Facts about Germany

Germany Facts

Interesting Germany Facts for Kids

Here are some interesting Germany Facts which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.
• Population: 81.5 million people live in Germany (2011)
• Capital: Berlin with 3.44 mio inhabitants is Germany's biggest city.
• Name: Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany), Nickname: "Land der Dichter und Denker"
• Government: Democracy, Republic
• Language: German
• Literacy: More than 99% can read and write.
• Religion: mainly Christians (Protestants 34%, Roman Catholics 34%)
• Currency: 1 Euro=100 cents, before 2001 German Mark/Deutsche Mark (DM)
• Flag colors: black, red and gold.

Where is Germany? - Germany Map

Germany lies in the center of Europe and shares borders with 9 countries: Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France , Luxemburg, Belgium and the Netherlands (clockwise from the top/North).
Germany is the second most populous country in Central Europe after Russia and many immigrants from the European countries live and study in Germany.
The Baltic Sea and the North Sea and the lowlands form borders in the North of Germany and the Southern Germany borders are formed by the Alps mountains and the Bodensee (Lake Constance).
The highest mountain in Germany is the Zugspitze with 2,963m

Germany Attractions for Kids

• Berlin: learn about German history and reunification
• Cologne and the Rhine Valley: Cathedrals, Lorelei and Carnival fever
• Black Forest: great for nature lovers
• Rothenburg ob der Tauber: medieval town
• Northern Germany: See Germany's biggest island and stunning Hanse towns
• Munich: for Arts, Oktoberfest and "Gemuetlichkeit"
• Bavaria and the German Alps: Great for skiing, hiking and relaxed holidays. You just have to see these castles...

Some Germany Facts about German People

Germany is well known for its great poets like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (you see him in the picture to the right in the painting by Tischbein) or the Grimm brothers or Thomas Mann and because of its scientists and inventors like Albert Einstein, Robert Koch or Gottlieb Daimler. The country is therefore often referred to be the "Land der Dichter und Denker" (country of poets and thinkers). The Germans love going to the museums, concerts and theatres, so you will find many interesting places you can visit.
The Germans love their sports and many Germans are active in sports clubs. Sports idols like Sebastian Vettel (Formula 1), Michael Ballack (soccer) or Maria Riesch (skiing) are supported by most Germans proudly. Die Fussball-Bundesliga is followed closely by many soccer fans and Bayern Munich is a firm favorite of many Germans. The most popular sports in Germany are soccer, tennis, swimming and skiing.

German Food

The German main dishes contain: pork, beef and veal, fish and potatoes. The Germans love their bread, which is mainly a mix of wheat and rye flour and is much darker and has a crust.
Sauerkraut, Sausages and Brezeln (Pretzels) are surely the most famous German exports and in Germany you will find fresh bread, bread rolls and pretzels in the numerous bakeries. Even little villages often have more than two bakeries and you will have the choice of many different types of bread and rolls.
Germans love their meat and also you will find more and more vegetarian dishes on the menus in restaurants, there are many variations of dishes with meat available. Schweinebraten (roast pork knuckles) is very popular in Southern Germany while Rinderbraten (beef roast) is more popular in Northern Germany.
Here is some typical German food:
• Sauerkraut: probably the most famous vegetable associated with the Germans. It is eaten here with potatoes and meat, but not with fish!
• Semmelknoedel: bread dumplings, eaten either with mushrooms in a creamy sauce or with meat dishes. So yummy!
• Spargel: white asparagus harvested in late April and May, has a very distinct flavor and is very healthy and mmmmh!
• Black Forest Cake: delicious dark chocolate cake filled with cherries and cream.
• Weisswurst: very pale veal sausage, cooked and eaten in Bavaria in the morning, before noon.
• Stollen and Lebkuchen: Delicious cakes and ginger biscuits eaten at Christmas time in Germany
Did you know that Germans do produce lovely wine as well as beern? The Rhine-and Mosel-valleys are well known for their wines.
Please bookmark this page if you are interested in Germany Facts for Kids as my Germany Facts will be updated regularly.

Facts about Malaysia

For centuries, port cities on the Malay Archipelago served as important stops for spice and silk traders plying the Indian Ocean. Although the region has an ancient culture and a rich history, the nation of Malaysia is only about 50 years old.

Capital and Major Cities:

Capital:Kuala Lumpur, pop. 1,810,000
Major Cities:Subang Jaya, 1,553,000
Johor Baru, 1,370,700
Klang, 1,055,000
Ipoh, 711,000
Malacca, 455,300
Shah Alam, 584,340
Kuching, 424,000
Kota Kinabalu, 618,000
Kota Baru, 577,000
Kuala Terengganu, 396,000
Penang, 300,000

Government of Malaysia:

Malaysia's government is a constitutional monarchy. The current king is Yang di-Pertuan Agong; he is the head of state and serves in a ceremonial role.
The head of government is the prime minister, presently Najib Tun Razak.
Malaysia has a bicameral parliament, with a 70-member Senate and a 222-member House of Representatives. Senators are elected by state legislatures or appointed by the king; members of the House are directly elected by the people.
General courts, including the Federal Court, Court of Appeals, high courts, session courts, etc., hear all types of cases. A separate division of sharia courts hears cases pertaining only to Muslims.

People of Malaysia:

Malaysia has more than 28 million citizens.
Ethnic Malays make up a bare majority of the population of Malaysia at 50.4%. Another 11% are defined as "indigenous" peoples of Malaysia or bumiputra, literally "sons of the earth."
Ethnic Chinese make up 23.7% of Malaysia's population, while 7.1% are ethnically Indian, and 7.8% are from other ethno-linguistic groups.

Malaysia's Languages:

Malaysia's official language is Bahasa Malaysia, a form of Malay. English is the former colonial language, and is still in common use, although it is not an official language.
The citizens of Malaysia speak about 140 additional languages as mother tongues. Malaysians of Chinese descent come from many different regions of China, so they may speak not just Mandarin or Cantonese, but also Hokkien, Hakka, Foochou and other dialects. Most Malaysians of Indian descent are Tamil speakers.
Particularly in East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo), people speak over 100 local languages including Iban and Kadazan.

Religion in Malaysia:

Officially, Malaysia is a Muslim country. Although the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, it also defines all ethnic Malays as Muslims. Approximately 60% of the population adheres to Islam.
According to the 2000 census, Buddhists make up 19% of the Malaysian population, Christians about 9%, Hindus over 6%, followers of Chinese philosophies such as Confucianism or Taoism 2.5%. The remaining 3.5% listed no religion or an indigenous faith.

Malaysian Geography:

Malaysia covers almost 330,000 square kilometers (127,000 square miles). Malaysia covers the tip of the peninsula it shares with Thailand as well as two large states on a portion of the island of Borneo. In addition, it controls a number of small islands between peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.
Malaysia has land borders with Thailand (on the peninsula), as well as Indonesia and Brunei (on Borneo). It has maritime borders with Vietnam and the Philippines, and is separated from Singapore by a saltwater causeway.
The highest point in Malaysia is Mt. Kinabalu at 4,095 meters (13,436 feet). The lowest point is sea level.

Malaysia's Climate:

Equatorial Malaysia has a tropical, monsoonal climate. The average temperature throughout the year is 27°C (80.5°F).
Malaysia has two monsoon rain seasons, with the stronger rains coming between November and March. Lighter rains fall between May and September.
Although the highlands and coasts have lower humidity than the inland lowlands, humidity is quite high throughout the country. According to the Malaysian government, the highest temperature ever recorded was 40.1°C (104.2°F) at Chuping, Perlis on April 9, 1998, while the lowest was 7.8°C (46°F) at the Cameron Highlands on Feb. 1, 1978.

Economy of Malaysia:

The Malaysian economy has shifted over the past 40 years from dependence on raw materials export to a healthy mixed economy, although it still relies to some degree on income from oil sales. Today, the labor force is 13% agricultural, 36% industrial, and 51% in the services sector.
Malaysia was one of Asia's "tiger economies" prior to the 1997 crash, and has recovered nicely. It ranks 30th in the world in terms of per capita GDP. The unemployment rate as of 2010 was an enviable 3.5%, and only 5.1% of Malaysians live below the poverty line.
Malaysia exports electronics, petroleum products, rubber, textiles and chemicals. It imports electronics, machinery, vehicles, etc.
The currency of Malaysia is the ringgit; as of March 1, 2011, 1 ringgit is equal to about $.33 US.

History of Malaysia:

Humans have lived in what is now Malaysia for at least 40-50,000 years. Certain modern indigenous peoples, named "Negritos" by Europeans, may be descended from the first inhabitants, and are distinguished by their extreme genetic divergence from both other Malaysians and from modern African peoples. This implies that their ancestors were isolated on the Malay Peninsula for a very long time.
Later immigration waves from southern China and from Cambodia included the ancestors of modern Malays, who brought technologies such as farming and metalurgy to the archipelago between 20,000 and 5,000 years ago.

By the third century BCE, Indian traders had begun to bring aspects of their culture to the early kingdoms of the Malaysian peninsula. Chinese traders likewise appeared some two hundred years later. By the fourth century CE, Malay words were being written in the Sanskrit alphabet, and many Malays practiced Hinduism or Buddhism.
Before 600 CE, Malaysia was controlled by dozens of small local kingdoms. By 671, much of the area was incorporated into the Srivijaya Empire, which was based on what is now Indonesian Sumatra.
Srivijaya was a maritime empire, which controlled two key narrows on the Indian Ocean trade routes - the Malacca and the Sunda Straits. As a result, all goods passing between China, India, Arabia and other parts of the world along these routes had to go through Srivijaya. By the 1100s, it controlled points as far east as parts of the Philippines. Srivijaya fell to Singhasari invaders in 1288.
In 1402, a descendant of the Srivijayan royal family called Parameswara founded a new city-state at Malacca. The Malacca Sultanate became the first powerful state centered in modern-day Malaysia. Parameswara soon converted from Hinduism to Islam and changed his name to Sultan Iskandar Shah; his subjects followed suit.
Malacca was an important port of call for traders and sailors including China's Admiral Zheng He and early Portuguese explorers like Diogo Lopes de Sequeira. In fact, Iksander Shah went to Beijing with Zheng He to pay tribute to the Yongle Emperor and get recognition as the legitimate ruler of the area.
The Portuguese seized Malacca in 1511, but the local rulers fled south and established a new capital at Johor Lama. The northern Sultanate of Aceh and the Sultanate of Johor vied with the Portuguese for control of the Malay Peninsula.
In 1641, the Dutch East India Company (DEIC) allied itself with the Sultanate of Johor, and together they drove the Portuguese out of Malacca. Although they had no direct interest in Malacca, the DEIC wanted to funnel trade away from that city to its own ports on Java. The Dutch left their Johor allies in control of the Malay states.
Other European powers, particularly the UK, recognized the potential value of Malaya, which produced gold, pepper, and also the tin that the British need to make tea tins for their Chinese tea exports. Malayan sultans welcomed British interest, hoping to stave off Siamese expansion down the peninsula. In 1824, the Anglo-Dutch Treaty gave the British East India Company exclusive economic control over Malaya; the British crown took direct control in 1857 after the Indian Uprising ("Sepoy Mutiny").
Through the early 20th century, Britain exploited Malaya as an economic asset while allowing the sultans of individual areas some political autonomy. The British were caught completely off-guard by the Japanese invasion in February 1942; Japan tried to ethnically cleanse Malaya of Chinese, while fostering Malayan nationalism. At the end of the war, Britain returned to Malaya, but local leaders wanted independence. In 1948, they formed the Federation of Malaya under British protection, but a pro-independence guerrilla movement began that would last until Malayan independence in 1957.
On August 31, 1963, Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore federated as Malaysia, over the protests of Indonesia and the Philippines (which both had territorial claims against the new nation.) Local insurgencies continued through 1990, but Malaysia survived and has now begun to thrive.

Facts about Canada

Canadian Facts

This section is from a folder entitled Canada. Within the folder there were sheets with "Facts Canada" printed down at the bottom. The folder is from Foreign Affairs and International Trade. If you think that there is anything wrong with this page or you have a fact that you think is worth while putting up here I would love to here from you.

Political Facts	Canadian Population Facts
Geography Facts	Lifestyle Facts
National Symbols Facts	First Nations Facts
Canadian Money and Economic Facts

Political Facts

• Canada became The Dominion of Canada on July 1st, 1867. We officially became a country in 1982.
• Canada is a constitutional monarchy and a federal state with a democratic parliament.
• The Parliament is in Ottawa and is comprised of the House of Commons (Lower House) and the Senate (The Upper House - whose members are appointed)
• Members of Parliament are elected approximately every 4 years. Elections may be called early or terms can be as long as 5 years. A vote of non-confidence in the government (where the government no longer has the support of 50 percent of the House) may also force an election. This occurred in 1979 when PM Joe Clark's government lost the support of the House and an election was called within a year of that government coming to power. Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister and hold their positions until they are 75.
• Right now there are currently 5 officially recognized parties in the House of Commons: The Liberals, Canadian Alliance, Bloc Quebecois, Progressive Conservatives and the New Democratic Party.
• Canada currently sits on the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent representative.
• Canada is a member of many international organizations including NATO, OSCE, OAS and APEC.

Geography Facts

• Canada's land mass is 9 970610 km² (The world's second largest country)
• Ottawa is the Capital of Canada (located in Ontario)
• Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories. (For more info - see Regions page)
• There are more than 100 national parks and historic sites in Canada. (Many Provincial too)
• Mountain Ranges include: Torngats, Appalachians, Laurentians, Rocky, Costal, Mackenzie, Mt.St. Elias and the Pelly Mountairs.
• At 6050 m above sea level, Mount Logan in the Yukon is Canada's tallest peak.
• Great Bear lake is the largest lake in Canada with an area of 31 326 km²
• The longest river is the Mackenzie River flowing 4241 km through the NWT.
• Canada has six time zones. In NFLD the time zone is 3 hours and 30 minutes past Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) The other time zones are full hours behind GMT. The farthest west is the Pacific at 8 hours behind GMT.
• Canada's capital, Ottawa, has the coldest average temperature of any capital city in the world. (I was there in January, 2000 and can talk about this from experience... although it's more like ranting....)

National Symbols Facts

• The National emblem is the maple leaf and has been associated with Canada since the 1700's. 
• The flag of Canada has two red bars and a white center - within there being a maple leaf. It was adopted as the National Flag in 1965. (Before hand Canada used the Union Jack - the British Flag for its flag.) 
• The National Anthem for Canada is "O Canada" - proclaimed on July 1st 1980 - a century after being sung for the first time. (Before hand Canadians sang God Save the Queen/King)

Canadian Money and Economic Facts

• The Canadian dollar is divided into 100 cents (like the American dollar) 
• In Canada $1 and $2 are represented by coins. Nicknamed the "loonie" (because there is a loon on it) and the Twonie (I guess because it rhymes with loonie.)
• Principle Natural Resources are: natural gas, oil, gold, coal, copper, iron ore, nickel, potash, uranium, and zinc along with wood and water.
• The GDP for Canada in 1992 (recession year) was (in Canadian Dollars) $668.5 Billion.
• Leading Industries: automobile manufacturing, pulp and paper, iron, steel work, machinery and equipment manufacturing, mining, extraction of fossil fuels, forestry and agriculture.
• Leading exports are: automobile vehicles and parts, machinery and equipment, high technology products, oil, natural gas, metals and forest farm products.
• Imports are: machinery and industrial equipment, (communications and electronic equipment, vehicles and automobile parts, industrial materials (ie: metal ores, iron, steel, precious metals, chemicals, plastics, cotton, wool and other textiles) along with manufactured products and food.

Penny $0.01 CND	Nickel $0.05 CND	Dime $0.10	Quarter $0.25 CND
			Currency is not shown in proportion. Click on the pictures for a close-up of each coin.
50 Cent Piece $0.50 CND	Dollar Coin (aka "loonie" $1.00 CND	Two Dollar Coin (aka "twoonie" $2.00 CND

Canadian Population Facts

• The population of Canada as of October 1996 was 30 000 000 (30 million)
• The largest city in Canada is Toronto followed by Montreal, Vancoucer, Ottawa-Hull, and Edmonton
• 76.6 per cent of Canadians live in cities and towns while 23.4 per cent live in rural areas.
• 31 per cent of the population live in the largest cities of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver
• The life expectancy of a Canadian woman is 80 years and a Canadian man is 73 years
• The size of the average family is 3.1 people (including 1.3 children
• Multiculturalism (as opposed to the melting pot ideology) was officially recognized in 1988 with the Multiculturalism Act.
• Majority of Canadians are Christians 54.2 percent of Canadians are Roman Catholic, other religions in Canada include: Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism
• In 1991: 16.1 Canadians had a mother tongue of English, 6.5 million had a mother tongue of French (many Canadians had another mother tongue but spoke one or both official languages.
• The largest ethnic groups in Canada are: British, French, German, Italian, Ukrainian, Dutch, Polish, Chinese, South Asian, Jewish, West Indian, Portuguese and Scandinavian

Lifestyle Facts

• Canada has one of the world's highest living standards. In 1991: 83 percent of households had 1 car, 97.5 had color televisions and 1 out of 5 had a computer. (surely that has increased by now)
• All Canadian have free access to health care with the exception of dental services. Most people over 65 receive their prescriptions for free.
• Canada has an extensive social safety network with old age pensions, family allowance, unemployment insurance and welfare.
• Popular sports in Canada include Ice Hockey, swimming, cross-country and alpine skiing, baseball, tennis, basketball, soccer and golf. Many would suggest that the most preferred spectator sports are Ice hockey and Canadian Football.

First Nations Facts

• In 1991 there were 533 000 status or non-status Indians and over one million claimed to be of native descent. Of these 783 980 were NA Indians, 212 650 were Metis and 49 255 were Inuit
• 295 032 natives lived on reserves in 1991.
• The only indigenous culture in Canada is that of the Native peoples since all other Canadians were originally immigrants.

Facts about Russia

Interesting facts about Russia

Russia is unique country with its vast territory providing residence for millions of people. Here are some interesting facts that can be paid attention to before you go to Russia:

Geographical Facts

Russia is the only country in the world washed by 12 seas.
Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest lake in the world. It would take all the rivers of the world - Volga, Don, Dnepr and Yenisei, Ural and Ob, Ganges and Orinoko, Amazon and Thames, Seine and Oder - nearly one year to fill lake Baikal's basin.  
Ladoga lake is the largest one in Europe. Its area covers  400 sq km.
The Khibins are the highest mountains behind the polar circle of Russia.

The Ural mountains that divide Russia into European and Asian parts are nearly the most ancient mountains in the world.

There are more than 800 glaciers covering over 600 sq km in Altay.
The famous Russian ski resort Dombay has about 20 km of ski routes.
There is the only place in Russia with a hot spring rich in medical properties of mineral waters of Essuntuki and hydrosulfide baths.

The legendary Trans-siberian route goes through 8 time zones in Russia, starting from Moscow with a final point in Bejing, China. The route covers over 9,000 km.
The nearest point between 2 continents that divide Russia and the United States is only 4 km.
Sightseeing facts
Moscow is the first city in the world estimated by the number of milliarders, so it proves its status of the world's most expensive city.
There are more than 40 operating fountains and 5 cascades in Peterhof, located in the suburbs of St.Petersburg.

"Alexander and Natalie" located in the famous Arbat Street is the only Moscow fountain with drinking water.
The cities and towns of  "Golden Ring" are a vivid encyclopedia of ancient Russian architecture.
Moscow metro is the fastest means of transport, trains are scheduled for every 90 seconds in a rush hour. However, many people prefer to drive their own cars, though the drive from homes to the offices may take them longer in times, being stucked in Moscow traffic jams for hours.
Russian people
Russian people are not used to trusting everything cheap.

Particular Russian feature is to sit up late in the kitchen and have  so-called "about-life" conversations.

Russian people avoid speaking about their jobs.

The intelligency level is of Russian people is considered up to 99%. There are nearly 600 universities in the country and having a university degree is the main reason to be prompted for a good job offer.

Many Russian people prefer to spend their holidays and free time in ther summer houses outside the cities which are called "dacha".

Any problem can be solved in Russia upon personal agreement.

Russian people strive to be a European nation as their belief that everything European is better than Russian is quite difficult to change.

Russian people like celebrations. They take a chance of every single reason to treat their colleagues - be it their birthday or a wedding, or a promotion within the company. Cakes, sweets, Russian sandwiches are always welcome!

Hospitality plays a significant role in the Russian mentality and the Russian character, so once you make friends with Russian people you will surely value this amazing and unique feature of the so-called "Wide Russian soul".

Facts about U.S.A

Facts about the U.S.A.
Capital:	Washington, D.C.
Independence Day:	July 4, 1776
Motto:	In God We Trust
National Bird:	Bald Eagle
National Flower:	Rose
National Anthem:	The Star-Spangled Banner
Area (50 states and District of Columbia only):	9,631,418 sq km *Note: Area of China: 9,596,960 sq km Area of HK: 1,092 sq km
Comparative Size:	About one-half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about one-half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and one-half times the size of Western Europe.
Largest State:	Alaska
Smallest State:	Rhode Island
Largest Cities:	New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, San Diego, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio
Border Countries and Oceans:	Canada, Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean *Note: World's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent.
Population:	295,734,134 (July 2005 est.)
Languages:	English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
Religions:	Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)
Abridged from the CIA World Factbook and other U.S. government materials