Category Archives: Demographics

Male and Female Literacy Rates by Country

global literacy ratesLiteracy rate is defined as the number of people 15 years or older who can read and write. According to a study published by the Oxford Internet Institute at University of Oxford, global literacy rate is 82%. While the literacy rate for men is 87%, the rate for women is 77%.

Looking at data per continent, we find that countries in the Americas are highly literate, 99% for both men and women in the United States, and 97% for both men and women in Argentina. European countries show high literacy rates as well, above 91% for both men and women.

Many nations in Asia also show high literacy rates, except for countries like India, certain neighboring countries and countries in the Middle East, where the literacy rates are even lower for women.

Most African countries have very low literacy rates, with few exceptions: South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya, and Namibia.

 

HIV Infection Rates Among Sex Workers by Country

sex workers rates of hivThe United States increased its funding to fight AIDS globally ten years ago. But, to qualify for funding, NGO’s had to enforce an explicit policy against prostitution. Female sex workers are 13.5 times more likely to have contracted the HIV virus, but because of the enforced anti-prostitution policy, female sex workers do not qualify to receive treatment.

This visualization by The Nation shows the rate of HIV infection among sex workers around the world. The highest rates of HIV infection are in Africa, with Swaziland at an staggering 70%.

 

Child Labor Index 2012

2011_A4_Map_Template_V03Child labor is a serious problem that affects children all around the world. The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines child labor as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.” According to ILO, an approximate 215 million children around the world are working. Out of this number, 115 million are thought to be doing dangerous work in hazardous conditions. An estimated 150 million children between ages 5 and 14 are subjected to child labor globally.

According to the Child Labor Index for 2012 published by risk analysis company Maplecroft, countries with the highest risk of child labor violations include Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, India, and China among a group of 76 countries.

Read full report at: Maplecroft: Conflict and economic downturn cause global increase in reported child labour violations – 40% of countries now rated ‘extreme risk’

 

The United States vs. China

US and China compared - final graphicThe Guardian created this comparison of the U.S. and China, comparing several indicators such as GDP growth, GDP per capita, carbon emissions, exports, literacy rate, unemployment rate, military expenditure, outdoor pollution, to name a few.

The US is ahead of China in terms of literacy rate, number of internet users, military expenditure as a percentage of GDP, unemployment rate, GDP per capita, market capitalization, and social media. On the other hand, China is ahead of the U.S.  in terms of exports, GDP growth, number of people, carbon emission, and outdoor pollution.

While the U.S. has the largest deficit in its current account, China has the largest surplus.

Millennium Development Goals Progress Index for 2013

MDG Index 2013 mapBased on the data published by The Guardian, we have created this map that shows the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Progress Index for 2013.

The top countries that have accelerated their progress in meeting the MDGs in 2013 compared to 2012 include Nigeria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Paraguay, and Panama.

On the other side of the spectrum, the top countries that have slowed down their progress to meet the MDG’s in 2012 compared to 2012 include Nigeria, Jordan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The Most and Least Racially Tolerant Countries

racial-tolerance-mapA survey conducted by two Swedish economists asked respondents in 80 countries what kind of people they would not like as neighbors, to which many replied “people of a different race”.

The results from that survey are displayed in this map published by the Washington Post. According to the survey, people in English-speaking, Scandinavian, and Latin American countries are the most racially tolerant, with the exception of Venezuela. South Africa shows to be a tolerant country, while the attitudes in Europe show a lot of variation. People in countries such as France, Turkey, India, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria, South Korea, and Indonesia are the least racially tolerant.

 

Percentage of the Population Living on $2 or Less a Day

surviving on a few dollars per day worldMIT economists Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, conducted surveys in developing nations to see which countries survive on a few dollars per day. The cities or countries where people are known to live on meager dollar amounts on a daily bases are not that surprising, but the percentage of the population living under these conditions is.

In Udaipur and Hyderabad (India) a staggering 94% of the population survive on $2 or less per day. In Bangladesh, 69.4% go on $2 or less per day. In Ghana, 67.7% survive on $2 or less per day. In Guatemala, 64.8% of the population survive on $2 or less per day.

Source: GOOD: Living on Less

 

Women in the Workforce by Country

women and equality worldIt has been said, that if women participated in the workforce more actively, like their male counterparts, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of those countries would be higher.

However, most countries, including some developed nations do not have policies in place that support women’s participation in the workforce, such as access to education, credit, employment, paid maternity leave or child care.

Countries with the highest economic success for women (measured in terms of equality of pay, degree of inclusion in the workforce, and career advancement), that offer the best policies for supporting women in the workforce include Norway, Australia, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Belgium, and Iceland.

Countries with the lowest degree of economic success that have few policies (or none) that support women in the workplace include Chad, Sudan, Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, among others.

women and equality world 2Some interesting facts about the success of women in the workplace and the policies in place to support them in certain countries can be seen in the graphic above.

Source: Harvard Business Review: Vision Statement: Women and the Economics of Equality

 

Internet Connectivity in the United States

As part of the PBS series America Revealed, this aerial visualization shows the patterns of internet distribution in the United States. We can see that the regions with highest levels of internet connectivity include the Northeast, and parts of the South and Midwest, followed by the Pacific West.

For additional interesting aerial visualizations, such as the distribution of the unemployed, electricity network routes, public transportation paths, U.S. imports and exports of beef patterns, the distribution of the population in towns and cities, etc., visit: The Roosevelt’s – Aerial Data Visualisation Reveals Life In The United States.

Body Mass Index (BMI) by Country

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.