Tag Archives: Greece

Worldwide Remittance Flows

world remittance flows 2012Remittances, or money sent by migrant workers to their home countries, have increased since the year 2000. Although, they temporarily decreased after the economic crisis back in 2008, they recovered in 2010 and continued to rise. Remittances increased from $204 billion back in 2000 to $540 billion in 2012.

Countries with the highest remittance inflows include India ($71 billion), China ($62 billion), Mexico, the Philippines, Nigeria, Egypt, and France. Only nine countries saw a reduction in remittance inflows, among them Greece and Turkey which experienced the steepest decline.

For the interactive map, please visit: Tages Woche: The incredible rise of migrants’ remittances

 

Global Attitudes About the Economy

global attitudes about the economyA survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 39 nations, regarding attitudes about the state of the economy in the respondents’ respective countries, yielded interesting results.

Respondents in emerging economies are the most optimistic. A median of 53% believe their economy is doing well, specially in China and Malaysia. In contrast, respondents in developed economies are the most pessimistic. A median of only 24% say their economy is doing well. European nations such as Greece, Italy, Spain, and France are the most pessimistic of all.

In the case of developing economies, some are somewhat optimistic (Philippines and Bolivia), and other not so much (Tunisia and Lebanon).

Source: Pew Research Global Attitudes Project: Widespread Dissatisfaction with Economy

Read full report: Pew Research Global Attitudes Project: Economies of Emerging Markets Better Rated During Difficult Times

 

Gasoline Prices in Europe by Country

According to Russian news agency Ria Novosti, Norway has the highest gasoline price among European countries, with a price of 1.90 Euro per liter ( or US $9.475 per gallon at the current exchange rate of 1 Euro = US $1.31). Norway is followed by Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and Greece.

The lowest gasoline prices are found in Belarus and Kazakhstan, 0.68 Euros and 0.70 Euros per liter, respectively. The average gasoline price for European nations is 1.39 Euros per liter.

 

Number of Doctors per 1,000 People per Country

The map above, created by the World Health Organization (WHO), shows the number of physicians per 1,000 people (for the latest available year) across the globe.

Countries with the largest number of physicians per 1,000 population include: San Marino (47.35), Cuba (6.72), Greece (6.17), Monaco (5.81) and Belarus (5.18).

Countries with the smallest number of doctors per 1,000 people include: Colombia, Nicaragua, Haiti, Liberia, Niger, sierra Leone, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, etc.

The Origins and Age of Popes

In the light of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation last week, The Guardian created different visualizations related to the papacy. The reign of each Pontiff is usually due to death. The last one to resign was Gregory XII in 1415.

According to the graph shown above, 65 is the most common age at which Popes are elected, and 78 is the most common age at which they die. The Guardian used a sample of 63 Popes out of 266 to compute these numbers.

Of all 266 Popes, 196 came from Italy (74%). The origin cannot be traced for 22 Popes (8%). 15 Popes came from France (6%), 11 from Greece (4%), 5 from Germany, 5 from Syria, 3 from Africa, 3 from Spain, 2 from Portugal, and 2 from the West Bank. Countries from which only one Pope came from include: Croatia, Israel, Netherlands, Poland, and the UK.

 

Interesting Links of the Day – June 20, 2012

  1. Let them eat laptops? Michael Trucano (World Bank)
  2. Bringing Access to Safe Water in Ceará, Brazil: PepsiCo Foundation and the Columbia Water Center to Participate in Rio+20 – Silvia Cruz-Vargas (State of the Planet)
  3. Greece and the Limits of Anti-Austerity – Mark Roe (Project Syndicate)