Every day we are bombarded with numerous statistics and research results, but we often only grasp the full extent of things when they are presented to us more plastically. With maps, such as we did not meet in geography lessons or geography, spreadsheets and infographics, which illuminate in a unique way what dry statistics tell us, but also hide. We've collected just such, so prepare to be surprised, if not shocked.
Maps and spreadsheets they are a good way to make sense of statistics. In fact, we often only see the whole picture through them. With visualization, we manage to see things that otherwise skillfully hide behind bare numbers or data. They thus gain a completely new dimension. The following maps and spreadsheets fall into this category, a category where the data itself probably wouldn't move you nearly as much, but the visual representations of it will downright shock you and change your view of the world or at least broadened horizons, as they will give you the true value of research data.
READ MORE: The most accurate map of the universe
More than half of the world's population lives within this circle
The circle where more than half of the world's population lives, or more precisely 51 percent of it, includes China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Burma, Thailand, South and North Korea, Nepal, Malaysia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia and Bhutan.
Throughout history, the English have conquered almost every country in the world
Of the 193 countries that are currently members of the United Nations, 171, which is 90 percent of the total, were occupied by the British or were involved in armed conflict. Many incursions into foreign territory were otherwise quite obscure and did not come directly from the authorities. The statistics also include attacks by English pirates, as well as private units and armed researchers, which were "burnt down" by the government or the authorities of the time. The first invasion launched from the Island was into Gaul (present-day France), at the end of the second century AD. Clodius Albinus' attempt to occupy the throne was unsuccessful, as his company, which was the first to cross the English Channel, was defeated at Lyon in 197.
Africa is much bigger than you imagine
Most world maps are based on the so-called Mercator projection from 1559, named after the famous Flemish cartographer. This one, however, has a big drawback in a sense. Here, meridians and parallels are straight lines that intersect at right angles (the Earth is otherwise round). This is good news for navigators, as it makes it easier to plot the direction of sailing than straight lines, but it greatly distorts the size of larger continents. Especially when they are close to courses. According to this projection, Africa is as big as Greenland, which is actually 14 times smaller than the Black Continent! Africa is not only bigger than Greenland, it is actually bigger than China, USA, India and Western Europe combined.
It is best to be born in Switzerland
According to research by The Economist magazine, it is wealth that opens the door to happiness, security and a generally prosperous life. Well, having a bank account with lots of zeros isn't all you need, there's also a low crime rate, trust in the country's public institutions, and healthy family relationships. However, money plays the most important role in achieving happiness and satisfaction (unfortunately). Well, in addition to the green people and the rest already listed, in this calculation, the geographical location and demography of the country also add weight to the quality of life. When all this is thrown into a pot and tasted, Switzerland has the best recipe in its hands, and the closest to it are Australia and Norway. Germany, for example, is the 16th best country in the world to be born in, in this regard, along with the United States.
The metric system of units is not used in only three countries
The metric system was started by France, which adopted it in 1791. Imperial units, including the Anglo-Saxon metric system, despite their regular appearance (due to the ubiquity of the USA), are today more in decline than if we look only at the number of countries that do not yet use the international system of units. Among them are only Liberia, Myanmar and the USA. Why? This system is one big mess, full of inconsistencies and complicated calculations, as units of measurement have been added throughout history and sometimes have little to do with each other. As a result, most of the world has switched to the metric system, where base units and multiples of ten base units are used to measure quantities and convert. The Imperial system is a whole science against it.
America is so big that its states are the size of some other countries in the world
The proverbial shortsightedness of Americans is world famous. This also applies to geography. It is difficult to separate Germany, let alone Slovenia. But once we put their country in the right perspective and realize that, for example, Montana the size of Japan, California almost the size of Iraq, and Arizona the size of the Philippines, it seems that even we are quite ignorant, because e.g. they rarely know exactly where the state of Colorado is. You probably all still remember the question of the journalist who asked the American basketball player DeMarcus Cousin at the 2014 World Basketball Championship if he knew where Slovenia was (it was a rival of their national team), and he answered with the American equivalent, "I don't know. Do you know where Alabama is?”
Fewer people die in wars than ever before
Although this fact is hard to swallow, as the media bombards us daily with the horrors of war, the fact is that we live in the least bloody era in history. On average, around 15 percent of people in the period before the formation of states died violent deaths, and in the years when states were in their infancy, this percentage fell to 3%. The percentage of victims that are a direct result of political violence (wars, terrorism, genocides, escapades of military militias of warlords) in the last decade is only a few hundredths of a percent. The reason for such a drastic decline? Believe it or not - nuclear weapons.
Germans and Japanese have the oldest population, Nigerians the youngest
Politics and economics are really just disguises for demographics. Namely, countries with an aging population often have the largest budget deficits and weak economic growth, as there is a shortage of labor to support such a large number of retirees. Meanwhile, in countries where the population is extremely young, the political situation is chaotic, especially when there is a great shortage of jobs. Currently, the largest "home of retirees" in the world is Germany and Japan, where the average age of the population is 46.1 years, while at the other end of the statistics is Nigeria, where the average age of people is only 15.1 years.
If everyone lived as crowded as people in New York, the area of Texas would be enough for all people
They live like sardines in New York, because nowhere else do so many people live in such a small space. If you take this to a global level, the area of Texas would be enough for all the inhabitants, which falsely suggests that we actually still have a lot of land in abundance. It is necessary to read the fine print. For all this population to survive to feed itself requires an extremely large area to support it. And if each person needed as much land as the average American to meet their needs, it would take as many as four Earths. Well, everything is not as "easy" as it seemed for a moment.
In 2100, there will already be 11 billion people in the world
In 100 there were around 200 million people in the world, but we only reached the first billion in the 19th century. The big jump in the last hundred years goes to the soul of the industrial revolution, and today we have almost 7 billion people in the world, and the counter continues to spin wildly. The projection of the United Nations is therefore not surprising when it says that the number in 2100 will be around 11 billion.
