Cuba Church

The Republic of Cuba, is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country’s capital.

Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is the most populous island nation in the Caribbean. Its people, culture, and customs draw from diverse sources, such as the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves and its proximity to the United States.

The Cuban state adheres to socialist principles in organizing its largely state-controlled planned economy. Most of the means of production are owned and run by the government and most of the labor force is employed by the state.

The main island is 1,199 km (745 mi) long, constituting most of the nation’s land area (105,006 km2 (40,543 sq mi)) and is the 16th-largest island in the world by land area. The main island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains apart from the Sierra Maestra mountains in the southeast, whose highest point is Pico Turquino (6,480 ft). The local climate is tropical, moderated by northeasterly trade winds that blow year-round. The most important mineral resource is nickel, of which Cuba has the world’s second largest reserves (after Russia).

Costa Rica Church

Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.

Costa Rica, which means “Rich Coast”, is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world’s 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index, ranked 62nd in the world in 2010, and is cited by the UNDP as one of the countries that has attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels. The country is ranked 3rd in the world, and 1st among the Americas, in terms of the 2010 Environmental Performance Index.

In 2007 the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon neutral country by 2021. According to the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the “greenest” country in the world. As of 2010, Costa Rica has an estimated population of 4,640,000.

Because Costa Rica is located between nine to ten degrees north of the Equator, the climate is tropical year round. However, the country has many microclimates depending on elevation, rainfall, topography, and by the geography of each particular region.

Costa Rica’s seasons are defined by how much it rains during a particular period and not to the four seasons in the Northern Hemisphere.

China Church

The People’s Republic of China (PRC), commonly known as China, is the most populous state in the world with over 1.3 billion people. China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity. With nearly 4,000 years of continuous history, China is one of the world’s oldest civilizations.

China ranges from mostly plateaus and mountains in the west to lower lands in the east. The climate of China varies greatly. The northern zone (containing Beijing) has summer daytime temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius and winters of Arctic severity. The central zone (containing Shanghai) has a temperate continental climate with very hot summers and cold winters. The southern zone (containing Guangzhou) has a subtropical climate with very hot summers and mild winters.

Popular sports include martial arts, table tennis, badminton, and more recently, golf. Basketball is now popular among young people in urban centers.

Since the introduction of market-based economic reforms in 1978, China has become the world’s fastest growing major economy, the world’s largest exporter and second largest importer of goods. It is the world’s second largest economy by both nominal GDP and purchasing power parity. China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world’s largest standing army with the second-largest defense budget.

Canada Church

Canada, is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world’s second largest country by total area. Canada’s common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world. Canada also has the longest coastline in the world: 202,080 kilometres (125,570 mi).

Canada is a federation that is governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual nation with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. One of the world’s highly developed countries, Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. With the eighth-highest Human Development Index globally, it has one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Canada is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, with a high per-capita income. Canada is one of the world’s largest suppliers of agricultural products; the Canadian Prairies are one of the most important producers of wheat, canola, and other grains. Canada is the largest producer of zinc and uranium, and is a global source of many other natural resources, such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead.

Belarus Church

South Korea Church

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People’s Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, which is also its largest city. South Korea lies in a temperate climate region with a predominantly mountainous terrain. Its territory covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of 50 million. Seoul, capital of South Korea, reaches a population of 10,421,782.

After the invasion of South Korea by forces from the North on 25 June 1950, the resulting war between the two Koreas ended with an Armistice Agreement, but the border between the two nations is the most heavily fortified in the world. After the war, the South Korean economy grew significantly and the country was eventually transformed into its present-day status as a major economy and a full democracy.

South Korea is a presidential republic consisting of sixteen administrative divisions and is a developed country with a very high standard of living. It is Asia’s fourth largest economy and the world’s 14th (nominal) or 12th (purchasing power parity) largest economy. The economy is export-driven, with production focusing on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics. South Korea is the world’s fifth largest nuclear power producer and the second-largest in Asia as of 2010.

Liberia Church

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone on the West, Guinea on the north, Côte d’Ivoire on the east, and the Atlantic Ocean on the south. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people. Its area is 111,369 km2 (43,000 sq mi).

Liberia’s capital is Monrovia. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate with most rainfall arriving in the rainy season and harsh harmattan winds in the dry season. Liberia’s populated Pepper Coast is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the sparsely populated inland is composed of forest that open to a plateau of drier grasslands.

The history of Liberia is unique among African nations because of its relationship with the United States. It is one of only two countries in sub-Sahara Africa, along with Ethiopia, without roots in the European Scramble for Africa. It was founded and colonized by freed American slaves with the help of a private organization called the American Colonization Society in 1821-1822, on the premise that former American slaves would have greater freedom and equality there.
Slaves freed from slave ships were also sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. These colonists formed an elite group in Liberian society, and, in 1847, they founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States, naming Monrovia, their capital city, after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization.

Liberia is one of the world’s poorest countries, with a formal employment rate of only 15%. Historically, the Liberian economy depended heavily on iron ore and rubber exports, foreign direct investment, and exports of other natural resources, such as timber. Agricultural products include livestock (goats, pigs, cattle) and rice, the staple food. Fish are raised on inland farms and caught along the coast. Other foods are imported to support the population. Electricity is provided by dams and oil-fired plants. Today, Liberia is recovering from the lingering effects of the civil war and related economic dislocation. Statistics indicate that about 85% of the population live on less than $1.25 a day.

Sri Lanka Church

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (commonly known as Sri Lanka), is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Sri Lanka is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait and lies in the vicinity of India and Maldives. Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state which is governed by a semi-presidential system with its official seat of government in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, the capital.

As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times and is one of the few remaining abodes of Buddhism in South Asia. The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people. Sri Lanka is the 53rd most populated nation in the world. Sinhalese and Tamil are the two official languages of Sri Lanka. English is fluently spoken by approximately 10% of the population, and is widely used for education, scientific and commercial purposes.

The country is famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts, rubber and cinnamon, the last of which is native to the country. The natural beauty Sri Lanka has led to the title The Pearl of the Indian Ocean. The island is laden with lush tropical forests, white beaches and diverse landscapes with rich biodiversity. The country lays claim to a long and colorful history of over three thousand years, having one of the longest documented histories in the world. Sri Lanka’s rich culture can be attributed to the many different communities on the island.

Guyana Church

Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana has been a former colony of the British, Dutch, French and for 200 years the Spanish. It is the only state of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America, and is also a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has its secretariat headquarters in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown. Guyana is also one of the few Caribbean countries which are not islands. Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and became a Republic on 23 February 1970.

Historically, the region known as “Guiana” or “Guayana” comprised the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River known as the “Land of many waters”. At 215,000 km2, Guyana is the third-smallest independent state on the mainland of South America (after Uruguay and Suriname). Its population is approximately 770,000. Guyana is one of the four non-Spanish-speaking territories on the continent, along with Brazil (Portuguese), Suriname (Dutch) and French Guiana (French).

Guyana has one of the largest unspoiled rainforests in South America, some parts of which are almost inaccessible by humans. More than 80% of Guyana is still covered by forests, ranging from dry evergreen and seasonal forests to montane and lowland evergreen rain forests. These forests are home to more than a thousand species of trees. The population of Guyana is approximately 770,000, of which 90% reside on the narrow coastal strip (approximately 10% of the total land area of Guyana). Guyana’s coastal strip ranges from between 10 to 40 miles (16 to 64 km) in width. English is the official language of Guyana.

Ghana Church

Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word Ghana means “Warrior King” and is derived from the ancient Ghana Empire.

The Gold Coast achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, becoming the first sub-Saharan African nation to do so, and the name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana, which once extended throughout much of west Africa. Ghana is a member of the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union, and an associate member of La Francophonie. Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world and is home to Lake Volta, the largest artificial lake in the world by surface area.

Ghana is an ethnically diverse country; thus, Ghanaian culture is a mixture of all its ethnic groups, the Ashanti, Fante, Akyem, Kwahu, Ga, Ewe, Mamprusi and Dagomba, among others. It is most evident in Ghanaian cuisine, the arts and clothing. Football (soccer) is the most popular sport. Ghana is  located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the Equator, therefore giving it a warm climate. The country encompasses flat plains, low hills and a few rivers. Ghana can be divided into five different geographical regions. Ghana has a population of about 24 million people and the official language is English.

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