China
Long Name: People's Republic of China
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Area: 3,705,390 sq. mi. (9,596,960 sq. km)
Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Population: 1,330,044,544 Population Growth Rate: 0.629%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 13.71
Death Rate (per 1,000): 7.03
Life Expectancy: 73.18 years
Ethnic Groups: Han Chinese 91.5%, Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and other nationalities 8.5%
Religion: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages
Literacy: 90.9%
Government Type: Communist state Capital: Beijing
Independence: 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established)
GDP Per Capita: $5,400
Occupations: agriculture 43%, industry 25%, services 32%
Currency: Renminbi (RMB), also referred by the unit yuan (CNY)
Colombia
Long Name: Republic of Colombia
Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama
Area: 439,734 sq. mi. (1,138,910 sq. km)
Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain: flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains
Population: 45,013,672
Population Growth Rate: 1.405%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 19.86
Death Rate (per 1,000): 5.54
Life Expectancy: 72.54 years
Ethnic Groups: mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%
Religion: Roman Catholic 90%, other 10%
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: 92.8%
Government Type: republic; executive branch dominates government structure
Capital: Bogotá
Independence: 20 July 1810 (from Spain)
GDP Per Capita: $7,400
Occupations: agriculture 22.7%, industry 18.7%, services 58.5%
Currency: Colombian peso (COP)
Comoros
Long Name: Union of the Comoros
Location: Southern Africa, group of islands at the northern mouth of the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique
Area: 838 sq. mi. (2,170 sq. km)
Climate: tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)
Terrain: volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills
Population: 731,775
Population Growth Rate: 2.803%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 35.78
Death Rate (per 1,000): 7.76
Life Expectancy: 63.1 years
Ethnic Groups: Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Religion: Sunni Muslim 98%, Roman
Catholic 2%
Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)
Literacy: 56.5%
Government Type: republic
Capital: Moroni
Independence: 6 July 1975 (from France)
GDP Per Capita: $1,100
Occupations: agriculture 80%, industry and services 20%
Currency: Comoran franc (KMF)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Long Name: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Location: Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Area: 905,564 sq. mi. (2,345,410 sq. km)
Climate: tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)
Terrain: vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Population: 66,514,504
Population Growth Rate: 3.236%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 43
Death Rate (per 1,000): 1.24
Life Expectancy: 53.98 years
Ethnic Groups: over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes -Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population
Religion: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%
Languages: French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Literacy: 67.2%
Government Type: republic
Capital: Kinshasa
Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
GDP Per Capita: $300
Occupations: N/A
Currency: Congolese franc (CDF)
