If, indeed, global warming increases, the country most likely to disappear beneath the waves is the Maldives Islands. With an average height of around six feet above sea level, their nation is the lowest on Earth.

Roads paved with gems?

Because Guam doesn’t have any natural gravel, this island, which is actually a territory of the United States, makes asphalt for its roads using a mix of oil and ground-up coral. Some kinds of coral are considered semi-precious stones, but, no, not the coral used for Guam’s gravel.

 

Oldest Country in the World

 

China might dispute this claim, but Egypt is the oldest country in the world. Its existence as a nation goes back to 3100 B.C., the time of the formation of its first dynasty of Pharaohs. And yes, the pyramids apparently were ancient even back then!

Least likely place to meet your neighbor

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.

The land of no rivers

 

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. There is not a single river, creek or brook in the entire country.

Most diverse country

In almost every category – religions, ethnic groups, cultural groups and even climates – ranging from the tallest mountains in the world to the deepest tropic jungles, India claims to be the most diverse country in the world.

Nobody’s home!

 

For a variety of reasons, including a poor economy, the island nation of Malta has had the highest emigration rate of any other nation. There are now more Maltese living abroad than those who reside within the country itself.

Not a tree in sight

 

On the opposite end of the spectrum from Surinam’s jungles is Haiti, a country that has been so badly deforested by its population that you can tell where it borders the Dominican Republic by looking at a satellite image. Haiti is on the left in the photo shown.

Largest country with no farms

 

Singapore

 

 is just one big city. It has no farms other than the occasional window-box garden. Monaco and the Vatican lack farms, too, but Singapore is the largest of the three city-nations.

Most educated nation!

With 50 percent of its population having graduated from high school and then gone on to at least one semester of college, Canada easily has the most educated population of any nation on Earth. It is followed by Israel at 45 percent and Japan at 44 percent.

The least peaceful nation

 

A nation with no government and on-going conflict between the many warlords that rule over its ruined cities, Somalia is a land of constant war. There is no law, no police, no army. It is basically dominated by street gangs who constantly compete for control of ever-shifting turfs – and who send out pirates to terrorize shipping off the African coast.

Most of the world’s oxygen

 

Siberia is home to approximately 25 percent of the world’s forests – filling an area larger than the continental United States, making Russia the largest converter of carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen.