Nation Study
World History Gold – Sobotta
You will achieve two objectives through this project:
1. Learn about your nation so you can serve effectively as an ambassador.
2. Strengthen your skills in analyzing information and drawing convincing conclusions based on your analysis.
These are critical thinking skills!
Starting Your Research
You should start with these three sources:
 Worldbook Encyclopedia Online – You’ll find a link to this in the WLHS “digital library” on the WLHS website. This
site will provide you an adequate overview of your history, and will provide broad overviews of your economy,
government, and people and culture.
 Culture Grams – You’ll find a link to this through the Clackamas County Library Databases link in the WLHS digital
library. You’ll need a West Linn library card number to access it, a good thing to have, if you don’t have one
already. This site also will provide you a sufficient overview of your history, as well as broad overviews of your
economy, government, and people and culture.
 CIA World Factbook – https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html This site is
maintained by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and contains all of the specific data on economy,
government, and people and culture requested below .
You are welcome to use any sources in your research, but I encourage you to start with these three. You ought to find all
the information you need in them. Whatever sources you use, cite them at the end of each section of writing.
Researching and Summarizing Your History
Summarize 8-10 key events in your nation’s history, key meaning the event had significant impact on the nation, its
people, and possibly the world. At least one event should relate to origin and formation (How your nation came to be),
and one should be a relatively recent event that reflects your nation’s role in the world today. None of the events should
be purely celebrity or pop culture in nature. You want to summarize the event AND its significance, so each of the event
summaries should be a full paragraph. List the events in chronological order, from earliest to latest. Timelines are
acceptable. Worldbook Encyclopedia and Culture Grams will be your best sources for this.
Researching and Summarizing Your Economy, Government, and People and Culture
Data on your Economy
Find this information on your economy in CIA World Factbook. For each item, find the number requested and, if
possible, the world ranking.
 GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) – Gross Domestic Product is the dollar value of all the goods and services sold by
your nation in a given year. It is used to gauge the size of your economy in comparison to other nations. Note
the dollar value and the world ranking.
 GDP Real Growth Rate – At what rate is your GDP growing? Note world ranking.
 GDP per Capita (PPP) – This is your GDP divided by the population of your nation. It suggests the wealth of each
person. Note the dollar value and the world ranking.
 Population Below the Poverty Line – This number gives you a sense of how many of your people are
impoverished. To give you a sense of numbers, the U.S. was at 15 percent in 2010.
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Inflation Rate – This is a measure of prices on consumer goods and services. It suggests how much you can
expect prices to increase each year. Many economists suggest that a 2% inflation rate is good for an economy –
Lower, and you risk deflation with businesses losing money; higher, and you risk consumers being unable to
afford goods and services.
Unemployment Rate – This is the percentage of workers looking for work who cannot find it. The number varies,
but generally economists consider 5% a good unemployment rate – Lower, and you risk rising inflation; higher,
people are out of work and out of money, and if workers aren’t buying, businesses aren’t selling, and the overall
economy suffers.
Exports (Commodities) – These are the goods your nation produces and sells to other nations.
Exports (Partners) – These are the nations to which you sell the most goods.
Imports (Commodities) – These are the goods your nation buys from other nations.
Imports (Partners) – These are the nations from which you buy the most goods.
Trade Surplus or Deficit – Compare export and import values. If your nation exports more than it imports, you
have a trade surplus. If your nation imports more than it exports, a trade deficit.
Debt (External) – This is the total amount of money your nation has borrowed from other nations and investors
over time.
Write-Up on Your Economy
Study all the data you collected. Considered together, does the data seem to indicate that your economy is strong,
weak, or something in between? When you’ve reached conclusions, write a long paragraph (No more than half a page.)
that includes general statements about the condition of your economy, and follows these statements with supporting
evidence based on your data. Here’s an example for Middle Earth:
Economic data indicates that the Middle Earth’s economy is large and strong, but there are areas of concern. Middle
Earth has one of the largest economies in the world. The GDP is nearly $12 trillion, meaning Middle Earth produces
nearly $12 trillion in goods and services each year. Few nations come close to this level of productivity. Middle Earth also
has wealthy citizens in comparison to citizens of other nations, as indicated by its high GDP per capita rate and its
relatively low percent of citizens under the poverty line. The economy is stabilizing and growing healthier after the Great
Recession that began in 2008, judging by its low inflation rate and falling unemployment rate. However, there are two
concerns about the economy. One is debt. Currently Middle Earth owes nearly $8 trillion to other nations and investors,
and debt continues to mount. Also, while Middle Earth is an industrial giant that exports more goods than most nations,
Middle Earth also is one of the world’s largest importers of goods, and runs a trade deficit nearly every year.
Data on Your Government
 On CIA World Factbook, find your government type. Then, find out what that government type means. For
example, the CIA calls the U.S. a “Constitution-based federal republic.” What does that mean?
 Identify the one or two top leaders in your nation. Typically they are your president and prime minister.
Sometimes it’s a monarch! (If yes, does he/she have any actual power?)
 Identify the two or three political parties that have the most public support and say something brief about their
ideologies. (Check Worldbook, or do a general internet search.)
 Find out whether your nation has a Constitution. If yes, when was it established? What are its key provisions?
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Identify and summarize the workings of your nation’s branches of government, if it has them. For example, the
U.S. has a legislative branch that makes laws, an executive branch that executes and enforces laws, and a judicial
branch that interprets laws.
Identify a major issue in your country today. Do a general internet search for this.
Write-Up on Your Government
Read the summaries of your government found in Worldbook Encyclopedia and/or Culture Grams, think about the data
you collected on your government from CIA World Factbook, and answer this question: Does your government serve
well the needs of your people? Write a long paragraph that supports your response with information from your sources.
Include after your paragraph the data requested above. Here’s an example for Middle Earth:
Middle Earth has a solid tradition of building institutions that support democracy and providing for its citizens basic
needs, and is increasingly better at respecting all citizens’ rights. Middle Earth has a constitution and the constitution
governs the actions of all citizens, including leaders. Middle Earth is a republic, or representative democracy, and all adult
citizens can participate in selecting leaders of the executive and legislative branches. Middle Earth has a strong judicial
system that strives to protect the rights of the minority. The military is accountable to an elected civilian, Gandalf, who is
the commander-in-chief. Middle Earth also has a federal system, and governments at the local, state and federal levels
work to address citizens’ needs. Middle Earth provides a free public education to all youth, and is working to ensure that
all its citizens have access to healthcare insurance. Major issues in Middle Earth today include wrestling the Lonely
Mountain from Smaug, getting Saruman out of Orthanc and shutting the lidless eye of Mordor.
 Top Leaders: Elrond, Galadriel, Gandalf
 Major Political Parties: Men, Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits
 Constitution? Yes.
 Three branches of government: Legislative branch makes laws, executive branch enforces laws, judicial branch
interprets laws.
Data on People and Culture
Find this data on your people and culture in CIA World Factbook:
 Population and population growth rate, including global rankings. The growth rate indicates the percentage of
how fast your nation is growing each year. Is your nation big or small? Is it growing quickly, slowly, or not at all?
 Age Structure – People in age ranges. Would you characterize your people as young or old?
 Ethnic Groups – List the largest ones with percentages. Also note major languages. Is your nation diverse in
ethnicity?
 Religions – List the largest ones with percentages. Is your nation diverse in faith?
 Infant Mortality Rate, Life Expectancy at Birth – Infant mortality rate is the percentage of infants who die per
1000 births. It is considered a major measure of the health of a nation, as it gauges the health of a mother and
the strength of a healthcare system supporting newborns. Life expectancy indicates the average number of
years people live. Pay attention to global rankings!
 Literacy, School Life Expectancy – Literacy is the percentage of people who can read and write. School life
expectancy is the number of years citizens are expected to attend school. Together they give you a sense of how
well educated your people are.
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Write-Up on Your People and Culture
Study all the data you collected. Considered together, what does this data say about your people – As a nation, are you
young and growing or old and waning? Are you diverse? Are you healthy? Are you well educated? When you’ve reached
conclusions, write a long paragraph that includes general statements about your people, and follows these statements
with supporting evidence based on your data.
Assessment
Your write-ups will be evaluated based on the strength of your critical thinking (See “Examining Questions” and
“Drawing Conclusions about Questions” on our Critical Thinking scoring guide), and the clarity of your writing (See “Ideas
and Content” and “Conventions” on our Writing scoring guide).
Map
Create a map of your country. I’ll provide poster board. At a minimum, include the following elements:
 Capital and major cities.
 Major bodies of water, mountains and mountain ranges.
 Symbols signifying the locations of key natural resources.
To score well, your map should be easy to read, informative, created with care, and visually appealing.
A note about plagiarism – I am familiar with our three primary sources of information and will recognize their language,
so be sure to write information in your own words; don’t copy it directly from the sources. Also, you will submit your
paper to turnitin.com, so don’t copy information directly from internet sources or past students.
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