Afghanistan

Capital: Kabul
Population: 22,664,136
Major Ethnic Groups: Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%
Exports: fruits & nuts, carpets, wool, cotton
Imports: food & petroleum products; most consumer goods
Pertinent Facts: extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming & livestock raising
Per Capita GDP: $600

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Bangladesh

Capital: Dhaka
Population: 123,062,800
Major Ethnic Groups: Bengali 98%
Exports: garments, jute & jute goods, leather, shrimp
Imports: capital goods, petroleum, food, textiles
Pertinent Facts: one of the world's poorest, most densely populated nations
Per Capita GDP: $1,130

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Bhutan

Capital: Thimphu
Population: 1,822,625
Major Ethnic Groups: Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35%, indigenous or migrant tribes 15%
Exports: cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement
Imports: fuel & lubricants, grain, machinery & parts
Pertinent Facts: economy based on agriculture & forestry
Per Capita GDP: $730

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China

Capital: Beijing
Population: 1,216,004,956
Major Ethnic Groups: Han Chinese 92%
Exports: garments, textiles, footwear, toys
Imports: industrial machinery, textiles, plastics
Pertinent Facts: since 1978 leadership has been trying to open up economy
Per Capita GDP: $2,900

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India

Capital: New Delhi
Population: 952,107,694
Major Ethnic Groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid & other 3%
Exports: clothing, gems & jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals
Imports: crude oil & petroleum products, machinery
Pertinent Facts: 40 percent of population remains too poor to afford an adequate diet
Per Capita GDP: $1,500

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Japan

Capital: Tokyo
Population: 125,449,703
Major Ethnic Groups: Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)
Exports: manufactures
Imports: manufactures, fossil fuels, foodstuffs & raw materials
Pertinent Facts: second most powerful economy in the world
Per Capita GDP: $21,300

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Maldives

Capital: Male
Population: 270,758
Major Ethnic Groups: Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, African
Exports: fish, clothing
Imports: consumer goods, intermediate & capital goods, petroleum products
Pertinent Facts: during the 1980s tourism became one of the most important & highest- growth sectors of the economy
Per Capita GDP: $1,560

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Mongolia

Capital: Ulan Bator
Population: 2,496,617
Major Ethnic Groups: Mongol 90%, Kazak 4%, Chinese 2%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Exports: copper, livestock, animal products
Imports: machinery & equipment, fuels, food
Pertinent Facts: severe climate, scattered population, & wide expanses of unproductive land have constrained economic development
Per Capita GDP: $1,970

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Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu
Population: 22,094,033
Major Ethnic Groups: Newars, Indians, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars, Tamangs, Bhotias, Rais, Limbus, Sherpas
Exports: carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute
Imports: petroleum products, fertilizer, machinery
Pertinent Facts: among the poorest & least developed countries in the world
Per Capita GDP: $1,200

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North Korea

Capital: Pyongyang
Population: 23,904,124
Major Ethnic Groups: racially homogenous
Exports: minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural & fishery products
Imports: petroleum, grain, coking coal, machinery & equipment
Pertinent Facts: more than 90% of economy is socialized
Per Capita GDP: $920

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Pakistan

Capital: Islamabad
Population: 129,275,660
Major Ethnic Groups: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir
Exports: cotton, textiles, clothing, rice, leather, carpets
Imports: petroleum, petroleum products, machinery
Pertinent Facts: poor, highly populated country
Per Capita GDP: $2,100

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South Korea

Capital: Seoul
Population: 45,482,291
Major Ethnic Groups: homogenous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
Exports: electronic & electrical equipment, machinery, steel
Imports: machinery, electronics & electronic equipment
Pertinent Facts: incredible record of growth achieved in past three decades
Per Capita GDP: $13,000

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Sri Lanka

Capital: Colombo
Population: 18,553,074
Major Ethnic Groups: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, & Vedda 1%
Exports: garments & textiles, teas, diamonds, other gems
Imports: textiles & textile materials, machinery & equipment
Pertinent Facts: industry-dominated by the fast-growing apparel industry-has surpassed agriculture as the main source of export earnings
Per Capita GDP: $3,600

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Taiwan

Capital: Taipei
Population: 21,465,881
Major Ethnic Groups: Taiwanese 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, Aborigine 2%
Exports: electrical machinery, electronic products, textiles
Imports: machinery & equipment, electronic products, chemicals
Pertinent Facts: real growth in GDP averaged about 9% a year during the past three decades
Per Capita GDP: $13,510

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Explore the World!

November 16­22, 1997

Plan now to celebrate Geography Awareness Week. For information on resources to use in your classroom, contact the National Geographic Society, P.O. Box 98190, Washington, DC 20090-8190.