12 Geographical Facts You May Not Know

1. Country that covers highest number of time zones:

France: If you count everything, including overseas territories, then France claims the title by covering 12 time zones. The United States would be the runner-up with 11 and then Russia with 9.

2. Island which is most likely to submerge under water:

Maples: With all the talks of global warming and rising sea levels, it is the residents of the Maples that have the greatest reason to fear. With an average height of around 1.8 meters above sea level their nation is the lowest on Earth.

3. Country with most overweight population:

Nauru: With over 95% of its population being overweight, the small island nation of Nauru is by far the fattest country on Earth. Its obesity epidemic is primarily attributed to the importation of western fast food that coincided with an increased standard of living in the 20th century due to the global popularity of its phosphate exports.

4. Country with roads made of coral:

Guam: Because Guam doesn't have any natural sand, but rather coral, the island nation makes its asphalt using a mix of ground coral and oil rather than importing sand from abroad.

5. Place that has average of 350 sheeps per person:

Falkand Islands (United Kingdom): With only about 3,000 people the Falkland Islands are home to approximately half-a million-sheep. Not surprisingly wool is a major export.

6. Oldest sovereign state in the world:

Egypt: This largely depends upon your definition of a sovereign state but if you are going by first acquisition of sovereignty then Egypt would be the first country in the world to achieve sovereignty based upon the formation of the first dynasty in 3100 BC.

7. Country with highest number of lakes in the world:

Canada: With over 3 million lakes, 9% of Canadian territory is actually fresh water and over 60% of all the lakes in the world are found within its borders.

8. Country with least likely possibility of meeting a neighbor:

Mongolia: At 4 people per square mile Mongolia is the least densely populated country on Earth. Compare this to the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong that has the highest population density in the world with 340,000 people per square mile.

9. Country with most number of tanks in the world:

Russia: It is a strange title to hold, but Russia has by far the most tanks of any army in the world (21,000). Unfortunately for the motherland most of these outdated machines are tributes to its past, and although outnumbered (16,000), the United States has a much more advanced tank inventory.

10. Country without any rivers:

Saudi Arabia: Sounds a bit strange doesn't it? For a country as big as Saudi Arabia there has to be at least some sort of flowing water. Well, there isn't. Most of their fresh water comes from desalinization plants or underground reservoirs.

11. Country with the most youngest population:

Niger: Generally the world's youngest country is determined by calculating the portion of the population that is younger than 15. Presently it is Niger that holds this distinction with roughly half of its population having barely reached puberty (49%).

12. Fastest disappearing nation:

Ukraine: With a natural decrease in population of 0.8% annually, between now and 2050 Ukraine is expected to lose around 30% of its people.