The 2008 CIA World Factbook, United States. Central Intelligence Agency [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

a deeply indented shoreline with
  many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a large western harbor

Arctic Ocean
  major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern
  access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic
  location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link
  between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating
  research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover
  in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean;
  snow cover lasts about 10 months

Argentina
  second-largest country in South America (after Brazil);
  strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic
  and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel,
  Drake Passage); diverse geophysical landscapes range from tropical
  climates in the north to tundra in the far south; Cerro Aconcagua is
  the Western Hemisphere's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon
  is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere

Armenia
  landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich
  (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range

Aruba
  a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches;
  its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the
  Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27
  degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)

Ashmore and Cartier Islands
  Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve
  established in August 1983; Cartier Island Marine Reserve
  established in 2000

Atlantic Ocean
  major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of
  Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits
  include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The
  Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the
  Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean

Australia
  world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country;
  population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts;
  the invigorating sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects
  the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most
  consistent winds in the world

Austria
  landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central
  Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major
  river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands
  because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere

Azerbaijan
  both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan
  exclave are landlocked

Bahamas, The
  strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive
  island chain of which 30 are inhabited

Bahrain
  close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic
  location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's
  petroleum must transit to reach open ocean

Bangladesh
  most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers
  flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main
  channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually
  empty into the Bay of Bengal

Barbados
  easternmost Caribbean island

Belarus
  landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of
  Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes

Belgium
  crossroads of Western Europe; most West European capitals
  within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and
  NATO

Belize
  only country in Central America without a coastline on the
  North Pacific Ocean

Benin
  sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural
  harbors, river mouths, or islands

Bermuda
  consists of about 138 coral islands and islets with ample
  rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land was leased by
  US Government from 1941 to 1995

Bhutan
  landlocked; strategic location between China and India;
  controls several key Himalayan mountain passes

Bolivia
  landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest
  navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru

Bosnia and Herzegovina
  within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized
  borders, the country is divided into a joint Bosniak/Croat
  Federation (about 51% of the territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led
  Republika Srpska or RS (about 49% of the territory); the region
  called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and Montenegro, and
  traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the
  west and an ethnic Serb majority in the east

Botswana
  landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the
  country

Bouvet Island
  covered by glacial ice; declared a nature reserve
  Norway

Brazil
  largest country in South America; shares common boundaries
  with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador

British Indian Ocean Territory archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility

British Virgin Islands
  strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and
  Puerto Rico

Brunei
  close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking
  Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by
  Malaysia; almost an enclave within Malaysia

Bulgaria
  strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land
  routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia

Burkina Faso
  landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of
  the Black, Red, and White Voltas

Burma
  strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

Burundi
  landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the
  Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote
  headstream of the White Nile

Cambodia
  a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River
  and Tonle Sap

Cameroon
  sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout
  the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of
  current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest
  mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano

Canada
  second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic
  location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately
  90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border

Cape Verde
  strategic location 500 km from west coast of Africa near
  major north-south sea routes; important communications station;
  important sea and air refueling site

Cayman Islands
  important location between Cuba and Central America

Central African Republic
  landlocked; almost the precise center of
  Africa

Chad
  landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the
  Sahel

Chile
  strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and
  Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage);
  Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions

China
  world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US);
  Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak

Christmas Island
  located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean

Clipperton Island
  reef 12 km in circumference

Cocos (Keeling) Islands
  islands are thickly covered with coconut
  palms and other vegetation; site of a World War I naval battle in
  November 1914 between the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and
  the German raider SMS Emden; after being heavily damaged in the
  engagement, the Emden was beached by her captain on North Keeling
  Island

Colombia
  only South American country with coastlines on both the
  North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea

Comoros
  important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel

Congo, Democratic Republic of the straddles equator; has narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands

Congo, Republic of the
  about 70% of the population lives in
  Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them

Cook Islands
  the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely
  populated, coral atolls; the southern Cook Islands, where most of
  the population lives, consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic
  isles, including the largest, Rarotonga, at 67 sq km

Coral Sea Islands
  important nesting area for birds and turtles

Costa Rica
  four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital
  of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes,
  Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65

Cote d'Ivoire
  most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal
  region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is
  sparsely populated

Croatia
  controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea
  and Turkish Straits; most Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of
  Croatia - some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks

Cuba
  largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the
  Greater Antilles

Cyprus
  the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after
  Sicily and Sardinia)

Czech Republic
  landlocked; strategically located astride some of
  oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is
  a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and
  the Danube in central Europe

Denmark
  controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking
  Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in
  greater Copenhagen

Dhekelia
  British extraterritorial rights also extended to several
  small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base
  Area land 60% is privately owned and farmed, 20% is owned by the
  Ministry of Defense, and 20% is SBA Crown land

Djibouti
  strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and
  close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia;
  mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in
  Africa

Dominica
  known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean" due to its
  spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected
  by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the
  Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and
  include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in
  the world

Dominican Republic
  shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti

Ecuador
  Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

Egypt
  controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and
  remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, a sea link
  between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition
  to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics;
  dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance of Nile basin issues;
  prone to influxes of refugees

El Salvador
  smallest Central American country and only one without a
  coastline on Caribbean Sea

Equatorial Guinea
  insular and continental regions widely separated

Eritrea
  strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest
  shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia
  along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May
  1993

Estonia
  the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded;
  offshore lie more than 1,500 islands

Ethiopia
  landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost
  with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; the Blue
  Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in
  T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia; three major crops are
  believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and
  castor bean

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
  deeply indented coast provides
  good natural harbors; short growing season

Faroe Islands
  archipelago of 17 inhabited islands and one
  uninhabited island, and a few uninhabited islets; strategically
  located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic;
  precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands

Fiji
  includes 332 islands; approximately 110 are inhabited

Finland
  long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national
  capital on European continent; population concentrated on small
  southwestern coastal plain

France
  largest West European nation

French Polynesia
  includes five archipelagoes (four volcanic, one
  coral); Makatea in French Polynesia is one of the three great
  phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba
  (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru

French Southern and Antarctic Lands islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in the southern Indian Ocean Bassas da India (Iles Eparses): the atoll is a circular reef that sits atop a long-extinct, submerged volcano Europa Island and Juan de Nova Island (Iles Eparses): wildlife sanctuary for seabirds and sea turtles Glorioso Island (Iles Eparses): the islands and rocks are surrounded by an extensive reef system Tromelin Island (Iles Eparses): climatologically important location for forecasting cyclones in the western Indian Ocean; wildlife sanctuary (seabirds, tortoises)

Gabon
  a small population and oil and mineral reserves have helped
  Gabon become one of Africa's wealthier countries; in general, these
  circumstances have allowed the country to maintain and conserve its
  pristine rain forest and rich biodiversity

Gambia, The
  almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the
  continent of Africa

Gaza Strip
  strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade
  routes has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of
  Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history

Georgia
  strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia
  controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them

Germany
  strategic location on North European Plain and along the
  entrance to the Baltic Sea

Ghana
  Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake

Gibraltar
  strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the
  North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

Greece
  strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern
  approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an
  archipelago of about 2,000 islands

Greenland
  dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and
  Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast;
  close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk;
  world's second largest ice cap

Grenada
  the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is
  divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada

Guam
  largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands
  archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean

Guatemala
  no natural harbors on west coast

Guernsey
  large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port

Guinea
  the Niger and its important tributary the Milo have their
  sources in the Guinean highlands

Guinea-Bissau
  this small country is swampy along its western coast
  and low-lying inland

Guyana
  the third-smallest country in South America after Suriname
  and Uruguay; substantial portions of