An insight to the World
Bite the Mango provides film fans with an amazing view of the world and
its varied cultures. We have collected some further information about a
number of countries which are represented during this festival to give you
a better insight into their world.
Afghanistan
Location: Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Natural Hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
Population: 28,513,677
Nationality: Afghan
Ethnic Groups: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%
Languages: Pashtu (official) 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
Capital: Kabul
Currency: afghani (AFA)
Australia
Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
Natural Hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires
Population: 19,913,144 (July 2004 est.)
Nationality: Australian
Ethnic Groups: Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
Religions: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11%, other 12.6%
Languages: English, native languages
Capital: Canberra
Currency: Australian dollar (AUD)
Bhutan
Location: Southern Asia, between China and India
Climate: varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas
Natural Hazards: violent storms from the Himalayas are the source of the country's name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season
Population: 2,185,569
Nationality: Bhutanese
Ethnic Groups: Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35% (includes Lhotsampas - one of several Nepalese ethnic groups), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%
Religions: Lamaistic Buddhist 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%
Languages: Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
Capital: Thimphu
Currency: ngultrum (BTN); Indian rupee (INR)
Cambodia
Location: South-eastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos
Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation
Natural Hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts
Population: 13,363,421
Nationality: Cambodian
Ethnic Groups: Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
Religions: Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5%
Languages: Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
Capital: Phnom Penh
Currency: riel (KHR)
Canada
Location: Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US
Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
Natural Hazards: continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains
Population: 32,507,874
Nationality: Canadian
Ethnic Groups: British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26%
Religions: Roman Catholic 46%, Protestant 36%, other 18%
Languages: English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5%
Capital: Ottawa
Currency: Canadian dollar (CAD)
China
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Natural Hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Population: 1,298,847,624
Nationality: Chinese
Ethnic Groups: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Religions: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects
Capital: Beijing
Currency: yuan (CNY)
France
Location: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Climate: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral
Natural Hazards: flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south near the Mediterranean
Population: 60,424,213
Nationality: French
Ethnic Groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities
Religions: Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
Languages: French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Capital: Paris
Currency: euro (EUR)
Germany
Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Natural Hazards: flooding
Population: 82,424,609
Nationality: German
Ethnic Groups: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)
Religions: Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Languages: German
Capital: Berlin
Currency: euro (EUR)
Hong Kong
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Climate: tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
Natural Hazards: occasional typhoons
Population: 6,855,125
Nationality: Chinese/Hong Konger
Ethnic Groups: Chinese 95%, other 5%
Religions: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official
Capital: Victoria
Currency: Hong Kong dollar (HKD)
India
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Natural Hazards: droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
Population: 1,065,070,607
Nationality: Indian
Ethnic Groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%
Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5%
Languages: English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official
Languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language
Capital: New Delhi
Currency: Indian rupee (INR)
Iran
Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
Natural Hazards: periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes
Population: 69,018,924
Nationality: Iranian
Ethnic Groups: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%
Religions: Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2%
Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Capital: Tehran
Currency: Iranian rial (IRR)
Israel
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Climate: temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Natural Hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
Population: 6,199,008
Nationality: Israeli
Ethnic Groups: Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab)
Religions: Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2%
Languages: Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Capital: Jerusalem
Currency: new Israeli shekel (ILS)
Japan
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Natural Hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Population: 127,333,002
Nationality: Japanese
Ethnic Groups: Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914)
Religions: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)
Languages: Japanese
Capital: Tokyo
Currency: yen (JPY)
Netherlands
Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
Climate: temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
Natural Hazards: flooding
Population: 16,318,199
Nationality: Dutch
Ethnic Groups: Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians)
Religions: Roman Catholic 31%, Protestant 21%, Muslim 4.4%, other 3.6%, unaffiliated 40%
Languages: Dutch (official language), Frisian (official language)
Capital: Amsterdam
Currency: euro (EUR)
Nigeria
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon
Climate: varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
Natural Hazards: periodic droughts; flooding
Population: 137,253,133
Nationality: Nigerian
Ethnic Groups: Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%
Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%
Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani
Capital: Abuja
Currency: naira (NGN)
Pakistan
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north
Climate: mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
Natural Hazards: frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)
Population: 159,196,336
Nationality: Pakistani
Ethnic Groups: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India at the time of partition and their descendants)
Religions: Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%
Languages: Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%
Capital: Islamabad
Currency: Pakistani rupee (PKR)
Palestine (West Bank)
Location: Middle East, west of Jordan
Climate: temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Natural Hazards: droughts
Population: 2,311,204 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem
Nationality: n/a
Ethnic Groups: Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Religions: Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Capital: n/a
Currency: new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)
South Korea
Location: Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
Natural Hazards: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest
Population: 48,598,175
Nationality: Korean
Ethnic Groups: homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
Religions: no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1%
Languages: Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school
Capital: Seoul
Currency: South Korean won (KRW)
Sri Lanka
Location: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Climate: tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Natural Hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Population: 19,905,165
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Ethnic Groups: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
Religions: Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999)
Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Capital: Colombo
Currency: Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
United Kingdom
Location: Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France
Climate: temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
Natural Hazards: winter windstorms; floods
Population: 60,270,708
Nationality: British
Ethnic Groups: English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%
Religions: Anglican and Roman Catholic 40 million, Muslim 1.5 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 500,000, Hindu 500,000, Jewish 350,000
Languages: English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Capital: London
Currency: British pound (GBP)
United States Of America
Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Natural Hazards: tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development
Population: 293,027,571
Nationality: American
Ethnic Groups: white 77.1%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.5%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.3%, other 4%
Religions: Protestant 56%, Roman Catholic 28%, Jewish 2%, other 4%, none 10%
Languages: English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority)
Capital: Washington, DC
Currency: US dollar (USD)
