Mexico

Mexico

AREA	1,953,162 sq km (761,603 sq miles).
POPULATION	94,400,000 (1998).
POPULATION DENSITY	48.3 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Mexico City.
CAPITAL POPULATION	18,000,000 (1998).
GEOGRAPHY	Mexico is at the southern extremity of North America and is bounded to the north by the USA, northwest by the Gulf of California, west by the Pacific, south by Guatemala and Belize, and east by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Mexico's geographical features range from swamp to desert, and from tropical lowland jungle to high alpine vegetation. Over half the country has an altitude above 1000m (3300ft). The central land mass is a plateau flanked by ranges of mountains to the east and west that lie roughly parallel to the coast. The northern area of this plateau is arid and thinly populated, and occupies 40% of the total area of Mexico. The southern area is crossed by a range of volcanic mountains running from Cape Corrientes in the west through the Valley of Mexico to Veracruz in the east, and includes the magnificent volcanoes of Orizaba, Popocatépetl, Ixtaccíhuatl, Nevado de Toluca, Matlalcueyetl and Cofre de Perote. This is the heart of Mexico and where almost half of the population lives. To the south, the land falls away to the sparsely populated Isthmus of Tehuantepec whose slopes and flatlands support both commercial and subsistence agriculture. In the east the Gulf Coast and the Yucatán peninsula are flat and receive over 75% of Mexico's rain. The most productive agricultural region in Mexico is the northwest, while the Gulf Coast produces most of Mexico's oil and sulphur. Along the northwest coast, opposite the peninsula of Baja California, and to the southeast along the coast of Bahía de Campeche and the Yucatán peninsula, the lowlands are swampy with coastal lagoons.
GOVERNMENT	Republic since 1917. Gained independence from Spain in 1821. Head of State and Government: President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León since 1994.
LANGUAGE	Spanish is the official language. English is widely spoken.
RELIGION	90% Roman Catholic.
STANDARD TIME	Mexico spans three different time zones: South, Central and Eastern Mexico: GMT - 6 (Central Standard Time). (GMT - 5 from first Sunday in April to Saturday before last Sunday in October.) Nayarit, Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California Sur: GMT - 7 (Mountain Time). (GMT - 6 from first Sunday in April to Saturday before last Sunday in October.) Baja California Norte (Pacific Time): GMT - 8 (GMT - 7 from first Sunday in April to Saturday before last Sunday in October).
ELECTRICITY	110 volts AC, 60Hz. US 2-pin (flat) plugs are usual.

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Mauritius

Mauritius

AREA	2040 sq km (788 sq miles).
POPULATION	1,147,756 (1997).
POPULATION DENSITY	582.9 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Port Louis.
CAPITAL POPULATION	146,499 (1997).
GEOGRAPHY	Mauritius is in the Indian Ocean, 2000km (1240 miles) off the southeastern coast of Africa, due east of Madagascar. The island-state stands on what was once a land bridge between Asia and Africa called the Mascarene Archipelago. From the coast, the land rises to form a broad fertile plain on which sugar cane flourishes. Some 500km (310 miles) east is Rodrigues Island, while northeast are the Cargados Carajos Shoals and 900km (560 miles) to the north is Agalega.
GOVERNMENT	Republic. Gained independence from the UK in 1968. Head of State: President Cassam Uteem since 1992. Head of Government: Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam since 1995.
LANGUAGE	English is the official language. The most widely spoken languages are French, Creole, Hindi and Bhojpuri. Urdu and Chinese are also among the languages spoken.
RELIGION	51% Hindu, 31% Christian, 17% Muslim.
STANDARD TIME	GMT + 4.
ELECTRICITY	220 volts AC, 50Hz. UK-type 3-pin plugs are commonly used in hotels.

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Mauritania

Mauritania

AREA	1,030,700 sq km (397,950 sq miles).
POPULATION	2,351,000 (1996).
POPULATION DENSITY	2.3 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Nouakchott.
CAPITAL POPULATION	608,228 (1996).
GEOGRAPHY	Mauritania is bordered by Algeria, Mali, Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) and Senegal. To the west lies the Atlantic Ocean. Mauritania consists mainly of the vast Saharan plain of sand and scrub. Most of this area is a sea of sand dunes, but in places the land rises to rocky plateaux with deep ravines leaving isolated peaks. The Adrar plateau in the central region rises to 500m (1640ft) and the Tagant further south to 600m (1970ft). The area is scattered with towns, small villages and oases. The northern bank of the Senegal River, which forms the country's southern border, is the only area in the country with any degree of permanent vegetation and it supports a wide variety of wildlife.
GOVERNMENT	Republic. Gained independence from France in 1960. Head of State: President Maaouiya Ould Sid'Achmed Taya since 1984. Head of Government: Prime Minister Al-Afia Ould Mohammed Khouna since 1998
LANGUAGE	The official languages are Arabic and French. The Moors of Arab/Berber stock, speaking Hassaniya dialects of Arabic, comprise the majority of the people. Other dialects include Solinke, Poular and Wolof. English is rarely spoken.
RELIGION	Islam is the official religion. Despite ethnic and cultural differences among Mauritanians, they are all bound by a common Muslim attachment to the Malekite sect.
STANDARD TIME	GMT.
ELECTRICITY	127/220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round 2-pin plugs are normal. COMMUNICATIONS: Telephone: IDD is available in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. Country code: 222 (no area codes). Outgoing international calls must go through the operator. Post: International postal facilities are limited to main cities. Airmail to Europe takes approximately two weeks. Press: Newspapers are in French and Arabic. The only daily is Ach-Chaab. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change.

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Martonique

Martonique

AREA	1100 sq km (424.7 sq miles).
POPULATION	385,000 (1995).
POPULATION DENSITY	350.5 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Fort-de-France.
CAPITAL POPULATION	100,080 (1990).
GEOGRAPHY	The French Overseas Department of Martinique, a volcanic and picturesque island, is the northernmost of the Windward Caribbean group. The island is noticeably more rocky than those of the Leeward group, with beaches (of fine black or white or peppered sand) surrounded by sugar, palm, banana and pineapple plantations. Christopher Columbus called it 'the most beautiful country in the world' and before he named it in honour of St Martin, it was called Madinina ('island of flowers') by the native population.
GOVERNMENT	Martinique is an Overseas Department of France and as such is an integral part of the French Republic. Head of State: President Jacques Chirac since 1995, represented locally by Prefect Dominique Bellion since 1998. Head of Government: Claude Lise, President of the General Council since 1992.
LANGUAGE	The official language is French; a Creole patois is widely used.
RELIGION	The majority of the population is Roman Catholic.
STANDARD TIME	GMT - 4.
ELECTRICITY	220 volts AC, 50Hz.

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Mangolia

Mangolia

AREA	1,566,500 sq km (604,829 sq miles).
POPULATION	2,422,800 (1999).
POPULATION DENSITY	1.5 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Ulaanbaatar
CAPITAL POPULATION	627,200 (1997).
GEOGRAPHY	Mongolia has a 3485km (2165-mile) border with the Russian Federation in the north and a 4670km (2902-mile) border with China in the south. From north to south it can be divided into four areas: mountain-forest steppe, mountain steppe and, in the extreme south, semi-desert and desert (the latter being about 3% of the entire territory). The majority of the country has a high elevation, with the principal mountains concentrated in the west. The highest point is the peak of Tavan Bogd, in the Altai Mountains, at 4374m (14,350ft). The lowest point, Khukh Nuur lake, in the east, lies at 560m (1820ft). There are several hundred lakes in the country and numerous rivers, of which the Orkhon is the longest at 1124km (698 miles).
GOVERNMENT	Republic. Declared independence from China in 1921. Head of State: President Natsagiyn Bagabandi since 1997. Head of Government: Prime Minister Rentsennyam Amarjargal since 1999.
LANGUAGE	Khalkh Mongolian is the official language. Kazak is spoken by 5% of the population. There are also many Mongolian dialects.
RELIGION	Buddhist Lamaism is the main religion.
STANDARD TIME	GMT + 8 (Bayan Ulgii, Uvs & Khovd Aimags in western Mongolia GMT+7)
ELECTRICITY	220 volts AC, 50Hz.

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Malta

Malta

AREA	316 sq km (122 sq miles).
POPULATION	376,513 (1997, excluding non-Maltese).
POPULATION DENSITY	1189.0 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Valletta.
CAPITAL POPULATION	7146 (1997).
GEOGRAPHY	The Maltese archipelago is situated in the middle of the Mediterranean, with the largest inhabited island, Malta, lying 93km (58 miles) south of Sicily and 290km (180 miles) from North Africa. Gozo and Comino are the only other inhabited islands. The landscape of all three is characterised by low hills with terraced fields. Malta has no mountains or rivers. Its coastline is indented with harbours, bays, creeks, sandy beaches and rocky coves. Gozo is connected to Malta by ferry and is more thickly vegetated, with many flat-topped hills and craggy cliffs. Comino, the smallest island, is connected to Malta and Gozo by ferry and is very sparsely populated.
GOVERNMENT	Republic. Gained independence from the UK in 1964. Head of State: President Guido de Marco since 1999. Head of Government: Prime Minister Edward Fenech Adami since 1998.
LANGUAGE	Maltese (a Semitic language) and English are the official languages. Italian is also widely spoken.
RELIGION	Roman Catholic.
STANDARD TIME	GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).
ELECTRICITY	240 volts AC, 50Hz. UK-style 3-pin plug are in use.

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Maldives

Maldives

AREA	298 sq km (115 sq miles).
POPULATION	263,189 (1997).
POPULATION DENSITY	883.2 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Malé.
CAPITAL POPULATION	62,973 (1995).
GEOGRAPHY	The Maldives Republic is located 500km (300 miles) southwest of the southern tip of India and consists of about 1190 low-lying coral islands, of which only 200 are inhabited. Most of the inhabited islands are covered by lush tropical vegetation and palm trees, while the numerous uninhabited islands, some of which are mere sand spits or coral tips, are covered in shrubs. Each island is surrounded by a reef enclosing a shallow lagoon. Hundreds of these islands together with other coral growth form an atoll, surrounding a lagoon. All the islands are low-lying, none more than 2m (7ft) above sea level. The majority of the indigenous population do not mix with the tourist visitors, with the exception of those involved with tourism in the resorts and Malé.
GOVERNMENT	Republic since 1965. Gained independence from the UK in 1965. Head of State and Government: President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom since 1978.
LANGUAGE	The national language is Dhivehi. English is widely used as a business language in government offices and the commercial sector. Other languages are widely used within tourist areas.
RELIGION	The indigenous population is almost entirely Sunni Muslim.
STANDARD TIME	GMT + 5.
ELECTRICITY	220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round-pin plugs are used, although square-pin plugs are now becoming more common.

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Malaysia

Malaysia

AREA	329,758 sq km (127,320 sq miles).
POPULATION	21,169,000 (1996)
POPULATION DENSITY	64.2 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Kuala Lumpur.
CAPITAL POPULATION	1,231,500 (1995).
GEOGRAPHY	Malaysia is situated in central South-East Asia, bordering on Thailand in the north, with Singapore and Indonesia to the south and the Philippines to the east. It is composed of Peninsular Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the north coast of the island of Borneo, 650-950km (404-600 miles) across the South China Sea. Peninsular Malaysia is an area of forested mountain ranges running north–south, on either side of which are low-lying coastal plains. The coastline extends some 1900km (1200 miles). The west coast consists of mangrove swamps and mudflats which separate into bays and inlets. In the west, the plains have been cleared and cultivated, while the unsheltered east coast consists of tranquil beaches backed by dense jungle. Sarawak has alluvial and, in places, swampy coastal plains with rivers penetrating the jungle-covered hills and mountains of the interior. Sabah has a narrow coastal plain which gives way to mountains and jungle. Mount Kinabalu, at 4094m (13,432ft), is the highest peak in Malaysia. The major islands are Langkawi (a group of 99 islands), Penang and Pangkor off the west coast; and Tioman, Redang, Kapas, Perhentian and Rawa off the east coast.
GOVERNMENT	Constitutional monarchy since 1963. Gained independence from the UK in 1957. Head of State: King Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj (Sultan of Selangor) since 1999. Head of Government: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mahatir Mohammad since 1981.
LANGUAGE	Bahasa Malaysia is the national and official language, but English is widely spoken. Other languages such as Chinese (Mandarin), Iban and Tamil are spoken by minorities.
RELIGION	Muslim (53%) and Buddhist (19%) majorities. The

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Malawi

Malawi

AREA	118,484 sq km (45,747 sq miles).
POPULATION	10,441,000 (1997).
POPULATION DENSITY	88.1 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Lilongwe.
CAPITAL POPULATION	395,500 (1994, including suburbs). Blantyre, with a population of 446,800 (1994), is the largest city in the country.
GEOGRAPHY	Malawi shares borders to the north and northeast with Tanzania, to the south, east and southwest with Mozambique and to the north and northwest with Zambia. Lake Malawi, the third-largest lake in Africa, is the dominant feature of the country, forming the eastern boundary with Tanzania and Mozambique. The scenery varies in the country's three regions. The Northern Region is mountainous, with the highest peaks reaching to over 3000m (9843ft), and features the rolling Nyika Plateau, rugged escarpments, valleys and the thickly forested slopes of the Viphya Plateau. The Central Region is mainly a plateau, over 1000m (3300ft) high, with fine upland scenery. This is the country's main agricultural area. The Southern Region is mostly low-lying except for the 2100m-high (6890ft) Zomba Plateau south of Lake Malawi and the huge, isolated Mulanje Massif (3000m/10000ft) in the southeast. The variety of landscape and the wildlife it supports make this relatively unspoilt country particularly attractive to visitors.
GOVERNMENT	Republic since 1966. Gained independence from the UK in 1964. Head of State and Government: President Bakili Muluzi since 1994.
LANGUAGE	The national language is the widely spoken Chichewa but the official language, and that of the business community, is English.
RELIGION	75% are Christian, 10% Muslim, 10% follow traditional beliefs and there is a small Hindu minority.
STANDARD TIME	GMT + 2.
ELECTRICITY	220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. The standard plug is square 3-pin.

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Madagascaren

Madagascar

AREA	587,041 sq km (226,658 sq miles).
POPULATION	13,494,000 (1996).
POPULATION DENSITY	23.0 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Antananarivo (formerly Tananarive).
CAPITAL POPULATION	1,052,835 (1993).
GEOGRAPHY	Madagascar, the fourth-largest island in the world, lies in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mozambique. It includes several much smaller islands. A central chain of high mountains, the Hauts Plateaux, occupies more than half of the main island and is responsible for the marked differences – ethnically, climatically and scenically – between the east and west coasts. The narrow strip of lowlands on the east coast, settled from the 6th century by Polynesian seafarers, is largely covered by dense rainforests, whereas the broader west-coast landscape, once covered by dry deciduous forests, is now mostly savannah. The east coast receives the monsoon and, on both coasts, the climate is wetter towards the north. The southern tip of the island is semi-desert, with great forests of cactus-like plants. The capital, Antananarivo, is high up in the Hauts Plateaux near the island's centre. Much of Madagascar's flora and fauna is unique to the island. There are 3000 endemic species of butterfly; the many endemic species of lemurs fill the niches occupied elsewhere by animals as varied as racoons, monkeys, marmots, bushbabies, sloths and even (though this variant is now extinct) bears; there is a similar diversity of reptiles, amphibians and birds (especially ducks), and also at all levels of plant life.
GOVERNMENT	Republic since 1992. Gained independence from France in 1960. Head of State: President Didier Ratsiraka since 1997. Head of Government: Prime Minister René Tantely Andrianarivo since 1998.
LANGUAGE	The official languages are Malagasy (which is related to Indonesian) and French. Local dialects are also spoken. Very little English is spoken.
RELIGION	51% follow Animist beliefs, about 43% Christian; remainder Muslim.
STANDARD TIME	GMT + 3.
ELECTRICITY	Mostly 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs are generally 2-pin.

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