Slovenia

Long Name: Republic of Slovenia

Location: Central Europe, eastern Alps bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Austria and Croatia

Area: 7,827 sq. mi. (20,273 sq. km)

Climate: Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east

Terrain: a short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria, mixed

mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east

Population: 2,007,711 Population Growth Rate: -0.088%

Birth Rate (per 1,000): 8.99

Death Rate (per 1,000): 10.51

Life Expectancy: 76.73 years

Ethnic Groups: Slovene 83.1%, Serb 2%, Croat 1.8%, Bosniak 1.1%, other or unspecified 12%

Religion: Catholic 57.8%, Muslim 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3%, other Christian 0.9%, unaffiliated 3.5%, other or unspecified 23%, none 10.1%

Languages: Slovenian 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4% Literacy: 99.7%

Government Type: parliamentary republic

Capital: Ljubljana

Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

GDP Per Capita: $28,000 Occupations: agriculture 2.5%, industry 36%, services 61.5%

Currency: euro (EUR)

Solomon Islands

Long Name: Solomon Islands

Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea

Area: 10,985 sq. mi. (28,450 sq. km)

Climate: tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

Population: 581,318 Population Growth Rate: 2.467%

Birth Rate (per 1,000): 28.48

Death Rate (per 1,000): 3.81

Life Expectancy: 73.44 years

Ethnic Groups: Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2%

Religion: Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2%

Languages: Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages

Literacy: N/A

Government Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Honiara

Independence: 7 July 1978 (from United Kingdom)

GDP Per Capita: $1,900

Occupations: agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20%

Currency: Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)

Somalia

Long Name: Somalia

Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia

Area: 246,200 sq. mi. (637,657 sq. km)

Climate: principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons

Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north

Population: 9,558,666

Population Growth Rate: 2.824%

Birth Rate (per 1,000): 44.12

Death Rate (per 1,000): 15.89

Life Expectancy: 49.25 years

Ethnic Groups: Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including

Arabs 30,000)

Religion: Sunni Muslim

Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English

Literacy: 37.8%

Government Type: no permanent national government; transitional, parliamentary federal government

Capital: Mogadishu

Independence: 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the United Kingdom on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic)

GDP Per Capita: $600

Occupations: agriculture 71%, industry and services 29%

Currency: Somali shilling (SOS)