There are countries in this world which, if they aren't in the headlines, you don't know they exist. Recently, Nepal caught a bit of attention, due to it's elections. But if this hadn't happened, I doubt many people would know there was such a country.
If it wasn't for Borat, would you know there really was a Kazakhstan?
Here are five countries which you might not have known existed.
Andorra
Yes, it was mentioned in the Da Vinci code. Outside of that?
Andorra is a parliamentary coprincipality created in 1278 composed of the Bishop or Urgel, (which is in Spain), and the president of France.
Catalan is it's official language.
Andorra is actually a popular tourist resort and commercial center because of it's banking facilities, low taxes and no customs duties.
It uses the Euro as its rate of exchange and claims that 100% of its population is literate and that there is no unemployment.
There is no television station, no railway, no harbor, no airport, and no international disputes.
Bhutan
The traditional name of this country is Drukyul, land of the Drokpa, the Dragon People.
For centuries tribal wars raged until 1907. Although Britain had some control, it never colonised this mountainous state, which deliberately isolated from the rest of the world.
When China invaded Tibet, for it's own protection Bhutan formed ties with India.
Slavery existed until 1960. It wasn't until 1985 Bhutan made its first links with non Asian nations.
In 1991 there was a pro-democracy campaign. The Government claimed this was started by Nepali immigrants. About 100,000 Nepalis were evicted. Many of them are still in UN administered refugee camps.
Burkina Faso
Previously known as Upper Volta, it was colonised by the French. Independence was gained in 1960. In 1980 flight commander Thomas Sankara took control.
He challenged the authority of the Chiefs, advocated Women's liberation, allied the country with North Korea, Libya and Cuba and changed the name to Burkina Faso which means, 'the land of upright men.'
He invested in schools, food production and health clinics, but foreign investment declined, and many businesses left the country as he was a Marxist.
He was assassinated in 1987.
Currently, Burkino Faso is embroiled in arguments with Benin, and is accused of being a staging area for Liberian and Cote d'Ivoire rebels.
The Comoros Islands
This is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the cost of Mozambique. It has been visited throughout history by travelers from Africa, Indonesia and Arabia.
France colonized one of the islands in 1843, and annexed the rest in 1904. In a referendum in 1974 95% of the population voted for independence. The exception was one island, Mayotte, which has a Christian majority. 98% of Comoros are Sunni Muslim.
Mayotte remains a French overseas territory.
Comoros has had more than 20 coups since Independence and experienced many attempts at secession.
White mercenaries known as Les Affreux, (The Terrible Ones) and their leader Bob Denard, instigated four of the coups.
Over three thousand French Troops were sent after him when he fled the country in 1989.
Currently the islands are in a loose federation, where each has its own President.
Djibouti
Immigrants from Arabia migrated to this country in about the 3rd century B.C. Their descendants are the Afars, one of the two main ethnic groups, the other are Issas from Somali. Islam arrived in 825.
In the mid 1800s France acquired this small country bordered by Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia. It is mostly desert.
It has been torn by civil war since 1991. The dictatorial president, Aptidon, ran the country until 1999 when he was replaced by another.
The United States opened a military base to fight terrorism in 2002.
It is an extremely poor country, and one quarter of its population relies on food aid.
