Landlocked
This country is the largest landlocked country in the world. In recent years, this country has renamed its capital city from Nur-Sultan to Astana, though that hasn't stopped accusations of its government being a puppet of Russia. This country was made famous in a 2006 movie starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the main character.
What is Kazakhstan?
Despite its size, this country is not even in the top five smallest countries in Europe. It is most well known for being a center for global business and economics. The languages of French, German, and English are taught concurrently in this country's primary schools. The closest major commercial airport to this country is located in Frankfurt, Germany.
What is Luxembourg?
This country was originally founded as a prison colony by the British Empire. The military of this country once lost a war to a species of flightless birds, and people have not stopped making fun of them for it. Much of this country's sprawling landscapes were ravaged by wildfires in early 2020.
What is Australia?
There were once two countries that had this country's name, but they did not even border each other. Since the dissolving of the British Raj, this country has been a heated rival of India, with their rivalry extending into almost every medium imaginable. It, along with India, has laid claim to the disputed region of Kashmir, which has been an almost constant warzone for decades.
What is Pakistan?
This country is one of the oldest still surviving, with evidence suggesting that it was originally founded in 2070 BC. The founder of this country's current political party is estimated to have caused the deaths of nearly 100 million people. This country holds the modern day records for highest population, highest GDP, and third greatest land area.
What is China?
This country holds the distinction of having the highest capital city in terms of elevation of any country in the world. It is the second largest landlocked country in the western hemisphere, and named after a war hero. As of 2021, this country has the lowest inflation rate of any Latin American country.
What is Bolivia?
Before Maeghan Markle married Prince Harry, this country was the most famous to have an American marry into its royal family. This country has a population of only around 40 thousand and the exact same flag as Indonesia. Lying on the southern coast of France, the two main draws to this country are its many casinos and famous Formula 1 race track.
What is Monaco?
During the mid 2000s, this country experienced several "blood" showers, where the rain was a mysterious red color. The island this country is located on is home to 22 million people as well as almost 6,000 specimens of a subspecies of Asian Elephants that are only found on the island. This country received media attention in 2022 due to a massive protest spurned on by its collapsing economy, during which the president's house was broken into.
What is Sri Lanka?
The music group "Trans-Siberian Orchestra" was formed to record a cover of Carol of the Bells to raise money for civilian relief in this country. Since the 1990s, the two regions of this country have been at a constant civil war, which may result in them breaking into two separate countries, similar to Serbia and Montenegro. The capital of this country was where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914.
What is Bosnia & Herzegovina?
Despite not being located in the Middle East, this country has the highest population of Muslims in the world. This country made headlines in 2022 after a stampede at a football game killed 130 people. This country's most populated island shares a name with a high-level programming language.
What is Indonesia?
This country fought a war against Libya known as the Toyota War. It is the third largest landlocked country in the world, and could be seen as the geographic center of Africa. While this country was once known as F.A.P., it's current name is in reference to the word for lake in the native language, but that didn't stop them from stealing Romania's flag design.
What is Chad?
The inhabitants of this country actually rejected it gaining independence in 1965. Despite being smaller than the city of Houston this country has managed to generate one of the highest GDPs in South East Asia, with most of it coming from tourism. The 2018 film, Crazy Rich Asians, was set in this country.
What is Singapore?
While this country is independent, oversight of it periodically shifts between three different countries. In recent times, the northern portion of this island has attempted to declare independence, with a UN imposed buffer zone being the only thing keeping the country together. This country's flag is one of only two country flags to display the complete geography of a country on it, and it is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
What is Cyprus?
This country is interchangeably referred to by two different names. Since 1962, this country has been subject to a constant cycle of violent military coups and dictatorships. After a period of liberalism in the 2010s, this country was thrown into chaos in 2021, when the military overthrew the government and instituted a police state. The demonym of the inhabitants of this country is most often used when referring to one of the largest species of Python.
What is Myanmar/Burma?
With it's founding in 2011, this country is the world's youngest. It is one of three countries in the world to have a cardinal direction in its official name. Despite its young age, this country has already suffered through an 8 year long civil war.
What is South Sudan?
This country's flag is one of two currently recognized flags to have a dragon on it. This country has been a subject of memes due to it not officially recognizing the Peoples' Republic of China. Due to this country's policy of neutrality and location in the Himalayan mountains, it is nearly impossible to invade, and has garnered a reputation as one of the most peaceful places in the world.
What is Bhutan?
This country is often considered to be the only city state in the continent of Africa. It partially shares a name with four other countries around the world, and all of them are infamous for being less than enjoyable places to live. Despite being in Africa and having a predominantly Muslim population, the official language of this country is Portuguese.
What is Guinea Bissau?
In the Bible, Saints Paul and Luke the Evangelist washed up on this country's shore after a shipwreck. This country was the site of a meeting between George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1989, which was the first meeting between the leaders of the USA and USSR since the end of the Cold War. This country is most famous for being where several rich elites park their yachts when not in use.
What is Malta?
This country's second president declared himself an Emperor, and spent a third of the country's budget and all of its foreign aid on his coronation, during which he reportedly ate the cooked remains of his political rivals. After the Emperor was overthrown, a constant cycle of coups and elections has seen this country not have a definitive leader since 1979. A bloody, 3- way civil war has engulfed this country for decades, with many of the combatants cannibalizing their victims.
What is the Central African Republic?
This country has held the record for happiest country in the world since 2017. This country was somehow able to repel Soviet conquest during the Cold War despite having no tanks at the time, and most soldiers used skis to quickly navigate battlefields. This country's prime minister came under scrutiny in 2022 after being filmed drunk and topless at a party.
What is Finland?
Double landlocking refers to when a country is landlocked, and the countries surrounding it are also landlocked. This country is one of the two double landlocked countries in the world. This principality is home to several banks, trustees, and financiers, and it's economy has been on a continuous boom, which may be due to it having more registered companies than actual citizens within it.
What is Liechtenstein?
This country, by all definitions, is ruled over by an elected monarch. The military of this 109 acre country is officially called the Swiss Guard. Despite being internationally recognized as a country in 1929, this country has technically been around since 33 AD with its original ruler being a former fisherman named Simon.
What is Vatican City?
This country is one of only two outside of the USA that uses the Fahrenheit system for temperature. Originally managed by the USA after WWII, this country declared independence in 1978; opting to not join Micronesia. In 2018, this country and the Philippines began re-connecting their incredibly close diplomatic relations which were forged when both were under Japanese rule in the 1940s.
What is Palau?
This country has the lowest internet usage of any country in the world, as every citizen is banned from using it, and are killed if they do. After declaring independence from Ethiopia, this country has been under a permanent dictatorship, where dissenters are often killed without trial. The policy of indefinite mandatory military conscription that this country practices has been often decried as a modern form of slavery.
What is Eritrea?
This island nation holds the record for highest obesity rate in the world, at around 61%. During WWII, Japanese soldiers forcefully deported 1,200 citizens of this country to work in labor camps in the Chuuk Islands. This country was given self-governance status from Australia in 1966.
What is Nauru?