You really have to be a geography freak to know about these countries from the list. It’s irrelevant to us how recognized they are as countries but they surely look at themselves like that. Of course a special thanks to Wikipedia for the article’s research.
10. Vanuatu, 90% of Vanuatu people household and consume fish, and 80% are living in rural, isolated villages with their own gardens and food supplies. Scuba diving is a very popular tourist attraction here. Tsunamis are not a rare thing in Vanuatu, and earthquakes have a negative affect on the country’s economy.
9. Nauru, a former German Empire colony is also known as Pleasant Island of the South Pacific. The people of Nauru are collecting rain water during monsoon rains between November and February because they are very limited on natural fresh water. The most popular sport in this country is Australian rules football, and they have football league with seven teams.
8. Tuvalu, is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. They don’t have regular military forces, and spend no money on defense. Tuvalu is the 4th smallest country in the world. The first inhabitants of the country were Polynesian people.
7. Comoros is African island nation in the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. The island is an old French colony, and today there is about 300 000 Comorians living in France. 98% of the population is Islamic.
6. Guernsey is under the responsibility of the United Kingdom but they don’t count as a part of the U.K, as well as the European Union. Guernsey is located in the English Channel on the coast of Normandy. They have complete autonomy over internal affairs, and they are discussing total independence from the British Crown.
5. Isle of Man, also known as Mann, is self-governing British Crown Dependency, with a location in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. They are not a part of the European Union. Isle of Man economy is based on offshore banking and tourism. The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC.
4. Tokelau, is a non-self-governing territory of New Zealand that consists of three islands. The name Tokelau is a Polynesian word that means “north wind”. The island has the smallest economy of any country in the world that makes them almost completely dependent on subsidies from New Zealand. 96% of the population is Christians and 57% of these are women.
3. Cook Islands, are a self-governing parliamentary democracy. With over 90 000 tourists per year, tourism is their far best industry and their leading element of the island economy, far ahead of offshore banking, marine, pearls and fruit exports. Cook Islands got named by the British navigator Captain James Cook when he arrived the islands in 1773.
2. Pitcairn Islands, officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands that are formerly a British colony, the last remaining in the Pacific. The population’s language is a mix of English and Tahitian. In recent years the church has been closed because only 8 islanders have been visiting it regularly. There is only one Café and Bar on the island, and the Government Store is selling alcohol and cigarettes. They used to have moral strict laws which prohibited dancing, smoking and consummation of alcohol.
1. Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is the independent republic located between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nagorno Karabakh is one of the most heavily mined regions of the former Soviet Union because of the 1991-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War. They are still not recognized by any state, including Armenia. 95% of the population is Armenian, and the rest are Greeks and Kurds. Their tourism are basically directed to Armenians that live in Western countries.
Henk says
I think there are a lot bigger and more populated ‘real’ countries that are less known! Uzbekistan, Kyrkystan, Turkmenistan, even Kazakstan which is a huge country!
I think everybody has heard of Isle of man, Comoros and some of the others.
Sara says
Having a Union Jack on a flag doesn’t make them British, it means they were once colonies of the British, sadly the commonwealth is essentially no more.
As for the American bashing, the country is huge. It appears ignorant because the huge amount of people. I’m sure there are many many people in India or China who also know nothing about foreign countries. America simply has the publicity.
On a side note, I knew about all but one of those countries. I am however from New Zealand and thus most of them are in my backyard, so to speak.
satend says
wanted to tour one of them so i can say i have been in another World.
jayprime says
ayanle – somaliland? Do you mean Somalia?
Surely even Americans have heard of that place!
It’s where some tin-pot tribal war-lord whipped the much vaunted American armed forces when they tried to kill him!
Ana says
I take a great deal of offense to those of you who have so rudely labeled Americans as ignorant! How absolutely narrow minded, erroneous and bigoted can you be? Sounds to me like sour grapes!
It is obvious you all have never spent any appreciable amount of time in our country. First of all, we are an absolute melting pot of nationalities, ethnicities and religions so are you insinuating that every one in America is ignorant or are you suggesting that only native born U.S. citizens are neanderthals ? Before you decide to label a whole nation why don’t you take the time to learn something about us??? If our country is so backward and repulsive then why do so many people want to emigrate here?? Why is it that people are willing to illegally cross our southern border at the risk of life and limb??
Ana says
Oh, and as an aside, I have heard of all but two of the locales mentioned…Nauru and Tokelau… And I happen to possess a Masters Degree in History from a very well respected University in the U.S.
woldbrains says
I know this is outside the scope of this article, but it is a question in response to one of the comments here. Why would an American buy a passport if they’ll never get the chance to use or have the need of one? They might travel for over 4,000km in a straight line and still be in their own country. Many EU countries are roughly one-quarter of that (of course there are exceptions, but for an average – 1,000km is a good rough number). Even if Americans travelled to neighboring countries as is more common in the EU, it was not until just a year ago (June 2009) that passports were even required for the most part. Something else to consider, rather than per capita, let us compare by percentages of the populations as to how many are well-traveled, knowledgeable about countries other than those that are in the vicinity of their own, etc. As another comment gave the direction to… How many people (what percentage) in China (a very large country in geographical size and population)have international passports or have good knowledge of many other countries that are not immediately around their own? How many actually might have a chance to go? That might be a poor comparison because of how restrictive their government is. Perhaps we might consider how many people in any country rarely travel very far from their place of birth. I am not saying they never do, but what percentage of the people that you grew up with have traveled over 4,000km away from where they live? Have your grandparents or parents? If they have, also consider how frequently it does occur. I am sorry the question is so long, but it is something to think about.
woldbrains says
Anyone that has learned so much as the people who have commented here, I consider them above average. Finding this article and being interested in it already sets you apart.
Mario-Slovakia says
I think there are a lot bigger and more populated ‘real’ countries that are less known! Uzbekistan, Kyrkystan, Turkmenistan, even Kazakstan which is a huge country!
I think everybody has heard of Isle of man, Comoros and some of the others except american uneducated idiots,even people with university degrees behave like primitives and ignorants,shame on them,some dont know where is certain countries in Europe,so it´useless even to speak about it..
RAHUL PATEL says
cant believe this!!!!!
pythias says
some of these places are new to me and some are not….but one thing is sure, these places are cool!!!!
Carla says
In my opinion as a citizen of the United States, We (Americans)left and struck out on our own so that we could have a chance at establishing our own religion. I don’t see what knowing anything about geography has to do with how much value a persons life holds. If I had to be stuck on one of these beautiful islands with one person I would chose a Doctor or a surgeon, considering that they would be better use to me than a 2 bit has been who has gotten an A in Geography in high school! If America the free is such a bad country then why the hell does everyone want to come live here????? There are almost more immigrants here than actual Americans!!! We are gonna have to start deporting some of them so that we can actually flourish and grow ourselves. I by no means think that America is better than any other country, We have a decently high crime rate and people still go penniless and suffer from disease and famine, and our government is not the very best it could possibly be but, as individuals, even though we struggle and scrape sometimes to get by we always know that we have the right to choose our own paths in life and we can help where help is needed. Isn’t that the Golden rule of life anyways? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Mike says
Dear Carla,
That attitude is not new, but in 1914 a little country named Serbia (near those “unknown” countries above) initiated an action which launched World War I, II and the Cold War. The fallout continues. It’s not about being a better person, but knowing how the activities in other parts of the world have an impact on your daily living.
Geoffrey X says
You can tell this was aimed at Americans!! Jeez! Don’t they have geography on the US curriculum? Please don’t tell me Americans are THAT ignorant.
shafi says
americans are arrogant by nature because whole world is witnessing what she is doing with iraq and afghanistan….reason behind …nothing..a day wil come when u the americans wil hav to pay off…and i m scared of that day
ed says
first off, i have heard of all of them places. second, i had heard of all of the alternative places you eggheads felt should have been on the list. and third, the reason many americans havent heard of too many places outside of the good old U.S.A. is because there arent too many other places worth knowing about. and the tin pot warlord in somalia didnt defeat our vaunted military. we just couldnt beat him, because our govt insists on being nice to all you dirtbags….no collateral damage and such….if you arent american, you arent worth our time.
mann_go@hotmail.com says
i hope when you say Americans are ignorant, i hope you don’t mean all of them because USA is the one of the world’s most powerful nations of the world, with some of the most prestigious universities of the world. theres a reason why people are the way they are at its simply because they are better off than the most of the world. and the thing is american culture is so diverse in itself and they are so immersed in their own culture (entertainment,sports, media,politics,art,science) that they tend to regard the outside world less important. and i think its more of a cultural trend rather than nation’s view. i can get into detail as to what might have been contributed to this phenonmenon but i think you get my point
kaie says
how can you not have heard of the isle on man? that just seems illogical to me.
(ED
there are many other places worth knowing about and most of them are better than America.
and i suppose you were trying to be nice to all us dirtbags when you invaded Iraq and Afghanistan
If your American and like Ed here, your probably not worth the time)
turan says
1. Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
it`s not independent country. it`s part of Azerbaijan Republic which were occupaited by armenians and russian troops which located in Caucasian Region and still under control of armenians which are supporting by russia.
billy joey says
Pft, I’ve heard of the Isle of Man, but the rest were good choises tho. And for those retards who call the americans ignorant, how/why the hell are we supposed to know these countries? theres no point in learning about microscopic nations. they wont make any impact on our lives, and they barely affect the world. unless ur looking for a job there or something, or u want to be a history teacher, (but that likelihood is like 0.03%)
Catweazle says
I think that with the exception of 2, I have heard or been to most of them.
skux says
where’s NIUE?
Bill says
skux-Niue is in the south western Pacific.
Ammericans; or Yanks; keep your hair on! you have given a lot of blood so that people can give you a hard time.You could be worse! you could be Australians.
Mike says
i am from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
is an Armenian country and very nice place to visit
Tamtaaa says
Nagorno-karabakh is not recognized yet. It is conflict region between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I personally would not visit that place.
TJ says
I heard all of those countries. Anyway there are few not listed there either recognised or unrecognised such as like Wallis and Futuna, Abkhazia, Transnistria, South Ossetia, UK Bases in Cyprus, British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), Mayotte, etc.
Ivan Efimov says
Tourism in nagorno-karabakh?? there is still war situation, and only tourists go there are OSCE Minsk Group and Red Cross : ))
it’s an occupied territory and only Armenia recognizes it as “independent” under its control…
Gibbs Barry says
ISLE OF MAN? Wow, where is that?
andres says
i’ve had heard of all of them, what a cheap list…
Tinfoil_Architect says
I’ve never heard of most of these before except for all of them. They aren’t really that unheard of. Besides that, the ads on the images made them barely enjoyable.
Nyke says
Hmmmm. The dumber citizens of the USA do seem to be a touchy lot.
They may know little of the world outside their borders, but we are all well exposed to their wonderful culture, thanks to Hollywood, Coca Cola, McDonalds and such like.
And I’m sure we can agree that The Land of the Free only invade other peoples countries in order to help them.
Oh yes! People fighting to get into the USA. Umm! does that include Canadians? Thought not.
Dirt poor Mexicans heading for USA proves only that they think the USA is a better place to live. It does not make the USA fantastic or good even, just perhaps a better place than Mexico. Is this really a big deal
KKno says
It is extremely ignorant to believe that the knowledge of theses 10 ‘countries’ determines if Americans are idiots or not. Everyone has a different idea of what is important. Do you know Avogadro’s number? The speed of light? Who invented the windshield wiper? The shortest recorded war and where it was? How Eratosthenes (275 – 175B.C.) calculated the circumference of the Earth to 2% its actual size? Hopefully you know the amount of time it takes for sunlight to reach earth. How carbon is made? That is water wasn’t polar we wouldn’t exist? The value of this information is different for everyone, but you can’t argue that it doesn’t affect your daily life, even if you don’t know it.
Gregory says
Instead of Nagorny Karabakh, a photo of its bordering territory (Aghdam) is placed in the article. True Nagorny Karabakh looks very wealthy and attractive: http://stepanakert.am/index.php?section=gallery/index&type=4&subtype=33
Wendy Anne Rucker says
Turkeys are the dumbest animals in the world.
Magdu says
It’s funny to know that many young people haven’t heard about these subjects. Concerning Nagorno-Karabakh Republic – it has gained it’s full right to enjoy all the liberties and common rights of people in the war unleashed by Azerbaijan. You all welcome to Karabakh, it’s better come and see 1 time for yourselves, you’ll be definitely surprised, I promise http://www.karabakh.travel/en/about/8/
Forgot o ne says
NIUE would be the only one there is that no one would know about
Paula says
The places are cool and interesting but some of you I don’t know if you’re stupid or can’t read you’re saying you know all these countries and stuff and they need to do more research but if you read it properly it said Countries you PROBABLY NEVER HEARD ABOUT !
Jonny Blair says
I’ve heard of them all and been to 2 of them, the best of which was Nagorno Karabakh. Great wee country.
Hier says
most of these aren’t even countries though…
Robert says
Mann is pretty known. They even have their own extension .im