12 Countries That Are Completely Unique In One (Weird) Way

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Every country is unique, that's not an especially surprising revelation. What is startling is the specific way that some countries are incredibly different from even their closest neighbors. Sure, yeah, we're more alike than we are different. But those differences can be pretty damned weird.

For example ...

12

IN RUSSIA, BEER WASN'T CLASSIFIED AS AN ALCOHOLIC DRINK UNTIL 2011. Before that year, it was the only country where beer was sold and distributed just

11

ONLY 1 IN 8 PEOPLE LIVING IN QATAR HAVE BEEN BORN IN THE COUNTRY. Ik This small country has a population of 1.7 million, but South Asian workers outnu

10

IN PORTUGAL, IT'S ILLEGAL FOR RESTAURANTS NOT TO OFFER VEGAN MEALS. In 2017, it became the first country where all food services (including schools, h

9

INDIA IS THE LAST COUNTRY WHERE BOTH LIONS AND TIGERS LIVE IN THE WILD. Lions and tigers could be found in Turkey Iran, and Mesopotamia unfil the 19th

8

FEWER PEOPLE LIVE IN IRELAND TODAY THAN BACK IN THE 19TH CENTURY. The population reached its peak, eight million, in the 1840s, after which famine and

7

KIRIBATI IS THE ONLY COUNTRY SITUATED WITHIN ALL FOUR HEMISPHERES. This Micronesian nation straddles both the Equator and the 180th Meridian, SO its t

6

THE ETHIOPIAN CALENDAR IS SEVEN YEARS BEHIND THE REST OF THE WORLD. It wAs developed by Orthodox and Coptic churches, based on their own calculations

5

FINNISH DADS SPEND MORE TIME WITH THEIR KIDS THAN MOMS DO. It's the result of policies that greatly encourage a father's presence, considered crucial

4

60% OF JAILED WOMEN IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC ARE DOING TIME FOR BEING WITCHES. And 40% of all criminal cases in the country are ry-related, mak

3

THE INDIA-PAKISTAN LAND BORDER CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE AT NIGHT. Their boundary in the Thar Desert can be seen from low Earth orbit thanks to the fence

2

+3 +6 +8 +9 +10 DESPITE ITS MASSIVE SIZE, CHINA ONLY USES ONE TIME ZONE. ohoek NORTH 315 14 PACIFIC OCEAN SY Philippine Aratian Sea Sea The country ha

1

BHUTAN IS THE ONLY CARBON-NEGATIVE COUNTRY. While most governments struggle to become carbon-neutral, this Himalayan kingdom is the only country that