| Country | Geography - note |
| Bahrain | close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean |
| Bangladesh | most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal |
| Barbados | easternmost Caribbean island |
| Belarus | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes |
| Belgium | crossroads of Western Europe; most West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and NATO |
| Belize | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
| Benin | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands |
| Bermuda | consists of about 138 coral islands and islets with ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land was leased by the US Government from 1941 to 1995 |
| Bhutan | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls several key Himalayan mountain passes |
| Bolivia | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the country is divided into a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation (about 51% of the territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska or RS (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and Montenegro, and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the west and an ethnic Serb majority in the east |
| Botswana | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country |
| Bouvet Island | covered by glacial ice; declared a nature reserve by Norway |
| Brazil | largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | archipelago of 55 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 within Malaysia |
| Bulgaria | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
| Burkina Faso | landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black, Red, and White Voltas |
| Burma | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes |
| Burundi | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile |
| Cambodia | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap |
| Cameroon | sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano |
| Canada | second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border |
Home 
Fields
World Records
World Dictionary
Geographic Names
Fields History
Chiefs of State
Intl. Organizations
Intl. Environmental Agree.
Other References
Notes and Definitions
