Tell Us about your country!!!

Posted by willgirl on the 04/10/2007 at 19:02:42 (04/10/2007 08:02:42 PM)

Okay, since there are so many people from around the world, I thought people could use this thread to tell a few facts about their country. Then we could all learn something! (I know, learning, ugh!)

I'll start! I'm from Canada:

Canada's Population: 33,390,141

Government Type: constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation

Ottawa is the capital of Canada!

We have 10 provinces and 3 territories

We are the second largest land mass in the world

National animal: The Beaver (even though we like to kill them)

Prime Minister: Stephen Harper

Our major export: Comedians! They include:

Dan Akroyd
Samantha Bee
Jim Carrey
Michael J. Fox
Phil Hartman
Rick Mercer
Mike Meyers
Leslie Nielson
Martin Short

Our beer: Is yummy!

Sports that came from Canada:
Hockey
Basketball
Curling

Other Canadian Achievements:

Developed standardized time
United Nations Declaration of Human Rights developed
Superman comic created
First radio broadcast

Our national anthem:

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Our national anthem with words:
[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Not our national anthem, but a very funny song about Canada!

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

One more: This is an ad from a Molson beer commerical that was pretty popular. It's called I Am Canadian.

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

That's it for now! Now tell us about your country!

willi said pretty much everything I was going to say.

Alexander Graham Bell did his first "call" here.

Great country and I AM PROUD TO BE CANADIAN!

USA........................

big..........

fab

(points up)

what Fab said...

USA
beautiful

fab

Considering I am super bored. This could become quite long.

Country: Australia [derived from the Latin Australis, meaning "Southern"]
Location: Southern Hemisphere, Earth.
Total Area: 7,741,220 km²
Total Population: 21,310,000 people
Capital City: Canberra
Total Number of States: 6 [Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania]
Total Number of Territories: 2 Major [Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory] and 10 Minor [Including Javis Bay Territory, a Naval Base]


Government Type: Parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
Federated in 1901
Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II
Governor-General: Ms Quentin Bryce
Prime Minister: Mr Kevin Rudd

Language: English, although we have sort of made up our own 'Aussie English'

Fauna: 83% of mammals, 89% of reptiles, 90% of fish and insects and 93% of amphibians that inhabit the continent are endemic to Australia. Many are well known such as the Kangaroo, Wombat, Koala, and Platypus.

The only two monotremes (Egg laying mammals) still in existence are endemic to Australia. The Echidna and the Platypus. And the most diverse range of Marsupials, mammals that have a pouch to raise their young in.

We have more venomous than non-venomous species of Snake. Including the second most deadly in the world, the Eastern Brown Snake.

The Wonderfull Box Jellyfish, arguably the most venomous animal in the world (And it's not even really a Jellyfish, it's a 'sea wasp') Since records started being kept in 1884, it’s killed more than 5500 people. It's very pretty though...when you see it in the water.

Then you have the everyday, Crocodile, Kookaburra, Dingo, Quoll, the gliding possums, Bilby and cockatoos and galahs...The list goes on.

There are also more lizards found in Australia than anywhere else in the world.

And now I'm even more bored so shall leave you with that overload until another day, when I have nothing to do and feel like writing a shit-load about my country. I knew all that Aussie History would be good for something.

I too, like Willi and Ehbee am CANADIAN, and I am wildly patriotic.

Some facts, hmmm, well Vancouver Island on the west coast of BC has the densest population of Cougars(mountain lions) than anywhere else on the earth. It is also home the endangered Vancouver Island Marmot. I don't really know anything else. Vancouver BC was recently named the best city in the world to live and the Olympics are coming in 2010! Our government at the moment is a joke, both federally and provincially, but hey the loonie is topping the greenback, so who knew that would ever happen.

Canada is known for being a humble, friendly, hockey crazed nation, and it is!

Some other famous Canadians:

Ryan Reynolds
Will Sasso
Seth Rogen
Barry Pepper
Nelly Furtado
David Foster
Diana Krall
Kim Catrall
Pamela Anderson
Ryan Gosling
Rachel McAdams
Alanis Morisette
Barenaked Ladies(the band, not actual women)
Bryan Adams
Shania Twain
Corey Haim(I know, I know)


So yes, we are a large land mass(2nd in the world, as Willi pointed out, damn Russia anyway) with a small population but we are friendly and fun!!

Bella

Okay here we go
Estonia

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. It is bordered to the north by Finland across the Gulf of Finland, to the west by Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by the Russian Federation. The territory of Estonia covers 45,227 km²

Estonia is a democratic parliamentary republic and is divided into fifteen counties (Maakonnad). The capital and largest city is Tallinn

We'have such a small country and so we have been occupied by germans and russians several times.
Still the worst one was the last one when Estonia belonged to the Soviet Union.
over 10,000 were deported to Siberian and only 46% of them returned to their homeland!
Despite of the fact that the history has been painful and complicated now Estonia is an independent country!

Capital :Tallinn
Official languages: Estonian
Government:Parliamentary republic
- President : Toomas Hendrik Ilves
- Prime Minister :Andrus Ansip (RE)
- Current coalition :RE, IRL and SDE
Independence from:
Russia and Germany
- Autonomy declared -12 April 1917
- Independence declared--24 February 1918
Officially recognised -2 February 1920
- 1st Soviet occupation 1940-1941
- German occupation 1941-1944
- 2nd Soviet occupation 1944-1991
- Independence restored 20 August 1991

Estonians are people who care for their traditions.Good example is the big Singin&Dance festival which is held after every 5 years.
All the people come together and spend time singing& dancing folk songs&dances.
Some pictures:
Singing festival:
[Only admins are allowed to see this image][Only admins are allowed to see this link] alt="" />
[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

Dancing festival:
[Only admins are allowed to see this image]
[Only admins are allowed to see this image]
By the way next one is taking place in summer 2009 so it's the best time to visit our country.
More information about the event:[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

And here are some other pictures:
That's how Estonia looks in winters:
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And in summers:
[Only admins are allowed to see this image][Only admins are allowed to see this link] alt="" />

If you want to know what we eat then, here's a great and funny website:[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Done.If you have any questions I'm glad to answer them!
*bows*

GERMANY

Population: 82,365 million (in 2006)

Area: 357,092 km²

Neighboring countries:Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland

Type of Government: Democratic-parliamentary federal state

Capital:Berlin

We have 16 states or counties, they are named "Bundesländer"

We are in the Central European Time Zone.

Head of state: State president Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler

Parliament:Bundestag - Lower House (614 members) and Bundesrat - Upper House (69 members)

Head of government: Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel

Germans you should (or could) know:
Heidi Klum
Claudia Schiffer
Eva Padberg (models)
Michael Ballack
Jens Lehman
Olli Kahn (soccer players)
Boris Becker
Michael Stich
Steffi Graf (tennis)
Michael and Ralf Schumacher
Timo Glock
Sebastian Vettel
Nico Rosberg
Adrian Sutil
Nick Heidfeld (Formel 1)
Tokio Hotel (they call themself a music band, I'm not so sure about the music....)
Goethe
Schiller

We germans like to play and watch soccer.
We've got some very weird musicians.....
And the Fifa world championship 2006 was in germany.

Okay that's all for now...

Country: New Zealand
Area: 268,680 km²
Population: 4,252,000
Capital: Wellington
Languages: English,Maori and New Zealand sign language
Government: Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy

New Zealand is an island nation in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, which is commonly translated into English as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing but in free association; Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).

New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, situated about 2000 km (1250 miles) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals they introduced.

The population is mostly of European descent, with the indigenous Māori being the largest minority. Asians and non-Maori Polynesians are also significant minorities, especially in the cities. Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the Head of State and, in her absence, is represented by a non-partisan Governor-General. The Queen 'reigns but does not rule.' She has no real political influence, and her position is essentially symbolic. Political power is held by the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister, who is the Head of Government.

Like Dina: New Zealander! (That is, the small island-like thing at the very bottom of your map that you probably glaze over as you search out Australia...)

hmmm what can I say about NZ...

1. first country to give women the right to vote (1893)
2. New Zealanders are also called Kiwis
3. Our largest city (Auckland) sits on top of 48 volcanoes
4. Wellington is southern-most capital city in the world
5. Some of the more interesting New Zealand inventions include the Tranquilliser Dart Gun, Milking Machines and Ear tags for farming, Bungy Jumping and Zorbing.
6. We are NOT part of Australia
7. 1/3 of NZ is covered in forest
8. We have 9 times more sheep than people
9. New Zealand has won more Olympic gold medals, per capita, than any other country
10. NZ has the worlds largest flightless parrot (kakapo), the oldest reptile (tuatara), the biggest earthworms, the smallest bats (the only native land mammals), the heaviest insect (a weta), some of the oldest trees, and many of the rarest birds, insects, and plants in the world.
11. We don't have any snakes, despite being very close to one of the most snake-populated countries in the world
12. New Zealand is the first country in the world to cross the date-line. i.e. the first to see each new day
13. A New Zealander invented the tear back velcro-strip, the pop-lid on a self sealing paint tin, the child-proof pill bottle and the crinkle in your hairpins so that they don’t fall out!
14. In 1987 New Zealand became a nuclear-free country free from nuclear weapons and power. Of course this meant the US Government downgraded us from an ally to a friend.
15. Lord of the Rings and most of Narnia were filmed here
16. We have an on-going (friendly) feud with Australia. We even have t-shirts in our souvenir shops that say "I support New Zealand, and anyone playing Australia"

Famous Kiwis:
-Ernest Rutherford, split the atom
-Sir Edmund Hillary, first to scale Mt Everest
-Richard Pearse
-Russell Crowe
-Anna Paquin
-Rachel Hunter
-Temuera Morrison
-Sam Neill
-Jemaine Clement and Bret Mckenzie, Flight of the Conchords!!!
-Richard Pearse, rumoured to have successfully flown, and landed in a gorse bush, a powered heavier-than-air machine on 31 March 1903, some nine months before the Wright brothers. However cannot be proven, and lack of industrial development in NZ prevented him developing his design further as the Wrights did.
-A J Hackett, invented Bungee Jumping!
-Peter Jackson, director of Lord of the Rings, King Kong etc.

A Spanish lady once said to me "You can always tell who's a Kiwi, because they take off their shoes every chance they get." (This was right after I had taken my own off on a walk through the bush on a school camp with my Spanish class, and she turned around after and saw that almost everyone else had already done the same!) The comment amused me, and it really is so true!

hmm...that's all I can think of at the moment, other than what Dina has already said...

you forgot to add Lisa Chappell and Keith Urban to famos kiwis!

Woow Karlia, you have done a wonderful job to promote our country. I have nothing to add:)

*bows*

And here is a link for documentary - This is about our past and singing. Its a singing revolution.

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

I hope you'll like it!

My home country is Finland. Not so proud of it, but I can't move anywhere else.

If you wanna know more of it. Go to [Only admins are allowed to see this link] chose you're language and search for it. This computer is mad at me and doesn't do anything what I want it to do.