If you look at a map of locations covered by Freebase:
… you’ll see that it’s almost the inverse of a map of the least developed countries in the world:
This week’s data mob is all about trying to fill some of those empty spaces. Below is a list of the 50 least developed countries in the world, according to the UN. Please choose a country on this list — perhaps one you know a little about, or if you’re in the mood, one you’ve never heard of before — and fill in everything you can about it.
Here are some things you could fill in, with a little help from Google or other sources:
- geography: cities, rivers, mountains
- government: heads of state, military figures
- languages spoken
- organizations: those based in the country, or those providing aid to the country
- schools, churches, and hospitals
- other major buildings or structures
- events in the history of the country
- books about the country (check Amazon!)
- people: authors, historical figures, musicians, or others from the country
- food commonly eaten in the country: ingredients or dishes
Here’s the list of countries for you to choose from:
- Afghanistan
- Angola
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gambia
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Kiribati
- Lao People’s Democratic Republic
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United Republic of Tanzania
- Vanuatu
- Yemen
- Zambia
(I’d never heard of Comoros or Benin. How about you?)
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
So there’s a great game called Maptitude that my family plays all the time… It’s a bit outdated now, but it still has pretty much all the countries. Comoros, though, must be new – that’s not one I remember. ^_^
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Mari: Looks like it’s been independent since the mid 70s, and no significant name changes. I’m guessing we haven’t heard of it because it’s so tiny. Though you’d think we might’ve heard something about Operation Democracy in Comoros.
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:55 am
Wow. I think it’s just because the US wasn’t involved that we didn’t hear about it. And it is phenomenally small. Yay freebase for educating us. ^_^