Who could ever guess South Korea to be first in the list of Hardest Working Countries in the World with the average employee working 2,357 hours a year which includes only 11 public holidays. South Korea is followed by Greece in the second place with its people working 2,052 hours a year. Last in the rankings is Iceland, where the average employee works 1,794 hours.

These 2008 rankings are from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for its members. There might be other countries who can top this list, if they were part of the OECD.

A google maps of the rankings for Hardest Working Countries via Forbes is available here.

 


The Equator is an imaginary line that divides the earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Also known as the Great Circle, the Equator is at latitude 0 degree. Countries through which the Equator passes, experience quick sunrise and sunset and equal hours of day and night. Here’s a Google Maps Mashup of the countries that lie on the Equator.

 

The collapse of USSR in 1991, led to the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), but didn’t have any distinguishing effect on its geographical expanse. Russia still leads the list of largest countries in area. Here’s a Google Maps Mashup of the ten Largest Countries in the World by area.

 


The Prime Meridian also known as the Greenwich Meridian, is the imaginary vertical line passing through the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London. It is the meridian at which the longitude is 0 degrees. The Prime Meridian along with the 180 degree longitude, known as the International Date Line divide the Earth into Eastern and Western Hemispheres. These two meridians encircle the earth like a longitudinal equator.

Here’s a Google Maps Mashup depicting the countries through which the Prime Meridian passes.

 

Here’s a Google Maps Mashup of the European Countries smaller in area than Rhode Island, which is the smallest state in United States.

 

Here is a listing of the world’s smallest independent countries that are less than 200 square miles (518 square kilometers) in area.

  1. Vatican City – 0.2 square miles
  2. Monaco – 0.7 square miles
  3. Nauru – 8.5 square miles
  4. Tuvalu – 9 square miles
  5. San Marino – 24 square miles
  6. Liechtenstein – 62 square miles
  7. Marshall Islands – 70 square miles
  8. Saint Kitts and Nevis – 104 square miles
  9. Seychelles – 107 square miles
  10. Maldives – 115 square miles
  11. Malta – 122 square miles
  12. Grenada – 133 square miles
  13. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – 150 square miles
  14. Barbados – 166 square miles
  15. Antigua and Barbuda – 171 square miles
  16. Andorra – 180 square miles
  17. Palau – 191 square miles

Please go to http://geography.about.com/cs/countries/a/smallcountries.htm?nl=1 for a comprehensive article on the same.

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