statista: Beef: It's What's Contributing to Climate Change

Global meat production has dropped by 3 percent in 2020, going from an estimated 339 million tons in 2019 to 333 million this year. That’s the largest dip in at least 20 years for meat producers, and while some of that can be attributed to supply chain and production deficiencies from COVID-19, a growing body of data shows people may slowly be turning away from meat. And in the case of beef, that’s good news for the climate.

In data collected by Bloomberg from a Poore and Nemecek report, beef contributes roughly 60 kilograms of CO2 to the environment for every kilogram of product produced. For example, if a steer with a weight of 450 kilograms produces 200 kilograms of retail cuts at slaughter, that steer and the processes required from birth to retail cuts contributes roughly 12,000 kilograms of CO2 into the atmosphere. Compare that to pork and chicken, which produce just 7 and 6 kilograms of CO2 per kilogram of product, respectively.

read the article and see the graph

statista: The Most Culturally Chauvinistic Europeans (Oct 30, 2018)

A Pew Research Center survey set out to answer that question by surveying 56,000 adults across Europe. Respondents were asked whether they agree with the statement "our people are not perfect but our culture is superior to others". The following map shows the share of people in different countries considering their own culture to be superior to others and there are certainly some interesting results. Take Portugal where 47 percent of people agree with the above statement compared to just 20 percent in neighbouring Spain.

The most chauvinistic attitudes towards culture were recorded across Eastern Europe with Romania (66 percent), Bulgaria (69 percent) and Russia (also 69 percent) on top. The highest score of any country across Europe was actually recorded in Greece where 89 percent of people agreed with the statement.

see the map

statista: Venezuela Is Fast Becoming World's Biggest Refugee Crisis

According to UN data, Venezuela is fast becoming the world's biggest refugee crisis. By the end of 2020, 6.5 million Venezuelans are expected to have been forcibly displaced outside of their home country. This is up from just 300,000 in 2017. Syria, the biggest global refugee crisis to date, reached its height in 2018 with 6.7 million displaced people. With resettlement programs ongoing, that number is expected to have been reduced to 5.6 by the end of 2019 and might further fall in 2020.

While the number of Syrian refugees and those in a refugee-like situation had been rising since 2011, Venezuelan refugee numbers jumped up quickly, testing the preparedness of humanitarian organizations in the region.

Brookings Institution, which analyzed the data, notes that compared to the Syrian crisis, the Venezuela refugee situation is severely underfunded, putting the lives of hundred thousands of people at risk because of the lack of food and medical assistance.

see the graph

statista: An election battle drawn on Brexit lines

As this infographic shows though, parties whose stance was either anti-Brexit or pro-second referendum actually won a majority of the votes - 51.2 percent. The parties looking to 'get Brexit done' - based either on conviction or the desire to honour the referendum - garnered just 46.8 percent. That though is of course irrelevant in practical terms and something which will be made very clear in the coming weeks as Boris Johnson and the Conservatives press on with their now large parliamentary majority.

see the graph

statista: The Hong Kong Protest by the Numbers

On Sunday, violent protest broke out in Hong Kong again, with an estimated 150,000 people hitting the streets of the Chinese special administrative region to voice their opposition to a proposed bill that would make extradiction of individuals from Hong Kong to China possible.

The mass protest have been going on since June and while crowd estimates vary widely, probably reached their peak on July 1. 265,000 people alledegly came out to protest on that day, a number calculated with the help of crown-counting AI.

Hong Kong police has said that they have arrested more than 500 people so far since June and that 1,800 canisters of tear gas, 300 rubber bullets and 170 sponge grenades have been used on the protesters, according to Bloomberg.

see the statistics

statista: Lebanon Has By Far The Most Refugees Per 1,000 Population

Turkey hosts the most refugees of any country worldwide with 3.7 million in total at the end of 2018, ahead of Pakistan (1.4 million) and Uganda (1.2 million). As a share of the population, however, Lebanon hosts the most by far with 156 per 1,000 of its inhabitants. Jordan comes second with 72 per 1,000 of its population while Turkey rounds off the top three with 45 per 1,000 of its people. Prior to the war in Syria, Lebanon only hosted 8,000 refugees and the huge influx has pushed its socio-economic absorption capacity to the very limit.

see the graph

statista: The Wars With the Highest Annual Death Tolls

When we take into consideration the length of time that the conflicts were fought over though, we get a different picture, revealing the wars with the highest annual death tolls. World War ll had an average 14.17 million deaths per year, compared to 0.51 million for the much longer Iberian Conquest. As our infographic shows, using this measure, World War l moves into second place with its 15 million deaths over 4 years resutling in an annual average of 3.75 million. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War led to the deaths of 3 million people, qualifying it for third on this scale.

see the graph

statista: European Elections: Where Turnout Was Highest & Lowest

The main centre-right and centre-left parties have lost their 40-year old grip on the European Parliament. As the results of the 2019 European Elections flowed in, it quickly became clear that voters had opted for alteratives such as the greens, liberals and far right. Fears about a populist Eurosceptic tidal wave were unfounded but they will still take more seats in the European Parliament than ever before. Italy, the UK and France all saw populist victories with Marine Le Pen's National Rally narrowly and symbolically beating Emmanuel Macron's En Marche in the latter. One of the most notable aspects of the election was voter turnout which soared to a 20-year high.

At 11:00 CET, provisional voter turnout was 50.95 percent, the highest level seen since 1994 and a reversal on four decades of decline. Turnout had been dropping steadily since 1979, falling from 62 percent that year to 42.6 percent by 2014. Many analysists are attributing the high turnout this year to increasing support for populist parties, desire to show support for the European project and heightened awareness of climate change and enviornmental issues. That saw support climb steeply for the EU's green parties who were particularly successful in Germany, France and Ireland.

According to the European Parliament's website, Belgium had the highest provisional voter turnout at 89 percent, ahead of Luxembourg's 84 percent. In the United Kingdom, which is bitterly divided about Brexit, turnout was far less at 37 percent. Slovakia had the lowest turnout levels of any EU country at just 22.7 percent. Senior EU officials welcomed the news of a considerable increase in voter turnout, hailing it as a boost for the legitimacy of EU lawmaking.

see the graph

statista: Record Level of Russians Want to Leave the Country

According to the most recent Gallup survey, the level of Russians saying that If they had the opportunity, they would you like to move permanently to another country, is at a record high. 20 percent of respondents to the 2018 research said they would do so, with the most popular destinations Germany at 15 percent, followed by the United States at 12 percent. These figures add to the recent news that Russia's population is currently declining for the first time in a decade.

see the graph

statista: Atlantic Overfishing: Europe's Worst Offenders

A report by the New Economics Foundation has named Europe's worst offenders for overfishing in the northeast Atlantic. Every year, European fisheries ministers agree on a total allowable catch (TAC) for commercial fish stocks. This is generally determined using advice from scientific bodies who provide information on the state of stocks and recommended maximum catch levels.

In 2019, Sweden exceeded its TAC by 52.4 percent - equating to 17,369 tonnes. The United Kingdom and Ireland join Sweden at the top of the list of the worst offenders for overfishing, exceeding their quotas by 24.3 and 21.7 percent, respectively.

see the graph

statista: The EU countries with the most (and least) GPs

t's not uncommon in some countries to see a queue extending down the street when a new medical practice opens its doors to the public for the first time. Likewise, many know the frustration and bafflement that arises when calling for an appointment with their doctor at the start of the day, only to be told there are already none left. As new data from Eurostat shows though, the chances of encountering these problems are likely to vary greatly from country to country. When it comes to general practitioners (GPs) per 100,000 population, Portugal is way out in front in the EU with 253. The UK is low down on the list with only 76 and Greece is rock bottom with a mere 42.

see the graph

statista: The Steady Rise Of U.S. Gun Deaths

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40,000 people died in shootings across the United States, the highest number in 20 years. The data takes into account deaths classified as unintentional, suicide, homicide, undetermined and legal intervention/operations of war.

That trend was driven by a steady rise in suicides involving firearms The U.S. now has 12 deaths per 100,000 people due to guns compared to 0.2 per 100,000 people in Japan, 0.3 in the UK and 0.9 in Germany.

see the graph

statista: Where People Do And Don't Believe In Human Rights

A new Ipsos MORI poll of 23,249 adults in 28 countries has explored feelings about human rights across the world. One of its core findings is that 43 percent of people globally agree that everyone in their country enjoys the same basic human rights. When asked if there is such thing as human rights, opinion varied hugely by country, with a selection of countries polled visualized on the following infographic.

In Turkey, 92 percent of those polled said there is such thing as human rights while only five percent said there is not. 85 percent of Chinese respondents also agreed there is such thing as human rights, along with 80 percent of Americans. Interestingly, 29 percent of people in Poland say there is no such thing as human rights.

see the graph

statista: How Many British Euromyths Has The EU Debunked?

When it comes to reporting new legislation planned by the European Union, many British tabloids have a tendency to "overdo it". A story from September 1994 is a notable example. Reported by The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and Daily Express, it stated that "Brussels bureaucrats banned curved bananas with shops ordered not to sell fruit which is too small or abnormally bent". The Commission debunked the story and responded that regulation simply classifies bananas according to quality and size for the sake of easing international banana trade. It added that the minimal rules are applied solely to green, unripe bananas, rather than those destined for the processing industry. It should also improve the quality of bananas on sale in the EU.

In fact, the Commission maintains a webpage solely devoted to debunking "Euromyths" reported by the British press. The banana example is just one of hundreds of myths and others include "Commission to outlaw mushy peas (1995)" and "Queen's corgis to be outlawed (2002)". The number of false stories about the EU reported in the UK reached its height in 1993 with the Commission listing 100 myths in total. The number fell drastically between 2007 and 2012 but it started to climb again in 2013 after Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a Conservative government would hold an in-or-out referendum on EU membership. You can find the European Commission page wth the full A-Z index of Euromyths here.

see the graph

statista: The most popular political figures in the UK

In a time of political upheaval and uncertainty in the UK with key figures pulling in very different directions, where do the public's affections lie? Unsurprisingly, it is as split as the political landscape itself. According to the latest YouGov 'Ratings', Boris Johnson and Theresa May enjoy the most positive opinions from the public, both of which having a 32 percent favourability rating. The Labour leader Corbyn is in third place with 30 percent of respondents saying they view him positively.

see the graph

statista: The ten countries where it's worst to be female

A new study from the Thomson Reuters Foundation has found that India is the most dangerous country in the world for women. The research was based on a survey of 550 experts on women's issues and criteria included healthcare, discrimination, cultural traditions, sexual/non-sexual violence and human trafficking.

Ending violence against women in India was made into a national priority after a student was raped and murdered on a bus in Delhi five years ago. Experts have now said that the country is not moving fast enough to eradicate danger to women with rape, sexual harassment/harassment and female infanticide still continuing at alarming levels.

The war-ravaged countries of Afghanistan and Syria came second and third in the study while number 10 is certainly a surprising addition. According to experts, the United States makes the top-10 list of the most dangerous countries for women due to the #MeToo and Time's Up campaigns dominating newspaper headlines and media coverage for months. 

see the post

statista: The worst countries to be gay in Europe

The latest edition of ILGA Europe's Rainbow List has found that Malta, Belgium and Norway are the most LGBTI-friendly countries in Europe. The annual review ranks 49 European countries on a scale from 0 percent to 100 percent. Those closer to 0 percent are considered worst for gross violations of human rights and discrimination while the other end of the scale respects human rights and full equality.

LGBTI people planning a trip are best advised to avoid Turkey, Armenia and Azerbeijan. The latter is rock-bottom of the ranking with 4.70 percent. Russia, host of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, also scores poorly on the list with 10.90 percent.

see the map

statista: Does Gun Violence Get Enough Federal Research Funding?

After the devastating mass shooting at a school in Parkland, Florida, student survivors urged politicians to take action in order to prevent more children from being killed by firearms. Even though many proposals and policies have been raised in recent weeks, their possible impact and effects have rarely been studied scientifically.

A study conducted last year found that the amount of money allocated for federal research into gun violence is extremely low in comparison with other major causes of death in the United States. For example, $431 million in federal research funding was set aside for motor vehicle deaths between 2004 and 2014 with 12.33 deaths per 100,000 people occurring during those 10 years. Federal research funding about HIV came to $19.32 billion during the same period while 3.14 lives were lost to the disease per 100,000 people.

Deaths from firearms are subject to far less scholarship, according to research from David Stark and Nigam Shah. Despite 10.40 deaths occurring per 100,000 people from 2004 to 2014, only $22 million in federal research funding was made available for gun violence research.

see the chart

statista: The German Military Is Woefully Unprepared For Action

Germany has attempted to modernize its military in recent years, introducing new types of equipment such as the NH-90 helicopter and the A400M transport aircraft. Despite the new and more modern hardware, a report has revealed that less than half of German military assets are operational. The "Report on the Operational Readiness of the Bundeswehr's Primary Weapons Systems 2017" revealed that only 39 out of 128 Eurofighter jets are ready for action, while 26 out of the 93-strong fleet of Tornado fighter-bombers are operational.

New and state of the art equipment such as the A400M, NH-90 and Tiger attack helicopter all suffer from appalling rates of availability. Only three A400Ms are ready for action out of a total of 15 while 13 NH-90s are up and running out of 58 altogether. If the Bundeswehr had to fight a conflict against a modern adversary using armour tomorrow, it could only muster 12 Tigers out of 62 in total, along with 105 Leopard 2 tanks out of 224 in the army. The situation at sea isn't much better with less than half the frigate fleet available for operations along with absolutely no submarines.

see the graph

statista: Where Corruption Is Raging Around The World

On Wednesday, Transparency International released its 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index which measured perceived public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories on a scale of 0 to 100. The research found that most countries across the world are making little or no progress in ending corruption. The ones scoring close to 100 are successfully containing corruption while those scoring 50 or lower have serious problems. The average global score was only 43.

Some governments have seen noticeable improvements in their scores over the past six years with the Ivory Coast, Senegal and the UK all making progress. Others had to endure a slide with Syria, Yemen, Australia and Hungary all deteriorating. The latter in partcular saw its score fall ten points over the last six years. It could fall even further in the future if draft legistlation is enacted that could restrict NGOs and revoke their charitable status.

New Zealand was ranked the world's least corrupt nation in 2017 with a score of 89, ahead of Denmark with 88. Third position was a three way tie between Finland, Norway and Switzerland who all scored 85. Syria, South Suda, and Somalia were at the bottom of the index with all three scoring lower than 15. Along with Austria and Belgium, the United States came 16th with a score of 75.

see the map