he research assignment will be accumulated throughout the course. You will be required to choose a country,other than the United States or US territories or US commonwealth, etc. such as Puerto Rico, Guam or the US Virgin Islands.

This week you will collect basic socio-economic data and other relevant description information on your country.

During week 1, you need to submit:

1. the name of the country and its geographic location;
2. basic socio-demographic information, including population, major ethnic groups, religions;
3. economic information, includingGDP, GDP per capita, themost important goods and services produced, major categories of imports and exports,the name of the national currency; and,
4. type of government, membership in major international organizations such as the UN, the IMF, the World Bank and major regional organizations such as the EU, the Euro Zone, ASEAN, NAFTA, etc. (Don't list every organizationthat the country you select belongs to, just the mostimportant ones).

Much of this information will also be used in subsequent weeks as you build on what you learn each week.