The Smallest Countries in the World

Following the previous article about the largest countries in the world, I am sure that now you are curious to know more about the smallest countries in the world.

Most of you probably knew about Vatican City and Monaco but the rest of the list isn´t that easy, at least for those that never visit or don´t live in those countries.

Check below the top 10 smallest countries in the world (land area).

Rank	Country	Area sq.km
1	Vatican City	0.44
2	Monaco	2.02
3	Nauru	21
4	Tuvalu	26
5	San Marino	61
6	Liechtenstein	160
7	Marshall Islands	181
8	Saint Kitts and Nevis	261
9	Maldives	298
10	Malta	316

The Largest Countries in the World

Did you ever wonder what are the largest countries in the world (land area)?

I believe that most of you will be able to name up to 6 and not always in the correct order.

Anyway, check below if your guess correct from the list of the Top 10 largest countries in the world:

Rank	Country	Area sq.km
1	Russia	17,098,242
2	Canada	9,984,670
3	United States	9,826,675
4	China	9,596,960
5	Brazil	8,514,877
6	Australia	7,741,220
7	India	3,287,263
8	Argentina	2,780,400
9	Kazakhstan	2,724,900
10	Algeria	2,381,741

Top 25 most visited cities in the world in 2017

The tourism industry is booming and before you choose your next destination, check out the Top 25 most visited cities in the world in 2016 and expected figures for 2017 (November projections):





1. Hong Kong: 26.55 million in 2016;
25.7 million expected in 2017 (-3.2% growth).

2. Bangkok: 21.25 million in 2016;
23.27 expected in 2017 (9.5% growth).

3. London: 19.19 million in 2016;
19.8 expected in 2017 (3.4% growth).

4. Singapore: 16.6 million in 2016;
17.6 million expected in 2017 (3.4% growth).

5. Macau: 15.39 million in 2016;
16.3 million expected in 2017 (5.9% growth).

6. Dubai: 14.9 million in 2016;
16 million expected in 2017 (7.7% growth).

7. Paris: 14.39 million in 2016;
14.26 million expected in 2017 (-0.9% growth).

8. New York City: 12.65 million in 2016;
13.1 million expected in 2017 (3.6% growth).

9. Shenzhen, China: 12.57 million in 2016;
12.96 million expected in 2017 (3.1% growth).

10. Kuala Lumpur: 12.29 million in 2016;
12.8 million expected in 2017 (4.5% growth).

11. Phuket, Thailand: 10.6 million in 2016;
12 million expected in 2017 (14% growth).

12. Rome: 9.4 million in 2016;
9.6 million expected in 2017 (1.8% growth).

13. Tokyo: 9.27 million in 2016;
9.7 million expected in 2017 (4.8% growth).

14. Taipei: 9.2 million in 2016;
9.3 million expected in 2017 (1% growth).

15. Istanbul: 9.17 million in 2016;
8.6 million expected in 2016 (-5.8% growth).

16. Seoul: 9 million in 2016;
7.66 million expected in 2017 (-14.9% growth).

17. Guangzhou, China: 8.6 million in 2016;
9 million expected in 2017 (5.3% growth).

18. Prague: 8.18 million in 2016;
8.5 million expected in 2017 (4.5% growth).

19. Mecca, Saudi Arabia: 7.96 million in 2016;
8.7 million expected in 2017 (9.8% growth).

20. Miami, Florida: 7.8 million in 2016;
8 million in 2017 (3.1% growth).

21. Delhi, India: 7.4 million in 2016;
10.26 million expected in 2017 (37.7% growth).

22. Mumbai, India: 7.19 million in 2016;
8.9 million expected in 2017 (23.5% growth).

23. Barcelona, Spain: 7.04 million in 2016;
7.6 million expected in 2017 (8.3% growth).

24. Pattaya, Thailand: 7.02 million in 2016;
7.3 million expected in 2017 (4.2% growth).

25. Shanghai: 6.9 million in 2016;
7.2 million expected in 2017 (4.3% growth).

Source: CNN & Euromonitor International's

Top 10 Movies of 2017 - Gross Revenue

Are you wondering which movies made more money in 2017?

Find below the highest gross revenue movies of this year:

Title/ USD (mil)

1. Beauty and the Beast - $1,263.5
2. The Fate of the Furious - $1,235.8
3. Despicable Me 3 - $1,033.5
4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi - $934.3
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming - $880.2
6. Wolf Warrior 2 - $870.3
7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - $863.7
8. Thor: Ragnarok - $847.0
9. Wonder Woman - $821.8
10. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - $794.9

Source: boxofficemojo.com (Dec 30th of 2017)

China vs. USA – Exports Face off

The USA and China are the top economies in the world and China threatens to take the top spot from the US very soon.
So, a great way to check the differences in their economy strategies is take a better look on their exports.
As you can see below by the sales volume, China is more focused in the external market than the USA, which relies more in their internal market.
Although China has more focus than USA in industries that require more human resources as footwear, clothing and furniture, China also invested in industries as electronic equipment and machinery, and that destroys the myth that China is not developed in this type of industries.
The USA only has a clear superiority in their exports on aircraft, spacecraft and pharmaceutical products.

Check out below the top exports of USA and China:

USA Top 10 Exports (2013)
1. Machinery: $213,108,199,000 (13.5% of total exports)
2. Electronic equipment: $165,604,449,000 (10.5%)
3. Mineral fuels including oil: $148,426,743,000 (9.4%)
4. Vehicles excluding trains and streetcars: $133,640,479,000 (8.5%)
5. Aircraft and spacecraft: $115,380,944,000 (7.3%)
6. Optical, technical and medical apparatus: $84,281,276,000 (5.3%)
7. Pearls, precious stones, precious metals and coins: $72,830,232,000 (4.6%)
8. Plastics: $60,836,970,000 (3.9%)
9. Organic chemicals: $46,510,903,000 (2.9%)
10. Pharmaceutical products: $39,742,717,000 (2.5%)

China Top 10 Exports (2013)
1. Electronic equipment: $561,703,550,000 (25.4% of total exports)
2. Machinery: $383,310,504,000 (17.3%)
3. Knit or crochet clothing and accessories: $96,810,372,000 (4.4%)
4. Furniture, lighting, signs and prefabricated buildings: $86,435,683,000 (3.9%)
5. Optical, technical and medical apparatus: $74,689,712,000 (3.4%)
6. Non-knit and non-crochet clothing and accessories: $68,271,919,000 (3.1%)
7. Plastics: $61,775,281,000 (2.8%)
8. Vehicles excluding trains and streetcars: $58,588,779,000 (2.7%)
9. Iron or steel articles: $57,368,576,000 (2.6%)
10. Footwear: $50,766,207,000 (2.3%)

Exports data source:  World’s Top Exports

Top 10 Celebrity Commercials from Before They Were Stars

Many Hollywood stars started their careers in advertising.
Check out some of them here:

 

Size matters?

Check these interesting stats about the biggest countries in the world and find out for yourself.

Top countries by land area:
1st – Russia
2nd – Canada
3rd – USA
4th – China
5th - Brazil
…
105th – Portugal

Top countries by population:
1st – China
2nd – India
3rd – USA
4th – Indonesia
5th – Brazil
…
76th – Portugal

Top countries by population density:
1st – Monaco
2nd – Singapore
3rd – Malta
4th – Maldives
5th – Bahrain
…
65th – Portugal

Top countries by GDP per capita in 2012 (IMF):
1st – Qatar
2nd – Luxembourg
3rd – Singapore
4th – Norway
5th – Brunei
…
45th - Portugal

Top 20 Most Valuable Global Brands of 2013

More info about BrandZ ranking here.

Top 10 Most Expensive Cities in the World

For all of you that are considering to relocate in another city or another country, this information is extremely valuable.
Mercer released recently their "Cost of Living City Rankings" and according to Mercer research, the Top 10 most expensive cities to live in are:

1st - Luanda, Angola
2nd - Moscow, Russia
3rd -  Tokyo, Japan
4th - N'Djamena, Chad
5th - Singapore, Singapore
6th - Hong Kong, Hong Kong
7th - Geneva, Switzerland
8th - Zurich, Switzerland
9th - Bern, Switzerland
Also in 9th - Sydney, Austrália