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

its western and eastern
  territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively

Haiti
  shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western
  one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)

Heard Island and McDonald Islands Mawson Peak on Heard Island is the highest Australian mountain (at 2,745 meters, it is taller than Mt. Kosciuszko in Australia proper), and one of only two active volcanoes located in Australian territory, the other being McDonald Island; in 1992, McDonald Island broke its dormancy and began erupting; it has erupted several times since, the most recent being in 2005

Holy See (Vatican City)
  landlocked; enclave in Rome, Italy; world's
  smallest state; beyond the territorial boundary of Vatican City, the
  Lateran Treaty of 1929 grants the Holy See extraterritorial
  authority over 23 sites in Rome and five outside of Rome, including
  the Pontifical Palace at Castel Gandolfo (the Pope's summer
  residence)

Honduras
  has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean
  shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast

Hong Kong
  more than 200 islands

Hungary
  landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes
  between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between
  Ukraine and Mediterranean basin; the north-south flowing Duna
  (Danube) and Tisza Rivers divide the country into three large regions

Iceland
  strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost
  European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in
  the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental
  Europe

India
  dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian
  Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the
  world, lies on the border with Nepal

Indian Ocean
  major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of
  Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and
  the Lombok Strait

Indonesia
  archipelago of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles
  equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from
  Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean

Iran
  strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz,
  which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport

Iraq
  strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of
  the Persian Gulf

Ireland
  strategic location on major air and sea routes between North
  America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides
  within 100 km of Dublin

Isle of Man
  one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest
  and is a bird sanctuary

Israel
  there are about 340 Israeli civilian sites - including 100
  small outpost communities in the West Bank - as well as 42 sites in
  the Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem
  (July 2008 est.); Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important
  freshwater source

Italy
  strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as
  southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe

Jamaica
  strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica
  Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal

Jan Mayen
  barren volcanic island with some moss and grass

Japan
  strategic location in northeast Asia

Jersey
  largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of
  population concentrated in Saint Helier

Jordan
  strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as
  the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the
  occupied West Bank

Kazakhstan
  landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of
  territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome; in January 2004,
  Kazakhstan and Russia extended the lease to 2050

Kenya
  the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful
  agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers are found on
  Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak; unique physiography
  supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic
  value

Kiribati
  21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island)
  in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the
  Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru

Korea, North
  strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and
  Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated

Korea, South
  strategic location on Korea Strait

Kuwait
  strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

Kyrgyzstan
  landlocked; entirely mountainous, dominated by the Tien
  Shan range; many tall peaks, glaciers, and high-altitude lakes

Laos
  landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly
  forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western
  boundary with Thailand

Latvia
  most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains,
  with some hills in the east

Lebanon
  Nahr el Litani is the only major river in Near East not
  crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically
  helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based
  on religion, clan, and ethnicity

Lesotho
  landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa;
  mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 m above sea level

Liberia
  facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by
  lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland
  grassy plateau supports limited agriculture

Libya
  more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert

Liechtenstein
  along with Uzbekistan, one of only two doubly
  landlocked countries in the world; variety of microclimatic
  variations based on elevation

Lithuania
  fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that
  are ancient glacial deposits

Luxembourg
  landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world

Macau
  essentially urban; an area of land reclaimed from the sea
  measuring 5.2 sq km and known as Cotai now connects the islands of
  Coloane and Taipa; the island area is connected to the mainland
  peninsula by three bridges

Macedonia
  landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and
  Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe

Madagascar
  world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along
  Mozambique Channel

Malawi
  landlocked; Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long, is the country's
  most prominent physical feature

Malaysia
  strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern
  South China Sea

Maldives
  1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited
  islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago with
  strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean

Mali
  landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern,
  cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the
  northern, arid Saharan

Malta
  the country comprises an archipelago, with only the three
  largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino)
  being inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors; Malta and
  Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the
  continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil
  exploration

Marshall Islands
  the Marshall Islands Bikini and Enewetak are former
  US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein atoll, famous as a World War II
  battleground, surrounds the world's largest lagoon and is used as a
  US missile test range; the island city of Ebeye is the second
  largest settlement in the Marshall Islands, after the capital of
  Majuro, and one of the most densely populated locations in the
  Pacific

Mauritania
  most of the population concentrated in the cities of
  Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the
  southern part of the country

Mauritius
  the main island, from which the country derives its name,
  is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral
  reefs; home of the dodo, a large flightless bird related to pigeons,
  driven to extinction by the end of the 17th century through a
  combination of hunting and the introduction of predatory species

Mayotte
  part of Comoro Archipelago (18 islands)

Mexico
  strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize),
  one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated
  in Mexico

Micronesia, Federated States of
  four major island groups totaling
  607 islands

Moldova
  landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and
  minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone

Monaco
  second-smallest independent state in the world (after Holy
  See); almost entirely urban

Mongolia
  landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia

Montenegro
  strategic location along the Adriatic coast

Montserrat
  the island is entirely volcanic in origin and comprised
  of three major volcanic centers of differing ages

Morocco
  strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar

Mozambique
  the Zambezi flows through the north-central and most
  fertile part of the country

Namibia
  first country in the world to incorporate the protection of
  the environment into its constitution; some 14% of the land is
  protected, including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip

Nauru
  Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the
  Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and
  Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator

Navassa Island
  strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base
  at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock with numerous solution
  holes but with enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands
  of fig trees, scattered cactus

Nepal
  landlocked; strategic location between China and India;
  contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest
  and Kanchenjunga - the world's tallest and third tallest - on the
  borders with China and India respectively

Netherlands
  located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine,
  Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)

Netherlands Antilles
  the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles
  are divided geographically into the Leeward Islands (northern) group
  (Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) and the Windward Islands
  (southern) group (Bonaire and Curacao); the island of Saint Martin
  is the smallest landmass in the world shared by two independent
  states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory
  of Sint Maarten

New Caledonia
  consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of
  the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute,
  and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls

New Zealand
  about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington
  is the southernmost national capital in the world

Nicaragua
  largest country in Central America; contains the largest
  freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua

Niger
  landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world;
  northern four-fifths is desert, southern one-fifth is savanna,
  suitable for livestock and limited agriculture

Nigeria
  the Niger enters the country in the northwest and flows
  southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in
  the Gulf of Guinea

Niue
  one of world's largest coral islands

Norfolk Island
  most of the 32 km coastline consists of almost
  inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one
  small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is
  situated

Northern Mariana Islands
  strategic location in the North Pacific
  Ocean

Norway
  about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much
  indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air
  routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines
  in the world

Oman
  strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of
  Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil

Pacific Ocean
  the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama
  Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides
  the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific
  Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in
  the southwestern Pacific Ocean

Pakistan
  controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion
  routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent

Palau
  westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six
  island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II
  battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands

Panama
  strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land
  bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal
  that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific
  Ocean

Papua New Guinea
  shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of
  world's largest swamps along southwest coast

Paracel Islands
  composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs
  divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent
  Group

Paraguay
  landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil;
  population concentrated in southern part of country

Peru
  shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable
  lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak,
  is the ultimate source of the Amazon River

Philippines
  the Philippine archipelago is made up of 7,107 islands;
  favorably located in relation to many of Southeast Asia's main water
  bodies: the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea,
  and Luzon Strait

Pitcairn Islands
  Britain's most isolated dependency; only the larger
  island of Pitcairn is inhabited but it has no port or natural
  harbor; supplies must be transported by rowed longboat from larger
  ships stationed offshore

Poland
  historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and
  the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain

Portugal
  Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along
  western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

Puerto Rico
  important location along the Mona Passage - a key
  shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest
  and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and
  high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast
  relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north

Qatar
  strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major
  petroleum deposits

Romania
  controls most easily traversable land route between the
  Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine

Russia
  largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably
  located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its
  size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either
  too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount El'brus is Europe's
  tallest peak

Rwanda
  landlocked; most of the country is savanna grassland with the
  population predominantly rural

Saint Helena
  Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants
  unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground
  for sea turtles and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak