Iceland
Long Name: Republic of Iceland
Location: Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the United Kingdom
Area: 39,768 sq. mi. (103,000 sq. km)
Climate: temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
Terrain: mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords
Population: 304,367
Population Growth Rate: 0.783%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 13.5
Death Rate (per 1,000): 6.81
Life Expectancy: 80.55 years
Ethnic Groups: homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6%
Religion: Lutheran Church of Iceland 82.1%, Roman Catholic Church 2.4%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.3%, Hafnar-fjorour Free Church 1.6%, other Christian 2.8%, other religions 0.9%, unaffiliated 2.6%, other or unspecified 5.5%
Languages: Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Literacy: 99%
Government Type: constitutional republic
Capital: Reykjavik
Independence: 1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)
GDP Per Capita: $40,400
Occupations: agriculture 5.1%, industry 23%, services 71.8%
Currency: Icelandic krona (ISK)
India
Long Name: Republic of India
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Area: 1,269,340 sq. mi. (3,287,590 sq.
km)
Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Terrain: upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
Population: 1,147,995,904
Population Growth Rate: 1.578%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 22.22
Death Rate (per 1,000): 6.4
Life Expectancy: 69.25 years
Ethnic Groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%
Religion: Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1%
Languages: Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9% (English commonly spoken by the well-educated)
Literacy: 61%
Government Type: federal republic
Capital: New Delhi
Independence: 15 August 1947 (from United Kingdom)
GDP Per Capita: $2,600
Occupations: agriculture 60%, industry 12%, services 28%
Currency: Indian rupee (INR)
Indonesia
Long Name: Republic of Indonesia
Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Area: 741,097 sq. mi. (1,919,440 sq. km)
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains
Population: 237,512,352 Population Growth Rate: 1.175%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 19.24
Death Rate (per 1,000): 6.24
Life Expectancy: 70.46 years
Ethnic Groups: Javanese 40.6%, Sundanese 15%, Madurese 3.3%, Minangkabau 2.7%, Betawi 2.4%, Bugis 2.4%, Banten 2%, Banjar 1.7%, other or unspecified 29.9%
Religion: Muslim 86.1%, Protestant 5.7%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 3.4%
Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is Javanese)
Literacy: 90.4%
Government Type: republic Capital: Jakarta Independence: 17 August 1945
GDP Per Capita: $3,600
Occupations: agriculture 43.3%, industry 18%, services 38.7%
Currency: Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
Iran
Long Name: Islamic Republic of Iran
Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
Area: 636,293 sq. mi. (1,648,000 sq. km)
Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
Terrain: rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts
Population: 65,875,224
Population Growth Rate: 0.792%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 16.89
Death Rate (per 1,000): 5.69
Life Expectancy: 70.86 years
Ethnic Groups: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%
Religion: Muslim 98% (Shi'a 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%
Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Literacy: 77%
Government Type: theocratic republic Capital: Tehran
Independence: 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
GDP Per Capita: $11,700
Occupations: agriculture 25%, industry 31%, services 45%
Currency: Iranian rial (IRR)
