Step One: Imagine you work for the U. S. Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA. Your job is to analyze "intelligence," or information, about other countries.

Step Two: The director has gathered information from several countries. Study the intelligence report below for one country from the list, by opening the top secret report. The director included information on the United States for comparison.

Select the folder to open the report
Choose one of the countries below to discuss in your assessment.
Iraq Pakistan
Population 30,399,572 187,342,721
Arable land 13% 24%
Major exports crude oil (84% of exports), crude materials excluding fuels, food and live animals textiles such as garments, bed linen, cotton cloth, yarn (more than 50% of exports), rice, leather goods, sports goods, chemicals, manufactures, carpets and rugs
Major imports food, medicine, factory-produced goods petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, plastics, transportation equipment, edible oils, paper and paperboard, iron and steel, tea
Note The oil industry forms the majority of the Iraq economy. Most people work in agriculture, especially cotton. Cotton is used to create the country’s number one export, textiles.
Mali Bahamas
Population 14,159,904 313,312
Arable land 4% Less than 1%
Major exports cotton, gold, livestock mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit, and vegetables
Major imports petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels, food, and live animals
Note Over half of Mali is desert and it relies heavily on gold and cotton for income. The Bahamas is dependent on tourism for more than half of its economy.
Use this information of the United States for comparison.
United States
Population 313,232,044
Arable land 18%
Major exports agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0%
Major imports agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9%, (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery) 30.4%, consumer goods (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) 31.8%
Note The United States is the second-greatest industrial producer in the world.

Step Three: Use the information from the top secret report and what you have learned in this lesson to write a report to the director that answers the questions below:

What natural resources does the country have that are available in North America?
What natural resources does the country have that are not available in North America?
What natural resources might the country need that are in North America?
What are the country's major industries? What are the risks to these industries?
Is the country's economy more or less diverse than the United States? Explain your answer.
What opportunities does the country have to increase its diversification? Explain your answer.
Use the maps and activities in the lesson to help you answer the questions.