Trivia of the Month

From the page on Trivia of the history pages
  1. The 2007 estimates are: 1 Indonesia 205 million Muslims (out of a population of 234 million), 2 Pakistan 160 million (out of 164 million), 3 India 154 million (out of 1.1 billion), 4 Bangladesh 132 million (out of 150 million), 5 Egypt 75 million (out of 80 million), 6 Turkey 70 million (out of 71 million), 7 Iran 64 million (out of 65 million), 8 Nigeria 58 million (out of 124 million). Only one of these is Arab: Egypt. On the other hand the countries that are at least 99% Islamic are mostly Arab: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia...
  2. In the Mojave Desert of California. It was inaugurated in 2005 and produces 354MW of electricity, which is more than all the rest of commercial production of solar energy in the world.
  3. In july 2008 it was Germany (+$286 billion over 12 months), followed by China ($248b), Russia ($164b), Saudi Arabi ($150b), Japan ($101b), Norway ($74b), Netherlands ($60b). The countries with the biggest trade deficits were the USA (-$835b), Britain (-$185b), Spain (-$151b), India (-$88b).
  4. The USA imports slightly more than 50% of the oil it uses, 20.7 million barrels per day. Therefore it would need to draw about 10 million barrels per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, that in 2007 held about 700 million barrels. Therefore the USA would survive a mere 70 days, or a little over two months.
  5. $400 trillion (source: the International Swaps and Derivatives Association). That is about 10 times the world's gross national product and twice the total world wealth. JP Morgan alone owned $77 trillion. Over-the-counter derivates were even higher, at more than 500 trillion dollars.
  6. South Korea (it used to be the USA for many decades)
  7. Denmark, followed by Sweden, Switzerland, USA (France is 21st) according to a study by INSEAD (a French university)
  8. Italy at 8.3%, followed by Sweden at 3.6% (See http://www.lewrockwell.com/barnhart/barnhart31.html )
  9. Italy (150,000), followed by Spain (140,000) and France (130,000). By comparison, the USA has about 500,000, but with a much larger population (from http://www.avert.org/eurosum.htm )
  10. Oman 11.40%, followed by Qatar 10.00%, Saudi Arabia 10.00%, Iraq 8.60%, Jordan 8.60%, Israel 7.30% (the USA's is 4.1%)
  11. The USA, about 70% of the world's attorneys. Italy has 1/10th with a population that is 1/5, so about half of the USA's per capita number. Britain has slightly more, France slightly less.
  12. Italy, about twice as many police officers as the USA per capita
  13. Italy, with 760 wiretap requests per million residents, followed by Holland. The USA, by comparison, ranks very low, with only 6 requests per million residents.
  14. German-Americans 23%; Irish-Americans 16%; Hispanic-Americans 13% (if one considers all of Latin America as just one group); African-Americans 12.9%; Italian-Americans 6%; Polish-Americans 3.5%; Jews 2%; Native Americans 1.5%; Arab-Americans 1.2%; Chinese-Americans 1%; Vietnamese-Americans 0.4%; etc (source: USA census)
  15. Japan, with 110 warships against Britain's 44
  16. Brazil, followed by China and the USA and most Far Eastern countries (Gini coefficient, according to the Economist of 11 August 2007)
  17. $41 billion a year, enough to feed all the millions of children who are starving in Africa.
  18. 19: the USA with 15.3% of GDP, followed by France and Germany with about 11% (but in the USA the money mainly comes from individuals, whereas in France and Germany it comes mainly from the government via taxes)
  19. 19: the USA has 12, Britain 3, France 2, Russia and India 1, China zero.
  20. Iran 93% (61M), Pakistan 25% (30M), India 2.7% (26M), Iraq 55% (11M), Turkey 15% (6M), Afghanistan 15% (3.5M), Yemen 36% (3M), Saudi Arabia 10% (2.5M), Lebanon 45% (1M), Kuwait 30% (0.5M), etc. Total of 150 million.
  21. Japan, followed by Switzerland and the USA, according to the Economist (may 2007)
  22. In 2006 the USA sold $8.1 billion worth of weapons to developing countries, or 48% of the worldwide weapons total
  23. In 2006 there were 950 billionaires in the world, with a combined wealth of $3.5 trillion
  24. 29,000 people are murdered every year in the USA, versus 168 in Canada (and only 100 in Britain). Even adjusting the numbers for the different population (the USA has about ten times more people than Canada), a USA resident is 15 times more likely to be killed by a gun than a Canadian resident.
  25. China (1010), Iran (177), Pakistan (82), Iraq (65), Sudan (65), USA (53), Saudi Arabia (39), Yemen (20). Note: 128 countries (i.e. the vast majority) have abolished the death penalty.
  26. The USA, where about 2.2 million people are in jail [2006].
  27. The USA, where individual gifts to charities are about 1.6% of gdp, followed by Britain (0.7%), Canada (ditto), Australia,. Germany (0.3%) and France (0.2%) rank low.
  28. Oslo, followed by Paris, Copenhagen, London, Tokyo. The most expensive USA city is New York, which is 28th overall, followed by Chicago (36) and Los Angeles (41)[2006]
  29. Azerbaijan (18%), followed by Sudan (12%), Angola (10%), Mauritania, Liberia, Kazakhstan, CHina, Armenia, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates (according to the Economist)
  30. Rwanda, with 48.8%. The USA is 68th (85% of the USA Congress is male and 15% is female, a lower percentage than in Iraq and Afghanistan)
  31. Marijuana ($35 billion, compared with $23.3 billion worth of corn, $17.6 billion worth of soybeans, $12.2 billion worth of hay, $11.1 billion worth of vegetables, $7.4 billion worth of wheat)
  32. Mandarin (1051 millions), followed by Hindi/Urdu (604), English (510), Spanish (425), Arabic (255), Russian (254), Portuguese (218), Bengali (215), Bahasa (175), French (130), Japanese (127), German (123), Farsi (110), Punjabi (103).
  33. Zero (Business Week, september 2006). The health care sector accounted for 1.7 million new jobs. The rest of the non-governmental economy accounted for zero (construction created almost one million jobs, but technology lost more than one million)
  34. The USA's share of carbon emissions was 39% in 1952. It had decreased to 23% in 2002 (Scientific American, september 2006) and it is estimated at 21% in 2006 (China's has increased from less than 1% to 15% and is projected to pass the USA's by 2025).
  35. If one also considers the government-owned companies, then Aromco (Saudi Arabia) has the largest reserves (in 2005), followed by the National Iranian Oil Company, the Iraqi National Oil Company, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and Petroleos de Venezuela (Exxon Mobil, the first USA company, is a distant 14th)
  36. France, almost 80 million, followed by Spain, USA, China, Italy and Britain (Italy is the only one that is losing tourists, while China, Britain and the USA had the highest increase in 2005)
  37. Singapore, about 200% of GDP according to the IMF in 2006 (South Korea and Malaysia also have exports that exceed their GDP, meaning that they also export a lot of what they import)
  38. Germany, according to a Pew Center poll
  39. Italy with 58%, obtained by dividing the number of people who work divided by number of people who could be working, whether they don't work because they don't want to, because they are invalid, because they are pre-retired or because they can't find jobs (source: Eurostat, 2005)
  40. The USA (2.1M) followed by China (1.5M) and Russia (828K)
  41. Saudi Arabia, that purchased $39.6 billion worth of military equipment in the 1990s (Source: Federation of American Scientists)
  42. The GDP of the USA (3.6% versus 3.3% for the rest of the world), according to "ThompsonOne Analytics)
  43. Lake Baikal in Russia, where Russia started building an oil pipeline in march 2006
  44. About 50,000 (Source: World's Jewish population)
  45. Tobacco (300%), followed by mining (200%), health care (100%) and oil (100%). Source: ABN
  46. The ambassador of Saudi Arabia
  47. Spain, by nearly 42%, followed by Portugal (37%). Canada's emissions increased 24%. The USA posted one of the lowest increases: 13%.
  48. USA Americans, Australias, Spaniards and Japanese work about 1,800 hours a year. The British work about 1,650 hours, Italians and Swedes work less than 1,600 hours, Germans and French work only a bit more than 1,400 hours. (Source: OECD 2004)
  49. Colombia with 67 per 100,000 people, followed by Jamaica with 59 and South Africa with 40 (the USA has a murder rate of 6 per 100,000, and Britain, France and Germany have less than 2), but Iraq's murder rate is unknown
  50. Germany, whose exports were about one trillion dollars in 2004 (10% of world exports) and whose trade surplus was greater than those of China, Japan and India combined (second was the USA, third Japan and fourth China)
  51. Holland, according to CNN: Amsterdam $1.68 per liter or $6.48 per gallon, Oslo $6.27, Milan $5.96, Stockholm $5.80, London $5.79, Frankfurt $5.57, Paris $5.54, Madrid $4.55, Tokyo $4.24 (USA cities have the lowest prices in the West, less than $2.5)
  52. India, according to a poll by the NOP of june 2005 (followed by Chinese and Philipinos)
  53. China, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center of june 2005
  54. Italy in 1911 during the invasion of Libya.
  55. Japan, with 3.1% of GDP (a percentage even higher than the USA), followed by South Korea with 2.5%. China's investment in research is only 1.2% (Source: OECD 2004)
  56. More than 20, and 76 allow USA military planes to land (source: Arkin's book "Code Names")
  57. Average per-capita income in Iraq skyrocketed from $322 to $422 between 2003 and 2004 (source: United Nations)
  58. In the 1970s the average American needed to work 102 minutes to earn the money for a week's commute, today he only needs to work 42 minutes (Source: S&P)
  59. It was 14% in 1981, but only 7% in 2004
  60. China, where 3400 people were executed in 2004 (source: Amnesty International)
  61. Singapore, where 2.3 babies for every thousand die before the first year. The USA is 42nd, with 7 deaths per one thousand, coming after all European countries, and even Cuba.
  62. $5 billion (yes, billion) every day (yes, every day)
  63. 5 millions, according to the 2004 study of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
  64. 246 millions, according to "Stolen Childhoods"
  65. Macao, China, that is projected to surpass Las Vegas
  66. 34
  67. Per hour worked, the French are 5% more productive than the Americans
  68. Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life", that sold seventeen million copies in its first nineteen months (almost one million copies a month)
  69. USA (Afghanistan had a woman running for president in 2004)
  70. Switzerland (125% of GNP), followed by Holland (more than 100% of GNP), Britain and the USA (barely above 50% of GNP)
  71. $1.2 trillion (about $4,000 for each USA citizen)
  72. USA
  73. 15-20 cm
  74. More than 20 tonnes
  75. The USA (2%). China (84%)
  76. Colombia: 0.63 per 1000 people (followed by South Africa: 0.51 per 1000 people)
  77. China: +4590% (yes, four thousands percent)
  78. China
  79. Adolf Hitler (May 21, 1935)