International Coffeehouses: Around the World

Capital: London

Language: English

National Anthem: “God Save the Queen” (or “King”)

Includes the island of Great Britain and the northeastern of the island of Ireland

Government: Constitutional monarchy and in practice, a parliamentary democracy

Capital: Madrid

Language: Spanish 

National Anthem: “Marcha Real” (“The Royal March”)

Government: Parliamentary Monarchy with a King as Head of State and Prime minister as Head of Government

Population: 47,329,981

Religion: about 95% are Roman Catholic

The Federative Republic of Brazil lies in South America. Brazil achieved independence from Portugal in 1822. From 1964 until 1985 Brazil was under military rule. In 1993 voters endorsed the retention of the presidential system. In 1998 Fernando Henrique Cardoso was re-elected for a second presidential term. He was succeeded in 2002 by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), who was re-elected in 2006. Da Silva was, in turn, replaced by Dilma Rousseff, also of the PT, at an election in 2010. Rousseff secured a second term in office in 2014, but was impeached and removed from office in 2016. In 2018 the far-right candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, won the presidential election. Brasília is the capital. The official language is Portuguese.

The Republic of Costa Rica lies in the Central American isthmus. In 1821 Costa Rica declared its independence from Spain. Under José Figueres Ferrer, founder of the Partido de Liberación Nacional (PLN), Costa Rica became one of the most democratic countries in Latin America. The PLN lost power in 1978, but regained office in 1982. In 1990 the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) nominee was elected. The PLN was returned to office in 2006, and won a further term in 2010. In 2014 Luis Guillermo Solís of the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) was elected to the presidency. Carlos Alvarado, also of the PAC, succeeded him in 2018. San José is the capital. The language spoken is Spanish. Costa Rica’s population is around 5.2 million people, with the land area of the country covering 51,100 km2, about half the land area of the state of Tennessee.

Costa Rica, in Europa World online. London, Routledge. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Retrieved 16 November 2021 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/cr

Country Map (Costa Rica), in Europa World online. London, Routledge. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Retrieved 15 November 2021 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/cr.MAP

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Capital: Havana

Official language: Spanish

Chief products: Agriculture—beef and dairy cattle, coffee, fruits, hogs, sugar cane, tobacco, vegetables. Manufacturing—cement, cigars, food processing, pharmaceuticals, refined petroleum, refined sugar, steel. Mining—clays, cobalt, feldspar, manganese, natural gas, nickel.

National anthem: "La Bayamesa" ("The Bayamo Song").

National holidays: January 1, the anniversary of Fidel Castro's taking control of the government, and July 26, the anniversary of Fidel Castro's attack on the Moncada Army Barracks.

Climate: Warm, mild weather all year round, with a rainy season from May through October. Hurricanes often strike the island. Hurricane season lasts from June to November.

Japan lies in eastern Asia and comprises a curved chain of more than 3,000 islands. Four large islands, named (from north to south) Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, account for about 98% of the land area. Hokkaido lies just to the south of Sakhalin, a large Russian island, and about 1,300 km (800 miles) east of the Russian Federation’s mainland port of Vladivostok. Southern Japan is about 150 km (93 miles) east of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Although summers are temperate everywhere, the climate in winter varies sharply from cold in the north to mild in the south. Temperatures in Tokyo range from −6°C (21°F) to 30°C (86°F). Typhoons and heavy rains are common in summer. The official language is Japanese. A small minority of indigenous Ainu speak a distinct language. The major religions are Shintoism and Buddhism, and there is a small Christian minority. The national flag (proportions 7 by 10) is white, with a red disc (a sun without rays) in the center. The capital is Tokyo.

The People’s Republic of China covers a vast area of eastern Asia, with Mongolia and the Russian Federation to the north, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to the north-west, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the west, and India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Laos and Viet Nam to the south. The country borders the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) in the north-east, and has a long coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The climate ranges from subtropical in the far south to an average annual temperature of below 10°C (50°F) in the north, and from the monsoon climate of eastern China to the aridity of the north-west. The principal language is Northern Chinese (Mandarin, known as Putonghua or common speech); in the south and south-east local dialects are spoken. The Xizangzu (Tibetans), Uygurs, Menggus (Mongols) and other groups have their own languages. The traditional religions and philosophies of life are Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism). There are also Muslim and Christian minorities. The national flag (proportions 2 by 3) is plain red, with one large five-pointed gold star and four similar but smaller stars, arranged in an arc, in the upper hoist. The capital is Beijing (Peking).