saudi Arabia and Oman, Qatar is the most conservative society in the Gulf Cooperation Council.[16][17] Qatar is a high income economy and is a developed country, backed by the world's third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves.[18] The country has the highest per capita income in the world. Qatar is classified by the UN as a country of very high human development and is the most advanced Arab state for human development.[19] Qatar is a significant power in the Arab world, supporting several rebel groups during the Arab Spring both financially and through its globally expanding media group, Al Jazeera Media Network.[20][21][22] For its size, Qatar wields disproportionate influence in the world, and has been identified as a middle power.[23][24] Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to do so

Tajikstan

Dushanbe:Tajikistan (Listeni/tɑːˈdʒiːkᵻstɑːn/, /təˈdʒiːkᵻstæn/, or /tæˈdʒiːkiːstæn/; Persian: تاجيكستان‎‎ Тоҷикистон [tɔd͡ʒikɪsˈtɔn]), officially the Republic of Tajikistan (Persian: جمهورى تاجيكستان‎‎ Tajik: Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Çumhuriji Toçikiston/Jumhuriyi Tojikiston; Russian: Респу́блика Таджикистан, Respublika Tadzhikistan), is a mountainous, landlocked country in Central Asia with an estimated 8 million people in 2013, and an area of 143,100 km2 (55,300 sq mi). It is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. Pakistan lies to the south, separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Traditional homelands of Tajik people included present-day Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. The territory that now constitutes Tajikistan was previously home to several ancient cultures, including the city of Sarazm[7] of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including the Oxus civilization, Andronovo culture, Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid Empire, Sassanian Empire, Hephthalite Empire, Samanid Empire, Mongol Empire, Timurid dynasty, and the Russian Empire. As a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan became an independent nation in 1991. A civil war was fought almost immediately after independence, lasting from 1992 to 1997. Since the end of the war, newly established political stability and foreign aid have allowed the country's economy to grow. Tajikistan is a presidential republic consisting of four provinces. Most of Tajikistan's 8 million people belong to the Tajik ethnic group, who speak Tajik, although many people also speak Russian. Mountains cover more than 90% of the country. It has a transition economy that is highly dependent on remittances, aluminium and cotton production

Vietnam

Hanoi:Vietnam (UK /ˌvjɛtˈnæm, -ˈnɑːm/, US Listeni/ˌviːətˈnɑːm, -ˈnæm/;[6] Vietnamese: Việt Nam [viət˨ næm˧] ( listen)), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV; Vietnamese: Cộng Hòa Xã Hội Chủ Nghĩa Việt Nam (About this sound listen)), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 90.5 million inhabitants as of 2014, it is the world's 14th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and Malaysia across the South China Sea to the southeast.[e] Its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1975. Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, from 111 BC to AD 939. An independent Vietnamese state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, eventually expelling the French in 1954. Thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War. The war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished and politically isolated. In 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnam's path towards integration into the world economy.[8] By 2000, it had established diplomatic relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnam's economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world,[8] and, in 2011, it had the highest Global Growth Generators Index among 11 major economies.[9] Its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007.

Pakistan

Islamabad:Pakistan (Listeni/ˈpækᵻstæn/ or Listeni/pɑːkᵻˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاكستان‎ ALA-LC: Pākistān, pronounced [pɑːkɪst̪ɑːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریہ پاكستان‎ ALA-LC: Islāmī Jumhūriyah Pākistān IPA: [ɪslɑːmiː d͡ʒʊmɦuːriəɪh pɑːkɪst̪ɑːn]),[1] is a country in South Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 199 million people.[13] It is the 36th largest country in the world in terms of area with an area covering 881,913 km2 (340,509 sq mi). Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast respectively. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman. The territory that now constitutes Pakistan was previously home to several ancient cultures, including the Mehrgarh of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including Hindus, Indo-Greeks, Muslims, Turco-Mongols, Afghans and Sikhs. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Alexander of Macedonia, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries as it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam.[18] As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the subcontinent's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of the Subcontinent where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh. Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal territories. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. A regional and middle power,[19][20] Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed forces in the world and is also a nuclear power as well as a declared nuclear-weapons state, being the only nation in the Muslim world, and the second in South Asia, to have that status. It has a semi-industrialised economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector, its economy is the 26th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and 45th largest in terms of nominal GDP and is also characterized among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world.[21][22] The post-independence history of Pakistan has been characterised by periods of military rule, political instability and conflicts with neighbouring India. The country continues to face challenging problems, including overpopulation, terrorism, poverty, illiteracy, and corruption. Despite these factors it maintains strategic endowments and development potential while it has made substantial progress in reducing poverty giving it the second lowest headcount poverty rate in South Asia.[23] It is ranked 16th on the 2012 Happy Planet Index,[24] while its stock exchange has been among the highest performing in Asia.[25] It is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Next Eleven Economies, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, ECO, UfC, D8, Cairns Group, Kyoto Protocol, ICCPR, RCD, UNCHR, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Group of Eleven, CPFTA, Group of 24, the G20 developing nations, ECOSOC, founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, SAARC and CERN

Indonesia

Jakarta:Indonesia (Listeni/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ in-də-nee-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ in-doh-nee-zee-ə; Indonesian: [ɪndonesia]), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia [rɛpublik ɪndonesia]), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is the largest island country in the world by the number of islands, with more than fourteen thousand islands.[8] Indonesia has an estimated population of over 255 million people and is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. The world's most populous island of Java contains more than half of the country's population. Indonesia's republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status. Its capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the Malaysian Borneo. Other neighbouring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP. The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders and Sufi scholars brought the now-dominant Islam,[9][10] while European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolise trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism starting from the East Indonesia of West Papua, Timor to eventually all of West Indonesia, at times interrupted by Portuguese, French and British rule, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, mass slaughter, corruption, separatism, a democratisation process, and periods of rapid economic change. Indonesia consists of hundreds of distinct native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest - and politically dominant - ethnic group are the Javanese. A shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper and gold. Agriculture mainly produces rice, tea, coffee, spices and rubber. Indonesia's major trading partners are Japan, the United States and the surrounding nations of Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

Israel

Jerusalem:Israel (/ˈɪzreɪəl/ or /ˈɪzriːəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Yisrā'el; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎ Isrāʼīl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Medīnat Yisrā'el [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel] ( listen); Arabic: دولة إِسْرَائِيل‎ Dawlat Isrāʼīl [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a sovereign state in Western Asia. The country is situated in the Middle East at the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. It shares land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories (which are claimed by the State of Palestine and are partially controlled by Israel) comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip[8] to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. It contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.[9][10] Israel's financial and technology center is Tel Aviv,[11] while Jerusalem is both its self-designated capital (unrecognised by the United Nations[12]) and the most populous individual city under the country's governmental administration. Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is internationally disputed.[note 1][13] On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly recommended the adoption and implementation of the Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine. This UN plan specified borders for new Arab and Jewish states and also specified an area of Jerusalem and its environs which was to be administered by the UN under an international regime.[14][15] The end of the British Mandate for Palestine was set for midnight on 14 May 1948. That day, David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel," which would start to function from the termination of the mandate.[16][17][18] The borders of the new state were not specified in the declaration.[15][19] Neighboring Arab armies invaded the former Palestinian mandate on the next day and fought the Israeli forces.[20][21] Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states,[22] in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula (1956-57, 1967-82), part of South Lebanon (1982-2000), Gaza Strip (1967-2005; still considered occupied after 2005 disengagement) and the Golan Heights. It extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank.[23][24][25][26] Efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed. Israel's occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem is the world's longest military occupation in modern times.[note 2][28] The population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2016 to be 8,476,600 people. It is the world's only Jewish-majority state, with 6,345,400 citizens, or 74.9% of Israelis, being designated as Jewish. The country's second largest group of citizens are denoted as Arabs, numbering 1,760,400 people (including the Druze and most East Jerusalem Arabs).[1][2] The great majority of Israeli Arabs are settled Sunni Muslims, with smaller but significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins; the rest are Christians and Druze. Other far smaller minorities include Maronites, Samaritans, Dom people and Roma, Black Hebrew Israelites, other Sub-Saharan Africans,[29] Armenians, Circassians, Vietnamese boat people, and others. Israel also hosts a significant population of non-citizen foreign workers and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia.[30] In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and Democratic State.[31] Israel is a representative democracy[32] with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage.[33][34] The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as the legislative body. Israel is a developed country and an OECD member,[35] with the 37th-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product as of 2014. The country benefits from a highly skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with the one of the highest percentage of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree.[36][37] The country has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and the fourth highest in Asia,[38][39][40] and has one of the highest life expectancies in the world

Afghanistan

Kabul:Afghanistan Listeni/æfˈɡænᵻstæn/ (Pashto/Dari: افغانستان, Afġānistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia.[3][7] It has a population of approximately 32 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and China in the far northeast. Its territory covers 652,000 km2 (252,000 sq mi), making it the 41st largest country in the world. Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era, and the country's strategic location along the Silk Road connected it to the cultures of the Middle East and other parts of Asia. Through the ages the land has been home to various peoples and witnessed numerous military campaigns; notably by Alexander the Great, Muslim Arabs, Mongols, British, Soviet Russians, and in the modern-era by Western powers. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, and others have risen to form major empires.[8] The political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the "Great Game" between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country. It remained peaceful during Zahir Shah's forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of civil wars that devastated much of Afghanistan. This was followed by the recent $100 billion nationwide rebuilding process

Nepal

Kathmandu:Nepal (Listeni/nəˈpɔːl/;[6] Nepali: नेपाल [neˈpal] ( listen)), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal,[7] is a Sovereign state located in South Asia. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of approximately 27 million,[2] Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by area[8] and the 41st most populous country. It is a landlocked country located along the Himalayas and bordered to the north by China and to the south, east, and west by India. Nepal is separated from Bangladesh by the narrow Indian Siliguri Corridor and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim. Kathmandu is the nation's capital city and largest metropolis. The mountainous north of Nepal has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest (Himalayas Mountains) (Nepali: सगरमाथा Sagarmāthā). More than 250 peaks over 20,000 ft (6,096 m) above sea level are located in Nepal.[9] The southern Terai region is fertile and humid. Hinduism is practiced by about 81.3% of Nepalis, the highest percentage of any country. Buddhism is linked historically with Nepal and is practiced by 9% of its people, followed by Islam at 4.4%, Kiratism 3.1%, Christianity 1.4%,[2] and animism 0.4%.[10] A large portion of the population, especially in the hill region, may identify themselves as both Hindu and Buddhist, which can be attributed to the syncretic nature of both faiths in Nepal.[11] A monarchy throughout most of its history, Nepal was ruled by the Shah dynasty of kings from 1768—when Prithvi Narayan Shah unified its many small kingdoms[1]—until 2008. A decade-long Civil War involving the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), followed by weeks of mass protests by all major political parties, led to the 12-point agreement[12] of 22 November 2005. The ensuing elections for the 1st Nepali Constituent Assembly on 28 May 2008 overwhelmingly favored the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a federal multiparty representative democratic republic. Despite continuing political challenges, this framework remained in place, with the 2nd Nepali Constituent Assembly elected in 2013 in an effort to create a new constitution. On September 20, 2015, a new constitution (Nepali: नेपालको संविधान २०७२) was announced by President Ram Baran Yadav in the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly was transformed into a legislative parliament. The new constitution established Nepal as a federal democratic country by making seven unnamed states.[13][14][15][16] Nepal is a developing country with a low income economy, ranking 145th of 187 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2014. It continues to struggle with high levels of hunger and poverty. Despite these challenges, Nepal has been making steady progress, with the government making a commitment to graduate the nation from least developed country status by 202

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur:Malaysia (Listeni/məˈleɪʒə/ mə-lay-zhə or Listeni/məˈleɪsiə/ mə-lay-see-ə; Malaysian pronunciation: [məlejsiə]) is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 330,803 square kilometres (127,720 sq mi) separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo). Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. With a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. Located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963. Less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a large role in politics. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims. The government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister. Since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6.5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia and 29th largest in the world. It is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the East Asia Summit and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and a member of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Kuwait

Kuwait City:Kuwait Listeni/kuːˈweɪt/ (Arabic: دولة الكويت‎ About this sound Dawlat al-Kuwait), officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in Western Asia. Situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it shares borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As of 2014, Kuwait has a population of 4.2 million people; 1.3 million are Kuwaitis and 2.9 million are expatriates.[5] Oil reserves were discovered in 1938. From 1946 to 1982, the country underwent large-scale modernization. In the 1980s, Kuwait experienced a period of geopolitical instability and an economic crisis following the stock market crash. In 1990, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq. The Iraqi occupation came to an end in 1991 after military intervention by United States-led forces. At the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure. Kuwait is a constitutional emirate with a high income economy backed by the world's sixth largest oil reserves. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest valued currency in the world.[6] According to the World Bank, the country has the fourth highest per capita income in the world. The constitution was promulgated in 1962, making Kuwait the most politically progressive country in the region.[7][8][9] In recent years, political instability has hindered the country's economic development

Maldives

Male:Maldives (/ˈmɒldiːvz/, /ˈmɔːldiːvz/, Listeni/ˈmɔːldaɪvz/ or /ˈmældaɪvz/),[13] officially the Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya), is an island country and archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of India and Sri Lanka. The chain of twenty six atolls stretches from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll to the Addu Atoll. The capital is Malé, traditionally called the "King's Island." Historically linked with the Indian subcontinent, Maldives is a Muslim-majority country. From the mid-sixteenth century colonial powers dominated the islands: Portugal, the Netherlands and Britain. The islands gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, becoming a republic in 1968. The country is ruled by a president and its government is authoritarian. The Maldivian economy is dominated by tourism and fishing. The World Bank classifies the country as having an upper middle income economy.[14] Encompassing a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), Maldives is one of the world's most geographically dispersed countries. It is the smallest Asian country in both land area and in population. The archipelago is located atop the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean, which also forms a terrestrial ecoregion, together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep.[15] With an average ground-level elevation of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level,[16] it is the planet's lowest country. It is also the country with the lowest natural highest point in the world, at 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in).[16] The government has pledged to make Maldives a carbon-neutral country by 2019 amid concerns about rising sea-levels.[17] Maldives became a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and it hosted the 17th SAARC summit in 2011. It is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Bahraih

Manama:Bahrain (Listeni/bɑːˈreɪn/; Arabic: البحرين‎ About this sound al-Baḥrayn), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين‎ About this sound Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn), is a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf in the Middle East. It is an archipelago with Bahrain Island, the largest land mass, 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 while Iran lies 200 km (124 mi) to the north across the Persian Gulf. The peninsula of Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain. The population in 2010 stood at 1,234,571, including 666,172 non-nationals.[7] Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation.[8] It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century.[9] Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to convert to Islam (ad 628). Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was occupied by the Portuguese in 1521, who in turn were expelled in 1602 by Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty under the Persian Empire. In 1783, the Bani Utbah clan captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim. In the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, Bahrain declared independence. Formerly a state, Bahrain was declared a Kingdom in 2002. Since early 2011, the country has experienced sustained protests and unrest inspired by the regional Arab Spring, particularly by the majority Shia population.[10] Bahrain had the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf.[11] Since the late 20th century, Bahrain has invested in the banking and tourism sectors.[12] The country's capital, Manama, is home to many large financial structures. Bahrain has a high Human Development Index and was recognised by the World Bank as a high income economy.

Philippines

Manila:The Philippines (Listeni/ˈfɪlᵻpiːnz/; Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands[13] that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila.[14] The Philippines' location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world's greatest biodiversity. The Philippines has an area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi)[15] Population is more than 100 million and still growing faster than any other east Asian country.[16][17] It is the seventh-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12 million Filipinos live overseas, comprising one of the world's largest diasporas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples.[18] Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic states occurred. Then, various nations were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the first Hispanic settlement in the archipelago was established.[19] The Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion. During this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons.[20] As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, there followed in quick succession the Philippine Revolution, which spawned the short-lived First Philippine Republic, followed by the bloody Philippine-American War of re-conquest by US military force.[21] Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, when the Philippines was recognized as an independent nation. Since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution.[22] The nation's large population and economic potential have led it to be classified as a middle power. It is a founding member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the East Asia Summit. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank.[23] The Philippines is considered to be an emerging market and a newly industrialized country,[24] which has an economy transitioning from being one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing

Russia

Moscow:Russia (Listeni/ˈrʌʃə/; Russian: Росси́я, tr. Rossija; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation[11] (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, tr. Rossijskaja Federacija; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a sovereign state in northern Eurasia.[12] It is a federal semi-presidential republic. At 17,125,200 square kilometres (6,612,100 sq mi),[13] Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area.[14][15][16] Russia is the world's ninth most populous country with over 144 million people at the end of 2015.[5][6] Extending across the entirety of northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both with Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. The nation's history began with that of the East Slavs, who emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD.[17] Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire,[18] beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium.[18] Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde in the 13th century.[19] The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde, and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus'. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland in Europe to Alaska in North America.[20][21] Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union abbreviated to USSR, the world's first constitutionally socialist state and a recognized world superpower, and a rival to the United States[22] which played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II.[23][24] The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first human-made satellite, and the first man in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the world's second largest economy, largest standing military in the world and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction(nuclear threat obliged the state to detonate Tsar Bomba, which was mankind's most powerful nuclear bomb ever built.[25][26][27] Following the partition of the Soviet Union in 1991, fourteen independent republics emerged from the USSR; as the largest, most populous, and most economically developed republic, the Russian SFSR reconstituted itself as the Russian Federation and is recognized as the continuing legal personality (the sole successor state) of the Soviet Union.[28] The Russian economy ranks as the tenth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015.[29] Russia's extensive mineral and energy resources, the largest reserves in the world,[30] have made it one of the largest producers of oil and natural gas globally.[31][32] The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.[33] Russia was the world's second biggest exporter of major arms in 2010-14, according to SIPRI data.[34] Russia is a great power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G20, the Council of Europe, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as being the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and one of the 5 members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), along with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Oman

Muscat:Oman (Listeni/oʊˈmɑːn/ oh-maan; Arabic: عمان‎ ʻUmān pronounced [ˈuːmaːn]), officially the Sultanate of Oman (Arabic: سلطنة عُمان‎ Salṭanat ʻUmān), is an Arab country in the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Holding a strategically important position at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the nation is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest, and shares marine borders with Iran and Pakistan. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz (which it shares with Iran) and Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries. From the late 17th century, the Omani Sultanate was a powerful empire, vying with Portugal and Britain for influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence or control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to modern-day Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar (today part of Tanzania, also former capital).[7] As its power declined in the 20th century, the sultanate came under the influence of the United Kingdom. Historically, Muscat was the principal trading port of the Persian Gulf region. Muscat was also among the most important trading ports of the Indian Ocean. Oman's official religion is Islam. Oman is an absolute monarchy.[8] The Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said has been the hereditary leader of the country since 1970.[8] Sultan Qaboos is the longest-serving ruler in the Middle East.[9] Oman has modest oil reserves, ranking 25th globally.[10][11] Nevertheless, in 2010 the UNDP ranked Oman as the most improved nation in the world in terms of development during the preceding 40 years. A significant portion of its economy is tourism and trade of fish, dates, and certain agricultural produce. This sets it apart from its neighbors' solely oil-dependent economy. Oman is categorized as a high-income economy and ranks as the 74th most peaceful country in the world according to the Global Peace Index

India

New Delhi:India (IAST: Bhārat), officially the Republic of India (IAST: Bhārat Gaṇarājya),[20][21][c] is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;[d] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia. Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.[22] Four religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi. Economists estimate India to have been the most populous and wealthiest region of the world throughout the first millennium CE. This advantage was lost in the 18th century as other regions edged forward.[23] Currently, the Indian economy is the world's seventh-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).[17] Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, inadequate public healthcare, and terrorism. A nuclear weapons state and a regional power, it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 29 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.

Cambodia

Phnom Penh:Cambodia (Listeni/kæmˈboʊdiə/;[7] Khmer: កម្ពុជា, Kampuchea, IPA: [kɑmpuˈciə]), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, Preăh Réachéanachâk Kâmpŭchéa, IPA: [ˈprĕəh riəciənaːˈcɑk kɑmpuˈciə]) and once known as the Khmer Empire, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Its total landmass is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi), bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practised by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes.[8] The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving non-royal leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja".[9] This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of first Hinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north and west from Thailand. Cambodia gained independence in 1953. The Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese backed People's Republic of Kampuchea in the Cambodian-Vietnamese War (1979-91). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992-93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party, who remain in power as of 2016. The country faces numerous challenges and sociopolitical issues, including widespread poverty,[10] pervasive corruption,[11] lack of political freedoms,[12] low human development,[13] and a high rate of hunger.[14][15][16] Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy."[17] While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade.[18] Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index (2015) ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall and the worst in the region

North Korea

Pyong yang:North Korea (About this sound listen), officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; Chosŏn'gŭl: 조선민주주의인민공화국; hancha: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國; MR: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk About this sound listen), is a country in East Asia, in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name Korea is derived from the Kingdom of Goguryeo, also spelled as Koryŏ. The capital and largest city is Pyongyang. North Korea shares a land border with China to the north and northwest, along the Amnok (Yalu) and Tumen rivers, and a small section of the Tumen River also forms a border with Russia to the northeast.[8] The Korean Demilitarized Zone marks the boundary between North Korea and South Korea. Korea was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. After the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was divided into two zones by the United States and the Soviet Union, with the north occupied by the Soviets and the south by the Americans. Negotiations on reunification failed, and in 1948 two separate governments were formed: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, and the Republic of Korea in the south. An invasion initiated by North Korea led to the Korean War (1950-53). Although the Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire, no official peace treaty was ever signed.[9] Both states were accepted into the United Nations in 1991.[10] The DPRK officially describes itself as a self-reliant socialist state[11] and holds elections. However, critics regard it as a totalitarian dictatorship. Various outlets have called it Stalinist,[20][21][22] particularly noting the elaborate cult of personality around Kim Il-sung and his family. International organizations have also assessed human rights violations in North Korea as belonging to a category of their own, with no parallel in the contemporary world.[23][24][25] The Workers' Party of Korea, led by a member of the ruling family,[22] holds power in the state and leads the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland of which all political officers are required to be members.[26] Over time North Korea has gradually distanced itself from the world communist movement. Juche, an ideology of national self-reliance, was introduced into the constitution as a "creative application of Marxism-Leninism"[27] in 1972.[28][29] The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises and collectivized farms. Most services such as healthcare, education, housing and food production are subsidized or state-funded.[30] In the late 1990s, North Korea suffered from a famine that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. North Korea continues to struggle with food production to this day.[31] North Korea follows Songun, or "military-first" policy.[32] It is the country with the highest number of military and paramilitary personnel, with a total of 9,495,000 active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel. Its active duty army of 1.21 million is the fourth largest in the world, after China, the U.S., and India.[33] It also possesses nuclear weapons

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh:Saudi Arabia[c] (Listeni/ˌsɔːdiː əˈreɪbiə/, Listeni/ˌsaʊ-/), officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),[d] is an Arab state in Western Asia constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula. With a land area of approximately 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), Saudi Arabia is geographically the fifth-largest state in Asia and second-largest state in the Arab world (after Algeria). Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast, and Yemen to the south. It is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast, and most of its terrain consists of arid inhospitable desert or barren landforms. The area of modern-day Saudi Arabia formerly consisted of four distinct regions: Hejaz, Najd, and parts of Eastern Arabia (Al-Ahsa) and Southern Arabia ('Asir).[10] The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud. He united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud. The country has since been an absolute monarchy, effectively a hereditary dictatorship governed along Islamic lines. The ultra-conservative Wahhabism religious movement within Sunni Islam has been called "the predominant feature of Saudi culture", with its global spreading largely financed by the oil and gas trade.[11][12] Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "the Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam. The Kingdom has a total population of 28.7 million, of which 20 million are Saudi nationals and 8 million are foreigners.[13][14][15] Petroleum was discovered in 1938 and followed up by several other finds in the Shia-majority Eastern Province.[16] Saudi Arabia has since become the world's largest oil producer and exporter, controlling the world's second largest oil reserves, and the sixth largest gas reserves.[17] The kingdom is categorized as a World Bank high-income economy with a high Human Development Index,[18] and is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies.[19][20] However, the economy of Saudi Arabia is the least diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, lacking any significant service or production sector (apart from the extraction of resources).[21] A monarchical autocracy,[22][23] Saudi Arabia has the fourth highest military expenditure in the world,[24][25] and in 2010-14, SIPRI found that Saudi Arabia was the world's second largest arms importer.[26] Saudi Arabia is considered a regional and middle power.[27] In addition to the GCC, it is an active member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and OPEC.[28] The country has attracted criticism for its lack of democratic freedom, with a "Not Free" ranking by Freedom House,[29] the status of women in Saudi society,[30] as well as its usage of capital punishment.[31]

Yemen

Sanaa:Yemen (Listeni/ˈjɛmən/; Arabic: اليَمَن‎ al-Yaman), officially known as the Republic of Yemen (الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), is an Arab country in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen is the second largest country in the peninsula, occupying 527,970 km2 (203,850 sq mi). The coastline stretches for about 2,000 km (1,200 mi).[6] It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the south, and Oman to the east. Although Yemen's constitutionally stated capital is the city of Sana'a, the city has been under rebel control since February 2015. Because of this, Yemen's capital has been temporarily relocated to the port city of Aden, on the southern coast. Yemen's territory includes more than 200 islands; the largest of these is Socotra. Yemen was the home of the Sabaeans (biblical Sheba),[7][8][9] a trading state that flourished for over a thousand years and probably also included parts of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 275 AD, the region came under the rule of the later Jewish influenced Himyarite Kingdom.[10] Christianity arrived in the 4th century AD whereas Judaism and local paganism were already established. Islam spread quickly in the 7th century and Yemenite troops were crucial in the expansion of the early Islamic conquests.[11] Administration of Yemen has long been notoriously difficult.[12] Several dynasties emerged from the 9th to 16th century, the Rasulid being the strongest and most prosperous. The country was divided between the Ottoman and British empires in the early 20th century. The Zaydi Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen was established after World War I in North Yemen before the creation of Yemen Arab Republic in 1962. South Yemen remained a British protectorate until 1967. The two Yemeni states united to form the modern republic of Yemen in 1990. Yemen is a developing country.[13] Under the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen was described as a kleptocracy.[14][15] According to the 2009 international corruption Perception Index by Transparency International, Yemen ranked 164 out of 182 countries surveyed.[16] In the absence of strong state institutions, elite politics in Yemen constituted a de facto form of collaborative governance, where competing tribal, regional, religious and political interests agreed to hold themselves in check through tacit acceptance of the balance it produced.[17] The informal political settlement was held together by a power-sharing deal between three men: president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who controlled the state; major general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who controlled the largest share of the army; and sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar, figurehead of the Islamist Islah party and Saudi Arabia's chosen broker of transnational patronage payments to various political players,[18] including tribal sheikhs.[19][20][21][22] The Saudi payments have been intended to facilitate the tribes autonomy from the Yemeni government and to give the Saudi government a mechanism with which to weigh in on Yemen's political decision making.[23] Yemen has been in a state of political crisis since 2011. In January 2011, a series of street protests began against poverty, unemployment, corruption and president Saleh's plan to amend Yemen's constitution and eliminate presidential term limit, in effect making him president for life.[24] He was also grooming his eldest son Ahmed Saleh, the commander of the Republican Guard, to succeed him.[24] The United States considers Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to be the "most dangerous of all the franchises of Al-Qaeda".[25] The U.S sought a controlled transition that would enable their counter-terrorism operations to continue, while Saudi Arabia's main concern was to maintain its influence in Yemen through some old regime figures and other tribal leaders who were part of the so-called "GCC initiative".[26][27] President Saleh stepped down, the transition quickly proceeded per the "GCC Initiative"; the powers of the presidency were transferred to Vice President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was formally elected president on 21 February 2012 in a one-man election. The interim parliament conferred immunity on president Saleh and 500 of his associates that same month.[28] A National Dialogue Conference was launched on 18 March 2012 to reach consensus on major issues facing the country's future.[29][30] In January 2014, the National Dialogue Conference extended Hadi's term for another year.[31] The transitional process was disrupted by conflicts between the Houthis and Islah, as well as the al-Qaeda insurgency. In September 2014, the Houthis took over Sana'a,[32][33][34] forcing Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar to flee the country,[35] and prompted the formation of a new "unity government" including a variety of Yemeni factions.[36] A draft constitution was discussed that would split Yemen into six federal regions, but the Houthis rejected the proposal.[37] Hadi, his prime minister and cabinet resigned on 22 January 2015 amid a political impasse against the Houthis and ongoing violence in the capital.[38] Three weeks later, the Houthis declared themselves in control of the government in what Abdul-Malik al-Houthi called a "glorious revolution", although opposition politicians, neighbouring states, and the United Nations decried the takeover as a coup d'état.[39] Most of Yemen's political factions and the international community have refused to recognise the Houthis' authority, and UN-brokered talks on a power-sharing deal are ongoing.[40][41] However, on 21 February, Hadi rescinded his resignation and declared he was still the legitimate president in Aden.[42] Hadi called on government institutions to gather in Aden,[43][44] which he proclaimed on 21 March 2015 was Yemen's "economic and temporary capital" while Sana'a remains under Houthi control

South Korea

Seoul:South Korea (About this sound listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; hanja: 大韓民國; RR: Daehanminguk, About this sound listen) and commonly referred to as Korea,[9] is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula.[10] The name Korea is derived from the ancient Kingdom of Goguryeo, also known as Koryŏ. Highly urbanized at 92%,[11] South Koreans lead a distinctive urban lifestyle with half of them living in the Seoul Capital Area, the world's third largest city[12] with over 25 million residents[13] and a leading global city[14] with the fourth largest economy.[15] The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC,[16] with three kingdoms flourishing at 1st century BC. One of them, Goguryeo, ruled Northeast China, parts of Russia and Mongolia under Gwanggaeto the Great. Since their unification into Silla and Balhae in the 7th century, Korea enjoyed over a millennium of relative tranquility under long lasting dynasties with innovations like Hangul, the unique alphabet created by Sejong the Great in 1446, enabling anyone to easily learn to read and write.[17] Its rich and vibrant culture left 17 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan in 1910, after whose surrender in 1945, it was divided into North and South Korea. A North Korean invasion led to the Korean War (1950-53). Peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power. South Korea's tiger economy soared at an annual average of 10% for over 30 years[18] in a period called the Miracle on the Han River, rapidly transforming it into an advanced developed country with Asia's highest income equality and the world's 11th largest economy by 1995. A long legacy of openness and focus in innovation made it successful[19][20] High civil liberties and freedom led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture[21] such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style.[22] Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon green growth,[23] committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC contributor. South Korea is known for high quality brands like Samsung, the world's leading smartphone and TV maker,[24][25] LG and Hyundai-Kia, South Korea was named the world's most innovative country in the Bloomberg Innovation Index,[26] ranking first in business R&D intensity and patents filed per GDP. It has the world's fastest Internet speed and highest smartphone ownership, ranking first in ICT Development, e-Government,[27] 4G LTE coverage and IoT devices online.

Taiwan

Taipi:Taiwan (Listeni/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a partially recognised state in East Asia. The Republic of China, originally based in mainland China, has since 1945 governed the island of Taiwan, which constitutes more than 99% of its territory,[e] as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands, following its loss of the mainland China territory in 1949 in the Chinese Civil War. This remaining area is also constitutionally called the "Free area of the Republic of China", which is defined as the portion of China not ruled by the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing. Taiwan's neighbors include the PRC to the west (mainland China), Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taiwan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with a population density of 649 people per km2 in October 2015. Taipei is the seat of the central government,[2] and together with the surrounding cities of New Taipei and Keelung forms the largest metropolitan area on the island. The island of Taiwan (formerly known as "Formosa") was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines until the Dutch and Spanish settlement during the Age of Discovery in the 17th century, when Han Chinese began immigrating to the island. In 1662, the pro-Ming loyalist Koxinga expelled the Dutch and established the first Han Chinese polity on the island, the Kingdom of Tungning. The Qing dynasty of China later defeated the kingdom and annexed Taiwan. By the time Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895, the majority of Taiwan's inhabitants were Han Chinese either by ancestry or by assimilation. The Republic of China (ROC) was established in mainland China in 1912. After Japan's surrender in 1945, the ROC gained control of Taiwan. During the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China took full control of mainland China and founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. ROC loyalists fled to Taiwan and re-established the national government there, claiming to be the legitimate government of all of China. Effective ROC jurisdiction was actually now limited to Taiwan and its surrounding islands, with the main island making up 99% of its de facto territory. The ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, when the PRC assumed China's seat via Resolution 2758. The ROC lost UN membership. International recognition of the ROC gradually eroded as most countries switched their 'China' recognition to the PRC. 21 UN member states and the Holy See currently maintain official diplomatic relations with the ROC. Numerous other states maintain unofficial ties through representative offices via institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Republic of China transitioned from a military dictatorship with a one party system of governance dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party system with universal suffrage. Today Taiwan maintains a stable industrial economy as a result of rapid economic growth and industrialization, which has been dubbed the Taiwan Miracle. Taiwan is one of the Four Asian Tigers and a member of the World Trade Organization and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The 21st-largest economy in the world, its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. Taiwan is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care,[11] public education, economic freedom, and human development.[d][9][12] The complications of Taiwan's history since 1945 have created a number of practical issues for its people. Key among these are the exact nature of Taiwanese national identity, the ambiguous international political status of Taiwan, and the difficult cross-strait relations. In Taiwan, these issues generate debate among political parties and candidates. Though the ROC renounced in 1992 the conquest of PRC-controlled territories as a national goal,[13] there is still dispute over whether the constitution still claims sovereignty over all of the ROC's pre-1949 territories, including Outer Mongolia and the entirety of the present PRC.[14] In practical terms, settlement of questions such as whether the ROC identifies more as "Taiwan" or "China", and what the exact nature of its identity is relative to the PRC (whether international or domestic), rests with the political coalition most recently elected. Meanwhile, the PRC continues to assert the One China policy, in which it is sole legal government of "China" and that Taiwan is a province of China. As a result, the ROC is not recognised as a sovereign state by most countries and is not a member of the United Nations. The PRC has threatened the use of military force as a response to any formal declaration by Taiwan of national independence or to any decision by PRC leaders that peaceful annexation of Taiwan is no longer possible

Uzbekistan

Tashkent:Uzbekistan (US Listeni/ʊz.ˈbɛk.ɪ.ˌstæn/, UK /ʊz.ˌbɛk.ɪ.ˈstɑːn/), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek: Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi/Ўзбекистон Республикаси), is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia. It is a unitary, constitutional, presidential republic, comprising 12 provinces, 1 autonomous republic, and 1 capital city. Uzbekistan is bordered by five countries: Kazakhstan to the north; Tajikistan to the southeast; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Afghanistan to the south; and Turkmenistan to the southwest. Once part of the Turkic Khaganate and later Timurid Empires, the region that today includes the Republic of Uzbekistan was conquered in the early 16th century by Eastern Turkic-speaking nomads. The area was gradually incorporated into the Russian Empire during the 19th century, and in 1924 what is now Uzbekistan became a bordered constituent republic of the Soviet Union, known as the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR). Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, it declared independence as the Republic of Uzbekistan on 31 August 1991 (officially celebrated the following day). Uzbekistan is officially a democratic,[11] secular, unitary, constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage. The country's official language is Uzbek, a Turkic language written in latin alphabet and spoken natively by approximately 85% of the population; however, Russian remains in widespread use. Uzbeks constitute 81% of the population, followed by Russians (5.4%), Tajiks (4.0%), Kazakhs (3.0%), and others (6.5%). A majority of Uzbeks are non-denominational Muslims.[12] Uzbekistan is a member of the CIS, OSCE, UN, and the SCO. Uzbekistan's economy relies mainly on commodity production, including cotton, gold, uranium, and natural gas. Despite the declared objective of transition to a market economy, its government continues to maintain economic controls which imports in favour of domestic "import substitution"

Iran

Tehran:Iran (/aɪˈræn/ or Listeni/ɪˈrɑːn/;[11] Persian: Irān - ایران‎‎ [ʔiːˈɾɒːn] ( listen)), also known as Persia (/ˈpɜːrʒə/ or /ˈpɜːrʃə/),[12][13][14] officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (جمهوری اسلامی ایران - Jomhuri ye Eslāmi ye Irān [d͡ʒomhuːˌɾije eslɒːˌmije ʔiːˈɾɒːn]), is a sovereign state in Western Asia.[15][16][17] It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia, the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and Azerbaijan; to the north by Kazakhstan and Russia across the Caspian Sea; to the northeast by Turkmenistan; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), it is the second-largest country in the Middle East and the 18th-largest in the world. With 78.4 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 17th-most-populous country.[15][18] It is the only country that has both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. Iran has long been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz.[19] Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations,[20][21] beginning with the formation of the Proto-Elamite and Elamite kingdoms in 3200-2800 BC. The Iranian Medes unified the area into the first of many empires in 625 BC, after which it became the dominant cultural and political power in the region.[4] Iran reached the pinnacle of its power during the Achaemenid Empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC, which at its greatest extent comprised major portions of the ancient world, stretching from parts of the Balkans (Thrace-Macedonia, Bulgaria-Paeonia) and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen.[22] The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Parthian Empire emerged from the ashes and was succeeded by the Sassanid Dynasty in 224 AD, under which Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world, along with the Roman-Byzantine Empire, for a period of more than four centuries.[23][24] In 633 AD, Rashidun Arabs invaded Iran and conquered it by 651 AD, largely converting Iranian people from their indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism to Islam. Arabic replaced Persian as the official language, while Persian remained the language of both ordinary people and of literature.[25] Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. Establishment of the Safavid Dynasty in 1501, which promoted Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion, marked one of the most important turning points in Iranian and Muslim history.[6][26] Starting in 1736 under Nader Shah, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, briefly possessing what was arguably the most powerful empire at the time.[27] During the 19th century, Iran irrevocably lost swaths of its territories in the Caucasus which made part of the concept of Iran for centuries,[28] to neighboring Imperial Russia.[29] Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a constitutional monarchy and the country's first Majles (parliament). Following a coup d'état instigated by the U.K. and the U.S. in 1953, Iran gradually became close allies with the United States and the rest of the West, remained secular, but grew increasingly autocratic.[30] Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression culminated in the 1979 Revolution, which led to the establishment of an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979.[18] Tehran is the country's capital and largest city, as well as its leading cultural and economic center. Iran is a major regional and middle power,[31][32] exerting considerable influence in international energy security and the world economy through its large reserves of fossil fuels, which include the largest natural gas supply in the world and the fourth-largest proven oil reserves.[33][34] Iran's rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the fourth-largest number in Asia and 12th-largest in the world.[35] Iran is a founding member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC, and OPEC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a parliamentary democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are officially Shia, and Persian is the official language

Bhutan

Thimphu:Bhutan (/buːˈtæn/ or /buːˈtɑːn/; Dzongkha འབྲུག་ཡུལ Dru Ü, IPA: [ʈʂɦu yː]),[10] officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia at the eastern end of the Himalayas. Bhutan, sometimes called 'The Forbidden Kingdom' by outsiders borders China to the north and India to the south, east and west. To the west, it is separated from Nepal by the Indian state of Sikkim; farther south it is separated from Bangladesh by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. Bhutan's capital and largest city is Thimphu. Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefs until the early 17th century. At that time the lama and military leader Ngawang Namgyal, the first Zhabdrung Rinpoche, who was fleeing religious persecution in Tibet, unified the area and cultivated a distinct Bhutanese identity. In the early 20th century, Bhutan came into contact with the British Empire and retained strong bilateral relations with India upon its independence. In 2006, based on a global survey, Business Week rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the eighth-happiest in the world.[11] In 2016, the World Happiness Report published by the United Nations ranks Bhutan as the 84th happiest country.[12] Bhutan's landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the sub-alpine Himalayan heights in the north, where some peaks exceed 7,000 metres (23,000 ft). Its total area was reported as approximately 46,500 km2 (18,000 sq mi) in 1997[13] and 38,394 km2 (14,824 sq mi) in 2002.[1][2] Bhutan's state religion is Vajrayana Buddhism and the population, as of 2015 estimated as 770 thousand people,[3] is predominantly Buddhist. Hinduism is the second-largest religion.[14] In 2008, Bhutan made the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy and held its first general election.[15] As well as being a member of the United Nations, Bhutan is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and hosted SAARC's sixteenth summit in April 2010.

Japan

Tokyo:Japan (Listeni/dʒəˈpæn/; Japanese: 日本 Nippon [nip̚põ̞ɴ] or Nihon [nihõ̞ɴ]; formally 日本国 About this sound Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, "State of Japan") is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The kanji that make up Japan's name mean "sun origin", and it is often called the "Land of the Rising Sun". Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, which make up about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. The country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. The population of 126 million is the world's tenth largest. Japanese make up 98.5% of Japan's total population. Approximately 9.1 million people live in the core city of Tokyo,[10] the capital city of Japan, which is the sixth largest city proper in the OECD and the fourth leading global city in the world.[11] The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the world's largest metropolitan area with over 35 million residents and the world's largest urban agglomeration economy. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly Imperial China and later from Western Europe, has characterized Japan's history. From the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a long period of isolation in the early 17th century, which was ended in 1853 when a United States fleet pressured Japan to open to the West. Nearly two decades of internal conflict and insurrection followed before the Meiji Emperor was restored as head of state in 1868 and the Empire of Japan was proclaimed, with the Emperor as a divine symbol of the nation. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victories in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an Emperor and an elected legislature called the National Diet. Japan is a member of the UN, the G7, the G8, and the G20 and is considered a great power.[12][13][14] The country has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the world's fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer. Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the world's eighth largest military budget,[15] used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a developed country with a high standard of living and Human Development Index whose population enjoys the highest life expectancy, the third lowest infant mortality in the world,[16][17][18] and ranked first in the number of Nobel Laureates of any country in Asia.[19] Japan is ranked first in the Country Brand Index,[20] ranked sixth in the Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 [21][22] and is the highest-ranked Asian country in the Global Peace Index.[23] Japan was the first country in Asia to host the Summer[24] and Winter Olympic Games

Laos

Vientiane:Laos ((Listeni/ˈlaʊs/, /ˈlɑː.ɒs/, /ˈlɑː.oʊs/, or /ˈleɪ.ɒs/)[a][7][8] Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, pronounced [sǎːtʰáːlanalat pásáːtʰipátàj pásáːsón láːw] Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) (French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Since 1975, it has been ruled by a Marxist and communist government. Its population was estimated to be around 6.8 million in July 2014.[2] Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang, which existed from the 14th to the 18th century when it split into three kingdoms. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three kingdoms—Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak — uniting to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975. Laos is a one-party socialist republic. It espouses Marxism and is governed by a single party communist politburo dominated by military generals. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Army continue to have significant influence in Laos. The capital city is Vientiane. Other large cities include Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Pakse. The official language is Lao. Laos is a multi-ethnic country with the politically and culturally dominant Lao people making up approximately 60% of the population, mostly in the lowlands. Mon-Khmer groups, the Hmong, and other indigenous hill tribes, accounting for 40% of the population, live in the foothills and mountains. Laos' strategy for development is based on generating electricity from its rivers and selling the power to its neighbours, namely Thailand, China, and Vietnam.[9] Its economy is accelerating rapidly with the demands for its metals.[10] It is a member of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), East Asia Summit and La Francophonie. Laos applied for membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1997; on 2 February 2013, it was granted full membership.[11] According to the anti-corruption non-governmental organisation Transparency International, Laos remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world. This has deterred foreign investment and created major problems with the rule of law, including the nation's ability to enforce contract and business regulation.[12] This has contributed to a third of the population of Laos currently living below the international poverty line (living on less than US$1.25 per day).[13] Laos has a low-income economy, with one of the lowest annual incomes in the world. In 2014, the country ranked 141st on the Human Development Index (HDI), indicating lower medium development.[14] According to the Global Hunger Index (2015), Laos ranks as the 29th hungriest nation in the world out of the list of the 52 nations with the worst hunger situation(s).[15] Laos has also had a poor human rights record.

Myanmar

Yangon:Myanmar (myan-mar[5] Listeni/miɑːnˈmɑːr/ mee-ahn-mar,[6] /miˈɛnmɑːr/ mee-en-mar or /maɪˈænmɑːr/ my-an-mar (also with the stress on first syllable); Burmese pronunciation: [mjəmà]),[nb 1][7][8][9][10] officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 1,930 km (1,200 miles) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country's 2014 census revealed a much lower population than expected, with 51 million people recorded.[11] Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometres (261,227 sq mi) in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon). Early civilisations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Burma.[12] In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty, the country was for a brief period the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia.[13] The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British conquered Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the country became a British colony. Myanmar became an independent nation in 1948, initially as a democratic nation and then, following a coup d'état in 1962, a military dictatorship. For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and Burma's myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.[14][15][16] In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. While former military leaders still wield enormous power in the country, Burmese Military have taken steps toward relinquishing control of the government. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, has improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations, and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions.[17][18] There is, however, continuing criticism of the government's treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority and its poor response to the religious clashes.[19][20][21] In a landmark 2015 election, the NLD under Aung San Suu Kyi won a majority in both houses, ending military rule. Myanmar is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion.[3] The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government.[22][23] As of 2013, according to the Human Development Index (HDI), Myanmar had a low level of human development, ranking 150 out of 187 countries.

Armenia

Yerevan:Armenia (Listeni/ɑːrˈmiːniə/, /-ˈmiːnjə/;[18] Armenian: Հայաստան, tr. Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn][a]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, tr. Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun), is a sovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located in Western Asia,[19][20] it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south. Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Van was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia. In the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion.[21] In between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation.[22][23][24] The official date of state adoption of Christianity is 301 AD.[25] The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanid empires around the early 5th century. Under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Armenian Kingdom was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the kingdom fell in 1045 and Armenia was soon after invaded by the Seljuk Turks. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries. Between the 16th century and 19th century, the traditional Armenian homeland composed of Eastern Armenia and Western Armenia came under the rule of the Ottoman and successive Iranian empires, repeatedly ruled by either of the two over the centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, while most of the western parts of the traditional Armenian homeland remained under Ottoman rule. During World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. In 1918, after the Russian Revolution, all non-Russian countries declared their independence from the Russian empire, leading to the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, and in 1922 became a founding member of the Soviet Union. In 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment.[26][27] The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD. Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was proclaimed in 1991.