1. Western European Countries Information from CIA World Fact Book

2. United Kingdom Capital: London Major Cities: Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Belfast Population: 60,776,238 Area Comparative: Slightly smaller than the State of Oregon.

3. United Kingdom Cultural Aspects Religions: Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%. Languages: English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)

4. United Kingdom Gov. and Economy Government: Constitutional Monarchy GDP: $1.928 trillion GDP per capita: $31,800

5. United Kingdom Famous Landmarks and People Landmarks: Big Ben, Stonehenge, The Eye of London, The London Bridge Famous People: The Beatles, Radiohead, Eric Clapton, Winston Churchill, Shakespeare, Princess Diana, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling

6. France Capital: Paris Major Cities: Marseille, Nice Population: 63,713,926 60,876,136 in métropolitain France (July 2007 est.) Area Comparative: Slightly less than the size of Texas

7. France Cultural Aspects Religions: Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10% Languages: French 100%

8. France Gov. and Economy Government: Republic GDP: $1.902 trillion GDP per capita: $31,200

9. France Famous Landmarks and People Landmarks: Eiffel Tower, Palace of Versailles People: Napoleon, Marie Curie, André the Giant

10. Germany Capital: Berlin Major Cities: Munich, Hannover, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Mannheim Population: 82,400,996 Comparative Area: Slightly smaller than Montana

11. German Cultural Aspects Religions: Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% Languages: German

12. German Gov. and Economy Government: Federal Republic GDP: $2.632 trillion GDP per capita: $31,900

13. German Famous Landmarks and People Landmarks: Reichstag, People: David Hasselhoff, Adolf Hitler, Ludwig van Beethoven

14. Italy Capital: Rome Major Cities: Naples, Florence, Milan, Venice Population: 58,147,733 Comparative Area: Slightly larger than Arizona

15. Italian Cultural Aspects Religions: Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third regularly attend services), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community) Languages: Italian

16. Italy Gov. and Economy Government: Republic GDP: $1.756 trillion GDP per capita: $30,200

17. Italian Famous Landmarks and People Landmarks: Roman Coliseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Leaning Tower of Pisa People: Benito Mussolini, Leonardo Da Vinci, Julius Caeser

18. Spain Capital: Madrid Major Cities: Barcelona, Valencia Population: 40,448,191 Comparative Area: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon

19. Spain Cultural Aspects Religions: Roman Catholic 94%, other 6% Languages: Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%, are official regionally

20. Spain Gov. and Economy Government: Parliamentary Monarchy GDP: $1.109 trillion GDP per capita: $27,400

21. Spain Famous Landmarks and People Landmarks: Running of the Bulls in Pamplona People: Penélope Cruz, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso

22. Ireland Capital: Dublin Major Cities: Shannon, Cork, Limerick Population: 4,109,086 Comparative Area: slightly larger than West Virginia

23. Irish Cultural Aspects Religions: Roman Catholic 88.4%, Church of Ireland 3%, other Christian 1.6% Languages: English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard

24. Irish Gov. and Economy Government: Republic GDP: $180.9 billion GDP per capita: $44,500

25. Ireland Famous People and Landmarks Landmarks: Guinness Plant, Blarney Stone People: Colin Ferrell, Bono, U2, Pierce Brosnan, C.S. Lewis

26. The United States of America Capital: Washington D.C. Major Cities: New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Boston, Detroit, Seattle, Lincoln Population: 301,139,947 (July 2007 est.) Comparative Area: About half the size of Russia; slightly larger than Brazil; slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union

27. U.S. Cultural Aspects Religions: Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.) Languages: English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo- European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii

28. United States Gov. and Economy Government: Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition GDP: $13.86 trillion (2007 est.) GDP per capita: $46,000 (2007 est.)

29. U.S. Famous People and Landmarks Landmarks: Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, St. Louis Arch, Space Needle, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon, etc., etc., etc.