# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/81 "2012-12-12T16:35:22Z")
My brother is extremely well travelled (though he has never been any further into North America than Mexico). This whole thread has had me giggling because in every list there is somewhere he has lived or been: Indonesia, check, Tanzania, check, Papua New Guinea, check. The one he failed was \*\*Ken001’\*\*s and the first country on that list, Somaliland has strong connections to the city in which _I_ live. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/82 "2012-12-12T16:43:12Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > On the others, I concede I have nothing. Are they all disputed territories? As far as I can tell, none of them are officially countries and they’re all tiny. Probably not quite what the OP was looking for. Niger gets my vote. I bet most people don’t even realise it’s a country. I would have said mongolia, but at least if you asked what’s the first thing you think if when you think of mongolia, they’d be able to answer something along the lines of yaks and genghis khan. With niger, even google asks if you meant nigeria. ---
**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 12, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/83 "2012-12-12T16:52:36Z")
Niger was in the news around the time of Libya’s civil war. I think someone asked on here at the time about the French pronunciation used for it. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/84 "2012-12-12T16:58:22Z")
Everybody forget the Niger yellowcake controversy and the Plame affair? ---
**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 12, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/85 "2012-12-12T17:21:49Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) makes the news every time Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army flares up. The DRC along with Uganda, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic are the countries affected. Kony was the subject of the Kony 2012 viral video that scored tens of millions of YouTube views. > > Additionally the DRC shows when there is an Ebola virus outbreak. The most virulent strain of Ebola is even named Ebola - Zaire. Totally agree–in fact I’d nominate the DRC as one of the _least_ obscure countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Especially for those of us of an age to remember the Rumble in the Jungle, the batshit-insane Mobutu Sese Seko, and the horrific civil war which deposed him. For obscure, you want the _other_ Congo–the Republic of the Congo, aka Congo-Brazzaville. But it only has 4 million people, so it doesn’t really qualify as “large and obscure”. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/86 "2012-12-12T17:31:00Z")
> [@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.” Aha, but did you know their Francophone status is not due to being a former French colony, but a Belgian one? (I guess no Flemish-speaking Walloons made the effort of colonizing the Congolese.) I did a report on what was then called Zaire when I was in 7th grade, at which time its capital was Kinshasa, and its prinicpal export was copper. “Zaire” was the African name chosen to replace the colonial name of “The Belgian Congo”, and also the name of the currency used to replace the Belgian Franc. Without which assignment I probably would never have learned that Belgium had had a stakehold in the 19th Century era of European imperialism. Ironically what I could not have told you is that they were now the Democratic Republic of The Congo. I missed that memo. > [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Totally agree–in fact I’d nominate the DRC as one of the _least_ obscure countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Especially for those of us of an age to remember the Rumble in the Jungle, the batshit-insane Mobutu Sese Seko, and the horrific civil war which deposed him. > > For obscure, you want the _other_ Congo–the Republic of the Congo, aka Congo-Brazzaville. But it only has 4 million people, so it doesn’t really qualify as “large and obscure”. Wait, what? There are TWO Congos? I think I retroactively got my 7th grade report marked down. ---
**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 12, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/87 "2012-12-12T17:35:37Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Wait, what? There are TWO Congos? You think that’s bad? There are **three** Guineas! ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/88 "2012-12-12T17:57:00Z")
I know it’s not the **biggest** , but for a moderately sized country I feel like Azerbaijan is unusually obscure for its geographic location. It’s sitting there smack dab next to Iran, we get a lot of oil from it. It’s a majority Muslim country, who appear to have a working government with religious freedoms and everything. (Albeit they recently-ish repealed presidential term limits which set some people on edge). And yet… you never hear about it. Hell, I only know stuff about it because I met someone from there and looked stuff up about it because I realized I knew nothing about it except… it’s next to Armenia, Iran, and Georgia and is on the Caspian sea. If it was in the middle of nowhere I’d be less surprised, it’s the fact that it’s right next to Iran that makes me question it. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/89 "2012-12-12T17:58:38Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > My mind first went to Mongolia, but as I looked at a list of countries arranged by area, it seems that Brazil, which is huge, doesn’t get all that much attention. Not an MMA (UFC) fan, huh? Or soccer? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/90 "2012-12-12T18:06:34Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Everybody forget the Niger yellowcake controversy and the Plame affair? That was _Nigeria_ (where the scam spam comes from), different country. > [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > You think that’s bad? There are **three** Guineas! Plus a New one! ---
**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 12, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/91 "2012-12-12T18:23:31Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I know it’s not the **biggest** , but for a moderately sized country I feel like Azerbaijan is unusually obscure for its geographic location. It’s sitting there smack dab next to Iran, we get a lot of oil from it. It’s a majority Muslim country, who appear to have a working government with religious freedoms and everything. (Albeit they recently-ish repealed presidential term limits which set some people on edge). And yet… you never hear about it. Hell, I only know stuff about it because I met someone from there and looked stuff up about it because I realized I knew nothing about it except… it’s next to Armenia, Iran, and Georgia and is on the Caspian sea. If it was in the middle of nowhere I’d be less surprised, it’s the fact that it’s right next to Iran that makes me question it. But but but Eurovision 2012! Also the answer to the question, What’s the other country that’s name begins with A but doesn’t end in A? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/92 "2012-12-12T18:25:43Z")
Oops, my mistake, it was Niger, not Nigeria. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/93 "2012-12-12T18:40:12Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > But but but Eurovision 2012! > > Also the answer to the question, What’s the other country that’s name begins with A but doesn’t end in A? Afghanistan. For large(-ish) and mostly obscure, how about Belarus? ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/94 "2012-12-12T18:56:43Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > A (I guess no Flemish-speaking Walloons made the effort of colonizing the Congolese.) Just a nitpick: Walloons are French-speaking. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/95 "2012-12-12T18:57:20Z")
> [@Noone\_Special](#): > > For large(-ish) and mostly obscure, how about Belarus? I can tell you that Belarus is semi-famous for being the last remaining dictatorship in Europe, and for being contaminated with radiation from Chernobyl. On the other hand, I couldn’t tell you a thing about Angola. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/96 "2012-12-12T18:58:44Z")
> [@MoodIndigo1](#): > > Just a nitpick: Walloons are French-speaking. Er yes, well as I said, “no Flemish-speaking Walloons”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/97 "2012-12-12T19:06:06Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Everything I know about Madagascar is: 1) lemurs, yay! and 2) they had [one crazy-ass queen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranavalona_I)back in the day. You might have a point about Madagascar. I just read in another thread that the place is an ecological disaster. Aside from the kids’ movie and some basic geoscience stuff, that was the first I’d heard of it. I’ll read your Ranavalona article when I get a chance. My vote goes to Kazakhstan, though. It’s the ninth-largest country in the world (bigger than Madagascar, Congo, or Mongolia) and Sasha Baron Cohen was able to get away with saying practically anything about it (including fabricating a new religion based on hawk worship) without fear of reprisal. For its size, that’s amazingly obscure. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/98 "2012-12-12T20:06:30Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I know it’s not the **biggest** , but for a moderately sized country I feel like Azerbaijan is unusually obscure for its geographic location. It’s sitting there smack dab next to Iran, we get a lot of oil from it. It’s a majority Muslim country, who appear to have a working government with religious freedoms and everything. (Albeit they recently-ish repealed presidential term limits which set some people on edge). And yet… you never hear about it. Hell, I only know stuff about it because I met someone from there and looked stuff up about it because I realized I knew nothing about it except… it’s next to Armenia, Iran, and Georgia and is on the Caspian sea. If it was in the middle of nowhere I’d be less surprised, it’s the fact that it’s right next to Iran that makes me question it. Yes! That’s one I can completely agree on. Weird, actually, now that I think about it… what are they up too? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/99 "2012-12-12T20:58:47Z")
> [@For You](#): > > That was _Nigeria_ (where the scam spam comes from), different country. No, it was Niger with the (lack of) yellowcake. Or, as Bush called it, in a speech in which his writers must have been desperate to prevent what would have been a tragic mispronunciation, “Africa”. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716/100 "2012-12-12T23:19:53Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > Somaliland: They want independence from Somalia. Sometimes in the news because of piracy. I think their coast guard is effective against pirates or something? Or was it there that the locals acted against pirates because the price of coca cola went up or something like that? I think they are still unrecognised generally. I believe the population is largely Muslim, and there are nomads as well. I think the land is arid, but I’m not sure. And they have mountains, I remember from a documentary. > > South Ossetia: They want independence from Georgia, since the '90s I think. Things escalated again a few years ago, with Russia aiding Georgia. I think it looks pretty, mountainous and green, but I’m really not too sure about that. I think the Georgians have been pretty nasty to the population, but again, I could be wrong. > > Abkhazia: Rings a bell. I think another territory seeking independence? It’s in the same region as South Ossetia, but I’m not sure which countries want it/claim it. > > On the others, I concede I have nothing. Are they all disputed territories? Wooah! Go to the head of the class, that is very impressive. Yes they are disputed territories. Somalialand is a calm and sane off-shoot of Somalia. There is a BBC series and book about these unknown places. > **[Places That Don't Exist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_That_Don%27t_Exist)** > > Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don't Exist is a five-part travel documentary, part of the Holidays in the Danger Zone series, produced and broadcast by BBC This World. Written and presented by Simon Reeve, and produced by Will Daws and Iain Overton. It was first broadcast in May 2005, on BBC Two. > In the series, Reeve visits a number of small breakaway states and unrecognised nations including Somaliland, recognised as part of Somalia, Transnistria, recognised as part of Moldova wh... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obscure-country-for-its-size/643716.md?page=6)