Philippines

The Philippines located in Southeastern Asia, are an archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam. As a whole the country is slightly larger than Arizona. In 2009, the estimated population was 92.2 million people with 11.55 million in the metropolitan area of Manila, the capital city. The Philippine archipelago is made up of 7,107 islands; favorably located in relation to many of Southeast Asia's main water bodies: the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea, and Luzon Strait.  Read More

Syria

Syria, about the size of North Dakota, encompasses 185,180 sq. km.; it is located in the Middle East along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey. The capital, Damascus, has an approximate population of 1.7 million; it is situated at the Ghouta oasis, fed by the Barada River, and thought to be one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Other major cities include: Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Idleb, al-Hasakeh, Dayr al-Zur, Latakia, and Dar'a.  Read More

Iraq

Iraq or Republic of Iraq, (area: 438,317 sq. km.; 2011 est. pop. 30,399,572) covers a land area slightly more than twice the size of Idaho. Iraq is bordered by Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The country slopes from mountains over 3,000 meters (10,000 ft.) above sea level along the border with Iran and Turkey to the remnants of sea-level marshes in the southeast. Much of the land is desert or wasteland.  Read More

Afghanistan

Afghanistan, slightly smaller than the state of Texas, is a landlocked country in southern Asia. With an estimated population of 29,835,392 (July 2011); Afghanistan is ethnically diverse: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, and other. The two official languages are Afghan Persian (or Dari) and Pashto; thirty other languages are also recognized and many Afghanis are bilingual. Religiously, the country is 80% Sunni Muslim, 19% Shia Muslim, and 1% other.  Read More