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The World’s Most Extreme Countries

The Biggest Global Outliers

February 2023

Script

Think your country is a world leader? No matter where you live, you’re probably right.

Some of the countries with global superlatives: Japan is the longest-living country, with an average life expectancy of 85 years.i

Though it’s less than 1 square mile in size,ii Monaco is the richest country in the world.iii (Kinda.)

Because Monaco is a tax haven, almost 1/3 of its tiny population are millionaires,iv giving it the world’s highest per capita GDP.v (The U.S., however, remains the country with the highest GDP overall.)

The South American nation of Guyana, meanwhile, has the world’s *fastest growing* economy … thanks to the recent discovery of billions of barrels of oil off its coast.vi

South Korea has the world’s highest percentage of educated young people.vii Nearly 70% of South Koreans ages 25-34 have completed some sort of higher education.viii

The largest military in the world belongs to China, which has 2 million active-duty soldiers.ix

Finland is the happiest country in the world but there’s a catch.x Some experts suggest the Finns are the happiest … because they have low expectations.xi

Papua New Guinea has 840 different languages spoken within its borders, the most in the world.xii

One poll found Ethiopia has the most people who say religion is an important part of their daily life.xiii (Though, full disclosure: The poll didn’t include Vatican City.)

Norway frequently ranks as the safest advanced nation in which to drivexiv … while the safest country overall — apart from tiny nations like Monaco — is Singapore.xv

Denmark has ranked as the least corrupt country in the world every year since 2018.xvi

On a lighter note, Switzerland leads the world in chocolate consumptionxvii and the United States drinks more wine than any other nation.xviii

God Bless America.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  1. Monaco is the richest country in the world, while Guyana has the fastest-growing economy.
  2. Norway has the safest streets, while Singapore is the safest nation overall.
  3. Finland is the happiest country in the world, and Ethiopia has the most people who say religion is an important part of their daily lives.

Sources

  1. Life Expectancy at Birth, Total (Years) — World Bank
  2. Monaco HomeEmbassy of the Principality of Monaco
  3. GDP Per Capita — World Bank
  4. "The Country Running Out of Space for Its Millionaires" (Katie Beck) — BBC Worklife  
  5. GDP Per Capita — World Bank 
  6. "Guyana Poised to Post World’s Highest GDP Growth"  (Juan Pablo Álvarez) — Bloomberg Línea
  7. Population With Tertiary Education — OECD Data
  8. Ibid.
  9. Largest Armies in the World Ranked by Active Military Personnel in 2022 — Statista
  10. "Ranking of Happiness 2019-2021" (John F. Helliwell, Haifang Huang, Shun Wang, Max Norton) —  World Happiness Report
  11. "The Grim Secret of Nordic Happiness" (Jukka Savolainen) — Slate
  12. "What Countries Have the Most Languages?" (David Eberhard, Gary F. Simons, Charles D. Fennig) — Ethnologue: Languages of the World 
  13. How Religious Commitment Varies by Country Among People of All Ages — Pew Research Center  
  14. Road Accidents — OECD Data
  15. Safest Countries According to the World Risk Index 2022Statista
  16. Corruption Perceptions Index  Transparency International
  17. "Global Chocolate Consumption per Capita in 2017, by Country" (Nils-Gerrit Wunsch) — Statista
  18. "Global Wine Consumption in 2021, by Country" (Jan Conway) — Statista

Shownotes

SOUND: "Falling" (Ray Sytes)

FOOTAGE: Swapnil Bapat (Unsplash) // CITED SOURCES AND NEWS OUTLETS ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH AND HAVE NOT ENDORSED OR SPONSORED ANY PORTION OF THIS PRODUCTION.

Sources

  1. World Bank
    Life Expectancy at Birth, Total (Years) 
  2. Embassy of the Principality of Monaco
    Monaco Home
  3. World Bank
    GDP Per Capita
  4. BBC Worklife  
    "The Country Running Out of Space for Its Millionaires" (Katie Beck)
  5. World Bank 
    GDP Per Capita
  6. Bloomberg Línea
    "Guyana Poised to Post World’s Highest GDP Growth"  (Juan Pablo Álvarez)

  7. OECD Data 
    Population With Tertiary Education
  8. Statista
    Largest Armies in the World Ranked by Active Military Personnel in 2022
  9. World Happiness Report
    "Ranking of Happiness 2019-2021" (John F. Helliwell, Haifang Huang, Shun Wang, Max Norton) 
  10. Slate
    "The Grim Secret of Nordic Happiness" (Jukka Savolainen)
  11. Ethnologue: Languages of the World 
    "What Countries Have the Most Languages?" (David Eberhard, Gary F. Simons, Charles D. Fennig)
  12. Pew Research Center  
    How Religious Commitment Varies by Country Among People of All Ages
  13. OECD Data
    Road Accidents
  14. Statista
    Safest Countries According to the World Risk Index 2022
  15. Transparency International
    Corruption Perceptions Index 
  16. Statista
    "Global Chocolate Consumption per Capita in 2017, by Country" (Nils-Gerrit Wunsch)
  17. Statista
    "Global Wine Consumption in 2021, by Country" (Jan Conway)

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