COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD

NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA PART-1

UNITED STATES

• Area : 9,826,630 sq km
• Country population : 305,072,714
• Capital city (pop) : Washington DC (8,281,142)
• Official Language : English
• Currency : US dollar
•                           
•                                The USA is made up of 50 states (including Alaska and Hawaii) and the District of Columbia,which contains the capital city, Washington. It includes a huge variety of landscapes,from hot deserts to snow covered mountains. The country was once a colony under British rule but has been independent since 1776. It is now the world's wealthiest country and a great economic and military super power.

MEXICO 

• Area : 1,972,550 sq km
• Country population : 107,236,677
• Capital city (pop) : Mexico City (22,968,205)
• Official Language :Spanish
• Currency : Peso
•                           Some of the world's oldest civilizations have lived in Mexico, Such as the Aztecs and Mayans.Nowadays, many tourists visit and it has plenty of natural resources. However,almost half the people are very poor and many try to cross the border into the USA every year.Some of them are arrested by border patrols.

GUATEMALA

• Area :108,890 sq km
• Country population : 13,994,079
• Capital city (pop) : Guatemala City (3,293,168)
• Official language : Spanish
• Currency : Quetzal
•                                Guatemala is one of Central America's most beautiful countries,with a dramatic landscape of forests,lakes and volcanoes. It is also one of the poorest and most violent. The country is  still suffering from the after effects of a long civil war (1960-96). Two thirds of Guatemalan children live in poverty.

CANADA

• Area :9,984,670 sq km
• Country population : 32,213,280
• Capital city (pop) :1,152,721
• Official language : French/English
• Currency : Canadian dollar
•                                    Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia. Almost half of Canada's land area is covered by forest and it exports more timber,pulp and newsprint than any country. Canada also has a successful fishing industry and lots of natural resources,such as minerals and metals. Its varied landscape attracts millions of tourists each years. Famous Canadian landmarks include Niagara Falls and the Rocky Mountains.

HONDURAS

• Area :112,090 sq km
• Country population : 7,761,830
• Capital city (pop) : Tegucigalpa (2,063,368)
• Official language : Spanish
• Currency : Lempira
•                               Honduras lies in Central America between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.It is the one of the world's poorest countries,although it has valuable stocks of timber. In 1998 Hurricane Mitch caused four billion dollars' worth of damage.

EL SALVADOR

• Area : 21,040 sq km
• Country population : 7,218,048
• Capital city (pop) : San Salvador (1,912,758)
• Official language : Spanish
• Currency : US dollar
•                                The tiny country of El Salvador is on Central America's Pacific coast. It often suffers hurricanes and earthquakes. Coffee is a major crop, but El Salvador relies heavily on aid money from other countries.

 NICARAGUA

• Area : 129,497 sq km
• Country population : 5,353,272
• Capital city (pop) : Managua (1,752,912)
• Official language :Spanish
• Currency : Corsoba
•                                Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. It's one of the poorest countries in the Western world and half its people are very poor indeed. In 1992, Hurricane Mitch caused great damage and left 20 percent of Nicaraguan homeless.