North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on February, 2013. Two nuclear test preceded this one, the first in 2006, and the second in 2009.
However, the nation that has performed the largest number of nuclear tests since 1945 is the United States, a total of 1,032. In the same period, the USSR/Russia performed a total of 715 nuclear tests, and France performed a total of 210 nuclear tests.
Source: Statista: North Korea Conducts Third Nuclear Test
A body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9 is usually considered a healthy body weight to height relationship. A BMI of 25 or higher indicates body weight not optimal for the height of a particular person.
This visualization published by Visual.ly, shows the different BMI values for adult men and women across the globe.
Countries with a healthy average BMI between 20 and 22.9 include several nations in Africa, Yemen, India, Thailand, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, among others.
Countries with an average BMI between 23 and 24.9 include several Asian nations, several European nations (including France), some nations in Africa, and Honduras.
Countries with an average BMI between 25 and 26.9 include Canada, Russia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Israel, Austria, Switzerland, Brazil, all Nordic countries, Spain, Portugal, and nations in the Middle East.
Countries with an average BMI of 27 and over (the highest BMI range) include the United States, Kuwait, Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Australia, UK, New Zealand, Greece, and Germany to name a few.
This visualization found in Wikimedia.org, shows World War II casualties per country by number and percentage of population, as well as the percentage of military and civilian deaths for the Allied and the Axis Powers.
The countries with the largest number of casualties were the Soviet Union, China, Germany, Poland, and Indonesia. As a percentage of the population, the nations with the largest number of casualties were Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Germany, and the Soviet Union.
For the Allied forces, the heaviest casualties were inflicted on the civilian population, whereas the largest number of casualties for the Axis forces were inflicted on the military.
Many developed nations provide paid maternity leave to their female employees. This is not the case for the United States.
According to this visualization by the Huffington Post, the UK provides the highest number of paid maternity leave days, 280 with 90% pay. Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, and Spain, offer maternity leave with 100% pay.
In the U.S., parents are guaranteed their jobs for 90 days while on maternity or paternity leave, but without pay. Other countries that do not provide paid maternity leave include Lesotho, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea, all developing nations.
According to a 2010 infographic by Information is Beautiful, people inhabiting in the Northern hemisphere, more precisely above latitude 42°N, are not getting enough UVB light from sunlight to make vitamin D in the skin during winter season.
In the UK, 50% of the population has insufficient levels of vitamin D, while 16% of the population is severely deficient. In the United States, 77% of the population has insufficient levels of vitamin D, while 6% of the population is severely deficient. Within the U.S., the groups more affected by insufficient levels of vitamin D are Non-Hispanic blacks (98%) and Mexican Americans (90%).
To try compensate for the lack of UVB light in winter time and the consequent low vitamin D levels, consumers have turned to the vitamin D industry, an industry that is worth $460 million, as of 2009, in the U.S. alone.
For more graphics and statistics, visit: Information is Beautiful: Vitamin D
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One of the companies that symbolizes the dominance of US. corporations across the world is McDonald’s. McDonald’s is the second largest fast food chain in the world, according to a Nasdaq report for 2011, with more than 33,510 restaurants in 119 countries spread across all five continents.
The U.S. has the largest number of McDonald’s restaurants (13,381), followed by Japan (3,598), Canada (1,400), Germany (1,276), UK (1,250), and China (660).
The price of a McDonald’s burger is different in each country. According to the graph above, the most expensive ones can be found in Norway ($7.18), Denmark ($5.93), Iceland ($5.21), and in the Eurozone ($4.96). By comparison, the price of a McDonald’s burger in the U.S. is $3.57. These prices have been calculated using the Big Mac index published by The Economist, in order to measure the Purchasing Price Parity (PPP) between two currencies.
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According to an article of The Guardian, in 2008 the defense budget of the United States was $607 billion, ten times that of China and the UK, fifteen times that of Germany, seventeen times that of Russia, and twenty five times that of India. In fact, the defense budget of the top nine countries combined (shown in the first graphic) adds up to $377 billion, or 62% of the military spending of the U.S. Those numbers would make the U.S. the top country in defense spending in the world.
But, if one looks at defense spending numbers as a percentage of the GDP, we have a different story. In that case, Myanmar becomes the top defense spender with a military budget of 26% of its GDP, followed by Jordan, Georgia and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. moves to number eight, with a military budget of 4% of its GDP. Large military spending by these nations is due to different factors. Some of these countries are dictatorships, some are monarchies. Others need to actively protect their borders from foreign aggression.
To read the article from The Guardian, visit: The Guardian: Data Store – Show and Tell, Information is beautiful: war games
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Gas prices go up or down according to supply-demand forces and to movements in the commodities market. According to this map, published by the Car and Driver blog, prices in the United States ($3.85 per gallon) are not that bad compared to gas prices in other countries.
European nations have the highest gas prices, above $7 per gallon. If you were in Turkey you will have to pay the highest price, a steep $9.39 per gallon. Turkey’s gas prices are followed by Norway ($9.38), Italy ( $9.00), Sweden ($8.75), the United Kingdom ($8.46), Germany ($8.29), and Iceland ($8.01).
In the Americas, the highest gas prices can be found in Belize ($7.59), followed by Uruguay ($6.99), Chile($6.60), Peru ($5.95), Argentina ($5.52) and Canada ($5.14). Gas prices are significantly low in Venezuela ($0.06) and Bolivia ($2.05) due to government subsidies.
Africa enjoys low gas prices, except for Djibouti ($6.48), Madagascar ($5.74), Zimbabwe ($5.38), and South Africa ($5.15).
In Asia, Japan pays the highest gas prices, $6.87 per gallon, followed by the Philippines ($5.43), and India ($5.42).
In Australia, New Zealand and Australia’s gas prices per gallon are $6.75 and $5.64, respectively.
We just launched a new section with facts about the United Kingdom, its countries, and regions. We started with basic population indicators; we’ll be adding additional indicators over the coming weeks. Click on the following links to explore the thematic maps, ranking charts, and data tables we have so far:
