- The name “Earth” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “erda”, which means ground or soil.

- You can find cities named Montpellier on four continents (Australia, North America, Europe and Africa). The most famous is the Southern French city of Montpellier which has been the fastest growing city in France over the past 25 years and the capital of the US state of Vermont (Montpelier).

- If Bangladesh had the population density of Australia, there should be only 400,000 people living there. Actually, the Asian country has a population of 164 million.

- The total length of the Pan-American Highway is 47,958 km (29,800 mi) and it stretches from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Ushuaia in Argentina.

- Russia has nine time zones. So, when the clocks of Kaliningrad show 12 PM, the clocks in the Kamchatka peninsula will show 9 PM.

- The Copper Canyon in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua is larger than the Grand Canyon located in the US State of Arizona.

- The Mediterranean island of Malta has an average of 300 sunny days per year.

- If you are born in Andorra, your chances of reaching at least 82 years old are very high. On the other hand, if you are born in Swaziland, your life expectancy will be around 32 years old.

- There are about 1240 planes that land or take off daily to or from London Heathrow Airport.

- The Northern Hemisphere contains about 90% of the human population.

- The highest quantity of snow ever fallen in one year was 31.1 meters (102 ft) and it happened in 1971-1972 on Mount Rainier, Washington.

- It will take you 6 days to travel from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Trans-Siberian Railway, the longest railway ever build. The railway has a total length of 9,259 km (5,753 mi).

- The island of Taiwan was also known in the past as the Formosa island.

- Although the total area of Australia is 25 times bigger then the total area of Norway, the length of these two countries’ coastlines are approximately equal (about 25,000 km or 15,534 mi).

- All the people in the european country of Georgia can read and write, while only a quarter of the people of Mali can do this.

- Siberia contains about 40% of the world’s known resources of nickel.

- The Panama Canal shortens the distance between the Atlantic and Pacific ocean by approximately 13,000 km (8,077 mi).

- The southern Chinese city of Beihai is the fastest growing city in the world with a population increase of 10.58% per year.

- The world population increased from 1 billion in 1804 to 7 billion in 2011.

- The rock of Gibraltar has a height of 426 m (1,398 ft) and 40% of the total land area of Gibraltar is a Nature Reserve.

- The earth’s glaciers contain about 70% of the world’s fresh water reserves.

- Vienna and Bratislava are the two closest capital cities in the world with only 64 km (40 mi) distance between them.

- The area of Ecuador is about the same with that of the US state of Oregon.

- Russia has the largest Orthodox community in the world: 100 million people or 70% of its total population.

- Although Germany and Japan occupy only 0,5% of the earth land area, their economies produce 14% of the total global GDP.

- There are over 6,300 ships that are registered in the country of Panama.

- The total world GDP reached 70 trillion $ in 2011. In comparison, the world GDP in 2010 was about 63 trillion $.

- Netherlands is the top chocolate producing country but its chocolate industry depends mostly on the cacao beans cultivated in the Ivory Coast, the biggest producer of this item.

- Greenland is the world largest island and the least densely populated country or teritory in the world.

- The average elevation of Turkey is 1,100 m (3,600 ft).

- Russia and Bangladesh have the same number of inhabitans (approximately 142 million), but the area of Bangladesh is 115 times smaller than the area of Russia.

- The Pacific country of Nauru is the world's smallest island nation, covering just 21 square km (8.1 square mi).

- The Earth has fourteen mountain peaks higher that 8,000 m (26,246 ft) and all of them are situated in the Himalaya Mountains.

- With a total length of 7,000 km (4,350 mi), the Andes is the longest continental mountain range.

- The Canada – United States border is the longest border in the world (8,891 km / 5,525 mi).

-  There are 10 cities called Alexandria in the USA. Also, there is at least one city called Alexandria on each continent except Antarctica.

- The North American Great Lakes have a total area of 244,106 sq km / 94,250 sq mi and represent 21% of the world’s surface fresh water.

- The Caspian Sea has a surface elevation of -28 m (-92 ft) and it is considered the world’s largest lake because it is an enclosed body of water.

- Tristan da Cunha is the remotest inhabited island in the world. This island has a population of 264 people and it is located in the South Atlantic Ocean, at a distance of 2,816 km (1,750 mi) from South Africa and 3,360 km (2,088 mi) from South America.

- One fifth (20%) of the earth land area is represented by the deserts.

- With an area of 53,000 square km (20,463 square mi), the Vasyugan swamp from western Siberia is the largest swamp in the northern hemisphere.

- Brazil takes up almost half of the area of South America or approximately 47%.

- The Republic of South Sudan declared its independence on 9 July 2011, therefore it is the youngest independent country in the world. Prior to this, Kosovo held this position from 17 February 2008 - the day it declared its independence.

- The Sea of Marmara connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea and it is the smallest sea in the world.

- The urban areas occupy about 1.5% of the total earth land area.

- Istanbul is the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents : Europe and Asia.