country located in northern Europe. Finland is one of the world's most northern and geographically remote countries and is subject to a severe climate. Nearly two-thirds of Finland is blanketed by thick woodlands, making it the most densel...

country lying on the west coast of Africa, astride the Equator. It is bordered by Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west; the island state of S&atild...

country of north-central Europe, traversing the continent's main physical divisions, from the outer ranges of the Alps northward across the varied landscape of the Central German Uplands and then across the North German Plain. One of Europ...

the southernmost of the countries of the Balkan Peninsula. It is a land of mountains and of sea. It is difficult to be far out of range of either, a fact that has had an important influence on the country's economic and historical developm...

country of Central America. The dominance of an Indian culture within its interior uplands distinguishes Guatemala from its Central American neighbours. The origin of the name Guatemala is Indian, but its derivation and meaning are undeter...

country located in the northeastern corner of South America. It is bordered by Venezuela to the west, Brazil to the southwest and south, Suriname (along the Courantyne River) to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Most of the co...

the beliefs and practices of Hindus, as expressed in a series of characteristic doctrinal, ritual, social, narrative, and poetic forms. Introduction The term Hinduism The English term Hinduism was coined by British writers in the first...

landlocked country of central Europe. Officially it is the Republic of Hungary (Magyar Köztársaság), but to natives it is known as Magyarorszag, Land of the Magyars. At the end of World War I, defeated Hungary lost 71 pe...

country that occupies the greater part of South Asia. It is a constitutional republic consisting of 28 states, each with a substantial degree of control over its own affairs; 6 less fully empowered union territories; and the Delhi national...

a mountainous, arid, ethnically diverse country of southwestern Asia. Much of Iran consists of a central desert plateau, which is ringed on all sides by lofty mountain ranges that afford access to the interior through high passes. Most of ...

major world religion belonging to the Semitic family; it was promulgated by the Prophet Mu&hsubdot;ammad in Arabia in the 7th century &AD;. The Arabic term islām, literally “surrender,” illuminates the fundamental religio...

Country, south-central Europe. It comprises the boot-shaped peninsula extending into the Mediterranean Sea as well as Sicily, Sardinia, and a number of smaller islands. Area: 116,343 sq mi (301,328 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 57,989,00...

island nation of the West Indies. It is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea, after Cuba and Hispaniola. Jamaica is about 146 miles (235 km) long and varies from 22 to 51 miles (35 to 82 km) wide. It is situated some 100 miles (16...

Arab country of Southwest Asia, in the rocky desert of the northern Arabian Peninsula. Jordan is a young state that occupies an ancient land, one that bears the traces of many civilizations. Separated from ancient Palestine by the Jordan R...

country of Central Asia. It is bounded on the northwest and north by Russia, on the east by China, and on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Aral Sea; the Caspian Sea bounds Kazakhstan to the southwest. Kazakhstan i...

island country in the central Pacific Ocean. The 33 islands of Kiribati, of which only 20 are inhabited, are scattered over a vast area of ocean. Kiribati extends 1,800 miles (2,900 km) eastward from the 16 Gilbert Islands, where the popul...

country of Central Asia. It is bounded by Kazakhstan on the northwest and north, by China on the east and south, and by Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on the south and west. Most of Kyrgyzstan's borders run along mountain crests. The capital is...

country located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea; it consists of a narrow strip of territory and is one of the world's smaller sovereign states. The capital is Beirut. Though Lebanon, particularly its coastal region, was the s...

republic of western Africa. Liberia is bounded by Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north, Cote d'Ivoire to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. Monrovia, a port, is the capital. Liberia is the only black stat...

small western European principality located between Switzerland and Austria. Its capital is Vaduz. Geography The eastern two-thirds of the country is composed of the rugged foothills of the Rhätikon Mountains, part of the central Al...

Protestant movement founded on the principles of Martin Luther. Lutheranism arose at the start of the Reformation, after Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses in Wittenberg. It spread through much of Germany and into Scandinavia, where it w...

country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. It occupies the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. Located in the southwestern Indian Ocean, it is separated from the African coast by the 250-mi...

landlocked country in southeastern Africa. A country of spectacular highlands and extensive lakes, it occupies a narrow, curving strip of land along the East African Rift Valley. Stretching about 520 miles (840 kilometres) from north to so...

independent island nation consisting of a chain of about 1,200 small coral islands and sandbanks (some 200 of which are inhabited), grouped in clusters, or atolls, in the Indian Ocean. The islands extend more than 510 miles (820 km) from n...

country located in the central Mediterranean Sea. It is a small archipelago but a strategically important group of islands. Throughout a long and turbulent history, the archipelago has played a vital role in the struggles of a succession o...