Glossary Archive - Driving Directions & Maps

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Nafta

(North American Free Trade Agreement). An important trade agreement creating a huge zone of cooperation on trade and economic issues in North America.

Nagorno-Karabakh

The mountainous area of Azerbaijan, fought over by Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Location: Southern Africa Official name: Republic of Namibia Formation (date of independence / date current borders were established): 1990 / 1994 Capital city: Windhoek Population: 2.2 million / 7 people per sq mile (3 people per sq km) Total land area: 318,694 square miles (825,418 square km) Language(s) spoken: Ovambo, Kavango, English (official language), Bergdama, … Read more

Nation

A group of people with a common culture living in a territory and having a strong sense of unity.

Nation-State

The name of the territory when a nation and a state occupy the same territory.

Nationalism

The belief that people should be loyal to their nation, the people with whom they share land, culture, and history.

Nationality

Nationality provides the identifying terms for citizens in the countries – noun and adjectives.

Native peoples

Native peoples: the people who belong by birth or origin to a place.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – A military alliance formed in 1949 included the United States, Canada, many European nations, and Turkey.

Natural hazards

Natural hazards list possible natural disasters. For countries where volcanic activity is normal, a volcanism subfield highlights historically productive volcanoes.

Natural levee

A strip of land immediately alongside a stream that has been built up by deposition of sediments during flooding.

Natural replacement rate

The highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used without decreasing its potential for renewal.

Natural resources

Natural resources: materials that occur naturally in an area, such as wood, coal, oil, or gas.

Nauru

Location: Australasia & Oceania Official name: Republic of Nauru Formation (date of independence / date current borders were established): 1968 / 1968 Capital city: None Population: 9322 / 1151 people per sq mile (444 people per sq km) Total land area: 8.1 square miles (21 square km) Language(s) spoken: Nauruan (official language), Kiribati, Chinese, Tuvaluan, … Read more

Near Abroad

Russia’s name for the now-independent former republics, other than Russia, of the USSR.

Needleleaf

Characteristic of trees like pine, fir, and cedar, found in northern regions of North America.

Nelson Mandela

One of the African national congress leaders who led a struggle to end apartheid and was elected president in 1994 in the first all-race election in South Africa.

Neo-Malthusians

Supporters of forecasts that resources will not keep pace with the needs of growing human populations.

Neocolonialism

The perpetuation of a colonial economic pattern in which developing countries export raw materials to, and buy finished goods from, developed countries.

Nepal

Location: South Asia Official name: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal Formation (date of independence / date current borders were established): 1769 / 1769 Capital city: Kathmandu Population: 29.9 million / 566 people per sq mile (219 people per sq km) Total land area: 54,363 square miles (140,800 square km) Language(s) spoken: Nepali (official language), Maithili, … Read more