World Roulette: Fun Facts #1
Last updated: Saturday May 24th, 2025
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Welcome To World Roulette
This is a new series that consists of spinning a roulette with all the recognized, non-recognized countries, and territories of the world, and there will be fun facts about each one! I hope that you like it and let's get started.
The 1st one is...
● Greece is the 95th biggest country in the world and the 95th in terms of population with 9,95 million people.
● It's one of the best countries to live in terms of HDI (33rd) with 0,893 which is considered "very high".
● It's one of the oldest countries in the world.
More tourists visit Greece every year than the entire Greek population!
The number of tourists visiting Greece every year is around 33 million, which is three times the population. This makes it one of the most visited countries in the world.
There are more than 4,000 traditional dances
Sirtaki, Ikariotikos, Kalamatianos, and Hasapiko are examples among the approximately 4,000 traditional dances in Greece.
The 2nd one is...
● Mali is the 23rd biggest country in the world and the 58th in terms of population with 24,9 million people.
● It's one of the worst countries to live in terms of HDI (188th) with 0,410 which is considered "low".
● It's estimated that 47,19% of the population of Mali are under the age of 15.
Mali's Poverty is Extreme
Mali has the third highest birth rate in the world. Health and development indicators are among the lowest in the world. A high percentage do not have access to clean water and sanitation.
Mansa Musa was one of the richest persons of the world
When Mansa Musa, Emperor of the Malian Empire in the early 13th century, made his pilgrimage to Mecca, he made his country famous by taking with him 12,000 slaves, 60,000 men and 80 camels carrying (each) between 13 and 23 kilograms of gold.
The 3rd one is...
● Guadeloupe is an overseas department of France that has an area of 1,628 km2. It also has a population of 378,561.
● If it were a country, it would be the 173rd in terms of size and 174th in terms of population.
● Guadeloupe has 5 hours of difference with mainland France.
Guadeloupe hosts one of the world's most active volcanoes
La Soufrière, located on the Basse-Terre island of Guadeloupe, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and the highest peak in the Lesser Antilles. Its last eruption occurred in 1976
Guadeloupe is an Archipelago
Contrary to what many people think, Guadeloupe is an archipelago of 9 inhabited islands and not a singular island.
The 4th one is...
● Ecuador is the 73rd biggest country in the world and the 72nd in terms of population with 18,2 million people.
● It's a good country to live in terms of HDI (83rd) with 0,765 which is considered "high".
● Ecuador gets its name for the word "equator" since the line of the equator runs right through the country.
The capital of Ecuador, Quito, is one of the most elevated capitals.
Quito is the second highest capital city after La Paz (Bolivia). It's so elevated that water boils at 90 degrees!
Ecuador has the most biodiversity of any country in the world.
Ecuador is one of 17 megadiverse countries, and has the most biodiversity of any nation in the world. The country has around 23.056 taxonomic species of animals and plants reported, which constitutes the 6,1% of all species reported worldwide.
The 5th one is...
● San Marino is the 192nd biggest country in the world (or the 5th smallest) and also 192nd in terms of population with 34,000 people.
● It's one of the best countries to live in terms of HDI (43rd) with 0,867 which is considered "very high".
● San Marino is the oldest existing republic in the world, it was founded in 301.
Abraham Lincoln is an honorary citizen of San Marino
US President Abraham Lincoln was made an honorary citizen of San Marino in 1861. This was because the two countries had similar styles of government despite being very different in size.
The worst football national team
San Marino is the worst national football team on the official FIFA ranking, 240th to be exact. Despite this, in 2024 they won two official matches against Liechtenstein after 20 years of defeats and draws.
The 6th one is...
● Tunisia is the 91st biggest country in the world and the 80th in terms of population with 12,3 million people.
● It's a good country to live in terms of HDI (101st) with 0,732 which is considered "high".
● Tunisia's the home of the largest historical amphitheater, El Jem, which was built in 238 AD and has a capacity of 35,000.
Star Wars fans might recognize many sites in Tunisia
Several scenes from the Star Wars movies were filmed in Tunisia. The Sahara Desert was the backdrop for Luke Skywalker’s home planet, Tatooine, while the village of Tataouine inspired the name.
Tunisia is old... but not technically
Tunisia has been inhabited for around 200,000 years ago since the stone age. Despite that, it became a completely independent country in 1956.
The 7th one is...
● Yemen is the 48th biggest country in the world and the 37th in terms of population with 41,3 million people.
● It's one of the worst countries to live in terms of HDI (186th) with 0,424 which is considered "low".
● Owing to its geographic location, Yemen has been at the crossroads of many civilizations for over 7,000 years.
A river-less country
Yemen’s climate is so dry that it doesn’t have any permanently flowing rivers.
The Empty Quarter
Eastern Yemen is part of the world’s 5th largest desert called Rub’ al-Khali. It’s been given the nickname “the empty quarter” and has the longest stretch of uninterrupted sand in the world.
The 8th one is...
● Gambia is the 160th biggest country in the world and the 140th in terms of population with 2,79 million people.
● It's one of the worst countries to live in terms of HDI (174th) with 0,495 which is considered "low".
● It's the smallest country in continental Africa and it's completely surrounded by Senegal.
A presidential visit
Gambia was the first African country to receive a visit from a sitting President of the United States when Franklin D. Roosevelt visited in 1943.
A curious system of election
During political elections, Gambians vote using marbles.
The 9th one is...
● Egypt is the 29th biggest country in the world and the 13th in terms of population with 117,7 million people.
● It's a good country to live in terms of HDI (105th) with 0,728 which is considered "high".
● Egypt is home to the last standing ancient wonder of the world, the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
The Statue of Liberty was originally intended to be in Egypt.
When French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi first had the idea to build a statue of a peasant woman, dressed in robes and holding up a massive torch, he originally wanted it to stand at the entrance of Suez canal with the name ‘Egypt Bringing Light to Asia’. Nothing came up for the project, but he was comissionated to build The Statue of Liberty
The largest food court in the world is in Egypt
Oasis in Cairo’s has a food court of 25 restaurants, taking up 41,000 square metres and seating more than 4,000 diners at a time.
The 10th one is...
● Bangladesh is the 92nd biggest country in the world and the 8th in terms of population with 174,8 million people.
● It's a decent country to live in terms of HDI (129th) with 0,670 which is considered "medium".
● Approximately, 91% of Bangladesh's population are Muslims, making it the 4th highest muslim population in the world.
A long independence history
In 1757 the British defeated the local army of Nawab Siraj-ad-daula at the Battle of Plasey to begin 190 years of colonial rule in the region. Then, in 1947, british rule over India ended and East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (Now Pakistan) were established. Finally, after a nine-month war with Pakistan, Bangladesh became a fully independent country in 1971.
There's a lot of people
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with 1,240 people per square km of land area.
disappointing that greece is firstGreece being 95th, 95th, and 9.95 is funny.
Also 880 AD as the founding of greece is interesting? I'm not sure that is correct. Not that you can place a date on when greece was founded but like that seems wrong.
Thought I think there aught to be something more interesting about Mali than the poverty. I hope future entries about African nations show many of the very cool things they have! Very nice blog!