FlagAndMap Weblog

The recently completed Athletics World Championships held at Daegu, South Korea, provided another exciting opportunity to enjoy multinational sporting competition at the very highest level. There were some superb individual performances and a thrilling finale as Jamaica took the 4x100m relay title with a new world record time. Our congratulations go to the organizers and all the athletes who participated and made this event such a success. The only question that remains is, ‘who won?’

By ‘who won?’ we mean which nation and, just as with the Commonwealth Games 11 months ago, we’re curious to see if it’s possible to compare national performances so that all countries, regardless of vastly differing resources, have a chance to come out on top. This time we have used the results provided in the final placing table to calculate a results score that is then adjusted for national GDP in a way that minimizes the spread of results. It’s not an exact science and we’ll skip the fine details but we think that the resulting GDP adjusted ranking is quite plausible and makes for interesting reading.

So on the basis of this analysis we declare Kenya the winners with Jamaica the runners up and we suspect that few people would quibble with this. Both relatively small nations excelled in their favorite disciplines. Russian athletes also performed well and did enough to move ahead of the better resourced USA team in our GDP adjusted ranking. Also noteworthy are two very small nations, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis, both of which made our top ten. So please take a look at the ranking to see how your favorite nation fared and how good their prospects might be for next year’s Olympics.

Many nations have national days in September. A personalized gift from FlagAndMap might make the following dates even more special for friends from these countries.
Sep 1, Independence Day in Uzbekistan
Sep 1, National Day in Libya
Sep 1, Constitution Day in Slovakia
Sep 2, National Day in Vietnam
Sep 6, Independence Day in Swaziland
Sep 7, Independence Day in Brazil
Sep 8, Independence Day in Macedonia
Sep 8, National Day in North Korea
Sep 8, Our Lady of Meritxell Day in Andorra
Sep 9, Independence Day in Tajikistan
Sep 12, National Day in Cape Verde
Sep 15, Independence Day in Costa Rica
Sep 15, Independence Day in El Salvador
Sep 15, Independence Day in Guatemala
Sep 15, Independence Day in Honduras
Sep 15, Independence Day in Nicaragua
Sep 16, Grito de Dolores in Mexico
Sep 16, Independence Day in Papua New Guinea
Sep 18, National Day in Chile
Sep 19, Independence Day in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Sep 21, Independence Day in Malta
Sep 21, Independence Day in Belize
Sep 22, National Day in Mali
Sep 23, National Day in Saudi Arabia
Sep 24, Independence Day in Guinea-Bissau
Sep 30, Independence Day in Botswana

We are pleased to announce our first batch of products with designs that include a 2012 calendar. For example, our 2012 calendar mousepads provide you with a date planner right at your fingertips, whereas our 2012 calendar postcards help you stay in touch with friends while sending them something useful at the same time. As ever these designs have national themes incorporating flags and maps so you will be reminded of your favorite nation as you keep your dates straight throughout the year.

FlagAndMap stickers are a great way to give a shout-out to your home nation or favorite destination. We have recently added flag and map designs to more sticker shapes, so whether you want round, square or heart-shaped we should have something that will suit you. So go ahead and stick up for your nation on a text book, a binder, a bag or wherever works for you. Here are a few examples:

Many nations have national days in August. Be appropriately dressed with apparel from FlagAndMap when celebrating on the following dates with friends from these countries.
Aug 1, Independence Day in Benin
Aug 1, National Day in Switzerland
Aug 5, Independence Day in Burkina Faso
Aug 6, Independence Day in Bolivia
Aug 7, Independence Day in Cote d’Ivoire
Aug 9, National Day in Singapore
Aug 10, Independence Day in Ecuador
Aug 11, Independence Day in Chad
Aug 14, Independence Day in Pakistan
Aug 15, Independence Day in Congo-Brazzaville
Aug 15, National Day in Liechtenstein
Aug 15, National Day in South Korea
Aug 15, Independence Day in India
Aug 16, Restoration Day in the Dominican Republic
Aug 17, Independence Day in Gabon
Aug 17, Independence Day in Indonesia
Aug 19, National Day in Afghanistan
Aug 20, St. Stephen’s Day in Hungary
Aug 24, Independence Day in Ukraine
Aug 25, Independence Day in Uruguay
Aug 27, Independence Day in Moldova
Aug 29, National Uprising Day in Slovakia
Aug 30, Constitution Day in the Turks and Caicos Islands
Aug 31, Hari Merdeka in Malaysia
Aug 31, Independence Day in Kyrgyzstan
Aug 31, Independence Day in Trinidad and Tobago

FlagAndMap welcomes South Sudan to the family of nations. In January 2011 after decades of conflict the people of Sudan’s southern region were finally given the opportunity to vote on independence, which they approved by an overwhelming majority. This independence will be realized on July 9, 2011 and will bring into existence the world’s newest nation with a population of some 8 million and a land area slightly larger than Spain and Portugal combined.

FlagAndMap wishes the people of South Sudan stability and prosperity in the years ahead and has already created products for South Sudan with designs featuring the national flag and physical map of South Sudan. A few examples are shown below.

Many nations have national days in July. FlagAndMap offers a wide selection of gifts to help make the following dates even more special for friends from these countries.
Jul 1, Canada Day in Canada
Jul 1, National Day in the British Virgin Islands
Jul 1, Independence Day in Burundi
Jul 1, Independence Day in Rwanda
Jul 3, Independence Day in Belarus
Jul 4, Independence Day in the United States
Jul 5, Independence Day in Venezuela
Jul 6, Independence Day in the Comoros
Jul 6, Independence Day in Malawi
Jul 7, Independence Day in the Solomon Islands
Jul 9, Constitution Day in Palau
Jul 9, Independence Day in Argentina
Jul 10, Independence Day in the Bahamas
Jul 11, Naadam Holiday in Mongolia
Jul 12, Independence Day in Kiribati
Jul 12, Independence Day in Sao Tome and Principe
Jul 13, National Day in Montenegro
Jul 14, Bastille Day in France
Jul 20, Independence Day in Colombia
Jul 21, Liberation Day in Guam
Jul 21, National Day in Belgium
Jul 23, Revolution Day in Egypt
Jul 25, Constitution Day in Puerto Rico
Jul 26, Independence Day in Liberia
Jul 28, Independence Day in Peru
Jul 30, Independence Day in Vanuatu

Several nations have national days in June. Select a FlagAndMap gift to surprise your friends from these countries on the following dates.
Jun 2, Republic Day in Italy
Jun 4, National Day in Tonga
Jun 6, National Day in Sweden
Jun 10, Portugal Day in Portugal
Jun 12, Independence Day in the Philippines
Jun 12, Russia Day in the Russian Federation
Jun 14, Liberation Day in the Falkland Islands
Jun 17, National Day in Iceland
Jun 18, National Day in the Seychelles
Jun 25, Statehood Day in Croatia
Jun 25, Independence Day in Mozambique
Jun 25, Statehood Day in Slovenia
Jun 26, Independence Day in Madagascar
Jun 27, Independence Day in Djibouti
Jun 30, Independence Day in Congo-Kinshasa

Several nations have national days in May. Look for fun gifts from FlagAndMap to make the following dates even more special for friends from these countries.
May 1, Constitution Day in the Marshall Islands
May 3, Constitution Day in Poland
May 5, Liberation Day in the Netherlands
May 14, Independence Day in Paraguay
May 17, Constitution Day in Norway
May 20, National Day in Cameroon
May 20, Independence Day in East Timor
May 22, Unity Day in Yemen
May 24, National Day in Eritrea
May 25, Independence Day in Jordan
May 25, National Day in Argentina
May 26, First Republic Day in Georgia
May 28, National Day in Ethiopia
May 28, Republic Day in Armenia
May 28, Republic Day in Azerbaijan
May 29, Democracy Day in Nigeria

Several nations have national days in April. Wear appropriate apparel from FlagAndMap when celebrating on the following dates with friends from these countries.
Apr 1, Islamic Republic Day in Iran
Apr 3, National Day in Guinea-Conakry
Apr 4, Independence Day in Senegal
Apr 17, Flag Day in American Samoa
Apr 17, Evacuation Day in Syria
Apr 18, Independence Day in Zimbabwe
Apr 23, St. George’s Day in England
Apr 25, National Day in Italy
Apr 26, Union Day in Tanzania
Apr 27, National Day in South Africa
Apr 27, Independence Day in Togo
Apr 27, Republic Day in Sierra Leone
Apr 30, Queensday in the Netherlands