Czech Republic

Map of Czech Republic

Country	Czech Republic
Capital	Prague
Independence	1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia); note - although 1 January is the day the Czech Republic came into being, the Czechs commemorate 28 October 1918, the day the former Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as their independence day
National holiday	Czechoslovak Founding Day, 28 October (1918)
Population	10,177,300 (July 2012 est.)
Sex ratio	1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Nationality	Czech(s)
Religions	Roman Catholic 10.3%, Protestant (includes Czech Brethren and Hussite) 0.8%, other and unspecified 54.6%, none 34.2% (2011 census)
Languages	Czech 95.4%, Slovak 1.6%, other 3% (2011 census)
Literacy	Total population: 99% Male: 99% Female: 99% (2011 census)
Location	Central Europe, between Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria
Geographic coordinates	49 45 N, 15 30 E
Map references	Europe
Area	Total: 78,867 sq km Land: 77,247 sq km Water: 1,620 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries	Total: 1,989 km Border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 815 km, Poland 615 km, Slovakia 197 km
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)
Climate	Temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Terrain	Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country
Elevation extremes	Lowest point: Labe (Elbe) River 115 m Highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
Natural resources	hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber
Exports - commodities	Machinery and transport equipment, Raw materials and fuel, Chemicals
Imports - commodities	Machinery and transport equipment, Raw materials and fuels, Chemicals
Land use	arable land: 38.82% permanent crops: 3% other: 58.18% (2005)
Irrigated land	390 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	16 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 1.91 cu km/yr (41%/57%/2%) per capita: 187 cu m/yr (2002)
Natural hazards	flooding
Environment - current issues	air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests; efforts to bring industry up to EU code should improve domestic pollution
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe

Kiribati

Map of Kiribati

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati local long form: Republic of Kiribati local short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands
Capital::           Tarawa geographic coordinates: 0 53 S, 169 32 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory was in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (UTC +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction were on the other side of the International Date Line
Government type: republic
Location	Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator, as well as the International Date Line; the capital Tarawa is about half way between Hawaii and Australia
Geographic coordinates	1 25 N, 173 00 E
Map references	Oceania
Area	total: 811 sq km land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
Area - comparative	four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	1,143 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain	mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed elevation on Banaba 81 m
Natural resources	phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Land use	arable land: 2.74% permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005)
Irrigated land	NA
Natural hazards	typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level
Environment - current issues	heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru; Kiribati is the only country in the world to fall into all four hemispheres (northern, southern, eastern, and western)