Free Piano Music! Country Index

             From National Geographic: "Australia is the only country in the world that covers an entire continent. It is one of the largest countries on Earth. Australia is also one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations. Nearly a quarter of the people who live in Australia were born in other countries." --read more

             From Countries for Kids: "Austria is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The majority of Austria is a mountainous and forested country. The northeastern part of Austria contains lowlands. Vienna has long been considered the music capital of Europe... Many famous composers, including Johan Strauss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, [Ludwig van Beethoven ~GD] and Joseph Haydn all lived and taught in Vienna." --read more

             From National Geographic: "Canada is a vast and rugged land. From north to south it spans more than half the Northern Hemisphere. It is the second largest country in the world, but it has only one-half of one percent of the world's population. Descendents of British and French immigrants make up about half the population. First Nations peoples make up about four percent." --read more

           From National Geographic: "China is a large country with widely varying landscapes. The tallest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest, sits on the border between China and Nepal. With a population of 1.4 billion, China has more people than any other country on Earth." --read more

                     From National Geographic: "Denmark is a country in northern Europe. It is made up of the Jutland Peninsula and more than 400 islands in the North Sea. The people of Denmark are known as Danes. They are Nordic Scandinavians, many of which are blond, blue-eyed, and tall. Danes have one of the highest standards of living in the world. " --read more

                     From National Geographic: "Without the Nile River, all of Egypt would be desert. Only about an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain falls throughout Egypt each year. About 90 percent of Egyptians are Muslim, which means they are followers of the Islamic religion. About 10 percent of Egyptians are Copts, one of the oldest branches of the Christian religion. " --read more

      From Encyclopedia Britannica: "England is the largest of the four parts of the country called the United Kingdom. The other parts are Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The people of England are a mixture of many different ethnic groups. The early people were called Celts. Invaders from northern European countries came later, including Anglo-Saxon invaders from Germany, the Norse and the Danes. " --read more

              From National Geographic: "One of the world's northernmost nations, Finland is the most densely forested country in Europe. A majority of the people living in Finland were born and raised in the country, and nearly 90 percent of the population speaks Finnish. Finland is also home to the Sami, a herding people once known as the Lapps. They live in Lapland, where they herd reindeer." --read more

              From National Geographic: "France, the largest country in Western Europe, has long been a gateway between the continent's northern and southern regions. France is one of the oldest nations on Earth and the most ethnically diverse country in Europe. These deep and broad influences have made France a world leader throughout history" --read more

                   From National Geographic: "Germany's location at the heart of Europe has shaped its history both for good and bad. It borders nine neighbors, more than any other European country. Today almost one in every ten Germans comes from a foreign country. That is more than at any time in history. The largest minority are Turkish, who started coming in the 1950s to work." --read more

From National Geographic: "Greece has the longest coastline in Europe and is the southernmost country in Europe. Family life is a very important part of life in Greece. Children often live with their parents even after they get married. Greeks live long lives and it is thought that their varied diet of olives, olive oil, lamb, fish, squid, chickpeas, and lots of fruits and vegetables keep them healthy. " --read more

map from www.mappr.co/thematic-maps According to World Population Review "Hispanic is the language-based term and describes people from Spain or another Spanish-speaking country, including (to most) Equatorial Guinea in Africa, but not Portugal or Brazil (which both speak Portuguese). By comparison, Latino/a/x is location-based and includes anyone whose family originates from Latin America regardless of language spoken. Therefore, Latino includes Brazil, but not Spain or Portugal."

                  From National Geographic: "Iceland is a small island nation that is Europe's westernmost country and home to the world's northernmost capital, Reykjavik. A volcanic island, Iceland experiences severe volcanic activity. School is free for all Icelanders all the way through college. Every student is taught to speak both Danish and English in school." --read more

        From National Geographic: "India is part of the continent of Asia. Most of India forms a peninsula, which means it is surrounded by water on three sides. The world's highest mountain range, the Himalaya, rises in the north. India is a very spiritual country. It has no official religion, but more than 80 percent of Indians are Hindu. About 13 percent are Muslim." --read more

              From Encyclopedia Britannica: "The country of Indonesia is made up of about 17,500 islands. It is the largest country, both in area and in population, in Southeast Asia. Most of the islands are mountainous. Indonesia has many active volcanoes, including the famous Krakatoa. The area is also known for earthquakes. Indonesia's climate is hot and humid." --read more

         From National Geographic: "Iraq is dominated by two famous rivers: the Tigris and the Euphrates. Many parts of Iraq are harsh places to live. Rocky deserts cover about 40 percent of the land. Another 30 percent is mountainous with bitterly cold winters. Much of the south is marshy and damp. Most Iraqis live along the fertile plains of the Tigris and Euphrates." --read more

              From National Geographic: "Ireland is an island nation on the westernmost edge of Europe. Ireland is known for its wide expanses of lush, green fields. In fact, its nickname is the Emerald Isle. But there are also large areas of rugged, rocky landscape. Ireland is a nation of storytellers. The tradition dates back to Celtic bards, who would record and recite the country's history." --read more

   From National Geographic: "Israel is a small country in the Middle East about the size of the state of New Jersey. Israel's population is about 74 percent Jewish; most of the rest of the population is Muslim, people who follow the religion of Islam. Most Muslims live in the Occupied Territories [of Palestine --GDB]. Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is considered a holy city by Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike." --read more

              From National Geographic: "Italy is a boot-shaped peninsula that juts out of southern Europe into the Mediterranean Sea. Its location has played an important role in its history. Since the rise of the Roman Empire, Italian art, architecture, and culture have had an influence around the world. Famed Italian painters include Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Italy is also at the heart of the Catholic Church." --read more

              From National Geographic: "Japan is an archipelago, or string of islands, on the eastern edge of Asia. Japan can be a dangerous place. Three of the tectonic plates that form Earth's crust meet nearby and often move against each other, causing earthquakes. Japanese food is very different from food in Western countries. There is lots of rice, fish, and vegetables, but little meat." --read more

   From National Geographic: "Morocco is located in the northwest corner of Africa and is bordered by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Moroccans are Berber and Arab and most of the people are Muslim. The Berbers have been in North Africa for centuries. Many of the Berber people live in the mountains and still speak the Berber language, but today they are moving to cities to find work. " --read more

       From National Geographic: "The Netherlands is a small country sandwiched between Belgium and Germany in Western Europe. The North Sea, located to the north and west of the Netherlands, is continually battering the land. The Dutch have a saying: "God made the Earth, but the Dutch made Holland." The North Sea would have washed away the Netherlands if the Dutch had not erected defenses to protect their land." --read more

              From Encyclopedia Britannica: "The Republic of North Macedonia is a small country in southeastern Europe. It is part of a region called the Balkans. Most of the people are ethnic Macedonians. They speak Macedonian, a language related to Bulgarian. More than half of the people are Eastern Orthodox Christians. Nearly one-third of the people are Muslims." --read more

              From National Geographic: "Palestine is a region in the Middle East. It lies between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Many different peoples have lived in Palestine over thousands of years. In 1948 most of Palestine became part of the country of Israel. Since then, the region has experienced bitter fighting between Palestinian Arabs, who are mostly Muslims, and Israelis, who are mostly Jews." --read more

           From National Geographic: "The Philippines is an archipelago, or string of over 7,100 islands, in southeastern Asia. Filipinos are predominantly of Malay descent, frequently with Chinese and sometimes American or Spanish ancestry. Many Filipinos have Spanish names because of a 19th-century Spanish decree that required them to use Spanish surnames, or last names." --read more

              From National Geographic: "Poland is located at the heart of the European continent . As such the country has been a meeting place for many cultures and ideas. Religion is a very important part of Polish life. The majority of the population (about 87 percent) is Roman Catholic. In 1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, archbishop of Krakow, became the first-ever Polish pope, John Paul II." --read more

              From National Geographic: "Russia, the largest country in the world, occupies one-tenth of all the land on Earth. It spans 11 time zones across two continents (Europe and Asia). There are about 120 ethnic groups in Russia who speak more than a hundred languages. Roughly 80 percent of Russians trace their ancestry to the Slavs. Russia is known all over the world for its thinkers and artists, including writers like Leo Tolstoy and composers such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky." --read more

              From National Geographic: "Scotland is a part of the United Kingdom, a country of western Europe. The other parts of the United Kingdom are England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scotland covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Scots fought many wars to keep their independence from England. In 1707, however, Scotland was joined to England, and the entire island became a single kingdom, " --read more

              From National Geographic: "Serbia is a country in southeastern Europe. It was a republic, or state, of the country of Yugoslavia for much of the 1900s. In the 1990s all of Yugoslavia's republics except Serbia and Montenegro became independent countries. The two remaining republics formed a new country called Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. However, Montenegro declared its independence in 2006. " --read more

              From Encyclopedia Britannica: "The country of Somalia in northeastern Africa is a hot and dry land. To survive in this difficult environment, many of the people follow a nomadic, or wandering, lifestyle. Almost all the people are Somalis. The Somalis are divided into many clans, or groups of related families. Small groups of Bantus and Arabs also live in the country. Nearly everyone is Muslim. Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Its economy is based on livestock raising and farming." --read more

              From National Geographic: "Many different peoples make up South Africa, each with their own language and history. The country has 11 official languages and many more unofficial ones. This colorful mix of cultures gives South Africa its nickname "rainbow nation." From aardvarks to zebras, South Africa is full of wildlife. The country takes up only about one percent of Earth's land surface, but is home to almost 10 percent of the world's known bird, fish, and plant species " --read more

              From National Geographic: "This Middle Eastern country is home to some of the oldest cities in the world. Most of the Syrian population are Arab, or originally from the Arabian Peninsula and its neighboring territories. Minority groups living in the country include the Kurds, an ethnic group from a mountainous region called Kurdistan. Most Syrians are Muslim, or people who practice Islam. " --read more

              From National Geographic: "Located in eastern Europe, Ukraine is the second-largest country on the European continent after Russia. Most people are native Ukrainians, with Russians making up the next largest group. In February 2022, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin announced an invasion on the country and sent troops to take over major cities, including (unsuccessfully) the capital, Kyiv. " --read more

              From National Geographic: "The United States of America is the world's third largest country in size and nearly the third largest in terms of population. Throughout its history, the United States has been a nation of immigrants. The population is diverse with people from all over the world seeking refuge and a better way of life. The landscape varies across the large country from tropical beaches in Florida to peaks in the Rocky Mountains, from rolling prairie lands and barren deserts in the West to dense wilderness areas in the Northeast and Northwest." --read more

              From National Geographic: "Venezuela is a country on the northern coast of South America. One of the world's chief oil exporters, it is as famous for its petroleum as it is for its natural wonders. The country boasts majestic Angel Falls, which is the world's highest waterfall. Other marvels include the forest-covered Guiana Highlands and the northern arm of the Andes Mountains. " --read more

        From National Geographic: "Vietnam is a long, narrow nation shaped like the letter s. It is in Southeast Asia on the eastern edge of the peninsula known as Indochina. At its narrowest point, Vietnam is only 30 miles (48 km) wide. Most Vietnamese people live in the countryside, mainly in the river delta regions of the north and south. Recently though, people have begun to move to the main cities of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi." --read more