Understanding the world through statistics ... and where Ireland figures

Have you ever wondered which country has the largest amount of gold reserves or how Ireland's youth unemployment rate compares with the rest of the world?

Or which country in the world has the biggest army?

Perhaps you’d also be fascinated to hear that Czechs buy more alcohol than anyone else, Serbians smoke the most cigarettes, and that the Irish rank highest in the World Giving Index, despite having the third highest level of household debt.

So, whether you’re looking to brush up on your general knowledge, amaze family and friends with your worldly intellect, or simply become more informed about the world around you, then look no further.

Below you’ll discover fascinating facts and figures about the world today — the fastest-growing economies and the most liveable cities, countries with the most internet and Facebook users, the highest levels of household debt and youth unemployment, and much, much more.

Source: The Economist Pocket World in Figures

CHARITY

Top Givers in 2012 (Percentage of population who give to charity) 1. Ireland 60% 1. Australia 60% 3. Canada 58% = 4. United States 57% = 4. New Zealand 57% 6. Netherlands 53% 7. Indonesia 52 8. United Kingdom 51% 9. Paraguay 50% 10. Denmark 49%

Largest recipients of bilateral and multilateral Aid in 2011 (Total received in 2011) 1. Afghanistan $6,711m 2. Congo-Kinshasa $5,522m 3. Ethiopia $3,563m 4. Vietnam $3,514m 5. Pakistan $3,509m 6. India $3,220m 7. Kenya $2,474m 8. Tanzania $2,445m 9. West Bank & Ghana $2,444m 10. Mozambique $2,047m

Largest donors of bilateral and multilateral aid (As percentage of GDP in 2011) 1. Sweden 1.02% 2. Norway 1.00% 3. Luxembourg 0.97% 4. Denmark 0.85% 5. Netherlands 0.75% 6. United Kingdom 0.56% 7. Belgium 0.54% 8. Finland 0.53% 9. Ireland 0.51% 10. France 0.46%

DEMOCRACY

Most democratic countries (Score out of 10 in 2012) 1. Norway 9.93 2. Sweden 9.73 3. Iceland 9.65 4. Denmark 9.52 5. New Zealand 9.26 6. Australia 9.22 7. Switzerland 9.09 8. Canada 9.08 9. Finland 9.06 10. Netherlands 8.99 13. Ireland 8.56

Least democratic countries (Score out of 10 in 2012) 1. North Korea 1.08 2. Guinea-Bissau 1.43 3. Chad 1.62 4. Syria 1.63 5. Saudi Arabia 1.71 = 6. Turkmenistan 1.72 = 6. Uzbekistan 1.72 8. Equatorial Guinea 1.83 9. Congo-Kinshasa 1.92 10. Iran 1.98

ECONOMY

Most innovative economies  1. Switzerland; score: 5.78 2. Finland 5.75 3. Israel 5.57 4. Sweden 5.56 5. Japan 5.54 6. United States 5.50 7. Germany 5.42 8. Singapore 5.39 9. Netherlands 5.31 10. United Kingdom 5.17 21. Ireland 4.66

Most technology-ready economies  1. Sweden 6.29 2. Luxembourg 6.21 3. Denmark 6.17 4. Hong Kong 6.16 5. Singapore 6.10 6. Switzerland 6.02 7. United Kingdom 6.00 8. Iceland 5.99 9. Netherlands 5.98 10. Finland 5.92 12. Ireland 5.82

Most economically competitive 1. United States 2. Switzerland 3. Hong Kong 4. Sweden 5. Singapore 6. Norway 7. Canada 8. United Arab Emirates 9. Germany 10. Qatar 17. Ireland

Least Economically Dependent on Agriculture Country Percentage of GDP from agriculture in 2011 1. Macau 0.0% 2. Singapore 0.0% 3. Hong Kong 0.1% 4. Luxembourg 0.3% 5. Brunei 0.6% 6. Puerto Rico 0.6% 7. Belgium 0.7% 8. Switzerland 0.7% 9. Trinidad & Tobago 0.7% 10. United Kingdom 0.7% 14. Ireland 1.0%

HEALTH AND EDUCATION

Highest obesity levels (Country percentage of males who were obese as of 2010) 1. United States 44.2% 2. Argentina 37.4% 3. Greece 30.3% 4. Mexico 30.1% 5. Kuwait 29.6% 6. Venezuela 29.5% 7. New Zealand 28.9% 8. Australia 28.4% 9. Malta 28.1% 10. Uruguay 25.7%

Country percentage of females who were obese as of 2010 1. Barbados 57.2% 2. Kuwait 55.2% 3. Trinidad & Tobago 52.7% 4. United States 48.3% 4. Jamaica 48.3% 6. Egypt 48.0% 7. United Arab Emirates 42.0% 8. St Lucia 41.7% 9. Nicaragua 41.1% 10. Mexico 41.0%

Most spent on health (As a percentage of GDP in 2011) 1. Liberia 19.5% 2. Sierra Leone 18.8% 3. United States 17.9% 4. Lesotho 12.8% 5. Netherlands 12% 6. France 11.6% 7. Moldova 11.4% 8. Canada 11.2% 8. Denmark 11.2% 10. Germany 11.1%

Highest life expectancy (Average oldest age) 1. Monaco 89.7 2. Japan 83.7 3. Hong Kong 83.2 4. San Marino 83.1 5. Andorra 82.5 5. Switzerland 82.5 7. Australia 82.1 8. Iceland 82.0 9. Israel 82.0 10. Italy 82.0 21. Ireland 80.8

Top universities 1. Harvard, United States 2. Stanford, United States 3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States 4. Berkeley, California, United States 5. Cambridge, United Kingdom 6. California Institute of Technology, United States 7. Princeton, United States 8. Columbia, United States 9. Chicago, United States 10. Oxford, United Kingdom

Highest third-level enrolment (Country percentage of relevant age group enrolled in 2012) 1. South Korea 103% 2. United States 95% 3. Finland 94% 4. Slovenia 90% 5. Greece 89% 6. Puerto Rico 86% 7. Belarus 85% 8. New Zealand 83% 9. Ukraine 82% 10. Australia 80%

ENTERTAINMENT

Most popular museums and art galleries (Total visitors in 2012) 1. Louvre, Paris 9.72m 2. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 6.12m 3. British Museum, London, 5.58m 4. Tate Modern, London, 5.3m 5. National Gallery, London, 5.16m 6. Vatican Museums, Vatican City, 5.06m 7. National Palace Museum, Taipei, 4.36m 8. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 4.2m 9. Centre Pompidou, Paris, 3.8m 10. Museé D’Orsay, Paris, 3.6m

Most cinema visits (Total visits in 2011) 1. India 3,172.3m 2. United States 1,373.2m 3. China 309m 4. France 213m 5. Russia 184.5m 6. Mexico 181.9m 7. Japan 178.9m 8. United Kingdom 173.9m 9. South Korea 161.8m 10. Germany 129.2m 29. Ireland 17.4m

Most Facebook users (Number of users per 1,000 people in 2013) 1. Monaco 984 2. Iceland 744 3. Faroe Islands 642 4. Cayman Islands 593 5. Taiwan 578 6. Norway 565 7. Chile 558 8. Bahamas 552 9. Malta 551 10. Hong Kong 547 25. Ireland 492

Highest music sales (Average spend per person on music in 2012) 1. Japan $34.70 2. Norway $23.70 3. Australia $23.10 4. United Kingdom $21 5. Sweden $18.6 6. Switzerland $16.3 = 7. Denmark $16 = 7. Germany $16 9. United States $14.3 10. France $13.8 16. Ireland .9

Most internet users (Number of users per 100 people in 2011) 1. Iceland 95 2. Norway 94 3. Netherlands 92.3 4. Sweden 91 5. Luxembourg 90.9 6. Denmark 90.0 7. Finland 89.4 8. Bermuda 88.3 9. Qatar 86.2 10. New Zealand 86.0 27. Ireland 76.8

ENVIRONMENT

Best environments (Country and score) 1. Switzerland 76.7 2. Latvia 70.4 3. Norway 69.9 4. Luxembourg 69.2 = 5. Costa Rica 69.0 = 5. France 69.0 = 7. Austria 68.9 = 7. Italy 68.9 = 9. Sweden 68.8 = 9. United Kingdom 68.8 36. Ireland 58.7

Most renewable energy produced (As percentage of all electricity produced in 2010) 1. Denmark 32.1% 2. El Salvador 30.2% 3. Guatemala 29.6% 4. Iceland 26.2% 5. Kenya 23.8% 6. Nicaragua 23.2% 7. Portugal 22.7% 8. Spain 18.4% 9. New Zealand 18.1% 10. Costa Rica 17.5% 14. Ireland 11.0%

Most energy-efficient in 2010 1. Hong Kong 2. Peru 3. Colombia 4. Albania 5. Panama 8. Ireland

FOOD AND DRINK

Litres of alcohol sold per person in 2011: 1. Czech Republic 173.3 2. Luxembourg 153.3 3. Ireland 149.7 4. Slovenia 145.5 5. Germany 144.9 6. Austria 144.2 7. Estonia 141.1 8. Australia 121.6 9. Belgium 119.9 10. Finland 117.3

Most cigarettes consumed Country Average consumption of cigarettes per person per day in 2012 1. Serbia 9.1 2. Belarus 8.3 3. Russia 7.1 = 4. Lebanon 6.5 = 4. Moldova 6.5 6. Slovenia 6.0 7. Bosnia 5.7 8. Czech Republic 5.4 9. Greece 5.2 10. South Korea 5.0

HOUSEHOLD AND LIVING COSTS

Largest households (Average number of people per household in 2011) 1. Senegal 8.9 2. Angola 8.7 3. Gambia 8.2 4. Equatorial Guinea 8.1 5. Gabon 8.0 6. Chad 7.9 7. Iraq 7.6 8. Kuwait 7.0 9. Oman 6.7 10. Congo-Kinshasa 6.6

Highest Level of Household Debt (As percentage of gross disposable income in 2011 1. Denmark 301.5 2. Netherlands 280.5 3. Ireland 225.6 4. Norway 200.6 5. Switzerland 186.4 6. Australia 168.0 7. Sweden 167.8 8. South Korea 156.3 9. United Kingdom 151.2 10. Canada 146.5

Highest cost of living Country Score 1. Japan 152 2. Australia 137 3. Norway 136 4. Singapore 135 5. France 128 6. Venezuela 126 7. Switzerland 124 8. Hong Kong 116 9. Denmark 114 10. United Kingdom 112 20. Ireland 98

Lowest cost of living Country Score 1. Pakistan 44 2. India 48 3. Nepal 50 4. Algeria 54 5. Romania 54 6. Sri Lanka 55 7. Panama 56 8. Iran 58 9. Bangladesh 59 10. Paraguay 60

LAW AND ORDER

Most murders (Number of homicides per 100,000 people in 2012) 1. Honduras 82.1 2. El Salvador 64.7 3. Cote d’Ivoire 52.2 = 4. Jamaica 45.1 = 4. Venezuela 45.1 = 6. Belize 41.4 = 6. Guatemala 41.4 8. Virgin Islands (US) 39.2 9. Zambia 38.0 10. Uganda 36.3

Highest number of prisoners (Total prison population in 2012) 1. United States 2,239,751 2. China 1,640,000 3. Russia 695,500 4. Brazil 548,003 5. India 372,296 6. Thailand 262,077 7. Mexico 242,754 8. Iran 217,000 9. Indonesia 151,723 10. South Africa 149,959

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

Highest marriage rates (Marriages per 1,000 people in 2012) 1. Antigua & Barbuda 21.7 2. Seychelles 17.4 3. Tajikistan 13.5 4. Iran 12.2 5. Indonesia 11.2 6. Egypt 11.0 7. Bermuda 10.6 8. Jordan 10.2 9. Barbados 10.1 10. Azerbaijan 9.7

Highest divorce rates (Divorces per 1,000 people in 2012) 1. Guam 4.7 1. Russia 4.7 3. Aruba 4.3 4. Belarus 4.1 5. Latvia 4.0 6. Puerto Rico 3.8 7. United States 3.5 8. Lithuania 3.2 9. Moldova 3.1 10. Belgium 2.9

PUBLIC FINANCE

Highest level of government debt (As percentage of GDP in 2012) 1. Japan 219.1 2. Greece 165.6 3. Italy 140.2 4. Portugal 138.8 5. Iceland 131.8 6. Ireland 123.3 7. France 109.7 8. United States 106.3 9. Belgium 104.1 10. United Kingdom 103.9

Highest level of government spending (As percentage of GDP in 2012) 1. Denmark 59.5 2. France 56.9 3. Finland 56.0 4. Belgium 54.9 5. Greece 54.8 6. Sweden 52.0 7. Austria 51.2 8. Italy 50.6 9. Netherlands 50.3 10. Euro area (15) 50.0 25. Ireland 42.1

Largest gold reserves (Market price of gold as of end 2012) 1. Euro area $576,892m 2. United States $435,136m 3. Germany $181,443m 4. Italy $131,173m 5. France $130,291m 6. China $56,410m 7. Switzerland $55,644m 8. Russia $51,240m 9. Japan $40,934m 10. Netherlands $32,764m

QUALITY OF LIFE

The highest quality of life Country Score 1. Norway, 95.5 2. Australia, 93.8 3. United States, 93.7 4. Netherlands, 92.1 5. Germany, 92.0 6. New Zealand, 91.9 = 7. Ireland, 91.6 = 7. Sweden, 91.6 9. Switzerland, 91.3 10. Japan, 91.2

Best cities in which to live City, Country Score 1. Melbourne, Australia, 97.5 2. Vienna, Austria, 97.4 3. Vancouver, Canada, 97.3 4. Toronto, Canada, 97.2 = 5. Adelaide, Australia, 96.6 = 5. Calgary, Canada, 96.6 7. Sydney, Australia, 96.1 8. Helsinki, Finland, 96.0 9. Perth, Australia, 95.9 10. Auckland, New Zealand, 95.7

Worst cities in which to live City, Country Score 1. Damascus, Syria, 38.4 2. Dhaka, Bangladesh, 38.7 = 3. Lagos, Nigeria, 38.9 = 3. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 38.9 5. Harare, Zimbabwe, 39.4 = 6. Algiers, Algeria, 40.9 = 6. Karachi, Pakistan, 40.9 8. Tripoli, Libya, 42.8 9. Douala, Cameroon, 43.3 10. Tehran, Iran, 45.

UNEMPLOYMENT

Highest rates (Percentage of labour force unemployed in 2012) 1. Namibia 37.6% 2. Réunion 33.6% 3. Macedonia 31.4% 4. Guadeloupe 28.9% 5. Bosnia 27.6% 6. Martinique 25.5% 7. Lesotho 25.3% 8. South Africa 24.7% 9. West Bank & Gaza 23.5% 10. Belize 23.3% 25. Ireland 14.4%

Highest youth rates (Percentage of 15- to 24-year-olds unemployed in 2012) 1. Bosnia 57.5% 2. Macedonia 55.3% 3. South Africa 49.8% 4. Spain 46.4% = 5. Serbia 46.1% = 5. Guyana 46.1% 7. Greece 44.4% 8. West Bank & Gaza 38.8% 9. Montenegro 37.0% 10. Croatia 36.1% 18. Ireland 29.4%

WAR AND PEACE

Most money spent on defence (As a percentage of GDP in 2012) 1. Iraq 11.3% 2. Afghanistan 10.5% 3. Oman 8.4% 4. Saudi Arabia 8.0% 5. Israel 7.9% 6. Jordan 5.6% 7. Iran 5.0% 8. South Sudan 4.7% 9. Yemen 4.6% 10. Algeria 4.5%

Highest number of armed forces (Regulars — Reserves) 1. China 2,285,000 — 510,000 2. United States 1,520,000 — 810,000 3. India 1,325,000 — 1,155,000 4. North Korea 1,190,000 — 600,000 5. Russia 845,000 — 20,000,000 6. South Korea 65,000 — 4,500,000 7. Pakistan 642,000 — 0 8. Iran 523,000 — 350,000 9. Turkey 511,000 — 379,000 10. Vietnam 482,000 — 5,000,000

Most peaceful Country Score 1. Iceland 1.162 2. Denmark 1.207 3. New Zealand 1.237 4. Austria 1.250 5. Switzerland 1.272 6. Japan 1.293 7. Finland 1.297 8. Canada 1.306 9. Sweden 1.319 10. Belgium 1.339 12. Ireland 1.37

Most Nobel Peace Prize Winners Countries Winners with two or more Nobel Peace Prizes 1. United States 19 2. United Kingdom 11 3. France 9 4. Sweden 5 5. Belgium 4 6. Germany 4 7. Austria 3 8. Norway 3 9. South Africa 3 10. Switzerland 3