Monthly Archives: December 2012

The Happiest Countries on Earth

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MIT’s Technology Review magazine created a map of the 40 happiest countries in the world, based on research data from Columbia University’s Earth Institute. According to the list, Denmark ranks as the happiest country, followed by Finland, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada. At the bottom of this list are Jamaica, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala and the Czech Republic. Countries not on this list ranked even lower.

For a detailed information concerning the methodology used and sources, see: The Earth Institute – Columbia University: First World Happiness Report Launched at the United Nations

 

How Far Are You From the Nearest McDonald’s?

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According to this map, you cannot get too far away from a McDonald’s fast food chain store, at least not in the Eastern half of the United States. These restaurants tend to concentrate around populated centers and along highways.

This map, showing the distance to the nearest McDonald’s store, was based on a list of more than 13,000 stores located in the continental U.S.

For more detail, see: Data Pointed: Where The Buffalo Roamed – How Far Can You Get From McDonald’s?

 

The Most Corrupt Countries in the World

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The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) just released for 2012 by Transparency International ranks 176 nations according to the perceived corruption levels of their public institutions. The CPI uses a scale of 0-100, 0 being the most corrupt and 100 the least corrupt. For 2012 the most corrupt countries, ranking at the bottom with a score of 8, are Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan. At the other end of the spectrum, ranking at the top with a score of 90 are Denmark, Finland and New Zealand.

The CPI is a composite index based on a combination of surveys and assessments of corruption compiled by different reputable institutions worldwide.

See complete report: Transparency International – 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index

 

Terrorism Around the World

The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) ranks 158 countries based on the impact of terrorism in each of these countries. The rankings goes from 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest impact of terrorism and 10 the highest impact of terrorism. For 2011, the countries ranked at the top are Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, followed by Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, Thailand, Russia, the Philippines, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia and Syria.

The GTI uses four indicators to measure the impact of terrorism: number of incidents, number of deaths, injuries and property damage. A five year weighted average is also used in order to measure the lasting impact of terrorism in a particular country.

For more details see: Vision of Humanity – Global Terrorism Index

 

Pop, Soda or Coke?

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According to this map by the Department of Cartography and Geography of the East University in Oklahoma, people have different names for soft drinks in different areas of the United States. Soda is the name used in California, Nevada, Arizona, and parts the North East region. Pop is the name referred to in the Northern half of the U.S. and Coke is the popular name used in the Southern states. This map was based upon 120,464 respondents.