The United States of America

http://www.humantruth.info/usa.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2013

#atheism #egypt #environmentalism #internationalism #japan #pollution #USA

USA United States of America
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	30th best
Capital	Washington
Land Area	9 147 420km²₁
Location	North America, The Americas
Population	327.1m₂
Life Expectancy	77.20yrs (2017)₃
GNI	$64 765 (2017)₄
ISO3166-1 Codes	US, USA, 840₅
Internet Domain	.us₆
Currency	Dollar (USD)₇
Telephone	+1₈

1. Introduction

“The great American experience is about so many things: bluegrass and beaches, snow-covered peaks and redwood forests, restaurant-loving cities and big open skies. America is the birthplace of LA, Las Vegas, Chicago, Miami, Boston and New York City -each a brimming metropolis whose name alone conjures a million different notions of culture, cuisine and entertainment. Look more closely, and the American quilt unfurls in all its surprising variety: the eclectic music scene of Austin, the easygoing charms of antebellum Savannah, the ecoconsciousness of free-spirited Portland, the magnificent waterfront of San Francisco, and the captivating old quarters of New Orleans, still rising up from its waterlogged ashes.
This is a country of road trips and great open skies, where four million miles of highways lead past red-rock deserts, below towering mountain peaks, and across fertile wheat fields that roll off toward the horizon. The sun-bleached hillsides of the Great Plains, the lush rainforests of the Pacific Northwest and the scenic country lanes of New England are a few fine starting points for the great American road trip.”
"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₉

2. USA National and Social Development

#economics #human_development #wealth

UN HDI (2021)₁₀
Pos.		Higher is better Value₁₀
1	Switzerland	0.962
2	Norway	0.961
3	Iceland	0.959
4	Hong Kong	0.952
5	Australia	0.951
	...
18	UK	0.929
19	Japan	0.925
20	S. Korea	0.925
21	USA	0.921
22	Israel	0.919
23	Malta	0.918
	The Americas Avg	0.75
	World Avg	0.72
q=191.

Gross National Income Per-Capita (2021)₁₀
Pos.		Higher is better PPP $₁₀
1	Liechtenstein	$146 830
2	Singapore	$90 919
3	Qatar	$87 134
4	Luxembourg	$84 649
5	Ireland	$76 169
6	Switzerland	$66 933
7	USA	$64 765
8	Norway	$64 660
9	Brunei	$64 490
10	Hong Kong	$62 607
11	UAE	$62 574
12	Denmark	$60 365
	The Americas Avg	$16 628
	World Avg	$20 136
q=193.

Social & Moral Development Index₁₁_,₁₂
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₁_,₁₂
1	Taiwan	28.6
2	Norway	29.4
3	Denmark	31.2
4	Sweden	32.2
5	Finland	32.6
	...
27	Portugal	50.8
28	Poland	54.6
29	Singapore	54.7
30	USA	55.8
31	Cyprus	55.9
32	Malta	56.1
	The Americas Avg	81.6
	World Avg	86.1
q=195.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

3. USA's Demographics and Migration

#birth_control #demographics #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population

Population:

The USA's population is predicted to rise to 361.68 million by 2030. These millions of extra people will all need space to live, food to eat, energy to consume, and will increase the burden on the planet's resources. This country has a fertility rate of 2.08. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

Population (2018)₂
Pos.		Population₂
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.4b
3	USA	327.1m
4	Indonesia	267.7m
5	Pakistan	212.2m
6	Brazil	209.5m
7	Nigeria	195.9m
8	Bangladesh	161.4m
9	Russia	145.7m
10	Japan	127.2m
11	Mexico	126.2m
12	Ethiopia	109.2m
	World Avg	39.0m
q=195.

Life Expectancy (2021)₁₀
Pos.		Higher is better Years₁₀
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
4	Australia	84.5
5	Switzerland	84.0
	...
43	Czechia	77.7
44	Croatia	77.6
45	Barbados	77.6
46	USA	77.2
47	Estonia	77.1
48	Costa Rica	77.0
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Fertility Rate (2013)₁₃
Pos.		2.0 is best₁₃
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
4	France	1.99
5	Turkey	2.04
	...
11	Sweden	1.93
12	Tunisia	1.93
13	St Lucia	1.93
14	USA	2.08
15	Ireland	2.10
16	Iceland	2.10
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016)₁₄
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100₁₄
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3	Chad	04.7
4	Burkina Faso	04.7
5	Sierra Leone	04.8
	...
150	Serbia	32.7
151	Hungary	32.9
152	Romania	33.6
153	USA	33.8
154	New Zealand	34.9
155	UK	35.0
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

Migration:

Immigrants (2017)₁₅
Pos.		%₁₅
1	UAE	88.4%
2	Kuwait	75.5%
3	Qatar	65.2%
4	Liechtenstein	65.1%
5	Monaco	54.9%
	...
31	San Marino	15.7%
32	Bahamas	15.6%
33	Maldives	15.4%
34	USA	15.3%
35	Norway	15.1%
36	Germany	14.8%
	World Avg	9.4%
q=195.

Emigrants (2010)₁₆
Pos.		%₁₆
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
4	Grenada	65.5%
5	St Kitts & Nevis	61.1%
	...
176	Solomon Islands	1.0%
177	India	0.9%
178	Papua New Guinea	0.9%
179	USA	0.8%
180	Namibia	0.7%
181	Ethiopia	0.7%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

4. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#equality #freedom #gender_equality #human_rights #morals #politics #prejudice #tolerance #usa

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2020)₁₇_,₁₈
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₇_,₁₈
1	Sweden	9.2
2	Norway	14.7
3	Denmark	14.7
4	Netherlands	15.8
5	New Zealand	17.5
	...
34	Malta	46.3
35	Bulgaria	46.5
36	Cyprus	46.7
37	USA	47.4
38	Switzerland	49.6
39	Brazil	52.3
	The Americas Avg	74.2
	World Avg	87.7
q=199.

The USA does relatively well in ensuring human rights and freedom, compared to many other countries. The USA comes in the best 20 for its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice₁₉ (amongst the lowest in The Americas), the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators)₂₀ (amongst the lowest in The Americas) and in freethought₂₁ (one of the best in The Americas). It does better than average in terms of supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms₂₂ (amongst the best in The Americas), commentary in Human Rights Watch reports₂₃ (one of the best in The Americas), supporting press freedom₂₄, LGBT equality₂₅ and in opposing gender inequality₂₆ (amongst the best in The Americas). The USA has aggressively supported human rights in many parts of the world₂₇ and hosts (and encourages) a large number of international human rights organisations. This persisted in not only the Clinton and Obama administrations (where it was a central concern) but even in the Bush eras₂₈. The USA doesn't do so well in other areas. The USA does worse than average when it comes to its nominal commitment to Human Rights₂₉ (one of the lowest in The Americas) and in speed of uptake of HR treaties₃₀ (one of the highest in The Americas). The country is deeply divided; 1% of the population draws 20% of the country's entire income₃₁. Trump-era politics has driven back human rights concerns, and is ushering in an era of intolerance and inequality, especially for LGBT folk, the poor, women and other minorities₃₂ and has been vocally supportive of authoritarian strong-man regimes that also have poor human rights records. Despite Trump, on some occasions, the USA still manages to encourage human rights, most notably in cutting $100 million and holding back another $195 million of its aid to Egypt, citing human rights violations₃₃ and 'threatening targeted sanctions against the Burmese military officials behind the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya minority'₃₂.

For tables, charts and commentary, see:

Human Rights and Freedom in USA

5. USA's Health

#alcohol #birth_control #demographics #health #life_expectancy #longevity #mental_health #obesity #overpopulation #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #USA #vaccines

Compared to The Americas (2020)₃₄_,₃₅
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₃₄_,₃₅
1	Antigua & Barbuda	75.6
2	Brazil	82.1
3	Cuba	82.4
4	Canada	83.5
5	Barbados	85.1
	...
12	El Salvador	90.5
13	St Kitts & Nevis	91.8
14	Bahamas	92.3
15	USA	92.4
16	Costa Rica	93.8
17	Peru	96.5
18	St Vincent & Grenadines	96.8
	The Americas Avg	96.2
q=35.

Health (2020)₃₄_,₃₅
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₃₄_,₃₅
1	Monaco	13.0
2	Hong Kong	18.3
3	Maldives	41.0
4	Singapore	42.6
5	Japan	51.0
	...
92	Rwanda	91.9
93	Bahamas	92.3
94	Lithuania	92.4
95	USA	92.4
96	Latvia	93.1
97	Cambodia	93.3
98	Ethiopia	93.3
	World Avg	93.5
q=196.

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Hong Kong and The Maldives₃₄. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are The Marshall Islands, S. Sudan and Palau₃₄.

The data sets used to calculate points for each country are its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Asia and The Mediterranean₃₄, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Australasia and Africa₃₄.

For more, see:

"Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Health:

The USA does relatively well in encouraging good health, compared to many other countries. The USA comes in the best 20 for its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₃₆ (one of the best in The Americas). It does better than average in its average life expectancy₁₀ (although the USA is unique for a modern country, in that this is now declining₄₁), its adolescent birth rate₂₆ (one of the lowest in The Americas) and in its fertility rate₁₃. But, there's bad news too. The USA does worse than average in its suicide rate₃₇, its immunizations take-up₃₈, its smoking rate₃₉ and in its alcohol consumption rate₄₀ (amongst the highest in The Americas). The prevalence of overweight adults has increased by 14% between 1976 and 2016.

Source:₄₁

Poor Health Culture and Social Care in the USA led to improvements in life expectancy ceasing in 2010, and it is now alone in the rich world for having a declining rate.

Life Expectancy (2021)₁₀
Pos.		Higher is better Years₁₀
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
4	Australia	84.5
5	Switzerland	84.0
	...
43	Czechia	77.7
44	Croatia	77.6
45	Barbados	77.6
46	USA	77.2
47	Estonia	77.1
48	Costa Rica	77.0
	The Americas Avg	72.58
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Alcohol Consumption (2016)₄₀
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita₄₀
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
4	Mauritania	0.0
5	Somalia	0.0
	...
145	Argentina	9.8
146	Georgia	9.8
147	Namibia	9.8
148	USA	9.8
149	St Lucia	9.9
150	Swaziland	9.9
	The Americas Avg	6.9
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

Fertility Rate (2013)₁₃
Pos.		2.0 is best₁₃
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
4	France	1.99
5	Turkey	2.04
	...
11	Sweden	1.93
12	Tunisia	1.93
13	St Lucia	1.93
14	USA	2.08
15	Ireland	2.10
16	Iceland	2.10
	The Americas Avg	2.29
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

Smoking Rates (2014)₃₉
Pos.		Higher is worse₃₉
182	Montenegro	4 125
181	Belarus	3 831
180	Lebanon	3 023
179	Macedonia	2 732
178	Russia	2 690
	...
128	Moldova	1 114
127	Portugal	1 113
126	Finland	1 083
125	USA	1 083
124	Latvia	1 041
123	Algeria	1 024
	The Americas Avg	457
	World Avg	819
q=182.

Suicide Rate (2013)₃₇
Pos.		Per 100k₃₇
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
4	Jordan	0.2
5	Maldives	0.7
	...
50	Singapore	20.6
51	India	20.8
52	Trinidad & Tobago	21.7
53	USA	22.2
54	Chile	22.4
55	Canada	22.7
	The Americas Avg	13.57
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017)₃₆
Pos.		Lower is better Rank₃₆
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
4	UK	4
5	Norway	5
6	Switzerland	6
7	Germany	7
8	Canada	8
9	Netherlands	9
10	USA	10
11	Luxembourg	11
12	Finland	12
	The Americas Avg	94.3
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Overweight Adults (2016)₄₂
Pos.		Lower is better %₄₂
1	Vietnam	18.3
2	India	19.7
3	Bangladesh	20.0
4	Ethiopia	20.9
5	Nepal	21.0
	...
174	Libya	66.8
175	UAE	67.8
176	Lebanon	67.9
177	USA	67.9
178	Jordan	69.6
179	Saudi Arabia	69.7
	The Americas Avg	57.4
	World Avg	49.0
q=191.

Children's Health:

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)₂₆
Pos.		Lower is better Per 1000₂₆
1	N. Korea	0.5
2	S. Korea	1.6
3	Switzerland	2.9
4	Hong Kong	3.2
5	Slovenia	3.8
	...
65	Djibouti	21.5
66	Albania	21.7
67	Moldova	22.6
68	USA	22.6
69	Armenia	23.0
70	Jordan	23.2
	The Americas Avg	56.6
	World Avg	47.9
q=185.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)₃₈
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %₃₈
1	Hungary	99.0
2	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
4	Niue	98.8
5	Mongolia	98.7
	...
95	Georgia	93.1
96	New Zealand	92.9
97	Nauru	92.9
98	USA	92.8
99	Latvia	92.8
100	Romania	92.7
	The Americas Avg	91.3
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

6. USA's Modernity and Learning

#education #english #intelligence #it_security #maths #modernity #politics #religion #religiosity #research #science #secularisation #technology #the_internet

Compared to The Americas (2020)₁₈
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₈
1	Canada	21.6
2	USA	29.3
3	Argentina	43.8
4	Chile	51.6
5	Barbados	54.2
6	Brazil	55.1
7	St Kitts & Nevis	56.7
8	Puerto Rico	57.5
9	Mexico	59.8
10	Grenada	68.5
11	Costa Rica	68.9
12	Bermuda	69.0
13	Trinidad & Tobago	69.1
	The Americas Avg	81.7
q=41.

Modernity and Learning (2020)₁₈
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₈
1	Finland	8.4
2	Taiwan	10.0
3	Switzerland	15.1
4	Estonia	15.8
5	Denmark	16.0
	...
25	Singapore	27.9
26	Latvia	28.2
27	France	28.8
28	USA	29.3
29	Israel	32.2
30	Hong Kong	32.6
31	Poland	34.6
	World Avg	83.2
q=205.

Modernity and Education:

Research and Development (2016)
Pos.		Higher is better % RDP PPP
1	S. Korea	4.29₄₃
2	Israel	4.11₄₃
3	Japan	3.58₄₃
4	Finland	3.17₄₃
5	Sweden	3.16₄₃
6	Denmark	3.05₄₃
7	Taiwan	3.01₄₃
8	Austria	3.00₄₄
9	Switzerland	2.96₄₅
10	Germany	2.84₄₃
11	USA	2.74₄₆
12	Belgium	2.46₄₃
	The Americas Avg	0.47
	World Avg	0.84
q=126.

Secondary Education (2018)₄₇
Pos.		Higher is better₄₇
1	Luxembourg	100.0%
2	Estonia	100.0%
3	Austria	100.0%
4	Canada	100.0%
5	Finland	100.0%
	...
22	Russia	95.9%
23	Croatia	95.7%
24	Azerbaijan	95.6%
25	USA	95.6%
26	Norway	95.4%
27	S. Korea	95.2%
	The Americas Avg	63.0%
	World Avg	63.0%
q=169.

Length of Schooling (2021)₄₈
Pos.		Higher is better Years₄₈
1	Australia	21.1
2	New Zealand	20.3
3	Greece	20.0
4	Belgium	19.6
5	Sweden	19.4
	...
28	Canada	16.4
29	Bahrain	16.3
30	Lithuania	16.3
31	USA	16.3
32	Italy	16.2
33	Czechia	16.2
	The Americas Avg	14.2
	World Avg	13.5
q=193.

Intellectual Endeavours (2017)₃₆
Pos.		Lower is better Rank₃₆
1	Ukraine	1
2	Czechia	2
3	Hungary	3
4	Denmark	4
5	UK	5
	...
35	Barbados	35
36	Estonia	36
37	Luxembourg	37
38	USA	38
39	Portugal	39
40	Spain	40
	The Americas Avg	99.8
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Maths, Science & Reading (2015)₄₉
Pos.		Higher is better Score₄₉
1	Singapore	1655
2	Hong Kong	1598
3	Japan	1586
4	Macau	1582
5	Estonia	1573
	...
28	Russia	1476
29	Spain	1475
30	Czechia	1472
31	USA	1463
32	Latvia	1460
33	Italy	1456
	The Americas Avg	1287
	World Avg	1389
q=70.

Religiosity (2018)₅₀
Pos.		Lower is better %₅₀
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
4	Switzerland	9
5	Denmark	9
	...
48	Romania	50
49	Georgia	51
50	Armenia	53
51	USA	53
52	Bosnia & Herzegovina	54
53	Greece	56
	The Americas Avg	65.4
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

IQ (2006)₅₁
Pos.		Higher is better₅₁
1	Hong Kong	108
2	Singapore	108
3	S. Korea	106
4	Japan	105
5	Taiwan	105
	...
26	France	98
27	Australia	98
28	Denmark	98
29	USA	98
30	Latvia	98
31	Hungary	98
	The Americas Avg	85.3
	World Avg	85.6
q=138.

Technology and Information:

Internet Users (2016)₅₂
Pos.		Higher is better₅₂
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
4	Bermuda	97%
5	Andorra	97%
	...
17	Estonia	91%
18	Japan	91%
19	New Zealand	89%
20	USA	89%
21	Canada	89%
22	Belgium	89%
	The Americas Avg	56.4%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

Freedom On The Internet (2012)₅₃
Pos.		Lower is better₅₃
1	Estonia	10
2	USA	12
3	Germany	15
4	Australia	18
5	Hungary	19
6	Philippines	23
7	Italy	23
8	UK	25
9	S. Africa	26
10	Argentina	26
11	Ukraine	27
12	Brazil	27
	The Americas Avg	39.3
	World Avg	46.7
q=47.

IT Security (2013)₅₄
Pos.		Lower is better₅₄
1	Ireland	0.11
2	Luxembourg	0.11
3	Belize	0.11
4	Hong Kong	0.12
5	Mexico	0.16
	...
76	Iraq	1.84
77	Bangladesh	1.87
78	Sudan	1.98
79	India	2.10
80	Russia	2.42
81	USA	3.68
	The Americas Avg	0.84
	World Avg	0.98
q=81.

IPv6 Uptake (2017)₅₅
Pos.		Higher is better Ratio₅₅
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
4	USA	35.0
5	Greece	33.5
6	Luxembourg	32.4
7	India	26.8
8	Portugal	26.6
9	Ireland	26.1
10	UK	24.7
11	Japan	22.1
12	France	18.8
	The Americas Avg	3.36
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

7. National Culture

#charity #corruption #happiness #morals #politics

The United States has a good long-term record on keeping corruption low, but things have been getting worse over the last ten years.

World Giving Index (2013-2021)₅₆
Pos.		Lower is better₅₆
1	Myanmar (Burma)	2.7
2	New Zealand	4.0
3	USA	4.7
4	Australia	4.9
5	Indonesia	9.0
6	Qatar	9.0
7	UK	9.3
8	Ireland	9.6
9	Canada	10.1
10	UAE	11.6
11	Bahrain	11.7
12	Kenya	12.0
	The Americas Avg	58.4
	World Avg	67.9
q=160.

Corruption (2022)₅₇
Pos.		Higher is better Points₅₇
1	Denmark	90.0
2	Finland	87.0
3	New Zealand	87.0
4	Norway	84.0
5	Singapore	83.0
	...
21	France	72.0
22	Austria	71.0
23	Seychelles	70.0
24	USA	69.0
25	Taiwan	68.0
26	Bhutan	68.0
	The Americas Avg	42.97
	World Avg	42.98
q=180.

Happiness (2018)₅₈
Pos.		Higher is better₅₈
1	Finland	7.6
2	Norway	7.6
3	Denmark	7.6
4	Iceland	7.5
5	Switzerland	7.5
	...
15	Germany	7.0
16	Belgium	6.9
17	Luxembourg	6.9
18	USA	6.9
19	UK	6.8
20	UAE	6.8
	The Americas Avg	6.05
	World Avg	5.38
q=156.

Creativity and Culture (2017)₃₆
Pos.		Lower is better Rank₃₆
1	Belgium	1
2	Netherlands	2
3	Estonia	3
4	Switzerland	4
5	Sweden	5
	...
64	Mexico	64
65	S. Africa	65
66	Lebanon	66
67	USA	67
68	Guyana	68
69	Bosnia & Herzegovina	69
	The Americas Avg	80.2
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Open Trading, Aid and Development (2017)₃₆
Pos.		Lower is better Rank₃₆
1	Ireland	1
2	Denmark	2
3	Sweden	3
4	Netherlands	4
5	Switzerland	5
	...
59	Senegal	59
60	Kyrgyzstan	60
61	Qatar	61
62	USA	62
63	Congo, DR	63
64	Honduras	64
	The Americas Avg	100.5
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

8. Peace Versus Instability

#extremism #human_development #peace #politics #religious_violence #terrorism

In the last few years, armed shootings, violent crime, civil unrest and unruly protests caused the USA to deteriorate on the Global Peace Index; these events culminated in Trump's supporters storming the governmental Capitol building on the 6th of Jan 2021. The USA now sits in the lowest quarter worldwide in 2021₅₉.

Global Peace Index (2021)₆₀
Pos.		Lower is better₆₀
1	Iceland	1.10
2	New Zealand	1.25
3	Denmark	1.26
4	Portugal	1.27
5	Slovenia	1.32
	...
119	Congo, (Brazzaville)	2.29
120	Algeria	2.31
121	Azerbaijan	2.33
122	USA	2.34
123	S. Africa	2.34
124	Honduras	2.37
	The Americas Avg	2.13
	World Avg	2.08
q=163.

Peacekeeping and Security (2017)₃₆
Pos.		Lower is better Rank₃₆
1	Samoa	1
2	S. Africa	2
3	Tunisia	3
4	Egypt	4
5	Nigeria	5
	...
69	Bulgaria	69
70	Zimbabwe	70
71	Spain	71
72	USA	72
73	Cyprus	73
74	Jamaica	74
	The Americas Avg	82.3
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Refugees and UN Treaties (2017)₃₆
Pos.		Lower is better Rank₃₆
1	Austria	1
2	Germany	2
3	Netherlands	3
4	Sweden	4
5	Malta	5
	...
26	Chile	26
27	Panama	27
28	Portugal	28
29	USA	29
30	Singapore	30
31	Greece	31
	The Americas Avg	91.5
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Impact of Terrorism (2019)₆₁
Pos.		Lower is better Score₆₁
1	Togo	0.00
2	Mongolia	0.00
3	Swaziland	0.00
4	Equatorial Guinea	0.00
5	Cambodia	0.00
	...
126	Mozambique	5.54
127	Ukraine	5.55
128	Niger	5.60
129	USA	5.69
130	Kenya	5.76
131	Sudan	5.81
	The Americas Avg	2.16
	World Avg	2.78
q=150.

9. The Natural Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #over-exploitation #the_environment

In the 1970s the USA was a world leader on serious long-term environmental issues, and its scientists rang many of the first alarm bells regarding side-effects of industrial chemicals. The USA joined many groups in protecting endangered species, oceans and fisheries. Much of this continued into the 1980s. But, this didn't last. The USA drew worldwide criticism for failing to adopt the greatest international agreement for the reduction of some greenhouse gases, The Kyoto Protocol, which has been accepted by nearly every other country. This is despite the fact that the USA is by a very wide margin the world's biggest polluter over time, and very disproportionately so for its population. Starting with President Bush, it has been Republican Party policy not to combat climate change and to deny the scale of the problem.

Despite the failure of American politics, American scientific institutions have been effective in pursuing sustainable goals, managing to co-operate at state and local levels to improve the USA's impact on the world.

For more, see:

"The USA Versus the Environment: Republican Recklessness 1980s-2000s" by Vexen Crabtree (2022).

Forest Area Change 1990-2015 (2015)₆₂
Pos.		Higher is better %₆₂
1	Iceland	+205.6
2	Bahrain	+144.4
3	Uruguay	+131.3
4	Kuwait	+81.2
5	Dominican Rep.	+79.5
	...
62	Ukraine	+04.1
63	Croatia	+03.8
64	Iraq	+03.3
65	USA	+02.7
66	Georgia	+02.6
67	Austria	+02.5
	The Americas Avg	-00.2
	World Avg	+02.8
q=184.

Environmental Performance (2018)₆₃
Pos.		Higher is better₆₃
1	Switzerland	87.4
2	France	84.0
3	Denmark	81.6
4	Malta	80.9
5	Sweden	80.5
	...
24	Cyprus	72.6
25	Canada	72.2
26	Portugal	71.9
27	USA	71.2
28	Slovakia	70.6
29	Lithuania	69.3
	The Americas Avg	58.8
	World Avg	56.4
q=180.

Energy to GDP Efficiency (2014)₆₄
Pos.		Higher is better₆₄
1	Hong Kong	26.32
2	Sri Lanka	20.00
3	Panama	17.86
4	Colombia	17.54
5	Ireland	17.54
	...
74	Armenia	07.69
75	New Zealand	07.63
76	Kuwait	07.58
77	USA	07.58
78	Czechia	07.46
79	Tajikistan	07.46
	The Americas Avg	10.78
	World Avg	09.29
q=119.

Convention on Biological Diversity
Pos.		Earlier is better Signed
1	China	1993 Dec 29
2	Guinea	1993 Dec 29
3	Cook Islands	1993 Dec 29
4	Vanuatu	1993 Dec 29
5	Papua New Guinea	1993 Dec 29
	...
192	Iraq	2009 Oct 26
193	Somalia	2009 Dec 10
194	Palestine	2015 Apr 02
195	Andorra	2015 May 05
196	USA
197	Vatican City
	The Americas Avg	1899 Dec 30
	World Avg	1899 Dec 30
q=197.

Rational Beliefs on the Environment (2011)₆₅
Pos.		Higher is better %₆₅
1	Argentina	78.3%
2	Greece	77.6%
3	Brazil	77.1%
4	Trinidad & Tobago	74.5%
5	Costa Rica	74.2%
	...
127	UAE	20.8%
128	Norway	20.5%
129	Botswana	20.4%
130	USA	19.7%
131	Kuwait	19.6%
132	Zimbabwe	19.6%
	The Americas Avg	58.6%
	World Avg	39.9%
q=145.

Many rich countries. including the USA, are increasing their forest cover whilst they import foods and goods that result from deforestation elsewhere. Tracing supply chains is difficult and supply firms obfuscate the chain of production so it's difficult to tell what products are to blame, and, some governments are particularly reluctant to fund investigations into the deforestation footprint of imports.

“Keiichiro Kanemoto and Nguyen Tien Hoang, of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Japan, combined data on global forest loss with that on international trade between 2001 and 2015. They calculated that rich-country demand [...] contributed to a net loss of 20,000 square kilometres of forest in the rest of the world in 2015 alone.”
The Economist (2021)₆₆

The USA should take deforestation more seriously and engage in the international efforts, as the negative effects of deforestation will affect us all, but cannot be handled well by countries working alone.

10. Economic Inequality and Poverty

#capitalism #economics #health #inequality #life_expectancy #social_development

Inequality in Life Expectancy (2019)₆₇
Pos.		Higher is worse₆₇
184	Chad	40.90
183	Central African Rep.	40.10
182	Sierra Leone	39.00
181	Somalia	38.90
180	Nigeria	37.10
	...
54	Oman	6.70
53	Saudi Arabia	6.40
52	Romania	6.30
51	USA	6.30
50	Chile	6.30
49	Bulgaria	6.10
	The Americas Avg	12.03
	World Avg	14.59
q=184.

Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) (2017)₆₈
Pos.		Lower is better %₆₈
1	Ukraine	25.0
2	Belarus	25.4
3	Slovenia	25.4
4	Czechia	25.9
5	Moldova	25.9
	...
103	Kenya	40.8
104	Malaysia	41.0
105	Haiti	41.1
106	USA	41.5
107	Ivory Coast	41.5
108	Djibouti	41.6
	The Americas Avg	45.2
	World Avg	38.1
q=152.

11. Religion and Beliefs

#afterlife #belief #buddhism #christianity #god #heaven #hell #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion #religiosity #secularisation #universalism #usa

Religiosity (2018)₅₀
Pos.		Lower is better %₅₀
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
4	Switzerland	9
5	Denmark	9
	...
48	Romania	50
49	Georgia	51
50	Armenia	53
51	USA	53
52	Bosnia & Herzegovina	54
53	Greece	56
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

Disbelief In God (2007)₆₉
Pos.		Higher is better %₆₉
1	Vietnam	81
2	Japan	65
3	Sweden	64
4	Czechia	61
5	Estonia	49
	...
38	Kazakhstan	12
39	China	12
40	Uruguay	12
41	USA	10
42	Trinidad & Tobago	9
43	Albania	8
	World Avg	9.9
q=137.

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₇₀:

Christian	78.3%
Muslim	0.9%
Hindu	0.6%
Buddhist	1.2%
Folk Religion	0.2%
Jew	1.8%
Unaffiliated	16.4%

It appears that when asked "What religion are you" many give pollsters the 'correct' answer despite how they actually feel, and despite what they actually believe. Although 83% of the populace say they belong to a religion, only 53% say that they are religious when the question is phrased as "Is religion an important part of your daily life?".

For more on this phenomenon, see:

"Institutionalized Religions Have Their Numbers Inflated by National Polls" by Vexen Crabtree (2009)

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)₇₁.

The Afterlife: Ipsos-NA in 2011 gathered some statistics on USA₇₂. Despite the large numbers of Christians, not many have traditional beliefs in the afterlife - just 41%. Some people don't know what to believe (20%). Some believe that upon death, you simply cease to exist (11%). Also, 4% specifically believe in heaven but not in hell (which is nice - making them possible "universalists"). 4% believe in reincarnation.

Of the 5% of Americans who said they do not believe in God in 2007, only a quarter labelled themselves as atheist. 3 in 20 of American who tell pollsters that they don't believe in God also still call themselves Christian, another 1 in 20 still call themselves Jewish₇₃.

Freedom of Religion and Belief: As far as developed countries go, the USA has particular problems with religious tolerance. Although the legal system is fair in many ways and you should expect tolerance, "the actions of local governments and private businesses suggest otherwise"₇₄ and the amount of discrimination is "massive" (according to a congressional report in 1999)₇₅.

Links:

12. USA Topics

Open a
Random Page
from this site