Right-sized information on the countries of the world

OK everyone, you might sit down here.  I’m about to praise the federal government.  Really.

Frequently I need help on international news.  I’m pretty good at world geography and can give you a bullet or two on most anywhere, but often I wish I knew more about somewhere when I read a news story, so I can better understand what I’m reading.

So Google it and I’m done, right?  Well, yes…and no.  You might be surprised how tough it is to find straightforward and reasonably complete information on a place quickly.

For this purpose, I’ve found no site more consistently excellent than that of our own State Department.  Its Background Notes section gives all of the hard facts you could ever want on any country:  flag, map, major cities, terrain, climate, languages, religions, literacy, major industries, form of government, and so forth.  But it also gives history, current sociopolitical conditions, American relations with the country, and the like.

Moreover, it’s well written and consistently presented (which is where something like Wikipedia falls down, particularly on the latter).

I’d say I use the site at least weekly.  If you’re after something accessible, but a bit beyond a mere cocktail party nod-and-smile understanding on this country or that, I recommend it highly.  Give it a try sometime.

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