by Janet Spencer
• Kyrgyzstan, also known as the Kyrgyz Republic, is the most land-locked nation in the world. Located in central Asia, it’s bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China, and is 1,620 miles (2,607 km) from the closest coastline at the Indian Ocean.
• Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, is the roundest country in the world. Egypt is considered the squarest.
• 11% of Iceland is covered in glaciers, while also sporting 32 volcanic systems.
• Brazil’s northernmost point is closer to Canada than to its own southernmost point.
• The highest elevation in Denmark is only 561 feet (171 m) above sea level
• Wherever you are in Switzerland, there is a lake less than 10 miles (16 km) away.
• According to the Gallup World Poll, Finland is the happiest country, followed by Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
• Sri Lanka only became an island in the year 1480 when a cyclone swept away the land bridge that connected it to mainland India.
• Italy boasts 55 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, more than any other country.
• 90% of the world’s population lives in the northern hemisphere.
• There are no lakes or rivers in Saudi Arabia.
RANDOM GEOGRAPHY FACTS
• China has over 100 cities with populations of over 1 million. The U.S. has only ten.
• There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia than people.
• Citizens of the Netherlands are the tallest in the world on average with men averaging 71.6 inches (182 cm) and women 67.7 inches (172 cm). Citizens of Indonesia are the shortest with men averaging 64 inches (163 cm) and women at 60 inches (153 cm).
• Russia has more forests than any other nation; Brazil has about half as much forest.
• Sweden has more islands than any other nation at nearly 220,000, followed by Finland, Norway, Canada, and Indonesia.
• New York City has the most subway stations in the world with 424, followed by Shanghai.
• South Sudan is the world’s youngest country, established in 2011 when it gained independence from England.
• Wellington, New Zealand, is the world’s southernmost capital. Reykjavik, Iceland, is the northernmost capital city.
• China uses more electricity than any other country in the world. The U.S. is second.
• Egypt has the highest percentage of vegans in the world, at about 5% of the population.
• Canada has the most coastline of any country in the world, followed by Norway and Indonesia.
• Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, followed by Spanish, English, and Hindi.
• Australia has more national parks than any other country with 685. Thailand is in 2nd place with 147. The U.S. has 63.
• Zambia has the highest percentage of its land devoted to national parks, at 32%.
• Brazil has the greatest biodiversity of any country on the planet.
RANDOM GEOGRAPHY FACTS
• Bhutan is the most mountainous country in the world with 98% of its land covered in mountains. The average elevation is 10,761 feet (3,280 m) above sea level.
• Chechnya consumes more beer per capita than any other country, at about 51 gallons (193 liters) per adult per year, about twice as much as Germany.
• Denmark ranks as the least corrupt country.
• France is the most visited country with an average of 89 million tourists each year.
• Grenada has an underwater sculpture park sporting 75 artworks that can only be seen by scuba divers.
• Qatar has the highest ratio of men to women, with 3.4 men for every woman.
• The Kola superdeep borehole in Russia is the deepest hole on earth, reaching a depth of 40,230 feet (12,262 m) which is deeper than the Mariana Trench.
• Suriname, the smallest independent country in South America, is the most forested country in the world, with 95% of its land area covered by trees.
• About 40% of people in Vietnam have the surname of Nguyen.
• Every panda on earth officially belongs to China.
• Finland drinks more coffee per capita than any other country, and they are followed by every other Scandinavian country.
• 58% of the world’s population lives in cities. In the U.S. 83% of the population lives in cities. In the Netherlands, it’s 92%.
• Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in parliament, with 61%. There are only two other countries where women outnumber men in government: Cuba and Bolivia.
USA GEOGRAPHY FACTS
• Missouri and Tennessee have the most bordering states, each with eight. Alaska and Hawaii both have no bordering states.
• Alaska’s coastline at 6,640 miles (10,686 km) is longer than the coastline of the entire rest of the U.S.
• The Mississippi River is the longest river in the U.S. at 2,348 miles (3,779 km) which is equal to the distance from Albuquerque, NM to Boston, MA. It takes about 90 days for a raindrop to make its way from the beginning of the river to the end.
• Iowa is the only state where the eastern border and the western border are formed by rivers: the Mississippi on the east and the Missouri on the west.
• Arkansas is bordered by six states and you can get to all six states by driving south from various points within Arkansas.
• Savannah, Georgia, is farther south than Tijuana, Mexico.
• The average high temperature in San Diego, CA in June is 71 F. which is the same as the average high temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska in June.
• Portions of eastern Oregon are in the Mountain Time Zone and portions of the western part of the Florida panhandle are in the Central Time Zone, which is the farthest between two points in the U.S. that are only one hour time difference.
• John North had a town named after him in the state of South Carolina: North, South Carolina.
• The smallest state, Rhode Island, has a larger population than the largest state, Alaska.
• The least populated county in the U.S. is Loving County, Texas, near the New Mexico border, with a population in 2020 of 64 people.
