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Namibia, a large and sparsely populated country on Africa's south-west coast, has enjoyed stability since gaining independence in 1990 after a long struggle against rule by South Africa. Read More
Ghana was the first place in sub-Saharan Africa where Europeans arrived to trade - first in gold, later in slaves.Read More
China | Japan | Kazakhstan | Mongolia | South Korea | Taiwan | Thailand | Uzbekistan
China is the world's most populous country, with a continuous culture stretching back nearly 4,000 years. Many of the elements that make up the foundation of the modern world originated in China, including paper, gunpowder, credit banking, the compass and paper money. After stagnating for more than two decades under the rigid authoritarianism of early communist rule under its late leader, Chairman Mao, China now has the world's fastest-growing economy and is undergoing what has been described as a second industrial revolution. Read More
Japan has the world's third-largest economy, having achieved remarkable growth in the second half of the 20th Century after the devastation of World War II. Its role in the international community is considerable. It is a major aid donor and a source of global capital and credit. More than three quarters of the population live in sprawling cities on the coastal fringes of Japan's four mountainous, wooded islands. Read More
A huge country the size of Western Europe, Kazakhstan has vast mineral resources and enormous economic potential. The varied landscape stretches from the mountainous, heavily populated regions of the east to the sparsely populated, energy-rich lowlands in the west, and from the industrialised north, with its Siberian climate and terrain, through the arid, empty steppes of the centre, to the fertile south. Read More
In 1990 Mongolia abandoned its 70-year-old Soviet-style one-party state and embraced political and economic reforms. Democracy and privatisation were enshrined in a new constitution, but the collapse of the economy after the withdrawal of Soviet support triggered widespread poverty and unemployment. Read More
In 1990 Mongolia abandoned its 70-year-old Soviet-style one-party state and embraced political and economic reforms. Democracy and privatisation were enshrined in a new constitution, but the collapse of the economy after the withdrawal of Soviet support triggered widespread poverty and unemployment. Read More
Taiwan is an island which has for all practical purposes been independent since 1950, but which China regards as a rebel region that must be reunited with the mainland - by force if necessary. Read More
Thailand is the only country in south-east Asia to have escaped colonial rule. Buddhist religion, the monarchy and the military have helped to shape its society and politics. Read More
In 1991 Uzbekistan emerged as a sovereign country after more than a century of Russian rule - first as part of the Russian empire and then as a component of the Soviet Union. Read More
Belgium | Bosnia | Croatia | France | Germany | Italy | Israel | Russia | Spain | Romaina | Turkey | Ukraine
Occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II, Belgium has experienced an economic boom in the last 50 years to become a model Western European liberal democracy. However, there has also been a growing divide between the mainly Dutch-speaking north and the mainly French-speaking south, with some even speculating that the country could break up. Read More
Bosnia-Hercegovina is recovering from a devastating three-year war which accompanied the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Read More
Croatia's declaration of independence in 1991 was followed by four years of war and the best part of a decade of authoritarian nationalism under President Franjo Tudjman. Read More
A key player on the world stage and a country at the political heart of Europe, France paid a high price in both economic and human terms during the two world wars. The years which followed saw protracted conflicts culminating in independence for Algeria and most other French colonies in Africa as well as decolonisation in south-east Asia. Read More
Germany is Europe's most industrialized and populous country. Famed for its technological achievements, it has also produced some of Europe's most celebrated composers, philosophers and poets. Read More
Take the art works of Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Caravaggio, the operas of Verdi and Puccini, the cinema of Federico Fellini, add the architecture of Venice, Florence and Rome and you have just a fraction of Italy's treasures from over the centuries. While the country is renowned for these and other delights, it is also notorious for its precarious political life and has had several dozen governments since the end of World War II. Read More
A densely-populated country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel is the only majority-Jewish state in the world. Read More
Russia emerged from a decade of post-Soviet economic and political turmoil to reassert itself as a world power. Income from vast natural resources, above all oil and gas, have helped Russia overcome the economic collapse of 1998. The state-run gas monopoly Gazprom is the world's largest producer and exporter, and supplies a growing share of Europe's needs. Economic strength has allowed Vladimir Putin to enhance state control over political institutions and the media, buoyed by extensive public support for his policies as prime minister, president and now prime minister again. Spanning nine time zones, Russia is the largest country on earth in terms of surface area, although large tracts in the north and east are inhospitable and sparsely populated. Read More
Located at the crossroads of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Europe and Africa, Spain's history and culture are made up of a rich mix of diverse elements. Through exploration and conquest, Spain became a world power in the 16th century, and it maintained a vast overseas empire until the early 19th century. Spain's modern history is marked by the bitterly fought Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, and the ensuing 36-year dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. Read More
The largest of the Balkan countries, Romania has dramatic mountain scenery and a coastline on the Black Sea. It has seen numerous empires come and go from the Roman, to the Ottoman, to the Austro-Hungarian. After World War II the country was under communist rule although the leadership pursued a foreign policy independent of that of the Soviet Union. Read More
Once the centre of the Ottoman Empire, the modern secular republic was established in the 1920s by nationalist leader Kemal Ataturk. Straddling the continents of Europe and Asia, Turkey's strategically important location has given it major influence in the region - and control over the entrance to the Black Sea. Read More
Ukraine gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since veered between seeking closer integration with Western Europe and reconciliation with Russia, which supplies most of the country's energy. Europe's second largest country, Ukraine is a land of wide, fertile agricultural plains, with large pockets of heavy industry in the east. While Ukraine and Russia share common historical origins, the west of the country has close ties with its European neighbours, particularly Poland, and Ukrainian nationalist sentiment is strongest there. Read More
Argentina | Brazil | Colombia | Costa Rica | Ecuador | Mexico | Chile | Peru
Argentina stretches 4,000 km from its sub-tropical north to the sub-antarctic south. Its terrain includes part of the Andes mountain range, swamps, the plains of the Pampas and a long coastline. Its people have had to struggle with military dictatorship, a lost war over the Falkland Islands, and severe economic difficulties. Read More
Brazil is South America's most influential country, an economic giant and one of the world's biggest democracies. It is one of the rising economic powers - otherwise known as BRIC nations - together with Russia, India and China. Over the past few years it has made major strides in its efforts to raise millions out of poverty. The discovery of major offshore oil reserves could propel the country into the top league of oil-exporting nations. Read More
Colombia has significant natural resources and its diverse culture reflects the indigenous Indian, Spanish and African origins of its people. But it has also been ravaged by a decades-long violent conflict involving outlawed armed groups, drug cartels and gross violations of human rights, although since 2002, the country has made some progress towards improving security. The fourth largest country in South America and one of the continent's most populous nations, Colombia has substantial oil reserves and is a major producer of gold, silver, emeralds, platinum and coal. Read More
For decades Costa Rica has stood out for its stability and has benefited from the most developed welfare system in the region. Read More
Ecuador is a patchwork of indigenous communities, including people of colonial Spanish origins and the descendants of African slaves. Its capital, Quito, once a part of the Inca empire, has some of the best-preserved early colonial architecture on the continent. Traditionally a farming country, Ecuador's economy was transformed after the 1960s by the growth of industry and the discovery of oil. There was rapid growth and progress in health, education and housing. Read More
Mexico is a nation where affluence, poverty, natural splendour and urban blight rub shoulders. Its politics were dominated for 70 years by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. But elections in 1997 saw a resurgent opposition break what was in effect a one-party system with a democratic facade. Elections in 2000 confirmed the trend when Vicente Fox became the first president to come from the opposition. Read More
Mexico is a nation where affluence, poverty, natural splendour and urban blight rub shoulders. Its politics were dominated for 70 years by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. But elections in 1997 saw a resurgent opposition break what was in effect a one-party system with a democratic facade. Elections in 2000 confirmed the trend when Vicente Fox became the first president to come from the opposition. Read More
Mexico is a nation where affluence, poverty, natural splendour and urban blight rub shoulders. Its politics were dominated for 70 years by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. But elections in 1997 saw a resurgent opposition break what was in effect a one-party system with a democratic facade. Elections in 2000 confirmed the trend when Vicente Fox became the first president to come from the opposition. Read More
