Location : Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Geographic coordinates : 33 00 N, 65 00 E
Area : total : 647,500 sq km
land : 647,500 sq km
water : 0 sq km
Land boundaries : total: 5,529 km
border countries : China 76 km,
Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km,
Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan
744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
Population : 32,738,376 (July 2008 est.)
Population growth rate : 2.626% (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate : total: 154.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 158.88 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 150.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups : Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%
Religions : Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%
Literacy : definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 28.1%
male: 43.1%
female: 12.6% (2006 est.)
Head of state : President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid KARZAI
(since 7 December 2004)
GDP- per capita (PPP) : $1,000 (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line : 53% (2003)

During his years of self-imposed exile, Karzai retained close ties to
his homeland. While living in Pakistan, he was director of the Afghan
National Liberation Front and worked for the mujahedin.

Karzai has been leading an interim Afghan government since December
5, 2001. His enormous popularity in the West led to the infusion of
both financial assistance and troops to the war-ravaged country.

Location : Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Geographic coordinates : 24 00 N, 90 00 E
Area : total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km
water: 10,090 sq km
Land Boundaries : total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km,
India 4,053 km
Population : 153,546,901 (July 2008 est.)
Population Growth rate : 2.022% (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate : total: 57.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58.44 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 56.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups : Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)
Religions : Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
Literacy : definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.1%
male: 53.9%
female: 31.8% (2003 est.)
Head of state : President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002)
GDP- per capita (PPP) : $1,300 (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line : 45% (2004 est.)

A noted economist, civil servant, and a former governor of the
Bangladesh Bank, Dr. Ahmed was thrust into the political limelight when
he was identified as the calming figure that a country in political turmoil
desperately needed and was appointed as the Chief Adviser (Head of
the Government) of the non-party interim caretaker government of
Bangladesh on January 12, 2007.

Location : Southern Asia, between China and India
Geographic coordinates : 27 30 N, 90 30 E
Area : total: 47,000 sq km
land: 47,000 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Land Boundaries : total: 1,075 km
border countries: China 470 km,
India 605 km
Population : 682,321
Population Growth rate : 1.301% (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate : total: 51.92 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 53.1 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 50.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups : Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35% (includes Lhotsampas - one of several Nepalese ethnic groups), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%
Religions : Lamaistic Buddhist 75%, Indian- and
Nepalese-influenced
Hinduism 25%
Literacy : definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 47%
male: 60%
female: 34% (2003 est.)
Head of state : King Jigme Khesar Namgyel WANGCHUCK(since 14 December 2006)
GDP- per capita (PPP) : $5,200 (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line : 31.7% (2003)

Born on February 21, 1980, Khesar obtained his basic education in
Bhutan. Thereafter, he studied abroad at Phillips Academy (Andover),
the Cushing Academy and Wheaton College in Massachusetts, U.S.A.,
before graduating from Magdalen College, Oxford University, where he
completed the Foreign Service Program and an M.Phil. in Politics.

King Khesar signed a new treaty of friendship with India in February
2007, replacing the 1949 treaty. Many government initiatives were
undertaken by the new king with a view to strengthening the system
in preparation for the democratic changes in 2008. Plans for a grand
coronation in 2008 were shot down by the king who asked for informal
get-togethers around the country instead of a formal event in the
capital.

Location : Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Geographic coordinates : 20 00 N, 77 00 E
Area : total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 sq km
Land Boundaries : total: 14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km,
Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China
3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km
Population : 1,147,995,898 (July 2008 est.)
Population Growth rate : 1.578% (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate : total: 32.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 36.94 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 27.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups : Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%,
Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions : Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%,
Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Literacy : definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 61%
male: 73.4%
female: 47.8% (2001 census)
Head of state : President Pratibha PATIL (since 25 July 2007)
GDP- per capita (PPP) : $2,700 (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line : 25% (2007 est.)

Dr. Singh was born on September 26, 1932, and completed his
Matriculation at the Punjab University in 1948. He later earned an
Honours degree in Economics from Cambridge University and a D.Phil.
in Economics from Oxford University.

Dr. Singh has held faculty posts at the Punjab University and the Delhi
School of Economics. He had a brief stint at the UNCTAD Secretariat,
and also served as the Secretary General of the South Commission.
In 1971, Dr. Singh joined the Government of India as an Economic
Advisor. He has held many posts including as Secretary of the Finance
Ministry, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and Governor
of the Reserve Bank of India.

He became the first Sikh Prime Minister of India on May 22, 2004.

Location : Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, southsouthwest
of India 
Geographic coordinates : 3 15 N, 73 00 E
Area : total: 300 sq km
land: 300 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Land Boundaries : 0 km
Population : 379,174 (July 2008 est.)
Population Growth rate : 2.69% (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate : total: 51.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 50.78 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 52.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups : South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs
Religions : Sunni Muslim
Literacy : definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.3%
male: 96.2%
female: 96.4% (2000 census)
Head of state : President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM
(since 11 November 1978)
GDP- per capita (PPP) : $4,600 (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line : 21% (2004)

He was born on December 29, 1937, in Male, Maldives, and spent most
of his early life in Egypt. He was educated in both Sri Lanka and Egypt.
After completing his secondary education at Royal College, he obtained
his Masters degree in Islamic Sharia and Civil Law with honours in
1966.

President Gayoom has been instrumental in raising awareness on
environmental issues, both in the Maldives as well as internationally.
National environment policies that he initiated have contributed much
to protecting the fragile ecology of the Maldives and have changed
public perceptions of growth and development.

His speech to the U.N. General Assembly in 1987 on the dangers facing
his country due to global warming and sea level rise has been quoted
widely in environmental literature.

Location : Southern Asia, between China and India
Geographic coordinates : 28 00 N, 84 00 E
Area : total: 147,181 sq km
land: 143,181 sq km
water: 4,000 sq km
Land Boundaries : total: 2,926 km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km
Population : 29,519,114 (July 2008 est.)
Population Growth rate : 2.095% (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate : total: 62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 60.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 63.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups : Chhettri 15.5%, Brahman-Hill 12.5%,
Magar 7%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.5%,
Newar 5.4%, Muslim 4.2%, Kami 3.9%,
Yadav 3.9%, other 32.7%, unspecified
2.8% (2001 census)
Religions : Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim
4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census)
Literacy : definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 48.6%
male: 62.7%
female: 34.9% (2001 census)
Head of state : Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 30 April 2006)
GDP- per capita (PPP) : $1,200 (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line : 30.9% (2004)

Girija Prasad Koirala was born in 1925 in Bihar, India, and has been
active in politics for over sixty years. He is a pioneer of the Nepali
labour movement and is renowned for organising workers in the jute
mills of his hometown in Biratnagar.

In 1948, Koirala founded the Nepal Mazdoor Congress, later known
as the Nepal Trade Union Congress. Later, in 1952, he became the
President of the Morang district Nepali Congress and held that office
until he was arrested and imprisoned by King Mahendra following the
1960 royal coup.

In 1991, he became the only democratically elected Prime Minister of
Nepal since 1959, when his brother B.P. Koirala and the Nepali Congress
swept the country's first democratic election.

He is also the President of the Nepali Congress and leader of the Seven
Party Alliance (SPA).

Location : Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India in the east, Iran and Afghanistan to the west and China in the north
Geographic coordinates : 30 00 N, 70 00 E
Area : total: 803,940 sq km
land: 778,720 sq km
water: 25,220 sq km
Land Boundaries : total: 6,774 km
border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km,
China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km
Population : 167,762,040 (July 2008 est.)
Population Growth rate : 1.805% (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate : total: 66.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 67.05 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 66.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups : Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan),
Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India at the time of partition and their
descendants)
Religions : Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%),
other (includes Christian and Hindu)3%
Literacy : definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 49.9%
male: 63%
female: 36% (2005 est.)
Head of state : President Pervez MUSHARRAF (since 20 June 2001)
GDP- per capita (PPP) : $2,600 (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line : 24% (FY05/06 est.)

He was nominated by Pakistan Peoples Party, with the support of
coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League (N), Awami National Party,
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement on March
22, 2008. He took the oath of office from President Pervez Musharraf on
March 25, 2008. Yousaf Raza Gilani is the first elected Prime Minister
of Pakistan from the Saraiki-speaking belt.

Gilani belongs to an influential political family from Multan. His father
was a descendant of Syed Musa Pak, a spiritual figure of the Qadiri Sufi
order which traces its origins to Abdul-Qadir Gilani of Gilan province
of Iran. Gilani is married and has four sons.

Location : Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Geographic coordinates : 7 00 N, 81 00 E
Area : total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km
water: 870 sq km
Land Boundaries : 0 km
Population : 21,128,773
Population Growth rate : 0.943% (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate : total: 19.01 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.76 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Ethnic groups : Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan
Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
Religions : Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu
7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
Literacy : definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.7%
male: 92.3%
female: 89.1% (2001 census)
Head of state : President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA
(since 19 November 2005)
GDP- per capita (PPP) : $4,100 (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line : 22% (2002 est.)

A vociferous champion for the opposition in the 1980s, he became one
of the more prominent ministers after his party swept to power in 1994.
He held the portfolios of labour and fisheries. He was later appointed as
the Prime Minister, and was sworn in as the fifth Executive President
in 2005.

Mahinda Rajapaksa was honoured by the most venerable Malwatte
Chapter with an honorary title of “Sri Rohana Janaranjana” in the year
2000.

Mahinda Rajapaksa is a leader with his finger firmly on the pulse of the
people. He is a rebel with a cause and has the vision to bring prosperity,
peace and equity to all.