Re: [FT] Size of "Countries" in FT

>At 12:49 AM 12/3/98 +0000, you wrote:
>>Even today including territorial
>>waters and Antartic region Australia is the 3rd largest area under one
>>government (the big ones are USA and Russia) 
>
>Bollocks! Canada is the second largest, China the third, USA is 
>number four, which I suppose would put Oz at number five...
>

Slow down there hoss...  he said "area under one government" not "total
land area."   Canada is the second largest country in land area, has the
longest total coastlines, etc etc, but the Australians control vast
tracts
of the South Pacific and Indian oceans, and a good portion of
Antarctica.
Australia itself is smaller than Canada, but I think they control enough
extra bits that he's right.  China doesn't come close.	The USA is
bigger
than China in terms of landmass, and it certainly controls WAY more area
if
you take into account US portions of Antarctica and the Pacific around
Hawaii, Alaska, the Aleutians, etc.  China is upthere in land area, but
so
is Brazil (number 6 I think).  Come to think of it, Indonesia controls a
LOT of ocean...

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