The marked territories on this global map from the United Nations are mostly of countries which are sovereign states with full international recognition (brackets denote the country of a marked territory that is not a sovereign state). Some territories are countries in their own right but are not recognized as such (e.g. Taiwan ), some few marked territories are disputed about which country they belong to (e.g. Kashmir ) or if they are countries in their own right (e.g. Western Sahara (territory) or the state known by the same name ). The term country world . They function as sovereign states , unrecognized states , constituent countries , or dependent territories . A country may consist of multiple nations, a structure known as a multinational state . Countries are often distinguished as developing countries or developed countries . There is no universal agreement on the number of "countries" in the world. This ambiguity is a result of several countries not being recognized as sovereign states by the UN system, but are recognized by at least one UN member, known as "diplomatic recognition ". These countries often have disputed territories and have only partial recognition . A number of entities without recognition are also commonly considered a country.
Areas other than a political entity may be referred to as a "country," such as the West Country in England, "big sky country" (used in various contexts of the American West ), "coal country" (used to describe coal-mining regions ), cottage country or simply "the country" (used to describe a rural area ). The term "country" is also used as a qualifier descriptively, such as country music or country living .
The definition and usage of the word "country" has fluctuated and changed over time. The Economist Full article...
Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards. India Republic of India , is a country in South Asia . It is the world's seventh-largest country by area and its most populous . Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China , Nepal , and Bhutan to the north, and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives .
Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa by 55,000 years ago. Settled life emerged in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By 1200 BCE , an archaic form of Sanskrit , an Indo-European language , diffused into India from the northwest, its earliest hymns containing elements of what would become Hinduism . The pre-existing Dravidian and other languages were gradually superseded in India's northern plains . Across the central stretch of these plains, rapid urbanisation took place, and after 500 BCE a caste -based, hereditary form of social stratification began to solidify as Hinduism took fuller shape . During this period, Buddhism and Jainism arose, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity. The subsequent emergence of the loose-knit Maurya and Gupta Empires gave rise to wide-ranging cultural and scientific creativity. However, these eras saw a steady decline in women's status, alongside the eventual institutionalisation of untouchability . In South India , across the first millennium CE, the Middle kingdoms transmitted Dravidian language scripts and cultural traditions to Southeast Asia . Well before the millennium's end, Judaism , Christianity , Islam , and Zoroastrianism had become established on India's southern and western coasts. (Full article...
A national coat of arms independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement . While a national flag is usually used by the population at large and is flown outside and on ships, a national coat of arms is normally considered a symbol of the government or (especially in monarchies) the head of state personally and tends to be used in print, on armorial ware , and as a wall decoration in official buildings. The royal arms of a monarchy, which may be identical to the national arms, are sometimes described as arms of dominion or arms of sovereignty.
An important use for national coats of arms is as the main symbol on the covers of passports , the document used internationally to prove the citizenship of a person. Another use for national coats of arms is as a symbol on coins of the associated state for general circulation. (Full article...
The following are images from various country-related articles on Wikipedia.
Remaining countries not listed in the Recognized articles section at left are displayed here.
Chile Republic of Chile , is a country in the Southern Cone of southwestern South America . It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica , extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean . According to the 2024 census, Chile had an enumerated population of 18.5 million. The country covers a territorial area of 756,102 square kilometers (291,933 sq mi), sharing borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. It also administers several Pacific islands, including Juan Fernández , Isla Salas y Gómez , Desventuradas , and Easter Island , and claims about 1,250,000 square kilometers (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica as the Chilean Antarctic Territory . The capital and largest city is Santiago , and the official and national language is Spanish .
Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule ; however, they failed to conquer the autonomous tribal Mapuche people who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. Chile emerged as a relatively stable authoritarian republic in the 1830s after its 1818 declaration of independence from Spain . During the 19th century, Chile experienced significant economic and territorial growth, putting an end to Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) by defeating Peru and Bolivia. (Full article...
Top 10 WikiProject Countries Popular articles of the month
Image 1 Cape Verde , also referred to in English by its Portuguese name
Cabo Verde , and known officially as the
Republic of Cabo Verde , is an
archipelagic country in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa. It consists of ten
volcanic islands with a combined land area of about 4,033 square kilometres (1,557
sq
mi). These islands lie between 600 and 850 kilometres (370 and 530 miles) west of
Cap-Vert (i.e.,
Dakar ), the westernmost point of continental Africa, after which they are named. Cape Verde forms part of the
Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the
Azores , the
Canary Islands ,
Madeira and the
Savage Islands .
The archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when
Portuguese explorers settled the islands, establishing one of the first
European settlements in the tropics. Its strategic position gave it a significant role in the
transatlantic slave trade during the 16th and 17th centuries; the islands saw rapid economic growth driven by the trade of manufactured goods, rum, cloth for African slaves, ivory, and gold. By the mid 19th century, increased foreign competition, persistent drought, and the decline of the slave trade led to economic decline and emigration; Cape Verde gradually recovered as an important commercial centre and stopping point for major shipping routes.
Cape Verde became independent in 1975. Since the early 1990s, it has been a stable
representative democracy and has remained one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa. Lacking natural resources, its developing economy is mostly service-oriented, with a growing focus on tourism and foreign investment. With a population of around 530,000 (as of 2026
[ update] ), Cape Verde is
among the least populous countries in Africa . The Cape Verdean people trace their ancestry primarily to West African populations, with additional contributions from early Portuguese settlers and other groups who came to the islands. A sizeable
diaspora exists across the world, especially in the United States and Portugal, considerably outnumbering the inhabitants on the islands. Cape Verde is a member state of the
African Union . (
Full article... )
Image 2 The
United States of America (
USA ), also known as the
United States (
U.S. ) or
America , is a country primarily located in
North America . It is a
federal republic consisting of 50
states and a
federal capital district ,
Washington, D.C. The 48
contiguous states border
Canada to the north and
Mexico to the south, with the
semi-exclave of
Alaska in the northwest and the
archipelago of
Hawaii in the
Pacific Ocean . The United States also asserts sovereignty over five
major island territories and
various uninhabited islands in
Oceania and the
Caribbean . It is a
megadiverse country , with the world's
fourth-largest total area and
third-largest population , exceeding 341 million.
Paleo-Indians migrated from North Asia to North America at least 15,000 years ago and formed various civilizations. Beginning in 1607,
British colonization established the
Thirteen Colonies . The 18th-century
American Enlightenment spread values of
republicanism and
liberalism there, and clashes with the
British Crown over
taxation without parliamentary representation , among other denied
rights , sparked the
American Revolution . Independence from Great Britain was formally declared in the
Lee Resolution of July
2, 1776, two days before the
Declaration of Independence . Victory in the 1775–1783
Revolutionary War brought
international recognition of U.S. sovereignty .
The U.S.
expanded westward through the purchase, settlement, and conquest of European- and Indigenous-controlled territory. As more states
joined the Union , a
sectional division over slavery led 11 Southern states
to declare secession and form the
Confederate States of America , fighting the
Union in the
Civil War of 1861
– 1865. With the United States' victory and reunification, slavery
was abolished . By 1900, the U.S. emerged as a
great power , a status solidified after
its involvement in
World War I . Following
Japan 's
attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, it
entered World War II on the
Allied side.
The war's aftermath left the U.S. and the
Soviet Union as rival
superpowers , vying for
geopolitical dominance during the
Cold War . The
Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 left the U.S. as the world's
sole superpower , although it has faced competition from
China in the 2020s. (
Full article... )
Image 3 Argentina , officially the
Argentine Republic , is a country in the far south of
South America . It covers an area of 2,780,085
km
2 (1,073,397
mi
2 ), making it the
second-largest country in South America after
Brazil , the fourth-largest country in the
Americas , and the
eighth-largest country in the world. Argentina shares the bulk of the
Southern Cone with
Chile to the west, and is also bordered by
Bolivia and
Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast,
Uruguay and the South
Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the
Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a
federal state divided into twenty-three
provinces , and one
autonomous city , which is the
federal capital and
largest city of the nation,
Buenos Aires . The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a
federal system . Argentina claims sovereignty over the
Falkland Islands ,
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands , the
Southern Patagonian Ice Field , and
a part of Antarctica .
The earliest recorded human presence in modern-day Argentina dates back to the
Paleolithic period. The
Inca Empire expanded to the northwest of the country in pre-Columbian times. The modern country has its roots in
Spanish colonisation of the region during the 16th century. Argentina rose as the successor state of the
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata , a Spanish
overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The
Argentine Declaration of Independence on July 9 of 1816 and the
Argentine War of Independence (1810–1825) were followed by an
extended civil war that lasted until 1880, culminating in the country's reorganisation as a
federation . The then sparsely populated country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with
several subsequent mass waves of millions of European immigrants (mainly
Italians and
Spaniards ) significantly influencing
its culture and
demography .
The
National Autonomist Party dominated national politics in the period called the
Conservative Republic , from 1880 until the
1916 elections . The
Great Depression led to the
first coup d'état in 1930 led by
José Félix Uriburu , beginning the so-called "
Infamous Decade " (1930–1943). After that coup, four more followed in
1943 ,
1955 ,
1962 , and
1966 . Following the death of President
Juan Perón in 1974, his widow and vice president,
Isabel Perón , ascended to the presidency, before being overthrown in the final coup
in 1976 . The following
military junta persecuted and murdered thousands of political critics, activists, and leftists in the
Dirty War , a period of
state terrorism and civil unrest that lasted until the election of
Raúl Alfonsín as president in
1983 . (
Full article... )
Image 4 The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the
United Kingdom (
UK ) or
Britain , is a country in
Northwestern Europe , off the coast of
the continental mainland . It comprises
England ,
Scotland ,
Wales and
Northern Ireland , with a population of over 69
million in 2024. The UK includes the island of
Great Britain , the north-eastern part of the island of
Ireland , and most of
the smaller islands within the
British Isles , covering 94,354 square miles (244,376
km
2 ). It shares
a land border with the
Republic of Ireland and is surrounded by the
Atlantic Ocean , the
North Sea , the
English Channel , the
Celtic Sea and the
Irish Sea , while maintaining sovereignty over the
Crown Dependencies and the
British Overseas Territories . The capital and largest city of England and the UK is
London ;
Edinburgh ,
Cardiff and
Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively.
The British Isles have been continuously inhabited since the
Neolithic . In AD
43 the
Roman conquest of Britain began. The
Roman departure between 383 and 410 was followed by
Anglo-Saxon settlement beginning around 450. In 1066 the
Normans conquered England . Over the 17th century the role of the
British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the
English Civil War . In 1707 the Kingdom of England and the
Kingdom of Scotland united under the
Treaty of Union to create the
Kingdom of Great Britain . The
Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the
Kingdom of Ireland to create the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland
seceded from the UK in 1922 as the
Irish Free State , and the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom.
The UK
became the first industrialised country and was the world's
foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the
Pax Britannica between 1815 and 1914. The
British Empire was the leading
economic power for most of the 19th century, a position supported by
its agricultural prosperity , its role as a dominant
trading nation , a massive industrial capacity,
significant technological achievements , and the rise of
19th-century London as the world's principal financial centre. At its height in the 1920s, the empire encompassed around a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the
largest in history . However,
its involvement in the First World War and
in the Second World War damaged
Britain's economic power , and a global wave of
decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. (
Full article... )
Image 5 Morocco , officially the
Kingdom of Morocco , is a country in the
Maghreb region of
North Africa . It has coastlines on the
Mediterranean Sea to the north and the
Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with
Algeria to
the east ; the
Spanish exclaves of
Ceuta ,
Melilla and
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera along
the north , which it claims together with several small
Spanish-controlled islands ; and the disputed territory of
Western Sahara to
the south , partly occupied by Morocco since 1975. Morocco also claims to share a border with
Mauritania through the disputed territory of Western Sahara. It has a population of approximately 37 million. Its capital is
Rabat , while its largest city is
Casablanca .
The region constituting Morocco has been inhabited since the
Paleolithic era, more than 300,000 years ago. The Moroccan state traces its origins to the establishment of the
Idrisid dynasty by
Idris I in 788, although its historical territories did not coincide with those of present-day Morocco; the country is regarded as one of the world's oldest continuously existing states. Morocco was subsequently ruled by a series of other independent dynasties, reaching its zenith as a
regional power in the 11th and 12th centuries, under the
Almoravid and
Almohad dynasties, both Berber kingdoms, when it controlled the southern and eastern
Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Morocco faced external threats to its sovereignty, with
Portugal seizing some territory and the
Ottoman Empire encroaching from the east. The
Marinid and
Saadi dynasties otherwise resisted foreign domination, and Morocco was the only North African nation to escape Ottoman dominion. The Saadi dynasty expanded its territory through the
conquest of the
Songhai Empire in the late 16th century. The
Alawi dynasty , which rules the country to this day, seized power in 1631, and over the next two centuries expanded
diplomatic and commercial relations with the
Western world . It is among the world's oldest reigning royal dynasties. Morocco's strategic location near the mouth of the Mediterranean drew renewed European interest. In 1912, France and Spain established
protectorates over the country and designated
Tangier as an
international zone , while the Sultan remained the formal sovereign with limited authority under colonial control. Following intermittent riots and
revolts against colonial rule, Morocco regained its independence and reunified in 1956 under the leadership of Sultan
Mohammed V .
Since independence, Morocco has remained relatively stable. It has the
fifth-largest economy in Africa and wields significant influence in both Africa and the
Arab world ; it is considered a
middle power in global affairs and holds membership in the
Arab League , the
Arab Maghreb Union , the
Union for the Mediterranean , and the
African Union . It is one of the few countries in Africa ranking high on the
Human Development Index and is Africa's leading industrial economy. Morocco is a
unitary semi-
constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The
executive branch is led by the
King of Morocco and the
prime minister , while
legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament: the
House of Representatives and the
House of Councillors . Judicial power rests with the Constitutional Court, which may review the validity of laws, elections, and referendums. The king holds vast executive and legislative powers, especially over the
military , foreign policy and religious affairs; he can issue
dahirs , decrees which have the force of law, and he can also dissolve the parliament after consulting the
prime minister and the president of the constitutional court. Morocco is classified as a
hybrid regime and, as of 2025, holds the highest ranking in the Arab world, according to
The Economist Democracy Index .
Islam is both the official and predominant religion, with nearly all of the population identifying as Muslims.
Arabic and
Berber are the official languages, though the Moroccan
dialect of Arabic (known locally as Darija) is widely spoken and considered the lingua franca. The
culture of Morocco is a mix of
Arab ,
Berber ,
Andalusian , and
African cultures. (
Full article... )
Image 6 Spain , officially the
Kingdom of Spain , is a country in
Southern and
Western Europe with territories in
North Africa . Featuring the southernmost point of
continental Europe , it is the largest country in Southern Europe and the fourth-most populous
European Union (EU) member state. Spanning the majority of the
Iberian Peninsula , its territory also includes the
Canary Islands , in the Eastern
Atlantic Ocean ; the
Balearic Islands , in the Western
Mediterranean Sea ; and the autonomous cities of
Ceuta and
Melilla , in mainland Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by
France ,
Andorra , and the
Bay of Biscay ; to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea,
Gibraltar and
Morocco (the latter being through its exclaves in North Africa); and to the west by
Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's capital and
largest city is
Madrid ; other major
urban areas include
Barcelona ,
Valencia ,
Zaragoza ,
Seville ,
Bilbao ,
Málaga ,
Murcia ,
Palma de Mallorca and
Las Palmas .
In early antiquity, the Iberian Peninsula was inhabited by
Iberians ,
Celts , and other
pre-Roman peoples . The
Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula created the province of
Hispania , which became deeply
Romanised and later
Christianised . After the
fall of the Western Roman Empire , the peninsula was conquered by tribes from Central Europe, among them the
Visigoths , who established the
Visigothic Kingdom centred on
Toledo . In the early 8th century, most of the peninsula was
conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate , with
Al-Andalus centred on
Córdoba . The northern Christian kingdoms of Iberia launched the so-called
Reconquista , gradually repelling and ultimately expelling Islamic rule from the peninsula, culminating with the fall of the
Nasrid Kingdom of Granada . The dynastic union of the
Crown of Castile and the
Crown of Aragon in 1479 under the
Catholic Monarchs is often seen as the
de facto unification of Spain as a
nation state .
During the
Age of Discovery , Spain led the
exploration and conquest of the
New World , completed the
first circumnavigation of the globe , and established
one of the largest empires in history , which fostered a global trade system driven by
precious metals . The
Spanish Empire was ruled by the
Habsburg and
Bourbon dynasties, both of foreign origin, from 1516 to 1700 and from 1700 onward, respectively. In the 18th century, the
Nueva Planta decrees centralised Spain under the Bourbons, strengthening royal authority. The 19th century witnessed the victorious
Peninsular War (1808–1814) against Napoleonic forces and the
loss of most American colonies amid liberal–absolutist conflicts. These struggles culminated in the
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and the
Francoist dictatorship (1939–1975). With the restoration of democracy and entry into the EU, Spain experienced
a major economic boom and social transformation. (
Full article... )
Image 7 Bosnia and Herzegovina , often referred to as
Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply
Bosnia , is a country in
Southeastern Europe . Situated on the
Balkan Peninsula , it borders
Serbia to the east,
Montenegro to the southeast, and
Croatia to the north and southwest, with a 20-kilometre-long (12-mile) coast on the
Adriatic Sea in the south.
Bosnia has a moderate
continental climate with hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Its geography is largely mountainous, particularly in the central and eastern regions, which are dominated by the
Dinaric Alps .
Herzegovina , the smaller, southern region, has a
Mediterranean climate and is mostly mountainous.
Sarajevo is the capital and the largest city.
The area has been inhabited since at least the
Upper Palaeolithic , with permanent human settlement traced to the
Neolithic cultures of
Butmir ,
Kakanj , and
Vučedol . After the arrival of the first
Indo-Europeans , the area was populated by several
Illyrian and
Celtic civilisations. Most of modern Bosnia was incorporated into the
Roman province of Dalmatia by the mid-first century BCE. The
ancestors of the modern South Slavic peoples arrived between the sixth and ninth centuries. In the 12th century, the
Banate of Bosnia was established as the first independent Bosnian
polity . It gradually evolved and expanded into the
Kingdom of Bosnia , which became the most powerful state in the western Balkans by the 14th century. The
Ottoman Empire annexed the region in 1463 and introduced
Islam . From the late 19th century until
World War I , the country was under
Austro-Hungarian rule . In the
interwar period , Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia . After
World War II , it was granted full republic status in the newly formed
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . In 1992, following the
breakup of Yugoslavia , the republic
proclaimed independence . This was followed by the
Bosnian War , which lasted until late 1995 and ended with the signing of the
Dayton Agreement .
Bosnia and Herzegovina has around 3.4 million inhabitants, composed chiefly of
three main ethnic groups :
Bosniaks , who form one half of the population, followed by
Serbs at one-third and
Croats at one-sixth; minorities include
Jews ,
Roma ,
Albanians, Montenegrins, Ukrainians and Turks , who are among 17 recognized "national minorities". Bosnia and Herzegovina has a
bicameral legislature and a
presidency made up of one member from each of the three major ethnic groups (
directorial system ). The central government's power is minimal, as the country is largely decentralised; it consists of two highly autonomous
"entities" —the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Republika Srpska —and a third unit, the
Brčko District , nominally under joint control, albeit governed by its own local government. (
Full article... )
Image 8 India , officially the
Republic of India , is a country in
South Asia . It is the world's
seventh-largest country by area and its
most populous . Bounded by the
Indian Ocean on the south, the
Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the
Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with
Pakistan to the west,
China ,
Nepal , and
Bhutan to the north, and
Bangladesh and
Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near
Sri Lanka and the
Maldives .
Modern humans arrived on the
Indian subcontinent from
Africa by 55,000 years ago.
Settled life emerged in the western margins of the
Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving into the
Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By 1200
BCE , an
archaic form of
Sanskrit , an
Indo-European language ,
diffused into India from the northwest, its
earliest hymns containing
elements of what would become
Hinduism . The pre-existing
Dravidian and other languages were gradually superseded in India's
northern plains . Across the central stretch of these plains,
rapid urbanisation took place, and after 500 BCE a
caste -based,
hereditary form of
social stratification began to solidify as
Hinduism took fuller shape . During this period,
Buddhism and
Jainism arose, proclaiming
social orders unlinked to heredity. The subsequent emergence of the loose-knit
Maurya and
Gupta Empires gave rise to wide-ranging cultural and scientific creativity. However, these eras saw a steady decline in women's status, alongside the eventual institutionalisation of
untouchability . In
South India , across the first millennium CE, the
Middle kingdoms transmitted Dravidian language scripts and cultural traditions to
Southeast Asia . Well before the millennium's end,
Judaism ,
Christianity ,
Islam , and
Zoroastrianism had become established on India's southern and western coasts.
Early in the
2nd millennium , Muslim armies from
Central Asia intermittently overran India's northern plains, eventually establishing the
Delhi Sultanate and drawing India into the
cosmopolitan networks of medieval Islam . The
Vijayanagara Empire built a powerful
military-fiscal state that fostered a flourishing, distinctively South Indian Hindu culture. During this era,
Sikhism emerged in the
Punjab , promoting an
egalitarian devotion that transcended traditional Hindu and Muslim boundaries. The
Mughal Empire ushered in two centuries of economic expansion and relative peace, leaving a lasting legacy of
administrative centralisation and
cultural synthesis . The
expanding rule of the British
East India Company consolidated territorial control over the subcontinent while transforming India into a colonial economy. Crown rule, or the
British Raj , began in 1858. Although equality before the law promised to Indians was slow to materialise, both
British India and, to a lesser extent, the
princely states saw
technological changes as
modern education and more organised public life took root.
A nationalist movement emerged in India, the first in the non-European
British Empire . Noted for nonviolent resistance after 1920, it was a major factor in ending British rule. In 1947, the British Indian Empire was
partitioned into the independent
dominions of a Hindu-majority
India and a Muslim-majority
Pakistan . The partition brought large-scale loss of life and unprecedented migration. (
Full article... )
Image 9 The
Democratic Republic of the Congo (
DRC ), also known as the
DR Congo ,
Congo-Kinshasa , or simply the
Congo , and formerly named
Zaire , is a country in
Central Africa . By land area, it is the
second-largest country in Africa and the
eleventh-largest in the world . With a population of about 124
million people, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the
fourth-most populous country in Africa and the most populous
Francophone country in the world.
French is the official and most widely spoken language. There are
over 200 indigenous languages , of which
Lingala is the most widely spoken. The capital, largest city, and economic center is
Kinshasa . The DRC is bordered by the
Republic of the Congo , the
Cabinda exclave of Angola , and the
South Atlantic Ocean to the west; the
Central African Republic and
South Sudan to the north;
Uganda ,
Rwanda ,
Burundi , and
Tanzania (across
Lake Tanganyika ) to the east; and
Zambia and
Angola to the south. Centered on the
Congo Basin , most of the DRC's
terrain is covered by
dense rainforests and is crossed by many rivers. The east and southeast are mountainous.
The territory of the Congo was first inhabited by
Central African foragers around 90,000 years ago and was settled in the
Bantu expansion about 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. In the west, the
Kingdom of Kongo ruled around the mouth of the
Congo River from the 14th to the 19th century. In the center and east, the empires of
Mwene Muji ,
Luba , and
Lunda ruled between the 15th and 19th centuries. These kingdoms were broken up by Europeans during the
colonization of the Congo Basin . King
Leopold II of Belgium acquired rights to the Congo territory in 1885 and called it the
Congo Free State . In 1908, Leopold
ceded the territory after international pressure in response to
widespread atrocities , and it became a
Belgian colony . Congo achieved
independence from
Belgium in 1960 and was immediately confronted by
secessionist movements , the assassination of Prime Minister
Patrice Lumumba , and the
seizure of power by
Mobutu Sese Seko in 1965. Mobutu renamed the country
Zaire in 1971 and imposed a
personalist dictatorship .
Instability caused by an influx of refugees from the
Rwandan Civil War led to the
First Congo War , from 1996 to 1997, which ended with Mobutu's overthrow. The country's name was changed, and it experienced the
Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003, which resulted in an estimated several million deaths and the assassination of President
Laurent-Désiré Kabila . The war ended under President
Joseph Kabila , who restored relative stability.
Human rights remained poor, and there were frequent abuses, such as
forced disappearances , torture, arbitrary imprisonment and restrictions on civil liberties. Kabila stepped down in 2019 after
Félix Tshisekedi won the contentious
2018 election , marking the country's first
peaceful transition of power since independence. Over
120 armed groups remain active, concentrated in the east. One of the region's largest cities,
Goma , was occupied by the
M23 rebels in 2012 and again
since 2025 . The
M23 uprising escalated in 2025 with military support from
Rwanda , which has caused a
conflict between the two countries . (
Full article... )
Image 10 Norway , officially the
Kingdom of Norway , is a
Nordic country comprising the western and northernmost parts of the
Scandinavian Peninsula in
Northern Europe , the remote
Arctic island
Jan Mayen and the
archipelago Svalbard .
Bouvet Island , located in the
Subantarctic , is a
dependency , and not a part of the Kingdom; Norway also
claims the Antarctic territories of
Peter I Island and
Queen Maud Land . Norway has a population of approximately 5.6 million, and a total area of 385,207 square kilometres (148,729
sq
mi). Its capital and largest city is
Oslo . The country shares a long eastern border with
Sweden , and is bordered by
Finland and
Russia to the northeast. Norway has an extensive coastline facing the
Skagerrak strait, the
North Sea , the
Norwegian Sea , and the
Barents Sea .
The unified kingdom of Norway was established in 872 as a merger of
petty kingdoms and has existed continuously for over a millennium. From 1537 to 1814, Norway was part of
Denmark–Norway , and from 1814 to 1905, it was in
a personal union with Sweden. Norway was neutral during the
First World War , and in the
Second World War until April 1940 when it
was invaded and
occupied by
Nazi Germany until the end of the war.
Haakon VIII of the
House of Glücksburg is the
king of Norway .
Jonas Gahr Støre has been
prime minister of Norway since 2021. As a
unitary state with a
constitutional monarchy , Norway
divides state power between the
parliament , the
cabinet , and the
judiciary , as determined by the
1814 constitution . Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels:
counties and
municipalities . The
Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the
Sámi Parliament and the
Finnmark Act . Norway maintains close ties
with the European Union and
with the United States . Norway is a founding member of the
United Nations ,
NATO , the
European Free Trade Association , the
Council of Europe , the
Antarctic Treaty , and the
Nordic Council ; a member of the
European Economic Area , the
WTO , and the
OECD ; and a part of the
Schengen Area . The Norwegian dialects form a
continuum of
mutual intelligibility with
Danish and
Swedish dialects. (
Full article... )
Do you have a question about country-related information that you can't find the answer to? Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk .
For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's country-related articles, see WikiProject Countries
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![Image 1Cape Verde, also referred to in English by its Portuguese name Cabo Verde, and known officially as the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an archipelagic country in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa. It consists of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about 4,033 square kilometres (1,557 sq mi). These islands lie between 600 and 850 kilometres (370 and 530 miles) west of Cap-Vert (i.e., Dakar), the westernmost point of continental Africa, after which they are named. Cape Verde forms part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Savage Islands.The archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers settled the islands, establishing one of the first European settlements in the tropics. Its strategic position gave it a significant role in the transatlantic slave trade during the 16th and 17th centuries; the islands saw rapid economic growth driven by the trade of manufactured goods, rum, cloth for African slaves, ivory, and gold. By the mid 19th century, increased foreign competition, persistent drought, and the decline of the slave trade led to economic decline and emigration; Cape Verde gradually recovered as an important commercial centre and stopping point for major shipping routes. Cape Verde became independent in 1975. Since the early 1990s, it has been a stable representative democracy and has remained one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa. Lacking natural resources, its developing economy is mostly service-oriented, with a growing focus on tourism and foreign investment. With a population of around 530,000 (as of 2026[update]), Cape Verde is among the least populous countries in Africa. The Cape Verdean people trace their ancestry primarily to West African populations, with additional contributions from early Portuguese settlers and other groups who came to the islands. A sizeable diaspora exists across the world, especially in the United States and Portugal, considerably outnumbering the inhabitants on the islands. Cape Verde is a member state of the African Union. (Full article...)](/pun/wiki/File:Blank.png)
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