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Going Olympic: countries that might

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Going Olympic: countries that might

Very shortly you will watch the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games. Each country competing in the Games sends its athletes into the grand arena wearing blazers and waving national flags. As is customary, the hugest nations have the hugest number of athletes, while the smallest can only offer a few. It is all up to the economy, size of territory and population and whether or not young people have been fed enough good food to become athletic and not suffer from rickets and malnutrition. The countries are listed alphabetically; the first number shows the size of territory in square kilometres, the second figure shows it in square miles. Bet you haven’t heard of some of these countries; many change their name periodically (and nonsensically), or you don’t know where they are. So I am telling you. Best wishes, especially if YOU are one of the athletes who might . . .

A

Abysssinia (see Ethiopia)                                             Afghanistan 652,225      251,825

Algeria                                 2,381,741   919,515           Angola      1,246,700     481.354

Antigue and Barbuda              (Leeward Islands group in

the Caribbean)                         441.6     170.5               Argentina  2,780,092  1,073,399

Armenia (West Asia)              29,766   11,490            Australia       7,682,300  2,966,200

Austria                                   83,857   33,377             Azerbaijan      88,606       33,430

 
 
B

Bahamas                                13,939     5,382                Bahrein           691           267

Bangladesh                          142, 998   55,998             Barbados           430            166

Belarus                                207,600    80,134               Belgium       30,158   11,783

Belize (Central America 22,965  8,867                  Benin       112,600       43,450

Bermuda

(Self-governing Colony)                54         21      Butan  (South Asia)        47,000       18,150

Bolivia                               1,098,581  424,164   Bosnia-Herzegovina  51,129       19,741

Botswana                            581,730  224,607                Brazil       8,511,965  3,286,488

Brunei (North West

Borneo)                                 5,765      2,226     Buganda  (see Uganda)

Bulgaria                             110,994    42,855   Burkina Faso  (West Africa)     274,200    105.869

Burma (see Myanmar)                                  Burundi (East Central Africa)        27,834      10,747

C

Cambodia                         181,035    69,898               Cameroon     475,458     179,714

Canada   (2nd largest)   9,970,610  3,849,675                                 Cape Verde     4,033   1,557

Central African Republic  622,436  240,324                      Chad   1,284,000     495,795

Chile                       756,626  292,135                         China (3rd largest)       9,572,900   3,696,199

Colombia    1,141,748    440,831    Comoros (Indian Ocean; Fed. Islam. Rep.) 1,862           719

Congo          342,000     132,047      Congo, Democratic Republic of the;

formerly Zaire)     2,234,000     905,446

Costa Rica        51,000  19,730       Còte d’Ivoir (formerly IvoryCoast)    322,463   124,471

Croatia              56,537  21,829         Cuba (largest  island, Caribbean)     110,861        42,804

Cyprus (containing the Turkish Republic

Of Northern Cyprus)          9,271  3,572         Czech Republic           78,864      30,442

D

Denmark          43,092   16,638       Djibouti (North-East Africa)                       23,200       8,950

Dominica (Windward Group of

The Caribbean)     750       290              Dominican Republic                 48,443     18,704

E

Ecuador                         269,178  103,930                    Egypt          997,739   385,229

El Salvador                       21,041     8,124      Equatorial Guinea        28,051     10,831

Eritrea (North-East

Africa)                           117,400   45,300                   Estonia          45,111     17,413

Ethiopia           1,223,500  472,400     Fiji (South-West (Pacific)                   18,274       7,056

Finland                           338,145  150,559                    France       543,965   210,026

G

Gabon (Atlantic coast

Of Africa)                      267,667  103,347        Gambia (The)          10,689       4,127

Georgia (West Asia)  69,700    26,900   Germany (Federal Republic of)     356,954   137,820

Ghana                            238,533    92,098                    Greece       131,957     50,949

(Greenland, the world’s largest island, is simply a part of Denmark)

Grenada                               345         133           Guatemala          108,889     42,042

Guinea (Atlantic coast

Of West Africa)             245,857   99,926          Guinea-Bissau         36,125     13,948

Guyana (North-east

Coast of South America) 215,083  88,044            H       Haiti            27,400     10,579

Honduras                        112,088  43,277                   Hungary         93,033     35,920

I

Iceland (North-East

Atlantic)                          103,000  39,769                        India   3,166,414   1,222,559

Indonesia                     1,919,443  741,101                     Iran       1,648,196     636,342

Iraq           435,052  167,975          Ireland (Republic of)         70,285       27,137

Israel                               20,700    7,992                       Italy        301,277      116,324

J

Jamaica                            10,991   4,244                     Japan         377,835     145,342

Jordan                      88,947   34,342      K           Kazhakistan    2,713,300   1,048,887

Kenya       582,646  224,961     Kiribati (Pacific archipelago, pronounced

Kiribas)     811           313

Korea, North                 122,400  47,300            Korea, South         99,237        38,316

Kuwait     17,818   6,880     Kyrgyzstan   (formerly Kirghizia)    198,599        76,460

 L

Laos                             236,800  91,400                       Latvia         63,718        24,595

Lebanon                         10,230    3,950                     Lesotho         30,355       11,720

Liberia                          111,400  43,000                        Libya     1,757,000      678,400

Liechtenstein                       160        61.6                Lithuania         65,207        25,170

Luxembourg, Gran Duchy 2,586   999

M

Macedonia                     25,713  9,928                  Madagascar      587,041      226,658

Malawi (South-East

Africa)                        118,484  45,747                     Malaysia       330,442      127,584

Maldives (Indian

Ocean)                               298      115                           Mali   1,240,192       478,841

Malta            316      122       Marshall Islands  (Central Pacific)          181.48     70.07

Mauritius (Southern

Indian Ocean)                 2,040       788                     Mexico      1,958,207      756,066

Micronesia (Fed. State of)                    701       270                     Moldova        33,700        13,000

Monaco                                1.09  0.75                    Mongolia   1,566,500       604,800

Morocco                     458,730  177,117               Mozambique     802,000       309,572

Myanmar (formerly Burma)                       676,877  261,228

N

Namibia (formerly

South West Africa)     824,292  317,818                       Nepal        147,181        56,827

Netherlands, The, (also called Holland but this refers to twoWestern provinces)       41,863   16,163                                                                              New Zealand   267,844      103,415

Nicaragua                   130,700   50,464                         Niger     1,267,000      489,062

Nigeria                      923,768   356,669                       Norway      323,878      125,050

O

Oman                        300,000   120,000

P

Pakistan                    796,095    307,374             Palau (a.k.a. Belau)   488            188

Panama                      77,082      29,762          Papua New Guinea  462,840     178,704

Paraguay                   406,702   157,048                        Perú       1,285,216      496,225

Philippines                  300,000   115,800                        Poland      312,683      120,727

Portugal                       92,389     33,672                 Puerto Rico         9,104          3,515

R

Romania                    237,500     91,699      Russia  (largest country)  17,075,000    6,590,950

Rwanda (East-central Africa)              26,338    10,169

S

Saint Kitts and Nevis (Leeward Islands of the Caribbean)                 264.4  104.0

Saint Vincent and the  Grenadines                  389.3        150.3

Samoa                          2,831   I,093           Sao Tomé and Principe  1000      386

Saudi Arabia         2,240,000  865,000         Scotland part of the UK since 1707)

Senegal                   196,722   75,955                       Seychelles         453             175

Sierra Leone             71,740   27,699                        Singapore         622              240

Slovakia                    49,035   18,928                        Slovenia       20,251           7,897

Solomon Islands

(Pacific Ocean)        28,370  10,954                          Somalia      637,000        246,000

South Africa         1,123,226  433,680                        Spain          504,750       194,885

Sri Lanka

(formerly Ceylon)      65,610  25,332                   Sudan, the       2,503,890       966,757

Surinam                   163,820  63,251                   Swaziland           17,364           6,704

Switzerland                41,293  15,943                        Syria            185,180        71,498

T

Tajikistan                 143,000   55,240                  Tanzania             945,037      364,881

Thailand

(formerly Siam)        513,115  198,115           Togo (West Africa)     56,785        21,925

Tonga (in the

Friendly Islands)            749,9  289.5          Trinidad and Tobago         5,128         1,980

Tunisia                    154,530  59,664                       Turkey             779,452     300,948

Turkmenistan          488,100  186,400            Tuvalu (South Pacific)                  23.96       9.25

U

Uganda                   241,040   93,070                       Ukraine           603,700     171,700

United Arab

Emirates                    77,700   30,000             United Kingdom        244,110       94,251

USA  (4th largest) 9,529,063  3,679,192                  Uruguay            176,215      63,097

Uzbekistan                447,400    172,741

V

Vanuatu

(formery New Hebrides) 12,190  4,707                   Venezuela            912,050     352,144

Vietnam                    351,688  128,065          Y           Yemen             492,099    182,366

(Yugoslavia is not recognised by the UN in its present form)

Z

Zambia   752,614   290,586     Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia)   390,759   150,893

By | 2012-05-09T07:10:30+00:00 May 9th, 2012|Today, World History|0 Comments

About the Author:

‘Dean Swift’ is a pen name: the author has been a soldier; he has worked in sales, TV, the making of films, as a teacher of English and history and a journalist. He is married with three grown-up children. They live in Spain.

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