The world in focus: 2006-2007 skills manual.

The World in Focus is a valuable data bank of easy-to-find facts about the world's 194 independent countries. For example, what is the major language spoken in all five of Africa's northernmost countries? Can you name the largest and the smallest countries in Oceania? Which country in Europe is the world's newest, having just achieved independence this year?

To find the answers to those questions and the ones below, consult the World in Focus tables. To use the data expertly, first study the sample entry at the top of the opening pages.

Name: --

1. A country's year of independence and major languages spoken offer
clues to that country's history. In which years did these four Asian
countries gain their independence?

(A) Kazakhstan: -- (C) Turkmenistan: --

(B) Kyrgyzstan: -- (D) Uzbekistan: --

(E) Which major language is spoken in all four countries? --

(F) What conclusions can you draw about the history of these
countries from these facts? --

2. A country's literacy rate; percentage of the population under
age 15; per capita gross domestic product (GDP); and Human
Development Index (HDI) are important indications of a country's
standard of living. Four countries are listed below. They include
one of the world's wealthier countries and one of the poorest. Find
the data for each country.

                 Literacy Rate (%)   Percentage of   Per Capita   HDI
                                      Population       GDP
                                       Under 15

(A) Australia:         --          /      --       /     --     /  --
(B) Canada:            --          /      --       /     --     /  --
(C) Mall:              --          /      --       /     --     /  --
(D) Tanzania:          --          /      --       /     --     /  --

(E) How might each factor affect a country's standard of living?--

3. What is the political system and title of the leader in each of
the following countries?

(A) Canada: --   (D) New Zealand: --

(B) Chile: --    (E) North Korea: --

(C) Germany: --  (F) Swaziland: --

4. Compare these three Middle Eastern countries in terms of the
following factors:

              Area (sq mi)   Population   Per Capita GDP [$]   HDI

[A] Egypt:       --        /     --     /        --          /  --
[B] Israel:      --        /     --     /        --          /  --
[C] Syria:       --        /     --     /        --          /  --
[D] Which country has the highest per capita GDP and highest HDI?
    What might contribute to this? --

5. Find the literacy rates for these three countries.

                  Males   Females

[A] India:         --       --
[B] Bangladesh:    --       --
[C] Liberia:       --       --
[D] What pattern do you see in all of these countries? --

Answers

Introduction: language/northern Africa: Arabic (in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt) Oceania/ largest: Australia (2,988,888 sq mi); Oceania/smallest: Nauru (9 sq mi) Newest country/Europe: Montenegro (split from Serbia in 2006)

1. (A) 1991

(B) 1991

(C) 1991

(D) 1991

(E) Russian

(F) All four have had strong Russian influence in their history, and gained independence at the same time--upon the collapse of the Russian-dominated Soviet Union in 1991.

2. (A) 99/99; 20; 31,900; 0.955

(B) 99/99; 18; 34,000; 0.949

(C) 54/40; 48; 1,200; 0.418

(D) 86/71; 44; 700; 0.333

(E) Answers will vary. Some possibilities: LITERACY--the higher the rate, the better the chance of capable leaders, teachers, business owners, etc.; YOUNG POPULATION--the higher the percentage, the greater the difficulty in providing everyone a good education, nutritious food and clean water, jobs in the future; PER CAPITA GDP--higher figures indicate better farming, manufacturing techniques, educated workforce, higher technology available, better use of natural resources; HDI--on a scale of 0 to 1, the higher the number, the higher the country's economic and human well-being (life expectancy, literacy, purchasing power)

3. (A) parliamentary democracy; Prime Minister

(B) presidential-legislative democracy; President

(C) parliamentary democracy; Chancellor

(D) parliamentary democracy; Prime Minister

(E) Communist dictatorship; General Secretary

(F) monarchy; King

4. (A) 386,660; 75,400,000; $3,900; 0.659

(B) 8,131; 7,200,000; $24,600; 0.915

(C) 71,498; 19,500,000; $3,900; 0.721

(D) Israel: development of high technology, emphasis on education, strong economy, much manufacturing, many products for export, strong military, much foreign investment, close ties with the U.S.

5. (A) 70; 48

(B) 54; 32

(C) 73; 47

(D) The literacy rate for women is much lower than that for men.