New to YYGS in recent years
This country boasts an impressive 28 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Persepolis, Lut Desert, Persian Garden, and Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System.
Iran
This is the largest country is Africa by land mass (and the 10th largest in the world).
Algeria
This country is represented at YYGS for the first time in 2025.
This country is known as the “Shipwreck Capital of the Atlantic” with over 300 documented shipwrecks. This is due in part to extensive reef systems that are the northernmost coral reefs in the Atlantic Ocean.
Bermuda
4 YYGS Admits in 2025
This country is the world’s largest archipelago and has the world's largest Muslim population.
Indonesia
This country has the shortest coastline in South America. It is also the only country outside of Europe where the majority of the population speaks Dutch.
Suriname
This African country was home to one of the richest men in history, Mansa Musa, who ruled from 1312 C.E. to 1337 C.E.
Mali
This country is represented at YYAS for the first time in 2025.
Cocoa is the main crop of this small island nation and it represents 95% of the country’s export. Other export crops include copra, palm kernels, and coffee.
São Tomé and Príncipe
2 YYGS 2025 Admits
This country is the modern day site of the first known written language (the Sumerian language which flourished during the 3rd millennium BCE).
Iraq
Refer to the image for the outline of this country.
The Gambia
This francophone West African nation shares its name (in part) with two other African counties and one Oceanic country.
Guinea
This country is represented at YYGS for the first time in 2025.
In 2017 this country added two red bands to the existing flag, with the red signifying the blood that was shed in the struggle for freedom from France.
Mauritania
1 YYGS 2025 Admit
The most famous dishes of this country include sticky rice, larb (or laab or laap, a spicy mixture of marinated meat or fish with herbs, greens, and spices), and green papaya salad. People from this country are sometimes referred to as "luk khao niao" which can be translated as 'children or descendants of sticky rice'.
Laos
This country is sometimes referred to as 'The Land of Fire' and it is home to a a natural gas fire which blazes continuously. These natural flames are thought to have influenced the early development of the Zoroastrian religion.
Azerbaijan
This African country gets its name from the Ewe language. It is a combination of the words for 'river/lake' and 'across/behind', implying that it is the land on the other side of the water.
Togo
This country is represented at YYGS for the first time in 2025.
This nation has a famous lake that is the lowest point on land in Africa. It is the most saline body of water on earth (outside of Antarctica) with salt levels up to 15% higher than the Dead Sea.
Djibouti
5 YYGS Admits in 2025
This country is home to the driest non-polar desert in the world. The average rainfall is about 15 mm per year, although some weather stations in the desert have never received rain since they began recording.
Chile (The Atacama Desert)
The flag of this island nation features a pointed triangle representing the famous mountains that dominate the landscape (called the Gros Piton and Petit Piton).
Saint Lucia
This African country is named after its largest lake, which has shrunk by a staggering 95% in surface area since 1963.
Chad
YYAS plans to admit a student with secondary citizenship to this NON African country for the first time ever.
This landlocked European country is famous for 'Pule', the world's most expensive cheese, which costs up to 1300USD per kilo. The cheese is made of 60% donkey milk and 40% goat's milk.
Serbia
3 YYGS Admits in 2025
This country boasts the most Olympic medals in Alpine skiing (by total medals and also by gold medals).
Austria