Fast Facts

Here's our latest international stat. Check out our archives below.

Famine

According to the World Bank, more than half of the population of Ethiopia, Africa's poorest country, lives on less than $1 per day.

Fast Facts Archive

• Protecting Children from Disease
• Student Exchange Rates
• Best for Mothers' Well-Being
• The Super Rich
• Future Demographics
• College Graduates
• Eradicating Polio
• Living in Poverty
• Indoor Air Pollution
• Daily Subsistence
• Peacekeeping
• World's Wealth
• Human Rights Violations
• Countdown to Eradication of Polio
• Global Village
• United Nations Dues and Debts
• Year 2000. Or is it?
• The Day of 6 Billion

  Protecting Children from Disease Oct 30, 2002
  Eighty percent of American children are protected against contagious diseases through early childhood vaccinations. Twenty-five million children born annually in developing countries are not immunized, and 3 million die each year of preventable diseases. It is estimated that millions of lives could be saved at a cost of $350 million per year.
  Source: Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization

  Student Exchange Rates April 12, 2002
  Nearly 500,000 students from abroad attend college in the United States while only 115,000 American young people study abroad. To encourage American students to look at education out of the U.S., the Institute of International Education lists 5,000 overseas programs.
  Source: Institute of International Education

  Best for Mothers' Well-Being January 24, 2002
  Of 106 countries studied, Norway, Canada and Australia ranked as the three best countries overall in which to be a mother. Guinea, Mali and Niger were at the bottom three — the least friendly to the well-being of mothers and children. The United States tied with Switzerland for fourth place.
  Source: Save the Children

  The Super Rich September 26, 2001
  The world's 225 richest individuals (60 Americans) have assets of more than $1 trillion. The combined annual income of the poorest 47 percent (2.8 trillion individuals) of the entire world's population is $1 trillion.
  Source: United Nations

  Future Demographics May 24, 2001
  By 2050, 84% of the world's population, estimated at 9.5 billion, will be living in developing countries.
  Source: United Nations

  College Graduates April 2, 2001
  For the first time, Norway, Britain and The Netherlands now have a larger proportion of young people graduating from college than the United States. In 1998, the US led in college graduation, but trailed 22 other democratic, industrialized countries in high school completion rates.
  Source: Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

  Eradicating Polio February 12, 2001
  Annually, there are about 20,000 new cases of polio reported in over 30 countries. A new initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO) seeks to eliminate polio by 2005. It is estimated that eradication would save nearly $1.5 billion annually in immunization costs.
  Source: World Health Organization (WHO)

  Living in Poverty January 8, 2001
  Nearly half of the world's population lives on less than $2.00 a day, and about 1.2 billion people, including 500 million in Asia and 300 million in Africa, make only $1.00 a day.
  Source: Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General
  

  Indoor Air Pollution November 13, 2000
  The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that as many as one billion people are regularly exposed to levels of indoor air pollution 100 times in excess of WHO guidelines.
  Source: World Health Organization
  

  Daily Subsistence October 25, 2000
  The World Bank reports that 2.8 billion people, almost half of the world's population, live on less than $2.00 a day.
  Source: The World Bank 2000-2001 World Dvelopment Report
  

  Peacekeeping September 19, 2000
  Currently, 37,000 military and civilian personnel are serving in 14 United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world. The total outstanding contributions for all UN peacekeeping operations has reached $2,426.6 million — two-thirds of which is owed by the United States.
  Source: United Nations
  

  World's Wealth August 24, 2000

• $1 Trillion: the combined wealth in 1999 of the world's 200 richest people.
• $146 Billion: the combined incomes in 1999 of 582 million people living in the world's 43 least-developed countries.
  Source: UN Human Development Report 2000
  

  Human Rights Violations July 31, 2000

• Confirmed or possible extrajudicial executions were carried out in 38 countries in 1999.
  
• People "disappeared" or remained "disappeared" from previous years in 37 countries.
  
• People were reportedly tortured or ill-treated by security forces, police or other state authorities in 132 countries.
  
• Confirmed or possible prisoners of conscience were held in 61 countries.
  
• People were arbitrarily arrested and detained, or in detention without charge or trial in 63 countries.
  
• Death penalty executions were carried out in 34 countries.
  
• Prisoners were under sentence of death in at least 55 countries.
  Source: Amnesty International Report 2000
  

  Countdown to Eradication of Polio May 11, 2000
  UNICEF and The World Health Organization's (WHO) final push is on to eradicate polio by the end of this year. Since the launch of the eradication program in 1988, worldwide polio cases have fallen from about 350,000 to 5,000.
  Source: United Nations
  

  Global Village February 29, 2000
  If the world were compressed to a village of 100 people, the composite picture would look like this:

• 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 people from the Western Hemisphere (north and south), and 8 Africans
  
• 52 females and 48 males
  
• 70 non-whites and 30 whites
  
• 70 non-Christians and 30 Christians
  
• 6 people would possess 59% of the wealth
  
• 80 people would live in substandard housing
  
• 70 would be unable to read
  
• 50 would suffer some effect of malnutrition
  
• Only 1 would be college educated
  
• Only 1 would own a computer
  Source: United Nations NGO Reporter, December 1999
  

  United Nations Dues and Debts January 17, 2000
  The five member nations with the highest annual United Nations assessments are the United States ($304 million), Japan ($208 million), Germany ($102 million), France ($68 million), and Italy ($56 million). The five member nations with the biggest debts to the United Nations are the United States ($1.6 BILLION), Ukraine ($212 million), Russia ($115 million), Japan ($114 million), and Brazil ($63 million).
  Source: United Nations
  

  Year 2000. Or is it? December 17, 1999
  For the Christian world, midnight of December 31, 1999, marked the beginning of the year 2000, the 21st Century and the Third Millenium. But, among others, we are in year:
  

• 11 of the Heisei era, which corresponds to the reign of Japanese Emperor Akihito.
  
• 1420 of the Muslim era, which begins on the day when the prophet Muhammad left Mecca and went to Medina.
  
• 5543 of the Buddhist era, which commemorates the death of Buddha.
  
• 5760 of the Jewish calendar, which is based on the Babylonian calendar that starts from the supposed date of creation of the world.
  Source: UNESCO Courier.
  

  The Day of 6 Billion, October 1, 1999
  The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) named October 12, 1999, as The Day of 6 Billion.  With the arrival of an eight-pound boy in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, at 12:02 am on October 12th, the symbolic 6 billionth world citizen was born.  While no one can accurately pinpoint the exact date, actual world population will certainly reach 6 billion by the end of the year.  Global population has more than tripled during the 20th Century with the last billion added in only 12 years.  At current rates, population may reach 9 billion by 2050.
  Source: United Nations