# Most obscure country for its size **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716 "2012-12-11T17:25:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/21 "2012-12-11T20:02:32Z")
Laos is very much in my awareness, mostly because a friend spent a lot of time there last year. Armenia doesn’t get much press. A few years ago I went on a date with an Armenian princess. Honestly, if she was the best they could come up with for a princess, no wonder they’re obscure. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/22 "2012-12-11T20:06:45Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > But apart from brutal empire-builders, innovative tent designs and top sumo wrestlers, what have the Mongolians ever done for us? Hoards. And clusterfucks. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/23 "2012-12-11T20:11:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m going with Mali. I know it’s a country in western Africa. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you a thing about it. Really? They just had a coup and the north of the country is under rebel control. My vote is for Mozambique. I was there a few months ago, but not too many people I’ve met can tell you anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/24 "2012-12-11T20:16:00Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Or Kyrgyzstan. Not a [Sporcle](http://www.sporcle.com/search/?p=1&s=kyrgyzstan) fan, I take it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/25 "2012-12-11T20:16:34Z")
The Central African Republic is pretty darn obscure. Even the name sounds like a joke: a generic placeholder, like “Middle Eastern Warzone” or “South American Dictatorship”. But it’s bigger than Spain, and Germany, and Japan. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/26 "2012-12-11T20:17:30Z")
> [@Delayed\_Reflex](#): > > Other than the occasional natural disaster, I can’t say I hear much about Indonesia - and it’s the 4th most populous nation in the world. Actually, Indonesia has been in the news a little bit over the last few years because President Obama spent some of his childhood living there, and he has a half-sister who was born there. Obama made an official visit there during his first term in which he visited his childhood home, if I recall correctly. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/27 "2012-12-11T20:19:40Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > [Going down the list of countries by population](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population), Tanzania, with 40 million people, is probably the first that I couldn’t tell you anything about. In my head, its basically just Kenya. > > Going by land-area seems less interesting. Most of what I care about is stuff that happens to or by people, so the fact that there isn’t much news about large empty countries isn’t that surprising. My entire knowledge of Mongolia, in chronlogical order consists of: > > 4 billion years ago -1162: Nothing > 1162 - 1227 : Genghis Khan > 1227 - 2012: Nothing > > But the country only has two million people, and is overshadowed by powerful neighbors, so that’s not really surprising. Tanzania was in the news a few years ago when the U.S. embassy there was bombed. On the same day as the embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed. From that list, the biggest country that I know nothing about is Uzbekistan. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/28 "2012-12-11T20:23:23Z")
Moldova rarely makes the news and has amazing wines to boot. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/29 "2012-12-11T20:25:41Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > [Going down the list of countries by population](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population), Tanzania, with 40 million people, is probably the first that I couldn’t tell you anything about. In my head, its basically just Kenya. But most of the African wildlife documentaries you see are filmed there, since that’s where the Serengeti is. > [@tdn](#): > > Hoards. Actually, hordes that stole hoards.😉 ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/30 "2012-12-11T20:31:30Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > But apart from brutal empire-builders, innovative tent designs and top sumo wrestlers, what have the Mongolians ever done for us? Apparently, if you just overlook all of the brutality and mass murder, ol’ Genghis was a net positive. Dan Carlin’s been treating the topic at length in his most recent [Hardcore History](http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/hh) podcast series. (Mind you, he just mentions the distant, historical view, removed from the untold suffering that the Mongol conquest caused, as a jumping-off point to explore what this goddamn force of nature would’ve been like to experience on the ground, so don’t go there if you’re looking for the positive spin.) My vote would probably be for one of the -stans, but Burundi might deserve an honorable mention. All I know about it is that if the President invites you in for coffee, it [might not mean what you think it means](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPqBV6LhuW8). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/31 "2012-12-11T20:35:11Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Actually, hordes that stole hoards.😉 I nominate you as our resident Mongolia expert. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/32 "2012-12-11T20:40:51Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > The Central African Republic is pretty darn obscure. Even the name sounds like a joke: a generic placeholder, like “Middle Eastern Warzone” or “South American Dictatorship”. But it’s bigger than Spain, and Germany, and Japan. IIRC it has very few paved roads either, a couple of miles or something kerazy like that. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/33 "2012-12-11T20:55:38Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > The Central African Republic is pretty darn obscure. Even the name sounds like a joke: a generic placeholder, like “Middle Eastern Warzone” or “South American Dictatorship”. But it’s bigger than Spain, and Germany, and Japan. For a brief time in the late 1970’s, the CAR called itself the Central African Empire and was all over the news. They had a guy who called himself the Emperor Bokassa I and was batshit insane even by African dictator standards. Since he was deposed in 1979, wow, it has been obscure. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/34 "2012-12-11T21:30:39Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > For a brief time in the late 1970’s, the CAR called itself the Central African Empire and was all over the news. They had a guy who called himself the Emperor Bokassa I and was batshit insane even by African dictator standards. Since he was deposed in 1979, wow, it has been obscure. Honestly that pretty much sums up all I know about the CAR. Well I also know it used to be a French colony and Bokassa was a canibal. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/35 "2012-12-11T21:37:25Z")
Too bad Delaware isn’t a country. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/36 "2012-12-11T22:01:34Z")
Paraguay. I know nothing about it, beyond the fact that it had a little person as dictator, & a fought a very stupid war with its neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/37 "2012-12-11T22:16:02Z")
Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). A big country with a lot of people and problems but rarely heard from in world events: [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo): “It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 71 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the nineteenth most populous nation in the world, the fourth most populous nation in Africa, as well as the most populous officially Francophone country.” ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/38 "2012-12-11T22:43:18Z")
> [@Delayed\_Reflex](#): > > Other than the occasional natural disaster, I can’t say I hear much about Indonesia - and it’s the 4th most populous nation in the world. Constantly in the news in Australia, you know the whole Bali bombing thing and kids at schoolies. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/39 "2012-12-11T22:51:58Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). A big country with a lot of people and problems but rarely heard from in world events: > > [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo): “It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 71 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the nineteenth most populous nation in the world, the fourth most populous nation in Africa, as well as the most populous officially Francophone country.” I think we have a winner… though Indonesia arguably wins on a per capita basis ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/40 "2012-12-11T22:58:09Z")
Honestly, if you think Brazil or Indonesia is in any sense obscure, that’s a statement about _you_. > [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > My vote is for Mozambique. I was there a few months ago, but not too many people I’ve met can tell you anything about it. I understand the sunny sky is aqua blue, and the couples dance cheek to cheek? Lots of pretty girls, and plenty time for good romance. 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716.md?page=3)