itionally has
been settled by an ethnic Croat majority

Botswana:
landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the
country

Bouvet Island:
covered by glacial ice; declared a nature reserve

Brazil:
largest country in South America; shares common boundaries
with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador

British Indian Ocean Territory:
archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego
Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location
in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military
facility

British Virgin Islands:
strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and
Puerto Rico

Brunei:
close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking
Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by
Malaysia; almost an enclave of Malaysia

Bulgaria:
strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land
routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia

Burkina Faso:
landlocked

Burma:
strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

Burundi:
landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed

Cambodia:
a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong
River and Tonle Sap

Cameroon:
sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa

Canada:
second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic
location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately
85% of the population is concentrated within 300 km of the US/Canada
border

Cape Verde:
strategic location 500 km from west coast of Africa near
major north-south sea routes; important communications station;
important sea and air refueling site

Cayman Islands:
important location between Cuba and Central America

Central African Republic:
landlocked; almost the precise center of
Africa

Chad:
landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in
the Sahel

Chile:
strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage);
Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions

China:
world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US)

Christmas Island:
located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean

Clipperton Island:
reef about 8 km in circumference

Cocos (Keeling) Islands:
two coral atolls thickly covered with
coconut palms and other vegetation

Colombia:
only South American country with coast