WORLD FACT BOOK

AN ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF FASCINATING GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ABOUT ALL THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD, FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE. ARRANGED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER, EACH COUNTRY FEATURES A PHYSICALLY COLOURED MAP TOGETHER WITH A SIMPLE LOCATOR MAP TO SHOW THE POSITION OF THE COUNTRY OR ISLAND WITHIN ITS REGION. THE NATIONAL FLAG IS ILLUSTRATED WITH AN EXPLANATION OF ITS ORIGIN, AND STAMPS ARE USED TO DESCRIBE KEY FEATURES OF A COUNTRY'S GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY OR RESOURCES. THE SMALLEST COUNTRIES OR ISLANDS, SUCH AS THE ISLANDS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN, ARE GROUPED TOGETHER WITHIN THEIR REGION, WITH A SHARED MAP. THE CONCISE TEXT DESCRIBES THE PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY'S LANDSCAPE, CLIMATE, HISTORY, POLITICS AND ECONOMY, WHILE AN INFORMATION BOX LISTS THE POPULATION OF THE COUNTRY, ITS AREA, CAPITAL, LANGUAGES, ETHNIC GROUPS AND RELIGIONS, ENABLING COMPARISONS TO BE DRAWN BETWEEN COUNTRIES. THE LARGER COUNTRIES ALSO FEATURE FACT BOXES HIGHLIGHTING, FOR EXAMPLE, THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN OR LON