The Countries Iceberg - Part I

Perhaps the most well-known country to ever exist, it is a union of fifty states mostly located in North America. It is the third most populated country in the world, as well as the fourth largest. It started in the minds of colonists who wished to overthrow oppressive British rule in the 18th century, and is today the world's only major superpower.

Capital: Washington, D.C.

What was once the largest empire in history is now a relatively tiny dot the size of Guinea. It is a union of three [or four] constituent countries that form one big multinational country, the United Kingdom. It is the second largest economy in Europe and the oldest country without a codified constitution.

Capital: London

France is one of the most aged nations on Earth and the most ethnically diverse on the European continent. These deep influences have solidified France's position as a world superpower throughout history in nearly all aspects of culture, and it is known throughout the world as a major hearth of food, fashion, wine, and one of the most spoken languages across the globe.

Capital: Paris

Germany, now the wealthiest country in Europe, used to have a fairly extensive presence colonially until it was swiftly snatched from them due to the actions of a certain Austrian square mustache man. Then, it was divided up for decades into two parts until 1989. This marked the formation of what is now by far the strongest economically in the EU and a nation that has amicably repaired ties with those around them. Good job, Deutschland.

Capital: Berlin

Once a laughably expansive empire has now been slightly reduced to a... slightly less laughably expansive powerhouse...? Russia is the strongest country of the Old World, and despite its current, um, status around the world... it was once a thriving monster of a nation and a supreme puppet master that specialized in manipulating small countries in Eastern Europe (which it still does today, as shown by the picture).

Capital: Moscow

The "People's" "Republic" of "China" is birthed from an ancient civilization that we can thank for some of the technology that we all enjoy today; paper, printing, gunpowder, silk, compasses, ice cream, acupuncture, and umbrellas, to name a few. This key Russian ally that takes up the majority of East Asia has been at odds with the United States for years and years.

Capital: Beijing

The iconic boot-shaped peninsula of Europe; the birthplace of pizza, pasta, fascism; the country with two countries inside of it; a country with a deep history and a former empire that stretched across three continents. Italy has rightfully earned all those credentials, with a rich culture spread throughout the peninsula.

Capital: Rome

It's no France, and it's no Germany, but it's a Spain. Spain is best known for flamenco, bull fighting and its unique style of music. It is the largest country is Southern Europe and is a Roman Catholic country, though it has a history of being ruled by Muslims. With seventeen communities each having its own government, it is a widely diverse country.

Capital: Madrid

A country that has been in the news a lot recently in American media due to the surplus of Mexicans fleeing from drug trafficking, murder, rape, and other violent crimes prevalent throughout Mexico. While certainly a troubled nation, Mexico is a land of extreme feats, with high mountains and deep canyons, sweeping deserts, and dense rain forests. It is the most populous Spanish-speaking country, more than three times as populous as the origin of Spanish... Spain!

Capital: Mexico City

Canada is an enormous, vast and rugged land of cold and frostbite. The distance from top to bottom takes up more than half of the northern hemisphere. This behemoth of a nation stretches across six time zones. It is the second largest country in the world, but it has only one-half of one percent of the world's population.

Capital: Ottawa

The British had a great influence on Ireland. They brought in new ideas, forms of religion, and a different government system. Unfortunately the British are also responsible for the separation and lack of unity in Ireland. This extensively bullied country with an endangered language and an island it has to share with its former captors is now one of the most affluent and developed in the entire world. 

Capital: Dublin

India is a land of various cultures and a rich heritage. It is a densely packed behemoth soon to be the most populous nation in the world. It was ripped from its estranged brother, Pakistan, and now they resent each other. India can be friends with any country, whether it be Russia, United States, anybody... just as long as it's NOT Pakistan.

Capital: New Delhi

As the most populous monarchy in the entire world, as well as the wealthiest country per capita in East Asia, Japan has cemented itself as a world superpower and a key strategical ally for the United States and the West as a whole.

Capital: Tokyo

This highly centralized totalitarian nation with a massive military, nuclear weapons, and one of the lowest average incomes in the world is polar opposites from its neighbor to the south, South Korea. Well, not the way North Korea sees it. They see South Korea as merely a fairytale; a figment of the capitalist pig-dogs' imaginations.

Capital: Pyongyang

This relatively small country is a world superpower in its own right and has double North Korea's population in about 85% of the land area. South Korea was formed from a proxy war between the Soviets and the Americans and is now on the south side of the most militarized border in history. South Korea, actually, is still technically at war with North Korea.

Capital: Seoul

Egypt was the home of one of the principal civilizations of the ancient Middle East and, similarly to Mesopotamia to the east, was also the site of one of the world’s earliest urban societies.

Capital: Cairo

This absolutely ridiculously large continent-country hybrid is only slightly smaller than the size of the continental 48 US states. Known as a former British penal colony with the weirdest and wackiest animals and creatures around, Australia has emerged as a key US ally and the most developed nation outside of Europe.

Capital: Canberra

This massive country, essentially a subcontinent within South America, takes up about half the population and area in the entire continent. A BRICS member and emerging economy, it is linguistically and culturally separate from the rest of South America. It was ruled by Portugal for decades and is now the largest Lusophone nation in the world.

Capital: Brasilia

This country is the birthplace of democracy and the cradle of Western civilization, as well as a major tourist attraction. In modern times, Greece hasn't really caught up to its EU counterparts, such as Spain, France, and Germany. Its economy is relatively poor compared to others in the area, and its debt is staggering. In addition, Greece has a comparatively high crime rate and a low average income. Sad how far it has fallen.

Capital: Athens

This tiny country is loved by a lot and hated by even more. Most of the countries around it don't even see it as real. However, it is a sovereign state; it is located in Southwest Asia, and despite its geographic location, has cultural and economic ties to Europe. Probably one of the most controversial conflict zones of the 21st century, it has seen its fair share of combat and instability. However, when taking into account its surroundings, Israel is both democratic and stable.

Capital: Jerusalem

This country with a big hole inside and a history of apartheid (that rhymed :0) is the only country with three capitals, and one of the few African nations that never had a coup d'etat. While the most industrially advanced in Africa, South Africa has a load of problems. HIV is rampant, rape and murder are common occurrences, a very high poverty rate, and staggering income inequality.

Capital: Cape Town / Pretoria / Bloemfontein

The largest of the constituent countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it is well known for taking drastic strides to avoid losing land to the sea. The incredibly tall 18 million citizens of this country are packed into a nation only slightly bigger than Maryland.

Capital: Amsterdam

Despite being historically neutral, this country contemporarily has a lot of plusses. (get it? no? okay.) This country is always pretty late to get the memo, neither a member of NATO nor the EU, and not a member of the UN until 2002. This country has the highest HDI in the world and has a notably high standard and cost of living.

Capital: Bern

This supranational economic union of 27 member states has not been around for that long, but has seen 22 members join after the founding of the union, and has even seen a member leave. This union is both beneficial and problematic in many ways. A notable benefit is that landlocked countries essentially do not have to worry about bargaining for sea access, because this union is basically one big nation which technically has internal borders.

Capital: Brussels

Denmark is a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark, occupying a peninsula that juts out northward from continental Europe, and an archipelago of more than 400 islands to the east of the peninsula. Denmark has played a large part in the history of Europe despite being such a small part of it. 

Capital: Copenhagen

The most populous and largest in size of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, England, often people erroneously refer to the entire country of the UK by simply "England." The capital and largest city of the island is located here, and is the financial hub of the entire continent of Europe.

Capital: London

Historically, though one of the poorest regions of Europe, Scotland contributed greatly to political theories present in Europe today. Scotland today has expressed some desire to leave the United Kingdom's constituency, though Scotland possesses much of the UK's natural resources, so it is unlikely that the UK would be open to allowing them to leave.

Capital: Edinburgh

Antarctica; since decolonization, Antarctica has been the new favorite place to claim and draw lines on; but who cares, right? This giant desert is the least populated continent, with virtually nobody living on it. It is the home of many outposts for scientific purposes, and is currently claimed by seven sovereign states in some form, but these claims are not recognized internationally.

The Moon; the brightest and largest object in our night sky. It was likely formed after a celestial body the size of Mars collided with Earth. Our moon is the fifth largest of all of the moons surrounding planets in our solar system. It is considered international territory, not to be claimed by any organization or individual, but rather open to all research.

Outer space is the space that exists beyond earth and between celestial bodies. Humans began exploring this expanse of empty space during the 1900s with the invention of high-altitude balloon flights, followed by crewed rocket flights, and then earth orbit, first achieved by the Soviet Union in 1961. Like the Moon, the territory is unclaimed and open to all.

A country that is probably taking up the majority of Western media in recent times. Before it was invaded by Russia, it was one of the largest exporters of wheat, and an agricultural powerhouse. It is the largest country wholly within Europe. It has lost about 7 million people since the inception of the war in 2014, and is now 9th in Europe by population.

Capital: Kiev

Portugal is a European country on the Iberian Peninsula, bordering Spain. Despite having an expansive colonial past, today Portugal is a relatively small country, and one of the poorest and most indebted countries on the continent. Despite this, it has a relatively large tourism industry, and is known for a low cost of living. 

Capital: Lisbon

This country is a lot bigger than it looks. Together, the islands are not that much smaller than Mexico, and from west to east, these islands are wider in range than the continental United States and just barely below the width of Canada. Most of the population is crammed into one island, Java.

Capital: Jakarta

Norway is a narrow country in Northern Europe. It shares the Scandinavian Peninsula with Sweden. It consistently ranks high on all measures of development and quality of life, and is a poster child for the Nordic healthcare model, an example of a model that benefits all citizens and is not extremely costly to the recipient. It is also home to the Sámi indigenous people, whose language is official in Norway alongside Norwegian. 

Capital: Oslo

Sweden is a Northern European country that has been in the news a lot more often recently than usual. To elaborate, Sweden, which was once thought to be an avowed neutral country, has petitioned to join NATO alongside Finland due to the outstanding threat of invasion from Russia. However, Hungary and Turkey have made this a lot more difficult than it should have been for this country.

Capital: Stockholm

Finland, known for coffee addicts and being a former part of the Russian Empire, is a Northern European country located adjacent to the Scandinavian Peninsula and sharing a long border with Russia. Finland is one of only three countries to have a Uralic language as the official language (others being Hungary and Estonia).

Capital: Helsinki

This Central European nation is known for being bullied by the Soviets and Germany for decades, and is contemporarily known for its disdainful attitudes towards homosexuals and immigrants. This country disappeared for a while after being partitioned by its neighbors, but is now alive and well and a major military superpower within the framework of NATO, surpassing its former captor (Germany) when it comes to military power. It is also known for its role in the Holocaust, being occupied by Nazi Germany and being the location of many of the infamous concentration camps (e.g. Auschwitz).

Capital: Warsaw

Austria is a mountainous landlocked country that, like Switzerland, is an avowed neutral nation, refusing to join NATO despite being surrounded almost entirely by the organization. As an alpine nation with famous ski resorts, Austria has a very large tourism industry. It is also known for being the birthplace of Adolf Hitler, perhaps the most hated man in the history of mankind.

Capital: Vienna

Hungary is a landlocked nation in the Carpathian Basin that is known for hot springs and spa towns. It is also known for its dictator-esque leader, as well as rampant democratic backsliding and present corruption within the country. This has caused tension with other EU members, with economic aid among other things being withheld from Hungary due to its non-compliance.

Capital: Budapest

Iran, also known as Persia, can be recognized for its firm stance against American global influence and America in general. It is located in the Middle East, and has been under fire recently for both being suspected of harboring nuclear weapons, and for numerous human rights violations committed by government officials and police forces.

Capital: Tehran

What is now Iraq was formerly home to the oldest recorded civilization in human history, Mesopotamia. This region comprises much of the area known as the Fertile Crescent, a region formed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers known for some of the oldest societies of mankind.

Capital: Baghdad

Known for being the main hub of oil exports, Saudi Arabia is a large country dominating the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. It is the largest country with no rivers. It has been embroiled in a proxy war with Iran for years to decide influence in the region, with proxy war conflict zones including Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Qatar, Morocco, Nigeria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, among others.

Capital: Riyadh

A country formed from the Muslims in the newly independent British India that were dissatisfied with the lack of representation in the majority Hindu state. Even today, Pakistan and India are at odds with each other, claiming parts of each others' land as well as laying joint claims to the Kashmir valley.

Capital: Islamabad

Argentina is a massive country in South America, about 1/3 the size of the United States and the second largest in the Southern Hemisphere, being the 8th largest overall. In addition, the capital, Buenos Aires, is one of the most populated cities in the southern hemisphere.

Capital: Buenos Aires

Once an extensive empire stretching across the entire continent of Asia, Mongolia has been reduced to a significantly smaller but still quite large buffer state between China and Russia. It can be recognized for just barely being out of reach of the border with Kazakhstan, and can also be described by its astonishingly low population density, the lowest in the world.

Capital: Ulaanbaatar

This monarchy known for having the most visited city in the world (Bangkok) is located in the Indochinese peninsula of Southeast Asia. It can also be described as having the monarch with the highest net worth (~30 billion USD).

Capital: Bangkok

Essentially the only major producer of logic semiconductors, this country (?) is located off the coast of the People's Republic of China, which it claims in its entirety to be under the government of the Republic of China. The government of Taiwan could be considered a government-in-exile, as what is now Taiwan was formed from those forced out of Mainland China when the communists took over.

Capital: Taipei

When asked to think of "Africa", many would immediately think of something to the degree of Kenya. It is known as the best safari destination for travelers, and is also one of 13 locations where all of the Big 5 game animals (lion, leopard, black rhinoceros, African bush elephant, and African buffalo) can be found.

Capital: Nairobi

Initially, this small European country had a unitary government, but due to the fact that Belgium is essentially split into two almost-halves, it has adopted a more federal framework. It has seen some political instability due to concerns from Wallonia and Flanders respectively that their needs are not being met.

Capital: Brussels

Madagascar is an island known for having unique animals found nowhere else on the planet. It is also known for speaking primarily an Austronesian language despite being geographically in Africa. Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, it is a major producer of many spices. You may also recognize it from the film series of the same name.

Capital: Antananarivo

The Bahamas is an archipelago directly to the east of the U.S. state of Florida; a major tourist destination, especially for Americans. It is one of the most affluent countries of the Western Hemisphere, and is made up of ~700 inimitable little islands.

Capital: Nassau

Philippines is essentially the Mexico of Asia; a former Spanish colony with ~100 million inhabitants and a majority Roman Catholic religious framework. It is one of only two majority Catholic countries in Asia, and is influenced greatly by Spanish culture, with many in the country having Spanish names or even speaking the language.

Capital: Manila

Cuba is a long and narrow island country located just south of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the only communist country remaining in the Western Hemisphere, and has been at odds with the United States since inception. It was an instrumental part of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a period when the world waited pensively on the brink of nuclear war: a confrontation directly between the U.S. and Soviet Union.

Capital: Havana

Hong Kong has one of the world's most thriving economies and is a hub for international trade and investment. A cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong weaves Western and Asian influence into a world-class center of business, culture, and trade. Despite this prosperity as an autonomous region, Hong Kong has seen backsliding as the PRC has meddled in their affairs, and freedom of speech as well as protests are being suppressed and cracked down on heavily in the region. A former British colony, it was given back to China in 1997, after 156 years of British rule.

Capital: Hong Kong

Easter Island is an island owned by Chile (serving as both a municipality and "special territory") that is recognizable for the ~1,000 monumental statues located there, formed by the early Rapa Nui peoples. The island was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

Capital: Hanga Roa

This island is a territory of the United States (notwithstanding its lack of statehood) that hones a bountiful diversity of culture despite being smaller than Cyprus. It is a melting pot of Taino Indian, Spanish, African, and American cultures, which is what makes Puerto Rico unique from the surrounding islands.

Capital: San Juan

Turkey is a country that is comprised of two peninsulas, Anatolia and Çatalca. It is the bridge between Southeastern Europe and the Middle East, and is home to the largest city in the entirety of Europe. Under Erdogan, the country has seen democratic backsliding and a shift to a more authoritarian framework; this country experienced both a name change and a major earthquake in the past year.

Capital: Ankara

By far the largest and most populated country within the Realm of New Zealand, New Zealand ranks high in all indices of development and quality of life. This medium-sized country that is often cut off of maps due to its location is known for being the first country where women had the right to vote.

Capital: Wellington

The high seas are composed of all waters outside of exclusive economic zones (areas in the ocean that give the closest country special rights over it). The most interesting thing here is crime: small misdemeanors fall under the law of the ship's country, but crimes such as piracy can be tried by any nation, under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction.