Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon before 1972.
• Sri Lanka is known as both the ‘pearl of the Indian Ocean’ and the ‘teardrop of India’ due to its shape.
  
• Sri Lanka is also known as 'The Nation of Smiling People'.
• The capital city of Sri Lanka is Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte, not Colombo.
• It is the second richest nation in South Asia, in terms of GDP per capita.
• Sri Lanka is one of the world’s largest tea exporters.
• Sri Lanka has a literacy rate of 92 percent, which means they have the highest literacy rate in the whole of South Asia.
• When Sri Lankans say yes, they don’t nod their heads up and down but rather waggle it from side to side, so it looks as if they are saying no instead.
• The very first female prime minister in the world is Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka. She first served in 1960 and held three terms: 1960–1965, 1970–1977, and 1994–2000.
• Bandaranaike’s daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga, was the first female president elected in Sri Lanka. She served for two consecutive terms.
• Sri Lanka achieved its independence from Britain in 1948 – the same year when Gandhi began his final fast, the Republic of Ireland was declared, and the country of Israel was formed.
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Number Fact

The only number in English that is spelled with its letters in alphabetical order is ‘forty’.

All Numbers from One through Nine Hundred Ninety Nine does not have the letter "a" in it.

Ethiopia is about twice the size of France

Ethiopia is a landlocked country on the Horn of Africa. The land formerly known as Abyssinia. 

With an area of 1,126,829 km² the country is about twice the size of France or approximately as big as France and Spain combined.

Addis Ababa, the capital city, is the highest capital city in Africa, at 2,400 metres. (3rd highest capital city in the world)

Ethiopia remains one of the only nations in Africa never to be colonized. It was occupied briefly by the Italians from 1936 to 1941.


Ethiopia is home to 9 UNESCO World Heritage sites, more than any other country in Africa.


Traditionally, Ethiopian parents and children do not share a last name. Most children take their father’s first name as their last name

Gambia

The smallest African country is The Seychelles covering an area of 453 sq km but Gambia is the smallest of the mainland African states, covering an area of 11,300 sq km (4,363 sq mi).

It is 360 kms long and only 50 kms wide at its widest part. 

It's almost surrounded by Senegal with the Atlantic Ocean to the West.

People cast their votes in elections in The Gambia by dropping stones in holes.

In 1964, the prime minister of The Gambia said that one of the reasons they like to have ‘The’ in their name is to avoid confusion with Zambia.

The official title of The Gambian president is Sheikh Professor Doctor President.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe president, Robert Mugabe(92Years) is world's oldest living head of state currently in office. He was born on 21 February 1924 and became president of Zimbabwe on 22 December 1987

Note:: Zimbabwe has one of the lowest life expectancy in the world

Zimbabweans mostly call every kind of toothpaste “Colgate,” every soft drink “Coke,” every washing powder “Surf” and every floor polish “Cobra.”

Independence: 18 April 1980 (from the UK)

In terms of the land area(390,757 km²) Zimbabwe covers, it is three times the size of England(130,279 km²).

Zimbabwe has an impressive adult literacy rate of 90% – one of the highest ratings in Africa.

To Zimbabweans, a big stomach among men is a sign of wealth. It implies that they can afford meat daily.

Victoria Falls is located along the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The falls act as a border between the two African countries and are considered one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. 

The Victoria falls is 1 708 meters wide, making it the largest curtain of water in the world. It drops between 90m and 107m into the Zambezi Gorge and an average of 550,000 cubic metres of water plummet over the edge every minute.

The Balancing Rocks are considered a national symbol of Zimbabwe. 

The world's largest man-made lake and reservoir by volume, Lake Kariba on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe is formed by damming the Zambezi River.

Three Gorges Dam

Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. 

The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW).

1.4 miles wide (2.3 kilometers) and 630 feet (192 meters/60 Stories Tall) high.

Three Gorges impounds the Yangtze River about 1,000 miles (1,610 km) west of Shanghai.

Located in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, China. 

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is, by standard definition, the largest lake on Earth. It is the largest enclosed inland body of water, and thus sometimes referred to as a sea.

371,000 Square Kilometers holding 78,200 cubic km of water by volume which is about 3.5 times more water by volume than all five of the Great Lakes combined.

Besides this, it is also the 3rd-deepest lake in the-world

The Caspian Sea is unique as the only Oceanic Lake on this list, with the rest being considered as Continental Lakes.

The Caspian Sea is known as the Mazandaran Sea

The five countries Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran share the natural heritage of the Caspian Sea.

Do You Know ????

Lake Kariba is the world's largest man-made lake and reservoir by volume. It lies 1300 kilometres upstream from the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Lake Kariba is over 223 kilometres (140 mi) long and up to 40 kilometres (20 mi) in width. It covers an area of 5,580 square kilometres (2,150 sq mi) and its storage capacity is 185 cubic kilometres (44.4 cu mi). The mean depth of the lake is 29 metres (95 ft); the maximum depth is 97 metres (320 ft). It is the world's largest man-made reservoir, four times as large as the Three Gorges Dam