• Our full set of statistical information will be updated in all of our reports and data tables. You'll also notice question mark icons on the country landing pages and at the top of select data tables. Click on these icons for an explanation of particular statistics and how they are calculated. This information will help your students understand the statistics and what they tell us about a country.
  
  
• Check out our new Kids Edition country reports: Libya, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Belarus, and Serbia. Stop by to find out which of these countries boasts the highest temperature ever recorded on earth, which one gained its independence in 1990, and which is home to the world's fourth largest Muslim population.
  
  
• Best of all, our complete 2011 update to every text in every edition of CultureGrams will be available and live on our site (and in each PDF) on February 15. Our team delayed the release slightly in order to access and provide you the very latest information from the U.N. Human Development Report and other sources.

1. Discuss which statistics are used to measure a nation's demographics and economy and why. You might talk about infant mortality, literacy, and life expectancy rates along with Real GDP per capita. Explain the types of deductions that can be made from these statistics; for example, high infant mortality rates indicate that pregnant women receive poor health care. Also mention that statistics can be misleading. For instance, some oil-rich nations have high Real GDPs per capita, but most of their population is poor due to grossly unequal wealth distribution. For the most part, however, these types of statistics provide a valuable way of comparing countries.
   
   
2. Choose a pair of statistics to focus on (for example, literacy and life expectancy). Have the students use the sortable data tables to look up these statistics for some of the sub-regions (i.e. Central Africa, South America, etc.) of the world.
   
   
3. Then, have students create averages from the statistics found in these regional data tables .From these averages, assign students to draw three histograms. The first should be a comparison of, for example, regional literacy rates; the second, regional life expectancy; and the third, a combination of both statistical averages.
   
   
4. Have the students compare and contrast the first two histograms they made. Do they share a similar pattern? Discuss the third histogram. Does there seem to by any correlation between the two statistics they analyzed? If so, what might be the cause of such a relationship? Might it be coincidental, and if so, what other factors might affect literacy, life expectation, or the stats you chose?
   
   
5. For a more in-depth comparison, have the students create a scatterplot of all the country statistics, identify and eliminate countries that are extreme outliers, and recalculate the regional averages. They would turn in these averages with an explanation of how much the outliers affected the overall statistical picture.

1. How can different graphical representations of statistics influence people's perception of data? Which type of representation would most emphasize the differences between the regional averages found? Which one would minimize that difference? (You can discuss histograms, scatterplots, graphs, pie charts, etc.)
   
   
2. Discuss regional trends noted in the activity. What types of factors might cause them? Talk about whether they are geographic, historic, political, etc.

1. What country, anciently known as Abyssinia, is the oldest independent nation in Africa?
2. Which country is the world's fourth largest island?
3. Rwanda's mountain ranges and highland plateaus have earned the country what nickname?
4. Nearly all residents of Comoros adhere to which religion?
5. Seychelles is home to what reptile, found only there and in Ecuador's Galápagos Islands?
6. What country is made up of a mainland called Tanganyika and an island called Zanzibar, merged in 1964?
7. In 1993, which country gained independence from Ethiopia, with which it has an ongoing border dispute?
8. Large clans such as Darod, Isaak, Hawiye, Dir, Digil, and Rahanwayn make up the majority of which country's population?
9. Which of Africa's two Great Lakes can be found in Kenya?
10. Which east African country reserves legislative seats for women, the army, the disabled, workers, and youth?

Somalia has not had a working central government since 1991.

In Ethiopia, children do not have the same last name as their parents. Instead, they take their father's first name as their last name. Also, women do not change their last names when they get married.

In some parts of Sudan, married women don't call their husbands by name. They refer to them by the name of their firstborn son or daughter plus the word for "father" (abu). For example, if a woman's oldest son is named Deng, she would call her husband Abu Deng (Father of Deng).

Upcoming World Holidays
Holidays provide a great way to introduce students to the culture and history of a country. Observe a world holiday in your classroom by asking students to research the holiday's origins or learn more about a given aspect of the country.

• Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland." It was named by King James I of England in 1621.
• Since the 1700s, Nova Scotians have been known as Bluenosers. Some say the nickname came from the sailors' blue mittens which turned their noses blue when they rubbed them.
• In the town of Pugwash, all the street signs are posted in Gaelic (the traditional language of Scotland and Ireland) as well as English. The Gaelic greeting Ciad Mile Failte, meaning "one hundred thousand welcomes," is still used to welcome guests.
• In 1782, the women of Chester saved the town from an American attack by turning their scarlet lined grey capes inside out and carrying brooms. From a distance they appeared to be marching British soldiers. The attackers returned to their ships and left town.
• North America's first Boy Scout troop was formed in Port Morien in 1908.

CultureGrams Photo Gallery Pick 


Near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, September 2009

River Crossing: Passengers wait in a boat that will ferry them across one of the tributaries of the Blue Nile. A young man operates the boat, using a pole to propel it back and forth across the river.

Our Photo Gallery contains 3,000+ photos
from around the globe, perfect for school use!

Sign up for free CultureGrams Web training
with a ProQuest trainer. Set aside an hour, grab a phone, and get one-on-one search tips and usage ideas. Don't miss these monthly offerings!
See a current calendar of online courses.

BONUS: Spotlights & Challenge Quests
This month, the U.S. observes Black History Month, a celebration of African Americans and their history, culture, and heritage.

February's Spotlight of the Month from SIRS profiles renowned African Americans of both past and present and reflects on African-American history and culture.

Roughly 5,000 dead and dying blackbirds fell from the Arkansas sky on New Year's Eve. That mysterious event was followed by the discovery of 500 dead birds along a Louisiana highway, and additional bird-falls in Kentucky, Sweden, and Italy.

Our SIRS ChallengeQuest asks: What is the estimate of the population of red-winged blackbirds (the variety that fell over Arkansas last month) at the start of the nesting season every year in May?

Bonus: Explore timely, history-related themes
inside Retroview and History Happenings.

Top 3 Websites @ ProQuest  
Each month, our SIRS team scours the Internet for top-quality websites for classrooms and libraries. Dive into the new month's selections: Ancient Cultures, Money, Children's Books.

Country Study: Lesson Plan