The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of USA publishes an online “Annual book” with a multitude of data of all the countries around the world: The World Factbook. The information is compiled from different sources, both public and private, and it is useful for learning about the political, economic or social features of the countries.
Using this web is very easy: once you have choosen the country, you will see a map with its location, flag, etc. And below the map, you can find its information organized by topic. By clicking on each of them, it will display the information boxes.
Using this web is very easy: once you have choosen the country, you will see a map with its location, flag, etc. And below the map, you can find its information organized by topic. By clicking on each of them, it will display the information boxes.
In today's activity (maximun: 4 students per group), we will work with the The World Factbook‘s web. It's a triple task!:
Task 1. You must download and FILL IN THIS DOCUMENT with the details requested in the list below, about 4 different states: Spain, another European state, a MEDC from outside Europe, and a LEDC. Besides the information, in your document, you MUST include a map and a at least 2 graphs of each country (eg. economical sectors, unemployment levels or population structure):
Task 1. You must download and FILL IN THIS DOCUMENT with the details requested in the list below, about 4 different states: Spain, another European state, a MEDC from outside Europe, and a LEDC. Besides the information, in your document, you MUST include a map and a at least 2 graphs of each country (eg. economical sectors, unemployment levels or population structure):
- Name of the country and capital city
- Location (continent, geographical coordinates, borders)
- Population (As this will be the main part, please insert as much data as possible: age structure, population pyramid, dependency ratios, birth/death/migration rates, maternal and infant mortalilty rates and life expenctancy)
- Official Language (if more that one, list them)
- Type of government
- International organizations to which it belongs
- GDP (Gross Domestic Product per capita)
- GDP composition by sectors
- Military Expenditures
- Educational expenditures
- School life expectancy
- Health issues (see "population" tag)
- Youth unemployment
- Transnational issues (For example, border disputes, nationalism' conflicts, refugees, etc.).
Task 2. Then you must compare the data of those countries and enter your opinion, as complete as possible (Times new roman, 12, simple line)
- Was it easy to find all the information requested? Why?
- Is the data updated? If not, why?
- Compare population rates and health issues. What do you think about those numbers? Why? What could they represent for their future?
- Compare militar and educational expenditures. What do you think about those numbers? Why?
- Is there any other data that surprises you? Which one? Why?
- What is the situation of
When finish, send both documents in PDF format as attached file to acarriles@educa.jcyl.es.
Task 3. Oral presentation at class (aprox. 15 minutes). The talk should be focussed not on Spain, but on the comparaison between the chosen countries and your conclussions. As usual, all members of the team must speak. Collaboration and coordination between them will be taken into consideration.
This is a mandatory activity. If you do not do it, or do it out of time, your mark here will be 0.
Ready? 3, 2, 1... GO!
