Numberland: The World in Numbers

AROUND THE WORLD

0

The number of airports in Monaco (the nearest is Nice in France).

0

The number of continents that are wider in the south than they are in the north.

1

The number of countries crossed by both the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn (Brazil).

1

The number of countries that officially measure their nation’s total Happiness (Bhutan).

1

The number of countries in the Middle East that don’t have deserts (Lebanon).

1

The number of countries that don’t have a rectangular flag (Nepal).

1

Only one of the Seven Wonders of the World still survives: the Great Pyramid of Giza.

1

The number of countries that have every type of climate (New Zealand).

1

The number of countries that have a national flag with a Bible in it (The Dominican Republic).

1

The number of towns in the world whose names begin with ABC (the Dutch town of Abcoude).

1

The number of countries that are entirely higher than 1,000 metres above mean sea level (Lesotho).

1

The number of countries that start with a Q (Qatar).

1

The number of countries that end with a Q (Iraq).

1

The number of English-speaking countries in South America (Guyana).

1

The number of countries where you can see the sun rise in the Pacific and set in the Atlantic (Panama).

1

The number of countries with a jaguar preserve (Belize).

1

The number of underwater restaurants in the world (in the Maldives).

1

The number of countries that don’t carry their name on their stamps. It is the United Kingdom because the British invented the modern postage stamp (in 1840) and so are allowed this special dispensation – but only on the understanding that the monarch’s head appears on each stamp.

1.75

The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn, which is just 1.75 square miles.

2

The number of doubly landlocked countries in the world (i.e. both entirely surrounded by landlocked countries) (Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan).

2

The number of continents that Istanbul is in (Europe and Asia).

2

The number of countries that have borders on three oceans (the US & Canada).

2

The number of minor earthquakes that occur every minute somewhere in the world.

2

The number of countries with flags that have guns or rifles on them (Mozambique and Guatemala).

2

There are thousands of languages spoken in the world but it is estimated (by the UN) that a language disappears every two weeks.

2.7

After opposition calls for a boycott, voter turnout in the 1983 Jamaican general elections was just 2.7%.

3

The percentage of Germans who speak French fluently (nearly half of all Germans are fluent in English).

3

The Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean, is three times bigger than Asia, the largest continent.

3

The number of world capitals that begin with the letter O in English: Ottawa, Canada; Oslo, Norway; and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

3

The number of people per square kilometre in Canada. Germany has 235 per square kilometre.

4

You could drive a car round the world four times with the amount of fuel in a jumbo jet.

4

The number of countries with one syllable in their English name: Chad, France, Greece and Spain.

4

Almost all (just under 99 per cent) Egyptians live on about four per cent of the land – near the Nile River and its delta.

4.2

The depth (in kilometres) of the deepest mine in the world – Western Deep Levels near Charletonville, South Africa.

4.3

The number of births in the world every second.

4.42

The length in miles of the world’s longest canal tunnel (the Rove tunnel in the Canal de Marseille au Rhone).

5

The percentage of world wealth owned by fifty per cent of world’s population.

5

There’s a Starbucks in South Korea that has five levels.

5

The number of ways the letter ‘F’ can be pronounced in Icelandic.

5

The number of countries in Europe that touch only one other: Portugal, Denmark, San Marino, Vatican City and Monaco.

5

The number of days it takes the Otis Elevator company to transport the equivalent of the world’s population.

5.54

The number of centimetres of coastline per person in the world.

6

The number of hours of sunshine the Falkland Islands gets daily during the summer (they only get two–three hours of direct sunlight per day in winter).

6

The ratio of people to TVs in the world is six to one.

7

The average North Korean seven-year-old is seven centimetres shorter than the average South Korean seven-year-old.

7

The number of different surnames on the island of Tristan da Cunha.

8.2

The length in metres of the world’s longest stalactite (as found in Jeita Grotto in Lebanon).

9

The number of words in the language of the Solomon Islands for the different stages of coconut maturation.

10

The percentage of the workforce in Egypt that is under 12 years of age.

10

The percentage of Greece’s islands that are populated.

10

The number of countries that Brazil borders: that’s every country in South America except Chile and Ecuador.

10

The number of miles Niagara Falls has moved upstream in the last 10,000 years.

10

The percentage of Gabon’s land mass that its national parks take up.

10

The percentage of people who live on islands.

10

The world’s deepest post box is located ten metres beneath the waters of Susami Bay, Japan. It is used by divers and emptied daily by the post office.

11

The number of official languages in South Africa.

12

The percentage of the inhabitants of Luxembourg who are of Portuguese descent.

12

The percentage of the Earth’s land surface that is permanently covered by ice and snow.

13

Ethiopia is famous as the country of ‘13 months of sunshine’. The Ethiopian year is based on the Julian calendar, which has 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month called Pagume, which has five days (or six in a leap year).

13

The number of countries that have crescent moons on their flags.

14

The number of islands Sweden’s capital city Stockholm is built on.

15

The number of countries that border China.

15

In Switzerland, when a man reaches 20 years of age, he is required to undergo 15 weeks of military training.

17.75

If the world’s total land area were divided equally among the world’s people, each person would get about 17.75 acres.

18

The number of islands in the Faroes.

20

The average number of hours per week that the people of Argentina listen to the radio.

20

Hong Kong has the world’s highest ratio of restaurants: one for every 20 people.

20

The percentage of the Earth that is permanently frozen.

20

The percentage of road accidents in Sweden that involve a moose.

20

The number of minutes it takes to make the world’s shortest inter-continental flight (from Gibraltar to Tangiers, Northern Africa).

20

The number of countries in the world where under half the population is literate.

20

The Angel Falls in Venezuela are nearly 20 times taller than Niagara Falls.

21

Brunei’s lowest-recorded temperature in degrees Celsius.

23

Japan has one vending machine for every 23 citizens – selling everything from drinks to food to iPods.

24

The average depth of the Earth’s crust in kilometres.

25

The percentage of food in developed countries that is wasted – simply thrown away.

27

The percentage of journeys taken in the Netherlands on a bicycle (this compares to just 2% of journeys in the UK).

27

Despite being over 27 times smaller, Norway’s total coastline is longer than the US’s.

28

The percentage of the Earth’s surface covered by the Pacific Ocean.

30

The number of people who speak the Cambap language of Central Cameroon.

30

The percentage of Chinese adults who live with their parents.

30

The percentage of degrees awarded in India for engineering.

32

Luxembourg has more immigrants – 32% of the population – than any country in the world.

32

The number of mountain peaks above 4,000 metres in Switzerland.

33.3

The percentage of the world’s oranges grown in Brazil, which is also the world’s largest producer of orange juice. However, you won’t always see Brazil on the carton because they export the concentrate to other countries, which then claim the juice as their own.

35

The percentage of Australians who are of Irish origins.

37

The length in metres of the D River in Lincoln City, Oregon – the shortest river in the world.

38

The percentage of North America that is wilderness.

38

The steepest street in the world is Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand which has an incline of 38%.

45

The width in centimetres of a street in Italy.

46

The percentage of the world’s water that is in the Pacific Ocean.

47

The number of sounds in the Japanese language.

48

The number of kilometres by which the Sahara desert expands annually.

50

The percentage of the world’s cork that comes from Portugal.

50

The percentage of 15-year-olds in Greenland who smoke.

50

The percentage of his or her annual holiday entitlement that the average Japanese worker takes.

50

The percentage of the world’s population that has never made or received a single telephone call.

50

The percentage of motorbike accidents that happen at the weekend.

51

The number of cars per annum that overshoot and drive into the canals of Amsterdam.

52

Switzerland has the best recycling rate in the world - recycling 52% of all its waste.

58

The percentage of Turkish people who admit to having had an extra-marital affair. The others in the top 5 are all Nordic.

59

Litres of wine the average French person drinks every year. The average Russian drinks ninety bottles of vodka.

60

The Amayra guides of Bolivia are said to be able to keep pace with a trotting horse for over 60 miles.

60

The number of Turkish companies that manufacture chewing gum.

61

The number of square miles that comprise the country of Liechtenstein.

66

The percentage of prisoners in Swiss jails who are non-Swiss nationals.

70

The percentage of computer-virus writers who work for organized crime syndicates.

70

Bulgaria produces about 70% of the world’s attar of roses – an ingredient in the most expensive perfumes. Two thousand petals are needed to make a single gram of attar of roses.

75

The percentage of all the countries in the world that are north of the Equator.

75

There is no point in England more than 75 miles from the sea.

80

The percentage of the world’s opals produced by the Australian town of Coober Pedy.

81

The number of provinces in Turkey.

81.5

The percentage of rented housing in Estonia, the country with world’s most rented housing.

82

The percentage of Australians who gamble regularly.

84

The percentage of Botswana that’s covered by the Kalahari Desert.

85

The percentage of international telephone calls that are conducted in English.

85

The number of letters in Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu – the name of a hill in