In this map published by The Atlantic we can see each state according to its most famous brand based on which state each company was founded.
In that regard, Texas is famous for Dr. Pepper, North Carolina for Bank of America, Seattle for Starbucks, California for Apple, Arkansas for Walmart, Georgia for Coca-Cola, Tennessee for FedEx, and Florida for Hooters.
An estimated 100 countries have signed bilateral extradition treaties with the United States, including all Latin American countries, Western European countries, Egypt, India, Australia, and New Zealand to name a few. Some 60 nations including China, Russia, several Middle Eastern and African countries have not. However, even if some countries signed extradition treaties they can still refuse to hand an individual over to the U.S. if that person is seeking asylum or if he/she would face the death penalty.
Source: The Economist: Daily Chart: Where can he go?
In light of the recent Supreme Court’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, we found this interesting visualization showing the global great divide among nations regarding the acceptance of homosexuality.
Countries where homosexuality is accepted include Spain (88%), Germany (87%), Czech Republic (80%) Canada (80%), Australia (79%), Philippines (73%), Argentina (74%), Italy (74%), Chile (68%), among others.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are countries where homosexuality is less acceptable, or not acceptable at all. Those countries include Nigeria (1%), Pakistan (2%), Tunisia (2%), Ghana (3%), Egypt (3%), Jordan (3%), Indonesia (3%), and Senegal (3%) to name a few.
Source: Pew Research Center: Global Acceptance of Homosexuality
The Supreme Court stroke down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on June 26th, 2013 ruling in favor of recognition of same-sex marriage by the federal government in states where it is already legal.
To date, 12 states have already legalized same-sex marriage: Massachusetts (first state to do so in 2003), Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state, Maine, and Iowa. The District of Columbia also legalized gay marriage. Additionally, 8 states have certain legal provisions and civil unions for gay couples: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Wisconsin.
Several states are still against same-sex marriage, and 29 of them amended their constitutions to ban it.
For the interactive map, please visit: Pew Research Center: Same-Sex Marriage State-by-State
Literacy 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.
The Economist compiled a visualization of the highest consumption of selected spirits worldwide. The selected spirits include vodka, rum, scotch whiskey, gin, and tequila.
The largest consumer of vodka is Russia, followed by the United States, Ukraine, Poland among others. The largest consumer of rum is India, followed by the United States, Philippines, and Cuba. The largest consumers of scotch whiskey, gin, and tequila are France, Philippines, and the United States respectively.
The Pew Research Center released today the results of its assessment of global restrictions on religion. A team of researchers combed through multiple sources of information to record concrete reports about government policies and actions, as well as specific incidents of religious violence or intolerance by social groups. One of the outcomes of the study is the thematic map shown above, which displays the level of government restrictions on religion as of December of 2011. The level is represented by the darkness of the color. The darker the color, the higher the level of government restrictions. The map shows that the Middle East and North Africa have many countries where governments restrict religion. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iran top the list of countries with very high government restrictions. China, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Russia also stand out due to the policies and actions of their governments.
The United States provides 60% of the funding to fight the AIDS epidemic worldwide. The highest recipients of this funding are African nations. Other countries include Bolivia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Latin America depends on these funds to fight AIDS too. Latin American nations are recipients of up to 24% of funding from the US along with Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Source: The Nation: Who Depends Most on US Funds to Fight AIDS Epidemic
To date, 15 countries allow gay marriage: Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Same-sex marriage is legal in some jurisdictions of Mexico and the United States. Currently, 12 states in the U.S. permit same-sex marriage, while 30 states have amended their constitutions to ban it.
Resource: Pew Research Center: A global snapshot of same-sex marriage
The 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%.