Turkey fourth biggest donor country

17 July 2013 Last updated at 12:09 GMT Much of the humanitarian aid provided by Turkey is likely to have been spent on housing Syrian refugees Turkey was the fourth-largest donor of humanitarian assistance last year, according to an annual report by Global Humanitarian Assistance.

The report says that Turkey contributed more than $1bn (£665m) - 0.13% of its national income.

"It is likely" that much of this went to the surrounding region, especially due to the escalating Syrian crisis, the report says.

The United States remained the largest donor by volume, providing $3.8bn.

This amounts to 29% of all the humanitarian assistance provided by governments.

Sweden and Luxembourg were the most generous donor countries, giving the most aid in proportion to their gross national income.

The Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) report shows that 76 million people were identified by the UN as needing humanitarian assistance - compared with 93 million people in 2011.

The amount of international humanitarian assistance in 2012 totalled $17.9bn, more than 70% of which was provided by governments.

That was a fall of 8% on the year before.

GHA says the decrease might in part be driven by the absence of any "mega-disasters", in terms of fatalities, on the scale of previous years - such as the Japanese tsunami in 2011 or the Haiti earthquake in 2010.

Giver and receiver

According to the GHA report, the top five donors were: the United States, European Union institutions, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Sweden.

The most surprising finding is that Turkey ranks fourth on the list.

GHA says it is possible that a significant volume of the humanitarian assistance provided by Turkey might have been spent on housing Syrian refugees within Turkey's own borders.

There are almost 350,000 Syrian refugees registered in Turkey.

Turkey is also a recipient of international aid.

In 2011 it received its highest volume of aid to date, amounting to $3.2bn.

Almost 90% of this aid was from EU institutions.

Preventive action

The report also reveals the impact of the famine crisis in Somalia.

The data show that the famine is estimated to have claimed more than 275,000 lives in Somalia between 2010 and 2012, half of which were children under the age of five.

GHA says the crisis in Somalia was not solely caused by a shortage of food as a result of drought, but rather by a food shortage combined with market failure caused by conflict in the country.

The GHA report advises the donors to act earlier, take more preventative action, make better use of cash transfers and provide multi-year humanitarian funding cycles in areas of persistent need.

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France country profile

5 June 2013 Last updated at 10:47 GMT A key player on the world stage and a country at the political heart of Europe, France paid a high price in both economic and human terms during the two world wars.

The years which followed saw protracted conflicts culminating in independence for Algeria and most other French colonies in Africa as well as decolonisation in south-east Asia.

France was one of the founding fathers of European integration as the continent sought to rebuild after the devastation of World War II.

In the 1990s Franco-German cooperation was central to European economic integration. The bond between the two countries was again to the fore in the new millennium when their leaders voiced strong opposition as the US-led campaign in Iraq began.

An official logo symbolising the French Republic with its its motto 'Liberty, equality, fraternity' Continue reading the main story Politics: Francois Hollande is France's first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand in 1981-95Economy: France has the eurozone's second-largest economy and is a leading industrial power, but has struggled to emerge from recession since 2008International: France is a key European and world player. It has a strong military. France is influential in Africa, especially in former colonies

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

But France sent shockwaves through European Union capitals when its voters rejected the proposed EU constitution in a referendum in May 2005.

France's colonial past is a major contributing factor in the presence of a diverse multicultural population. It is home to more than five million people of Arab and African descent.

It has a number of territories overseas which, together with mainland France and Corsica, go to make up the 26 regions which the country comprises. It is further divided into 100 departments, five of which - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion and Mayotte - are geographically distant from Europe.

Government in France is known for its high degree of centralisation but in March 2003 parliament approved amendments to the constitution allowing for the devolution of quite wide-ranging powers to the regions and departments.

In the light of low election turnout, the move was widely seen as a bid to re-engage in the political process French people disillusioned by the ubiquitous influence of what is often perceived as the Paris elite.

France has produced some of the continent's most influential writers and thinkers from Descartes and Pascal in the 17th century, Voltaire in the 18th, Baudelaire and Flaubert in the 19th to Sartre and Camus in the 20th.

In the last two centuries it has given the art world the works of Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse and Braque, to name but a few.

It is also famous for its strong culinary tradition. France produces more than 250 cheeses and some of the world's best-loved wines.

A French icon for the 21st century: the Millau viaduct in Massif Central

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Armenia country profile

27 February 2013 Last updated at 10:29 GMT A landlocked country with Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north, Armenia boasts a history longer than most other European countries.

Situated along the route of the Great Silk Road, it has fallen within the orbit of a number of cultural influences and empires.

After independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia quickly became drawn into a bloody conflict with Azerbaijan over the mostly Armenian-speaking region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

One of the earliest Christian civilisations, its first churches were founded in the fourth century. In later centuries, it frequently oscillated between Byzantine, Persian, Mongol or Turkish control, as well as periods of independence.

Its rich cultural and architectural heritage combines elements from different traditions. The Armenian language is part of the Indo-European family, but its alphabet is unique.

Mount Ararat is an Armenian national symbol. It lies tantalizingly close but cruelly distant, just beyond the country's borders

Divided between the Persians and Ottomans in the 16th century, eastern Armenian territories became part of the Russian Empire in the early 19th century, while the rest stayed within the Ottoman Empire.

Between 1915 and 1917, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians died at the hands of government troops in the Ottoman Empire.

Yerevan wants Turkey, and the world, to recognize the deaths as genocide, and some countries have done so.

However, Turkey says that there was no genocide and that the dead were victims of World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Serge Sarkasian's re-election in 2013 was disputed by the opposition International: Fraught ties with Turkey over the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottomans. A fragile ceasefire is in place with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh regionEconomy: Closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan have produced economic isolation. Poverty and unemployment are persistent

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

The governments of the two countries agreed to normalise relations in October 2009, although Turkey has said opening the border will depend on progress on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

An independent Republic of Armenia was proclaimed at the end of the first world war but was short-lived, lasting only until the beginning of the 1920s when the Bolsheviks incorporated it into the Soviet Union.

When Soviet rule collapsed in 1991, Armenia regained independence but retained a Russian military base at Gyumri.

Territorial dispute

In the mid-1990s the government embarked on an economic reform programme which brought some stability and growth. The country became a member of the Council of Europe in 2001.

Unemployment and poverty remain widespread. Armenia's economic problems are aggravated by a trade blockade imposed by neighbouring Turkey and Azerbaijan since the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Despite these problems, Armenia's economy experienced several years of double-digit growth before a sharp downturn set in in 2008. Though the economy grew by about 7% in 2012, by the beginning of 2013 more than 30% of the population were still living below the poverty line.

The conflict over the predominantly Armenian-populated region in Azerbaijan overshadowed Armenia's return to independence.

Full-scale war broke out the same year as ethnic Armenians in Karabakh fought for independence, supported by troops and resources from Armenia proper. A ceasefire in place since 1994 has failed to deliver any lasting solution.

Armenia receives most of its gas supply from Russia and, like some other republics of the former Soviet Union, has had to face sharp price rises. Russian gas arrives via a pipeline running through Georgia.

Armenia has a huge diaspora and has always experienced waves of emigration, but the exodus of recent years has caused real alarm. It is estimated that Armenia has lost up to a quarter of its population since independence, as young families seek what they hope will be a better life abroad.

Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity in about 300 AD

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Ireland country profile

28 June 2013 Last updated at 09:54 GMT Ireland emerged from the conflict that marked its birth as an independent state to become one of Europe's economic success stories in the final decade of the twentieth century.

Long under English or British rule, Ireland lost half its population in the decades following the Great Famine of the 1840s to death and emigration.

After World War I, independence from the United Kingdom was only achieved at the price of civil war and partition. Northern Ireland remains part of Britain.

After the country joined the European Community in 1973, it was transformed from a largely agricultural society into a modern, high-technology economy.

For centuries British dominion in Ireland gave rise to unrest which finally erupted into violence with the Easter Rising of 1916, when independence was proclaimed. The rising was crushed and many of its leaders executed, but the campaign for independence carried on through a bloody Anglo-Irish War of 1919-1921.

A booming economy transformed Dublin in the 1990s Continue reading the main story Politics: Prime Minister Enda Kenny from Fine Gael leads a coalition that ousted Fianna Fail, traditionally the main force in parliament, in 2011Economy: Ireland sought a rescue package from the EU and IMF in 2010 after debt and deficit problems left the economy close to collapseInternational: Ireland is active in international peacekeeping. It pursues military neutrality and is not a member of Nato. Ireland is an EU member and eurozone country

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

It was in 1922 that 26 counties of Ireland gained independence from London following negotiations which led to the other six counties, part of the province of Ulster, remaining in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Partition was followed by a year of civil war.

Relations between Dublin and London remained strained for many years afterwards. Northern Ireland saw decades of violent conflict between those campaigning for a united Ireland and those wishing to stay in the United Kingdom.

In an unprecedented and concerted effort to resolve the situation, the Irish and UK governments worked closely together in negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement on the future of Northern Ireland in 1998.

Boom to bust

Ireland's economy began to grow rapidly in the 1990s, fuelled by foreign investment. This attracted a wave of incomers to a country where, traditionally, mass emigration had been the norm.

The boom that earned Ireland the nickname of "Celtic Tiger" faltered when the country fell into recession in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008.

The property boom had been fuelled by massive lending from the banks, and when this collapsed - and lenders were unable to repay - the Irish banking system was plunged into crisis.

The Irish economy underwent one of the deepest recessions in the eurozone, with its economy shrinking by 10% in 2009.

In November 2010, Ireland and the EU agreed a financial rescue package worth 85bn euros, ending weeks of speculation about a bail-out.

And in February 2013, Ireland struck a deal with the European Central Bank (ECB) to ease the debt burden caused by arrangements made to underwrite the country's "zombie banks" - bankrupt institutions such as the Anglo Irish Bank.

The swing bridge over the River Liffey in Dublin was inaugurated in 2009

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Montenegro country profile

9 April 2013 Last updated at 15:01 GMT Montenegro emerged as a sovereign state after just over 55% of the population opted for independence in a May 2006 referendum.

The vote heralded the end of the former Union of Serbia and Montenegro - itself created only three years earlier out of the remnant of the former Yugoslavia.

The EU-brokered deal forming it was intended to stabilise the region by settling Montenegrin demands for independence from Serbia and preventing further changes to Balkan borders.

The same deal also contained the seeds of the union's dissolution. It stipulated that after three years the two republics could hold referendums on whether to keep or scrap it. Montenegro opted for the latter.

A narrow majority voted to dissolve the union with Serbia

Montenegro last experienced independence nearly 90 years earlier. It was absorbed into the newly-formed Yugoslavia at the end of World War I.

There were fears that the 2006 independence vote could lead to unrest in the areas of Montenegro where ethnic Serbs, who make up roughly a third of the population, formed the majority and strongly opposed separation from Serbia. There was backing for independence from most ethnic Montenegrins and ethnic Albanians living in Montenegro.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Montenegro opted for independence in a 2006 referendumEconomy: The tourism and real estate sectors have been gaining in importanceInternational: Candidate for EU membership - entry talks hinge on progress in fighting crime, corruption

Profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

The pro-independence camp led by Prime Minister Djukanovic argued that the association with Serbia was holding the republic back, not least with its bid for EU membership.

As the successor state to the union, Serbia inherited its seat at the UN and other international organisations. The newly-independent Montenegro has since been admitted to the UN in its own right.

The country officially applied to join the EU on 15 December 2008.

Striving for EU membership

Another important milestone on Montenegro's path to EU membership was reached towards the end of 2009, when Montenegrin citizens were granted the right to visa-free travel within the Schengen zone. Formal EU accession talks began in June 2012.

Only a few months earlier, Montenegro had taken another major step forward in full membership of the international community when it became a member of the World Trade Organisation in April 2012. It had applied for WTO membership in December 2004.

Montenegro, which means "Black Mountain", borders Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo and Albania. About half of it is covered in thick forest. The tiny republic encompasses an Adriatic coastline, lowlands and high mountain ranges. The Tara River canyon is the deepest and longest in Europe.

Montenegro includes a coastline, mountain ranges and thick forests

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Azerbaijan country profile

24 May 2013 Last updated at 09:29 GMT Oil-rich Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 amid political turmoil and against a backdrop of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh.

It has been famed for its oil springs and natural gas sources since ancient times, when Zoroastrians, for whom fire is an important symbol, erected temples around burning gas vents in the ground.

In the 19th century this part of the Russian empire experienced an unprecedented oil boom which attracted international investment. By the beginning of the 20th century Azerbaijan was supplying almost half of the world's oil.

In 1994 Azerbaijan signed an oil contract worth $7.4bn with a Western consortium. Since then Western companies have invested millions in the development of the country's oil and gas reserves. However, the economy as a whole has not benefited as much as it might have done.

Continue reading the main story Politics: President Ilham Aliyev came to power in 2003, succeeding his father Heydar, and was re-elected in 2008. A two-term presidential limit was abolished in 2009. Critics accuse Mr Aliyev of heading an authoritarian regime which suppresses oppositionEconomy: Huge oil export revenues have funded infrastructure projects and boosted living standardsInternational: Azerbaijan and Armenia fought in the 1990s over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh; a fragile ceasefire is in place. Azerbaijan is a key transit route to Afghanistan. Relations with Iran are fractious

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Caspian oil is now flowing through a pipeline running from Baku through Georgia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, providing western countries with ready access to a vast new source of supply. Environmental groups have protested that the cost of this benefit is unacceptable.

Azerbaijan has large gas reserves too.

Azerbaijan became a member of the Council of Europe in 2001. Often accused of rampant corruption and election-rigging, ruling circles walk a tightrope between Russian and Western regional geo-strategic interests.

As the Soviet Union collapsed, the predominantly Armenian population of the Nagorno-Karabakh region stated their intention to secede from Azerbaijan. War broke out. Backed by troops and resources from Armenia proper, the Armenians of Karabakh took control of the region and surrounding territory.

In 1994 a ceasefire was signed. About one-seventh of Azerbaijan's territory remains occupied, while 800,000 refugees and internally displaced persons are scattered around the country.

Azerbaijan was in the media spotlight in June 2007 when Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the US the use of the Gabala radar station for missile defence as an alternative to using bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.

At one time Azerbaijan supplied almost half of the world's oil, pumped up by oil derricks such as these in Baku on the Caspian Sea

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Malta country profile

12 March 2013 Last updated at 09:33 GMT The Maltese archipelago includes the islands of Malta, Gozo, Comino, Comminotto and Filfla.

It has a history of colonial control spanning centuries.

Located south of the Italian island of Sicily between Europe and North Africa, it has been occupied by Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs and latterly France and Britain.

Independence from Britain was achieved in 1964, after the Maltese people were awarded the George Cross for defending the island during World War II.

Malta is a destination for Europe-bound migrants Continue reading the main story Politics: The Labour Party won elections in March 2013Economy: Financial services, tourism and manufacturing are key sectorsInternational: Malta pursues a policy of neutrality, while keeping close ties with Europe and the US

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Forty years on Malta was the smallest of the 10 countries to join the EU in May 2004. It joined the eurozone in 2008.

Since becoming an EU member, the tiny island has reported an increasing problem with immigration from north Africa and has requested more help to deal with it.

The UN refugee agency has criticised the island's policy of keeping asylum seekers in detention for 18 months.

Over the centuries, Malta's strategic position fostered its development as an important trading post and it remains a leading centre for container and freight transhipment.

Malta is a popular holiday destination and tourism is the nation's main source of income.

Malta has a colonial history spanning centuries

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San Marino country profile

3 July 2013 Last updated at 10:45 GMT Landlocked San Marino is one of the world's smallest countries. Surrounded by Italy, it is an echo from an era when city-states proliferated across Europe.

Mount Titano, part of the Appennine range, dominates San Marino's landscape. Three defensive fortresses perch on Titano's slopes, looking out to the Adriatic coast.

San Marino is said to be the world's oldest surviving republic.

Tradition has it that the country was founded in the fourth century AD by a devout Christian stonemason called Marinus, who took refuge there and set up a small community. Its rugged isolation helped the enclave to develop and keep its independence.

San Marino - the world oldest surviving republic

An 1862 friendship and cooperation treaty with Italy, which has since been revised and expanded, reinforced San Marino's independence.

Tourism dominates the economy of the 61 square kilometre (23.6 square miles) republic, which plays host to more than three million visitors every year.

Postage stamps and coins - keenly sought by collectors - are important sources of revenue.

As one of Europe's tax havens, San Marino has traditionally attracted a large inflow of cash from non-residents, but in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008-9 this status has come increasingly under threat, and the republic has pledged to make its banking system more transparent.

Mount Titano dominates San Marino's landscape

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Estonia country profile

5 February 2013 Last updated at 16:59 GMT A small and heavily forested country, Estonia is the most northerly of the three former Soviet Baltic republics.

Not much more than a decade after it regained its independence following the collapse of the USSR, the republic was welcomed as an EU member in May 2004. The move came just weeks after it joined Nato.

These historic developments would have been extremely hard to imagine in not-so-distant Soviet times.

Estonia was part of the Russian empire until 1918 when it proclaimed its independence. Russia recognised it as an independent state under the 1920 Treaty of Tartu.

During the two decades that followed it tried to assert its identity as a nation squeezed between the rise of Nazism in Germany and the dominion of Stalin in the USSR.

Tallinn: The capital's long history is evident in its old town Continue reading the main story Politics: PM Andrus Ansip heads a centre-right coalition which was re-elected in 2011Economy: Estonia has experienced rapid growth. Key sectors include manufacturing and IT. Estonia joined the eurozone in 2011International: Estonia joined Nato and the EU in 2004. It has a troop contingent in Afghanistan

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

After a pact between Hitler and Stalin, Soviet troops arrived in 1940 and Estonia was absorbed into the Soviet Union. Nazi forces pushed the Soviets out in 1941 but the Red Army returned in 1944 and remained for half a century.

The rapidly expanding Soviet planned economy brought hundreds of thousands of Soviet immigrants to Estonia, causing widespread fear among Estonians that their national identity would eventually vanish.

Russians account for up to a third of the population.

The legacy of the Soviet years has left a mark which the country carries with it into its EU era: Many Russian-speakers complain of discrimination, saying strict language laws make it hard to get jobs or citizenship without proficiency in Estonian. Some Russian-speakers who were born in Estonia are either unable or unwilling to become citizens because of the language requirements.

After a decade of negotiations, Estonia and Russia signed a treaty defining the border between the two countries in May 2005. The Estonian parliament ratified it soon afterwards but only after it had introduced reference to Soviet occupation. Moscow reacted by pulling out. It took until 2012 for talks to start afresh.

The Estonian language is closely related to Finnish but not to the languages of either of the other Baltic republics, Latvia and Lithuania, or to Russian. The country has unique traditions in folk song and verse, traditions which have had to be strong to survive the many centuries of domination by foreign countries.

Estonia enjoyed an investment boom following EU accession, but in 2008 its economy was badly hit by the global financial crisis.

The government adopted tough austerity measures and won plaudits for getting the economy back into shape ahead of entry to the European single currency in January 2011.

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Italy country profile

25 June 2013 Last updated at 15:10 GMT Take the art works of Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Caravaggio, the operas of Verdi and Puccini, the cinema of Federico Fellini, add the architecture of Venice, Florence and Rome and you have just a fraction of Italy's treasures from over the centuries.

While the country is renowned for these and other delights, it is also notorious for its precarious political life and has had several dozen governments since the end of World War II.

The Italian political landscape underwent a seismic shift in the early 1990s when the "mani pulite" ("clean hands") operation exposed corruption at the highest levels of politics and big business. Several former prime ministers were implicated and thousands of businessmen and politicians were investigated.

Millions of tourists visit Italy to see its antiquities, such as Michelangelo's David

There were high hopes at the time that the "mani pulite" scandal would give rise to a radical reform of Italian political culture, but these hopes were dashed when the old structures were replaced by a new political landscape dominated by the multi-millionaire businessman Silvio Berlusconi, who himself became increasingly mired in scandals and corruption affairs.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Enrico Letta leads a grand coalition formed two months after the 2013 elections left a stalemated parliament Economy: Italy has the eurozone's third largest economy and a huge public debt - second only to Greece'sInternational: Italian forces have been active in peacekeeping in the Balkans, Africa and Middle East, and are present in Afghanistan

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

The growing popularity since 2009 of a protest movement led by the comedian and activist Beppe Grillo reflects the level of discontent with all the mainstream parties, which many Italians see as being irredeemably self-serving and out of touch with the concerns of ordinary citizens.

Italy was one of the six countries that signed the 1951 Paris Treaty setting Europe off on the path to integration. It has been staunchly at the heart of Europe ever since, although the government led by Mr Berlusconi in the early 2000s adopted a more Eurosceptic stance.

Mr Berlusconi sought to align Italy more closely to the US, breaking ranks with the country's traditional allies, France and Germany, in his support for the US-led campaign in Iraq.

Italy is the fourth largest European economy and for long enjoyed one of the highest per capita incomes in Europe, despite the decline in traditional industries such as textiles and car manufacturing as a result of globalisation.

But it became one of the first eurozone victims of the global financial crisis of 2008. By mid-2012, Italy had the second-highest level of public debt - a towering 123% of GDP (annual economic output) - in the eurozone.

There is concern over Italy's birth rate - one of the lowest in Europe - and the economic implications of an ageing population.

Italy is renowned for its treasures, such as Venice, a city surrounded by water

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Latvia country profile

13 June 2013 Last updated at 15:14 GMT Situated in north-eastern Europe with a coastline along the Baltic Sea, Latvia has borders with Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania. It has linguistic links with Lithuania to the south and historical and religious ties with Estonia to the north.

Not much more than a decade after it declared independence following the collapse of the USSR, Latvia was welcomed as an EU member in May 2004. The move came just weeks after it joined Nato. These developments would have been extremely hard to imagine in the 51 years when Latvia - like Estonia and Lithuania - was occupied by the Soviet Union.

For centuries Latvia was primarily an agricultural country, with seafaring, fishing and forestry as other important factors in its economy.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Latvia regained its independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Presence of a large ethnic Russian minority is a sensitive issueEconomy: Latvia made a rapid transformation to a market economy after independenceInternational: Latvia is a member of the European Union and Nato

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Latvia was under foreign rule from the 13th until the 20th century, but managed to keep its unique language and rich cultural and especially musical traditions alive. After the First World War it declared independence from Russia, which recognised it in 1920.

Two decades later, following a pact between Stalin and Hitler, Soviet troops invaded in 1940 and Latvia was absorbed into the Soviet Union. Nazi forces pushed the Soviets back in 1941 but the Red Army returned in 1944 and remained for half a century.

During the Soviet period Latvia underwent heavy industrialisation, and experienced a big influx of immigrants from other parts of the USSR, mainly Russia.

About a quarter of the population is Russian-speaking and the rights of this section of society have been a thorny issue since independence. Government reforms introduced in 2004 to restrict the use of the Russian language in schools remain controversial.

Legislation on citizenship was toughened up in 2006. Candidates who fail a Latvian language test three times will be denied citizenship. People without citizenship are entitled neither to vote nor to obtain an EU passport.

Like its Baltic neighbours, in the decade after independence Latvia made a rapid transformation to embrace the free market.

Latvia's economy grew by 50% between 2004 and 2007 but the global financial crisis of 2008-9 hit the country hard, and the former Baltic tiger endured one of the worst recessions in the EU.

The social turmoil triggered by the financial crisis led to the fall of the Godmanis government in February 2009. By January 2010, unemployment had soared to 20%, prompting fears of further political instability.

Deep public spending cuts introduced by the subsequent Dombrovskis government led to discontent at home, but impressed international lenders enough to earn Latvia an IMF/European Union 7.5bn euro ($10bn) bailout.

This has helped Latvia's economic recovery, and it returned to growth in 2011. By late 2012, its economic revival was the EU's strongest. Unemployment, while falling, nonetheless remains high. The country is set to join the euro at the start of 2014, despite popular uncertainty about the move.

Despite a relatively successful economic transition, Latvia has been struggling with a steep population decline since independence, as young Latvians in particular seek opportunities abroad. Between 2000 and 2011, the population fell by about 13%.

Latvia was annexed by the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1991.

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Ukraine country profile

1 May 2013 Last updated at 10:20 GMT Ukraine gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since veered between seeking closer integration with Western Europe and reconciliation with Russia, which supplies most of the country's energy.

Europe's second largest country, Ukraine is a land of wide, fertile agricultural plains, with large pockets of heavy industry in the east.

While Ukraine and Russia share common historical origins, the west of the country has close ties with its European neighbours, particularly Poland, and Ukrainian nationalist sentiment is strongest there.

A significant minority of the population of Ukraine are Russians or use Russian as their first language. Russian influence is particularly strong in the industrialised east, as well as in Crimea, an autonomous republic on the Black Sea which was part of Russia until 1954. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is based there.

Ukraine is on the transit route for European gas imports Continue reading the main story Politics: Viktor Yanukovych won the 2010 presidential poll, capitalising on voter discontent over economic woesEconomy: Dependence on steel exports makes Ukraine vulnerable to global financial turmoil. Ukraine is at odds with the IMF, from which it seeks loans, over raising energy prices for householdsInternational: President Yanukovych has re-oriented foreign and trade policy towards Russia. Relations with the EU have deteriorated, particularly over the imprisonment of former PM, Yulia Tymoshenko

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Crimea is also the homeland of the Crimean Tatars, whom Stalin accused of collaborating with the Nazis and deported to Central Asia in 1944. More than 250,000 have returned since the late 1980s.

In 1932-1933, Stalin's programme of enforced agricultural collectivisation brought famine and death to millions in Ukraine, the bread basket of the USSR. Not until its twilight years did the Soviet Union acknowledge the extent of the suffering.

News of another Soviet-era calamity, the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, rang alarm bells around the world immediately. About 8% of Ukraine's territory was contaminated as were large areas in neighbouring Belarus. Millions have suffered as a result.

Independence

The first president after independence, former Communist Party official Leonid Kravchuk, presided over rapid economic decline and runaway inflation. His successor, Leonid Kuchma, oversaw a steady economic recovery, but was accused of conceding too much to Russian economic interests.

Opposition to Mr Kuchma grew, further fed by discontent at controls on media freedom, manipulation of the political system and cronyism.

The authorities' attempt to rig the 2004 presidential elections led to the "Orange Revolution", with reference to the colour of the main opposition movement.

Orange Revolution

Mass protests, a revolt by state media against government controls and the fracturing of the governing coalition brought in European-Union mediation and a re-run of the election.

The euphoria of the Orange Revolution protesters gave way to disappointment as its leaders squabbled once in power

A fragile alliance of anti-Kuchma forces united behind pro-Western opposition leader and former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, who won the presidency.

Mr Yushchenko succeeded in carrying out some democratic reform, but moves towards Nato and EU membership were slowed by divided public opinion in Ukraine and Western reluctance to antagonise a resurgent Russia.

Rivalry with his prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, soured into open antagonism, and neither proved able to cope with the worldwide economic downturn after 2008.

Their opponent in the Orange Revolution, Viktor Yanukovych, won the 2010 presidential election. He swiftly re-oriented foreign and trade policy towards Russia, clamped down on media freedom, and had various opponents, most prominently Ms Tymoshenko, imprisoned in trials seen at by many as politically-motivated.

Although trade with EU countries now exceeds that with Russia, Moscow is the largest individual trading partner. Ukraine depends on Russia for its gas supplies and forms an important part of the pipeline transit route for Russian gas exports to Europe.

In 2006, Ukraine was forced to agree to pay almost twice the former price for Russian gas after Russia briefly to cut supplies in a move that sparked alarm in western Europe as well. In January 2009, Russia again cut gas supplies in a row over unpaid fees.

The Ukrainian economy's dependence on steel exports made it particularly vulnerable to the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008, and in October of that year the country was offered a $16.5bn (£10.4bn) loan by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Orthodox Church has several prominent places of worship, including the Kiev-Pecherskaya Lavra monastery, pictured with a sculpture made of traditional wooden Easter eggs

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Croatia country profile

28 June 2013 Last updated at 15:02 GMT Croatia's declaration of independence in 1991 was followed by four years of war and the best part of a decade of authoritarian nationalism under President Franjo Tudjman.

By early 2003 it had made enough progress in shaking off the legacy of those years to apply for EU membership, becoming the second former Yugoslav republic after Slovenia to do so.

A country of striking natural beauty with a stunning Adriatic coastline, Croatia is again very popular as a tourist destination.

Croatia's EU accession talks were held up because the country's most prominent war crimes suspect, Gen Ante Gotovina, remained at large until 2005.

Croatia's Adriatic coastline draws big numbers of tourists Continue reading the main story Politics: The centre-left government of PM Zoran Milanovic took over in December 2011, riding a tide of anger over corruption and economic stagnationEconomy: Service industries predominate. Shipbuilding is a mainstay of manufacturingInternational: Croatia is set to become the 28th member of the EU on 1 July 2013

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Gen Gotovina was finally convicted by the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague in April 2011, and shortly after this, Croatia successfully completed its EU accession negotiations. It is due to become the EU's 28th member state in 2013.

In 2012, Gen Gotovina's conviction was overturned after an appeals court judge in The Hague decided there had been no conspiracy to eliminate the Serb civilian population from the Croatian region of Krajina.

At the time of President Tudjman's death in December 1999, the country was still in a parlous state.

Its citizens suffered from government-backed attacks on their civil and political rights. The governing party, the HDZ, was mired in corruption and the economy was in severe difficulties.

Presidential and parliamentary elections at the beginning of 2000 ushered in politicians who pledged commitment to Croatia's integration into the European mainstream.

The constitution was changed to shift power away from the president to parliament. Croatia joined the World Trade Organisation and pledged to open up its economy.

However, organised crime and associated violence continued to be a major concern, and the government had to demonstrate that it was serious about tackling the problem so as not to jeopardise its EU membership bid.

A dispute with Slovenia over sea and land borders dating back to the break-up of Yugoslavia also threatened to derail Croatia's journey to EU membership until June 2010, when a Slovene referendum cleared this outstanding obstacle to Croatia's EU accession.

The country's EU accession treaty was finally signed in December 2011, after years of tortuous negotiations, and endorsed at a referendum the following month.

Croatia was badly affected by the global financial crisis of 2008-9, which hit its tourism-oriented economy hard, and the country has mostly been in recession since 2009.

Domestic economic woes have dampened enthusiasm for the crisis-plagued EU, and elections in April 2013 to choose Croatia's first European Parliament deputies attracted a turnout of under 21%.

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