Most of the geography I know is through soccer. Sratch that. All the geography I know is because of soccer, so I thought I'd share the wealth.
Who said learning couldn't be fun, eh?
In honor of the Confederate Cup that began yesterday, it's time to get to know the countries participating.
1) Brazil (No.5 FIFA Ranking):
Population: 198,739,269
Official Language: Portuguese
Capital: Brazilia
Brazil has the most World Cups with five, the last coming in Korea/Japan 2002.
Known for its production of coffee and more recently the production of ethanol.
2) Egypt (No. 40)
Population: 83,082,869
Official Language: Arabic
Capital: Cairo
Egypt's contemporary history is overshadowed by its ancient history. Mohamed Hosni Mobarak has been president of Egypt for 28 years, one of the longest reigning rulers in the modern world.
3) Iraq (No. 77)
Population: 28,945,657
Official Language: Arabic and Kurdish (in Kurdish Regions)
Capital: Baghdad
Iraq, known by the Ancient Greeks as Mesopotamia, is known as the 'cradle of civilization'. Today, it is a parliamentary democracy ruled by Shia PM Jawal Al-Maliki and Kuridsh President Lalal Talabini. Talabini is the first non-Arab president of an Arab country.
4) Italy (No. 4)
Population: 58,126,212
Official Language: Italian
Capital: Rome
The median age of Italians is 42 years, the fourth oldest in the world. 20% of Italians are 65+ years of age.
5) New Zealand (No.82)
Population:4,213,418
Official Language (s): English, Maori, and Sign Language
Capital: Wellington
The New Zealand Rugby national team has the best winning percentage of any national team. They are best known for the haka dance they perform before games (add link)
6) South Africa (No. 72)
Population: 49,052,489
Official Languages (s): Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu (English it the most commonly spoken)
Capital: Pretoria (administrative capital), Cape Town (Legislative Capital),Bloemfontein, (Judicial capital)
South Africa's wealth depends on its wealth of natural resources, it is a leading producer of precious medals, leading in gold and the fourth largest producer of diamonds.
7) Spain (No. 1)
Population: 40,525,002
Official Language: Spanish
Capital: Madrid
Capital: Madrid
In theory, nudity is legal anywhere in Spain, which means any beach can be a nudist beach although nudists usually congregate in certain beaches.
8) United States (No. 14)
Population: 307,212,123
Official Language: The US has no official language
Capital: Washington, D.C
General Motors, in 1954, became the first corporation in the U.S. to have $1 billion in net income. RIP GM.
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