Internationalizing Curriculum.Facts and Figures in English

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Country	Argentina
Capital	Buenos Aires
Population	38.4 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	2,766,890 sq km
Size comparison	Almost a third of the U.S. (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Peso
Major Language	Spanish
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Exports	Food including beef, live animals, mineral fuels, cereals, machinery
Average annual income	US $6,940 (World Bank Group, 2003)
Resources	Buenos Aires Herald, an English publication: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/ Clarin is one of the popular daily newspaper: http://ar.clarin.com/diario/hoy/index_diario.html The presidential official web page: http://www.presidencia.gov.ar/
Interesting fact	Argentina is close to 4,000 km long and it has a diverse terrain, the north is subtropical and the south is subantartcic. Argentina has part of the Andes mountain range, it has swamps, it has the large plains of the Pampas, and it has a sizeable coastline.

Country	Bolivia
Capital	Sucre (official), La Paz (administrative)
Population	8.8 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	1,098,580 sq km
Size comparison	slightly less than three times the size of Montana (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Boliviano
Major Language	Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guaraní
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Exports	Soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, silver, lead, tin, antimony, wood, sugar
Average annual income	US $900 (World Bank Group, 2003)
Resources	La Razón is one of the daily newspapers: http://www.la-razon.com/ A web page with information on Bolivia: http://www.bolivia.com/
Interesting fact	Bolivia has two capitals. Sucre is home to the judicial branch of the government and hence the constitutional capital. La Paz houses the president and congress and hence the administrative capital. Bolivia is one of the two landlocked countries in South America.

Country	Chile
Capital	Santiago
Population	15.8 million (United Nations 2003)
Surface Area	756,950 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Chilean peso
Major Language	Spanish
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Exports	Copper, fish, fruits, paper and pulp, chemicals
Average annual income	US $4,590 (World Bank Group, 2003)
Resources	The Santiago Times is an English newspaper: http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/ The presidential official web page: http://www.presidencia.cl/
Interesting fact	Chile has an unusual ribbon or pepper shape and this provides it with a vastly varied climate. It has some of the world’s driest deserts in the north, a Mediterranean climate in the center, and it has snow climate in the south with glaciers and lakes.

Country	Colombia
Capital	Bogotá
Population	44.2 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	1,138,910 sq km
Size comparison	slightly less than three times the size of Montana (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Colombian peso
Major Language	Spanish
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Exports	Petroleum, coffee, coal, gold, bananas, ornamental flowers, chemicals, emeralds, cotton, sugar, livestock
Average annual income	US $1,830
Resources	El Espectador is one of the countries newspapers: http://www.elespectador.com/ A Colombian web page with resources: http://www.colombia.com/
Interesting fact	Colombia is a country with many natural resources and a diverse population with people with indigenous Indian, Spanish, and African origins. Colombia is also plagued by decades of long violent conflict between the guerrilla insurgencies, drug cartels, and human right violations. Colombia is not the largest country in South America, but it is one of the most populous nations.

Country	Costa Rica
Capital	San José
Population	4.2 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	51,100 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than West Virginia (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Costa Rican Colón
Major Language	Spanish is official Language, English is also spoken by some of its residents
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Exports	Coffee, bananas, sugar, textiles, electronic components, electricity
Average annual income	US $4,060 (World Bank Group, 2003)
Resources	The Tico Times is an English language weekly: http://www.ticotimes.net/ This web page contains business, community, culture, news, travel information, etc. http://www.costarica.com/Home/
Interesting fact	More than one million tourists, many of them from the United States, visit Costa Rica each year. The Costa Rican army was abolished in 1948. Ever since, Costa Rica has had no army. The country has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 12 times and in 1989, Dr. Oscar Arias Sanchez, the President of Costa Rica at the time, received the prestigious prize for his efforts in the peace negotiations to end civil wars in other Central American countries.

Country	Cuba
Capital	Havana
Population	11.3 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	110,860 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Cuban Peso
Major Language	Spanish
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Exports	Sugar, nickel, tobacco, shellfish, medical products, citrus, coffee
Average annual income	Not Available
Resources	The official Communist Party newspaper has an online version in five languages including English: http://www.granma.cu/
Interesting fact	Cuba is the largest island nation in the Caribbean. This island was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Since the fall of the US-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Cuba has been a socialist state led by Fidel Castro, who controls virtually all aspects of Cuban life through the Communist Party. Cuba has survived more than 40 years of US sanctions that were intended to topple the government of Mr. Castro.

Country	Dominican Republic
Capital	Santo Domingo
Population	8.7 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	48,730 sq km
Size comparison	slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Dominican peso
Major Language	Spanish
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Exports	Ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats
Average annual income	US $2,230 (The World Bank, 2003)
Resources	El Caribe is an online newspaper in Spanish: http://www.elcaribe.com.do/ The presidential official web page: http://www.presidencia.gov.do/
Interesting fact	The Dominican Republic, a country once ruled by Spain, and Haiti, a former French colony, share the island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic comprises the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola and Haiti comprises the western one-third.

Country	Ecuador
Capital	Quito
Population	13 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	283,560 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than Nevada (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	US dollar
Major Language	Spanish, some indigenous languages
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Exports	Petroleum, bananas, shrimp, coffee, cocoa, ornamental flowers, fish
Average annual income	US $ 1,080 (World Bank, 2003)
Resources	Ecuador: an introduction, including information on history, culture, explorations, galápagos, etc. http://www.geographia.com/ecuador/ Pictures of Ecuador: http://www.ecuador-pictures.org/
Interesting fact	Ecuador, which means equator in Spanish, lies across the equator on the northwest coast of South America. Ecuador is characterized by great geographical, economic and ethnic diversity. Geographic diversity includes four areas: coast, highland, Amazon, and the galápagos islands. The population of Ecuador is very diverse including indigenous communities, people of colonial Spanish origins, and descendants of African slaves.

Country	El Salvador
Capital	San Salvador
Population	6.5 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	21,040 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than Massachusetts (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Salvadoran Colón and US dollar
Major Language	Spanish
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Exports	Coffee, sugar, shrimp, textiles, chemicals, electricity
Average annual income	US $2,040 (World Bank, 2003)
Resources	A daily newspaper from El Salvador (in Spanish) http://www.elsalvador.com/ Contains pictures of El Salvador: http://mikeoso.homestead.com/
Interesting fact	Although it is a small country, El Salvador is the most densely populated state on the mainland of the Americas. El Salvador is also the most industrialized in Central America.

Country	Guatemala
Capital	Cuidad de Guatemala (Guatemala City)
Population	12.3 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	108,890 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than Tennessee (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Quetzál
Major Language	Spanish, although there are more than 20 indigenous languages
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Exports	Coffee, sugar, bananas, fruits, vegetables, meat, petroleum
Average annual income	US $1,680 (World Bank, 2001)
Resources	Guatemalan Tourism site with information about Guatemala: http://www.terra.com.gt/turismogt/ Information about Guatemala: http://www.guatemalaontheweb.com/
Interesting fact	Guatemala is a country full of volcanoes, Mayan ruins, exotic birds and flowers, and a large population of indigenous people. Despite all this beauty, Guatemala has suffered civil wars and oppression of the indigenous peoples. One of the most important birds in Guatemala is the quetzál. This beautiful and rare bird is on the Guatemalan flag and is the name of the currency.

Country	Honduras
Capital	Tegucigalpa
Population	6.9 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	112,090 sq km
Size comparison	slightly larger than Tennessee (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Lempira
Major Language	Spanish and some indigenous languages
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Exports	Coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat, zinc, timber
Average annual income	US $900 (World Bank, 2003)
Resources	Information about Honduras: http://www.honduras.com/ Honduras Weekly is a weekly English newspaper. http://www.marrder.com/htw/
Interesting fact	In 1998, Honduras was devastated by hurricane Mitch. It is estimated that at least 5,000 people were killed and 70% of the country's crops were destroyed. Honduras has not fully recovered from hurricane Mitch and is still suffering economic and infrastructure problems. Columbus set foot on the American mainland for the first time in Honduras in 1502. He named the country after the deep water off the Caribbean coast ('Honduras' which means depths).

Country	Mexico
Capital	Ciudad de México (México City)
Population	103.4 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	1,972,550 sq km
Size comparison	slightly less than three times the size of Texas (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Mexican Peso
Major Language	Spanish
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Exports	Machinery, mineral fuels, food, live animals
Average annual income	US $5,530 (World Bank, 2003)
Resources	A Mexican web page that talks about Mexican art, geography, history, cooking, tourism, economy, science, etc. http://mexico.udg.mx/principal/index.html An online guide to Mexico: http://www.mexonline.com/
Interesting fact	México has a diverse mix of people and landscapes. In México you can find volcanic peaks, snow-capped mountains, tropical rain forests, deserts, and internationally renowned beaches

Country	Nicaragua
Capital	Managua
Population	5.4 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	129,494 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than the state of New York (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Córdoba
Major Language	Spanish and some indigenous languages
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Exports	Coffee, shrimp, lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas
Average annual income	US $380 (World Bank, 2000)
Resources	Lonely planet travel guide http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/central_america/nicaragua/ A web page from Nicaragua that contains general information, culture, interesting facts, maps, etc.: http://www.intur.gob.ni/
Interesting fact	Nicaragua is a beautiful country with wonderful landscape and cultural treasures. Unfortunately, Nicaragua is not known around the world for its beauty, but instead for the Contra war it suffered. During the Contra war, the people of Nicaragua rose up in hopes of equality but their efforts were derailed by US- interference. The Sandinistas were making great strides and were redistributing wealth and made huge progress in the spheres of health and education. They won a decisive victory in 1984 elections, but their leftist orientation also attracted US hostility and drove them to turn to the USSR and Cuba. This started the Contra war, which killed many people and destroyed the already poor economy.

Country	Panamá
Capital	Ciudad de Panamá (Panamá City)
Population	3.1 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	78,200 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than South Carolina (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Balboa and US dollar
Major Language	Spanish and English
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Exports	Bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee
Average annual income	US $3,260 (World Bank, 2003)
Resources	Panamá info is an online travel portal with information about Panamá http://www.panamainfo.com/ The official page of the government of Panamá: http://www.pa/
Interesting fact	Panamá is most famous for the Panamá Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Although the Canal is narrow and not all ships can go through it, the canal is still one of the most traveled waterways in the world. An average of 12,000 ship cross the 51-mile canal every year. The crossing takes about nine hours. Many ships opt for this option because the 9 hours save time when compared to the round trip through the tip of South America.

Country	Paraguay
Capital	Asunción
Population	5.8 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	406,750 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than California (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Guaraní
Major Language	Spanish and Guaraní
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Exports	Soya beans, cotton, meat, oils, timber
Average annual income	US $1,350
Resources	The official presidential web page: http://www.presidencia.gov.py/ From the University of Texas, this site contains many links about Paraguay: http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/sa/paraguay/
Interesting fact	Paraguay is one of South America's two landlocked nations. The Paraguayan people are up to 95% mixed of Spanish and Native American descent. 49% of the population is bilingual (Spanish and Guaraní).

Country	Perú
Capital	Lima
Population	27.1 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	1,285,220 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than Alaska (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Nuevo Sol
Major Language	Spanish, Quechua, Aymara
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Exports	Fish, copper, zinc, gold, petroleum, lead, coffee, sugar, cotton
Average annual income	US $1,980 (World Bank, 2003)
Resources	Peru’s official tourism site, it contains information about Peru, http://www.peru.org.pe/ Portal about tourism and cultural information: http://www.enjoyperu.com/
Interesting fact	Perú is a culturally and architecturally rich country. In Perú you will find the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco, the lost city of Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines, Lake Titicaca, and much, much more.

Country	Puerto Rico
Capital	San Juan
Population	3,885,877 (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Surface Area	9,104 sq km
Size comparison	slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	US dollar
Major Language	Spanish and English
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Exports	Chemicals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment
Average annual income	Not Available
Resources	The official portal of the government of Puerto Rico, it contains general information, tourist information, governmental information, statistics, etc. http://www.gobierno.pr
Interesting fact	The natives of Puerto Rico call the island “Boriquén” (Borinquen in English) Puerto Rico is known around the world for it tourism, sport players, and music. Puerto Rico has an unofficial national symbol which can be found everywhere in the island and everyone identifies with, the symbol is a tiny frog called the Coquí.

Country	Spain
Capital	Madrid
Population	40,217,413 (CIA World Factbook, 2003)
Surface Area	504,782 sq km
Size comparison	slightly more than twice the size of Oregon (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Euro
Major Language	Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque
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Exports	Machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods
Average annual income	US $ 20,460
Resources	The official site of Spain's Tourism Ministry; information about cities, culture, sports, business travel, etc. http://www.spain.info/Tourspain/?language=en Lonely Planet’s page on Spain contains a brief history and tourist information: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/spain/
Interesting fact

Country	Uruguay
Capital	Montevideo
Population	3.4 million (United Nations, 2003)
Surface Area	176,220 sq km
Size comparison	slightly smaller than the state of Washington (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Peso Uruguayo
Major Language	Spanish
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Exports	Meat, rice, leather, vehicles, dairy, electricity
Average annual income	US $5,710 (World Bank, 2003)
Resources	A Country Study of Uruguay by the library of congress: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/uytoc.html Discover Uruguay: http://www.discoveruruguay.com/
Interesting fact	Although Uruguay is a small country, it has some wonderful attractions including: a unique capital, charming colonial towns, hills, and world renowned beaches. Uruguay is best known for its progress in education, an advanced welfare system, and its liberal laws governing social issues such as divorce.

Country	Venezuela
Capital	Caracas
Population	25.7 million (UN, 2003)
Surface Area	912,050 sq km
Size comparison	slightly more than twice the size of California (CIA the World Factbook, 2003)
Currency	Bolivar
Major Language	Spanish, some indigenous languages
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Exports	Petroleum, bauxite, aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products
Average annual income	US $4,760 (World Bank, 2003)
Resources	A web portal with information on Venezuelan tourism, history, cooking, etc.: http://www.venezuelatuya.com/ From the University of Texas, this site contains many links about Venezuela: http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/venezuela/
Interesting fact	Venezuela has one of the world’s largest know oil deposits. Oil provided Venezuela with economic wealth, but few profited from this wealth with the middle class benefiting the most. In 1998, Venezuelans elected Hugo Chavez, a former army officer, to the presidency. Chavez promised to eradicate corruption, redistribute the country’s wealth, and reform the public sector. Turmoil and divisions between the people characterize his presidency. He has survived a coup attempt and has resisted calls to stand down and calls for early elections.

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