My Science School

               Moldova is a land-locked nation located in Eastern Europe, between Ukraine and Romania. Its capital city, Chisinau, is located in the south central part of the country.

               Moldova became an independent state in 1991, after gaining its sovereignty from the Soviet Union. The population of Moldova is around 4,046,090. The current constitution of Moldova was adopted in 1994.

               Moldova consists mostly of a hilly plain that is cut by deep valleys with many rivers and streams. The terrain slopes gradually southward. The strip of the Moldovan territory on the east bank of the Dniester River has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.

              Moldovan, the official language, is considered a dialect of Romanian rather than a separate language.

             Moldovan economy is the poorest in Europe. Moldova is also the least visited country in Europe by tourists.

             The country’s currency is Leu. 

               Belgium is a low-lying country in Western Europe, bordering the North Sea between France and the Netherlands. It borders Luxembourg and Germany in the east, and it shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom.

               Belgium is a federal state divided into three regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, francophone Wallonia in the south and Brussels, the bilingual capital, where French and Dutch share official status.

               Occupied by Germany during the First and Second World Wars, it has experienced an economic boom in the past 50 years to become a model Western European liberal democracy.

               Today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Belgium is one of the six founding countries of the European Union and hosts the official seats of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Council, as well as a seat of the European Parliament in the country’s capital, Brussels. 

               Located in the continent of Africa, Lesotho covers 30,355 square kilometres of land. Lesotho is completely encircled by the Republic of South Africa.

               Since the Neolithic Period, this mountain kingdom was the domain of Khoisan-speaking hunter-gatherers. In fact, the country’s geography is particularly unique earning it the title of Africa’s ‘Kingdom in the sky’. It is the only country in the world to be entirely above 1000m in elevation. The lowest point in Lesotho is at 1400m which is the highest low point of any country. Lesotho also boasts 300 days of sunshine. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. The currency of Lesotho is the Loti.

               The Lesotho became an independent state in 1966, after gaining its sovereignty from the UK.

              Lesotho was previously known as Basutoland. It is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Southern African Development Community. 

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               Armenia is a land-locked country located in south-western Asia. The capital and the largest city of Armenia is the city of Yerevan. The official language spoken is Armenian, and the currency is the Dram.

               The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in AD 405. Armenia became an independent state in 1991, after gaining its sovereignty from the Soviet Union. After independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia quickly became drawn into a bloody conflict with Azerbaijan over the major Armenian-speaking region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

               Historically, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been long associated with Asia and the Middle East. In recent years some sources now consider them to be more closely aligned with Europe based on their modern economic and political trends.

               Armenia is the 39th most economically free nation in the world. The currency of Armenia is the Armenian dram. 

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               Forming a scattered archipelago of mountainous islands and low-lying coral atolls, the Solomon Islands stretch about 1148 kilometres in the south-easterly direction from the Short lands Islands to the Santa Cruz Islands. There are six major islands, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Malaita, Makira, New Georgia and Santa Isabel and approximately 992 small islands, atolls and reefs.

               Communal, familial and clan ties remain very strong in Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands achieved internal self-government in 1976, and became independent in July 1978. Fisheries and timber are the main sources of foreign exchange. The country also exports copra and palm oil.

               Tourism has great potential here, but will need massive government input in the development supporting structure.

               There has been sort of a civil war between the Isatabus on Guadalcanal, the largest island, and migrant Malaitans from the neighbouring island. English is the official language. The currency used is the Solomon Islands dollar. 

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               Albania is situated on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, with Montenegro and Serbia to the north, Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. Albania consists of two major regions: a mountainous highland region (north, east, and south) constituting 70% of the land area, and a western coastal lowland region that contains nearly all of the country’s agricultural land and is the most densely populated part of Albania.

               Albania is an emerging democracy and developing country. It is said that the number of Albanians living outside Albania is greater than the country’s population of nearly 3 million. Many Albanians left the country in search of work; the money they send home remains an important source of revenue.

               Albania provides universal health care and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. The official language is Albanian. The capital of Albania is Tirana.

               Equatorial Guinea is a country located on the west coast of Africa. It includes a mainland region as well as several islands. The country shares maritime borders with Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe.

               Equatorial Guinea is composed of five inhabited islands plus a portion on the African mainland, known as Rio Muni. Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name evokes its location near both the Equator and the Gulf of Guinea.

               Equatorial Guinea is the only sovereign African state in which Spanish is an official language. It got independence from Spain on October 12, 1968. The capital is Malabo, on Bioko.

              The country’s economy was highly dependent on the export of cocoa, coffee and timber to Europe. But, after independence, the discovery of large oil reserves in 1996, and their subsequent exploitation, boosted the government revenue.

               The currency of the country is the Central African CFA franc. The capital city is Malabo on Bioko Island, and the largest city is Bata. 

               Once known as Urundi, the Kingdom of Burundi emerged on the eastern foothills in the late 17th century. Burundi is a small land-locked country in the African Great Lakes region in central Eastern Africa bordering Lake Tanganyika in south west.

               The country successfully gained freedom from Europe in 1962. Following their newly independent status, a constitutional monarchy was established. Since independence in 1962 it has been plagued by tension between the usually-dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority. Burundi, is one of the world’s poorest nations, and is struggling to emerge from the ethnic-based civil war. A particularly gruesome outbreak of violence occurred in 1972 as an estimated 300,000 Hutu were killed, and an additional 300,000 refugees fled to Tanzania. The capital city is Bujumbura. The official languages are French and Kirundi. The currency is the Burundian franc.

               Haiti is in the western one-third of the island of Hispaniola between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.

               This small, tropical country lies west of the Dominican Republic and is south of the island of Cuba. The capital of the country is Port-au-Prince. It is the second-most populous country in the Caribbean as a whole.

               Haiti became an independent state in 1804, after gaining its sovereignty from France. It is the second country in the Americas, after the United States, to free itself from colonial rule. Haiti is the most mountainous nation in the Caribbean.

               The government of Haiti is a semi-presidential republic, wherein the President of Haiti is head of state elected directly by popular elections. The Prime Minister acts as head of government and is appointed by the President.

               Haiti is a charter member of the United Nations, having joined on 24th October 1945. The country has the lowest Human Development Index in the Americas.

               Rwanda is a small, land-locked country located in east Africa. Bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda has a population of 10.5 million people. Rwanda is one of the smallest countries on the African mainland. It is the fourth smallest on the African mainland after the Gambia, Swaziland, and Djibouti.

               The major economic sectors are tourism, mining and agriculture. The four official languages are Kinyarwanda, English, French and Swahili. Rwanda is one of only two countries with a female majority in the national parliament.

               Rwanda is in the African Great Lakes region and is highly elevated; its geography is dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east, with numerous lakes throughout the country.

               The capital is Kigali, located in the centre of the country on the Ruganwa River.

               Macedonia is a mountainous land-locked country on the Balkan Peninsula in south-eastern Europe. The country was formerly a republic within Yugoslavia. It gained independence in 1991.

               Often the name of the Macedonia is associated with Alexander the Great. The capital is Skopje. Due to an ongoing dispute with Greece about the use of the name of Macedonia, the country is now known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or in short FYROM, or Republic of Macedonia. It became a member of the United Nations in 1993, but was admitted under the provisional description the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Although being one of the poorest countries in Europe, Macedonia has made significant progress in developing an open, market-based economy.

               The official language is Macedonian.

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               Djibouti is a small country on the north-eastern coast of Africa to the Red Sea and the Babel-Mandeb strait. Djibouti is bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, and it shares maritime borders with Yemen. The country serves as a gateway to the Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.

               Djibouti has a sub-tropical desert climate. It is hot and arid. Djibouti city is one of the warmest and driest cities in the world.

               Djibouti’s proximity to restive areas in Africa and the Middle East and its relative stability have made it a prized location for foreign military bases and ensured a steady flow of foreign assistance. Former colonial power France maintains a significant military presence and the country also hosts America’s largest military base in Africa.

               The two official languages are French and Arabic. The capital and largest city is Djibouti, and the currency is the Djiboutian franc.

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               Belize, which is formerly the British Honduras, is an independent country on the eastern coast of Central America.

               Belize is the only English-speaking country in Central America, and while it has many things in common with the Caribbean island-states, formerly part of the British Empire, the country is gradually establishing more realistic links with its geographic Spanish-speaking Central American neighbours. It was the United Kingdom’s last colony on the American mainland and still maintains strong ties with Britain. It has the lowest population density in Central America.

               English is the official language of Belize, while the Belizean Creole is an unofficial native language.

               The economy of Belize was traditionally based on forestry, mainly the export of logwood, mahogany and chicle. The country’s economy is now based on agricultural development. Tourism is another major source of foreign currency. The currency of Belize is the Belize dollar. Its capital is situated in Belmopan.

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               Situated on the Pacific coast of Central America, El Salvador is the smallest of the Central American countries. El Salvador is also the most densely-populated state on the mainland of the Americas. El Salvador’s capital and largest city is San Salvador.

               About half of all Salvadorans live in the countryside. They are poor and don’t have electricity or running water in their homes.

               El Salvador has a long history of destructive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

               Spain took over the country in 16th century and forced the native people to become servants. El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and full independence in 1841.

               The colon, the official currency of El Salvador since 1892, was replaced by the US dollar in 2001. Official language is Spanish.

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               Israel lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Egypt on the west, Syria and Jordan on the east, and Lebanon on the north.

               The State of Israel is the only Jewish nation in the modern period. Israel’s economy and technology centre is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government, and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, although the state’s sovereignty over East Jerusalem is not recognized internationally. The country is a parliamentary democracy.

               At the second quarter of the 20th century, Jews from all over the world immigrated to Palestine. The increased persecution of Jews worldwide and subsequent Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany became the reason for the huge migration. This vast influx of Jewish immigrants into the region, however, caused tension with the native Palestinian Arabs, and violence flared between the two groups, leading up to the United Nations’ plan to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab sectors, and Israel’s ensuing declaration of statehood on May 14, 1948.

               The State of Israel is the only Jewish nation in the modern period.