Atlas (World Atlas)

ASIA 299

Philippines

Lying in the western Pacific Ocean, the Philippines is
the world’s second-largest archipelago, with 7107 islands, of

which 4600 are named but only around 1000 inhabited.

GEOGRAPHY THE ECONOMY
Larger islands are forested and Coconuts, bananas, pineapples
mountainous. Over 20 active volcanoes. exported. Growing outsourcing center.
Frequent earthquakes. Remittances from abroad. Corruption
and poor infrastructure limit growth.
CLIMATE
Tropical. Warm and humid all year 2000m/6562ft Babuyan Is.
round. Typhoons occur in the rainy 1000m/3281ft PACIFIC
season: June–October. 500m/1640ft OCEAN
200m/656ft
PEOPLE & SOCIETY Sea Level
Over 100 ethnic groups, most of
which are of Malay origin. The Catholic Luzon Philippine
Church is a dominant cultural force; it
opposes family-planning, despite high Sea
population growth. The Chinese minority
has been established for 400 years. Cabanatuan
Women play a prominent part in society. Angeles
High literacy levels. Islamist separatists and
communist insurgents undermine stability. MANILA

INSIGHT: Mass “People Power” Batangas Legazpi City
demonstrations have brought down
two presidents, in 1986 and 2001 South Mindoro Calbayog
China Samar
Panay
Sea Iloilo Bacolod City

Palawan Puerto Cebu Butuan
Princesa Negros Davao
Balabac Strait
Sulu Iligan
Sea

Zamboanga General

Sulu Mindanao Santos

Archipelago

0 200 km Celebes Sea

0 200 miles

FACTFILE LANGUAGES: Filipino*, Tagalog, Cebuano,
Hiligaynon, other, including English*
OFFICIAL NAME: Rep. of the Philippines RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 83%,
DATE OF FORMATION: 1946 Protestant 9%, Muslim 5%, other 3%
CAPITAL: Manila ETHNIC MIX: Tagalog 28%, Cebuano 13%,
POPULATION: 92 million Ilocano 9%, Hiligaynon 8%, other 42%
TOTAL AREA: 115,830 sq. miles GOVERNMENT: Presidential system
(300,000 sq. km) CURRENCY: Philippine peso = 100 centavos
DENSITY: 799 people per sq. mile

300 EUROPE

Poland

Located in the heart of Europe, Poland has undergone
massive social, economic, and political change since the
collapse of communism in 1989. It joined the EU in 2004.

GEOGRAPHY THE ECONOMY
Lowlands, part of the North Foreign investment reflects the
European Plain, cover most of the country’s large potential market. Rapid
country. The Tatra Mountains run along privatization. Heavy industries dominate,
the southern border. though services growing. Plans to join
euro in 2012.
CLIMATE
Rainfall peaks during the hot Baltic Gdynia RUSSIAN
summers. Cold winters with snow, Sea FEDERATION
especially in mountains.
LITHUANIA
PEOPLE & SOCIETY
Ethnic homogeneity masks a Gdaúsk
number of tensions. Secular liberals
criticize the semiofficial status of the Szczecin Olsztyn
Roman Catholic Church, and emerging BELARUS
wealth disparities are resented by those WisîBydgoszczBiaîystok
not profiting from the free market. The
German minority in the west is growing Oder
more assertive. GERMANY
Poznaú Wîocîawek
INSIGHT: Wild wisent (European WARSAW
bison) live in the Bialowieza Forest
straddling the Poland–Belarus border Zielona Îód¶ a
Góra Radom

Wrocïaw Czèstochowa Lublin

CZECH Gliwice Katowice Rzeszów
REP.
Kraków UKRAINE
Tatra Mts.

SLOVAKIA

1000m/3281ft 0 100 km
500m/1640ft 0 100 miles
200m/656ft
Sea Level

FACTFILE LANGUAGES: Polish
RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 93%, other
OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Poland and nonreligious 5%, Orthodox
DATE OF FORMATION: 1918 Christian 2%
CAPITAL: Warsaw ETHNIC MIX: Polish 97%, other 2%,
POPULATION: 38.1 million Silesian 1%
TOTAL AREA: 120,728 sq. miles GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary system
(312,685 sq. km) CURRENCY: Zloty = 100 groszy
DENSITY: 324 people per sq. mile

EUROPE 301

Portugal

Portugal, with its long Atlantic coast, lies on the
western side of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with Spain.

It is the most westerly country on the European mainland.

GEOGRAPHY THE ECONOMY
The Tagus River bisects the Tourism. Vegetables, fruit, wine,
country roughly east to west, dividing cars, and clothing are exported, but
mountainous north from lower and agriculture and manufacturing are in
more undulating south. decline. Resilient banking sector.

CLIMATE Viana do Vila Real Dour o Madeira
North is cool and moist. South is Castelo Vila Nova
warmer, with dry, mild winters. Porto de Gaia Madeira Is.
0 50 km
PEOPLE & SOCIETY ATLANTIC Coimbra 0 50 miles
A homogeneous and stable society, OCEAN
which is losing some of its conservative
traditions. History of immigration from Santarém S P A I N
former colonies, and recently from
eastern Europe. Urban areas and the Estoril LISBON São
south are more socially liberal. The Barreiro Évora Miguel
north is more responsive to traditional
Roman Catholic values. Family ties Setúbal Azores
remain important. 0 200 km
Beja 0 200 miles
INSIGHT: Portugal is the world’s
leading producer of cork, which comes Algarve 1000m/3281ft
from the bark of the cork oak Portimão 500m/1640ft
200m/656ft
Faro Sea Level

0 100 km
0 100 miles

FACTFILE LANGUAGES: Portuguese
RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 97%,
OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Portugal other 2%, Protestant 1%
DATE OF FORMATION: 1139 ETHNIC MIX: Portuguese 98%, African
CAPITAL: Lisbon and other 2%
POPULATION: 10.7 million GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary
TOTAL AREA: 35,672 sq. miles system
(92,391 sq. km) CURRENCY: Euro = 100 cents
DENSITY: 302 people per sq. mile

302 ASIA

Qatar

Projecting from the Arabian Peninsula into the Persian
Gulf, Qatar was a founding member of OPEC. One of the
region's wealthiest states due to oil and natural gas exports.

GEOGRAPHY THE ECONOMY
Flat, semiarid desert with dunes Steady supply of crude oil and
and salt pans. Vegetation is limited to huge natural gas reserves, plus related
small patches of scrub. industries. All other raw materials and
most foods are imported. Strong GDP
CLIMATE growth. Economy is heavily dependent
Hot and humid. Temperatures in on foreign workforce.
summer can soar to over 104°F (40°C).
Rainfall is rare. Ar Ru’ays

PEOPLE & SOCIETY Gulf Al Khuwayr
Only one in five residents is native- of
born; the rest are guest workers from Madínat al
across the Middle East, the Indian Bahrain Ka‘bán
subcontinent, Southeast Asia and north Al Khawr
Africa. Qataris were once nomadic
Bedouins, but since the advent of oil Ash Shaíaníyah
wealth, most now live in Doha and its Ar Rayyán DOHA
suburbs, leaving the north dotted with
abandoned villages. Women enjoy Umm Báb Al Wakrah
relative freedom; most wear the veil.
As Salwá Persian
INSIGHT: There are twice as Gulf
many men as women in Qatar SAUDI UAE
ARABIA 200m/656ft
Sea Level
0 30 km
0 30 miles

FACTFILE LANGUAGES: Arabic
RELIGIONS: Muslim (mainly Sunni) 95%,
OFFICIAL NAME: State of Qatar other 5%
DATE OF FORMATION: 1971 ETHNIC MIX: Qatari 20%, other Arab 20%,
CAPITAL: Doha Indian 20%, Nepalese 13%, Filipino 10%,
POPULATION: 1.41 million Pakistani 7%, other 10%
TOTAL AREA: 4416 sq. miles GOVERNMENT: Monarchy
(11,437 sq. km) CURRENCY: Qatar riyal = 100 dirhams
DENSITY: 332 people per sq. mile

EUROPE 303

Romania

Once dominated by Poles, Hungarians, and Ottomans,
Romania has been slowly converting to a market economy since the

1989 overthrow of its communist regime. It joined the EU in 2007.

GEOGRAPHY THE ECONOMY
Carpathian Mountains encircle the Polluting, outdated heavy industries
Transylvanian plateau. Wide plains to the and unmechanized agricultural sector.
south and east. Danube River forms Exports of textiles and metals have
southern border. led growth in 2000s. Has plans to join
euro currency zone in 2015.
CLIMATE Privatization continues.
Continental. Summers are hot and
humid, winters are cold and snowy. Very UKRAINE
heavy spring rains. Prut
Satu Mare Carpath ian MountainsBoto∞ani
PEOPLE & SOCIETY Suceava
Romanians are ethnically distinct HUNGARY Baia Mare
from their Slav and Hungarian (Magyar) Oradea Ia∞i
neighbors. Hungarians are the largest
minority, living mainly in Transylvania. Cluj-Napoca y l v a nia Bacâu MOLD.
They are protected by the influence of Arad T r a n s
Hungary, unlike the Roma, who suffer Târgu
from discrimination. The overall Mure∞
population is shrinking.
Timi∞oara Sibiu Bra∞ov Foc∞ani UKRAINE
INSIGHT: In 2001, Romania became
the last country in Europe to lift its ban Re∞iπa Carpa√i i M eri di onali Buzâu Brâila Galaπi
on homosexuality
Drobeta-Turnu Pite∞ti Ploie∞ti Danube
Severin Delta

SERBIA BUCHAREST Constanπa Black
Craiova DanubeMangalia Sea

2000m/6562ft BULGARIA
1000m/3281ft
500m/1640ft 0 100 km
200m/656ft 0 100 miles
Sea Level

FACTFILE LANGUAGES: Romanian*, Hungarian
RELIGIONS: Romanian Orthodox 87%,
OFFICIAL NAME: Romania Roman Catholic 5%, Protestant 4%, other 2%,
DATE OF FORMATION: 1878 Greek Orthodox 1%, Uniate 1%
CAPITAL: Bucharest ETHNIC MIX: Romanian 89%, Magyar 7%,
POPULATION: 21.3 million Roma 2%, other 2%
TOTAL AREA: 91,699 sq. miles GOVERNMENT: Presidential system
(237,500 sq. km) CURRENCY: Romanian leu
DENSITY: 239 people per sq. mile

304 EUROPE / ASIA

Russian Federation

The Russian Federation was the core of the old Soviet
Union, which broke up in 1991. Russia is still the world's largest
state. Its diversity is a source of both strength and problems.

GEOGRAPHY Kaliningrad Murmansk
The Ural Mountains divide the (Russ. Fed.) FINLAND
European steppes and forests from the
tundra and forests of Siberia. South- Sankt Peterburg
central deserts and mountains. (St Petersburg) Arkhangel’sk

CLIMATE BELARUS
Continental in European Russia.
Elsewhere climate ranges from sub-arctic MOSCOW Yaroslavl’
to Mediterranean and hot desert. Tula
UKRAINE
PEOPLE & SOCIETY Nizhniy Novgorod V
Besides the ethnic Russian majority, Ural
there are 57 “nationalities” with territorial Voronezh olgaKazan’Izhevsk Perm’
status, and a further 95 minorities aucasus Naberezhnyye
without their own region. Most ethnic Rostov-na-Donu Ul’yanovsk
republics are in European Russia. The Saratov
number of Muslims is rising, though the
overall population is predicted to fall by KrasnodarC Volgograd Tol’yatti Chelny
30% in 50 years. Nation-based separatism
is brutally suppressed, as in Chechnya. Samara Yekaterinburg
HIV/AIDS is spreading. Healthcare and
education are underfunded. Crime is a Orenburg Chelyabinsk
serious problem.
GEORGIA Astrakhan’

Groznyy

AZERBAIJAN

KAZAKHSTAN

INSIGHT: The Trans-Siberian
Railroad, which runs 5578 miles
(9297 km) from Moscow to Vladivostok,
is the longest in the world, passing
through eight time zones

FACTFILE LANGUAGES: Russian*, other
RELIGIONS: Orthodox Christian 75%,
OFFICIAL NAME: Russian Federation Muslim 14%, other 11%
DATE OF FORMATION: 1480 ETHNIC MIX: Russian 80%, other 13%,
CAPITAL: Moscow Tatar 4%, Ukrainian 2%, Chavash 1%
POPULATION: 141 million GOVERNMENT: Mixed presidential–
TOTAL AREA: 6,592,735 sq. miles parliamentary system
(17,075,200 sq. km) CURRENCY: Russian rouble = 100 kopeks
DENSITY: 21 people per sq. mile

EUROPE / ASIA 305

0 500 km Chukchi
0 500 miles Sea

ARCTIC OCEAN Ostrov Bering
Severnaya Novosibirskiye Vrangel’ya Sea
Zemlya Ostrova
Zemlya Vostochno-
Frantsa-Iosifa Sibirshoye

Barents More
Sea
More Kolyma
Novaya Zemlya Laptevykh Khrebet Kolymskiy
Karskoye
More Poluostrov
Taymyr

Mts. Kamchatka

Noril’sk
Amur Magadan
VerkYeniseyCentralhoyanskiy Khrebet Petropavlocsk-

Ob’ Ni Siberi an Plate a u Yakutsk Sea Kamchatskiy
z h n y aya Tunguska Lena of
West Okhotsk
Siberian Plain
Siberi a
Stanovoy Khrebet
Trans-Siberian Railroad Angara Komsomol'sk- Sakhalin
Kurile
Omsk Tomsk Islands

Krasnoyarsk Bratsk ovyy Khrebet na-Amure
Novokuznetsk Argun’
Novosibirsk Ozero Khabarovsk Yuzhno-
Baykal Blagoveshchensk Sakhalinsk
Barnaul CHINA
Abakan Sea of
Ob’ Ulan-Ude Japan
Rubtsovsk Irkutsk Yablon Chita (East Sea)

MONGOLIA Vladivostok

3000m/9843ft
2000m/6562ft
1000m/3281ft
500m/1640ft
200m/656ft
Sea Level
Below Sea Level

THE ECONOMY areas of the economy. Widespread tax
Huge natural resources (oil and evasion, corruption. Lingering
natural gas, precious metals, timber) inefficiencies in industry and agriculture.
account for 80% of exports. Important High oil prices brought strong GDP growth
military, engineering, and scientific base. and budget surpluses in 2000s, allowing
Wealth disparities and black-market Russia to repay its Soviet-era debt. Stock
activities have accompanied reforms. market collapse, devaluation of rouble in
Organized crime syndicates own huge 2008, then recession in 2009.