Depending on which government list you’re reading from and which countries they recognize, it’s estimated that there are about 196 official countries in the world. While I’m not about to do an interesting fact about all 196, here are a list of 25 fascinating facts about various countries in the world today:
- Most People Behind Bars –
The land of the freeUnited States: When it comes to incarcerating its population, the United States is the world’s uncontested leader. The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s incarcerated population at 2.2 million people behind bars . China comes in second place at 1.5 million and Russia comes third at 870,000. It should be noted though that China has about 1.3 billion people, so it’s not too surprising that they’d also have one of the world’s largest number of people behind bars. Russia only has about 141M people (about 45% of the U.S.), so their percentage of incarcerated people isn’t that far off the U.S. rate. - Most Overweight Population – Nauru: With over 95% of its population overweight, the small island nation of Nauru is by far the fattest country on Earth and presumably has the highest per capita manssiere sale rates.
Its obesity epidemic is primarily attributed to the importation of western fast food that coincided with an increased standard of living in the 20th century due to the global popularity of its phosphate exports. However, in truth it’s not really fast food, it’s because they’re choosing to eat more than their body needs given their level of daily exercise, which triggers it to store more pounds of fat than had they eaten more moderately. Personal responsibility people! Fast food is not why I’m fat. My decisions and subsequent actions are why I am fat.
- Most Likely to Disappear Beneath the Waves –
Surfer SteveMaldives: With all the talks of global warming and rising sea levels, it is the residents of the Maldives that have the greatest reason to fear. With an average height of around 1.8 meters above sea level their nation is basically screwed unless they adopt the Venice, Italy model or we solve global warming pronto. - Covers the Most Time Zones –
Your momFrance: If you count everything, including overseas territories, then France claims the title by covering 12 time zones. The United States would be the runner-up with 11 and then Russia with 9. - Roads Made of Coral – Guam: Because Guam doesn’t have any natural sand, but rather coral, the island nation makes its asphalt using a mix of ground coral andOIL
rather than importing sand from abroad.
- Most Lakes in the World – Canada: With over 3 million lakes 9% of Canadian territory is actually fresh water and over 60% of all the lakes in the world are found within its borders.
- Country Covered with the Highest Percentage of Desert – Libya: With 99% of the country covered in desert, Libya is one of the most arid places in the world and in some regions decades may go by without a single drop of rain.
- World’s Largest Producer of Opium – Afghanistan: Producing a whopping 95% of the world’s opium.
- Country that Produces More Oxygen than Any Other – Russia: Siberia is home to approximately 25% of the world’s forests that span an area larger than the continental United States, making Russia the largest converter of CO2 into breathable compounds. You win this round Russia.
- Almost Entirely Treeless – Haiti: On the opposite end of the spectrum is Haiti, a country that has been so badly deforested that you can tell where it borders the Dominican Republic by looking at a satellite image.
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