Here are some interesting facts you may not know about certain countries around the world.
Isle of Man: The Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy, and even the Southern Lights can be easily seen from this British island.
Eritrea: This northeastern African country has no official language.
Nauru: This Pacific island nation is the only country in the world without a capital city. Additionally, it is shaped somewhat like a potato.
Djibouti: If you visit this African country, be sure to bring plenty of bottled water, as freshwater is so scarce that bottled water can be accepted as a form of payment.
Brunei: Nobody pays personal income tax in Brunei, as this Southeast Asian nation earns its money from oil sales.
Eswatini: This small country in southern Africa has a law that prohibits witches from flying higher than 150 meters on their broomsticks.
Niue: In this South Pacific island nation, instead of presidents, queens, or important politicians, the symbols on their coins are famous faces from Disney, Pokémon, or characters from “Star Wars.”
Tuvalu: This tiny country can sustain its existence partly thanks to an internet domain. A company paid $50 million for the rights to sell the “.tv” domain to other companies.
Republic of Kiribati: This Pacific island nation is the only country located in all four hemispheres.
If counting overseas territories, France has the most time zones in the world, with around 12 time zones. The United States comes in second with 11 time zones, followed by Russia with 9 time zones.
Switzerland has the most Michelin-starred restaurants: You might think France has the most Michelin-starred restaurants, and as of 2023, this country has 628 restaurants. Japan and Italy follow behind. However, with 138 Michelin-starred restaurants, Switzerland tops the world in terms of per capita, even though it is not often recognized for its cuisine.
Some countries without an army: Costa Rica is considered a country without armed forces, and that is true: it has not had a standing army since 1948. However, there are more than 20 other countries without armies, including various island nations in the Caribbean or Pacific. Additionally, Iceland also has no army, despite being a member of NATO. Some of these countries have paramilitary forces, ceremonial guard forces, coast guards, and various security forces.
It is not 2023 everywhere: In Iran and Afghanistan it is currently the year 1401 according to the Persian calendar. And it was only in 2015 according to the Ethiopian calendar. According to the Hijri or Islamic calendar, this year is 1444; these calendars are mainly used for religious purposes but also frequently appear in government documents in many Islamic countries and are the official calendar in countries like Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Meanwhile, according to the Jewish calendar, this year is 5783.
Some countries without rivers: There are up to 22 countries without rivers, such as small island nations like Nauru and Tonga, small European states like Monaco, or other countries located on the Arabian Peninsula. To date, the largest country without a river is Saudi Arabia, which spans 2.5 million square kilometers and is very arid, with valleys that occasionally have flowing water.
