Madagascar Pop: 22 Million Per Capita GDP: $800 Life Ex: 57 Lit Rate: 64%
Angola Pop: 89,000 Per Capita GDP: $16,000 Life Exp: 72 Lit Rate: 91%
Copy: The United States had a strong influence over the island until 1959, when communist revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro, took over. The country remains one of the world's four self-declared communist states today, although Castro himself stepped aside in 2008 due to health complications.