The U.S. ranks 12th in age of first sex education

According to the 2005 Durex Global Sex Survey, the average age at which Americans have their first sex education is 12.5 years, which makes the United States tied for twelfth with Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom out of forty-one countries ranked in that category. Germany ranks first, with the average age of first sex education at 11.3 years.

The U.S. ranks 3rd in human development

According to the United Nations’ 2011 Human Development Index, the United States has a human development score of 0.910, which makes the United States tied for third with Netherlands in that category. Norway ranks first, with a human development score of 0.943.

The indicators that the United Nations considers when building its index are health, education, and income.

The U.S. ranks 8th in researchers

According to the World Bank, in 2006 there were 4,663 researchers for every 1,000,000 people in the United States, enough to make the United States rank eighth in that category. Iceland ranked first, with 7,962 researchers per 1,000,000 people.

The U.S. ranks 10th in bullied teenage females

According to the OECD, in 2008 the U.S. ranked 10th out of 25 countries in teenage girls who are reported victims of bullies.  The U.S. ranks tenth with 10.4 percent.  Turkey ranked first with 23.3 percent of reported cases.

Prepared by Laurie W.

The U.S. ranks 23rd in PISA science score

According to the Programme for International Student Assessment, American students scored 502 in the science component of the 2009 PISA assessment. That was enough for the United States to rank twenty-third out of sixty-five ranked economies. China-Shanghai ranked first with a score of 575.

The U.S. ranks 7th in knowing how to avoid pregnancy

According to Durex, 84.5% of Americans are confident that they know how to avoid pregnancy, which makes the United States rank seventh out of twenty-six countries ranked in that category. South African ranks first, with 86.5% of South Africans confident that they know how to avoid pregnancy.

The U.S. ranks 54th in education expenditures

According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2005 the United States spent an estimated 5.30% of its GDP on education, which makes the United States tied for fifty-fourth in that category with Belize, Jamaica, and the Netherlands, out of  one hundred eighty-two ranked countries. Kiribati ranks first, at 17.80%.

The U.S. ranks 72nd in girls going to grade school

According to the World Health Organization’s 2010 World Health Statistics, between 2000 and 2009, the United States had a net enrollment rate for girls in primary school of 92%, which makes the United States tied for seventy-second with several other countries, including the Bahamas, Brazil, Egypt, Latvia, Nicaragua, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Slovakia, Syria, and Turkey. Several countries tied for first, at 100% enrollment. Among these are Canada, Greece, Seychelles, Spain, and Sri Lanka.

One country, Afghanistan, reported 0% of girls attending primary school.

The U.S. ranks 85th in boys going to grade school

According to the World Health Organization, between 2000 and 2009, the United States had a net enrollment rate for males in primary school of 91%, which makes the United States tied for eighty-fifth in that category with several other countries–Albania, Croatia, Czech Republic, India, Samoa, Slovakia, Suriname, and Uzbekistan. Several other countries–Burundi, Georgia, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania–tied for first, with 100% of boys going to primary school.

The country with the lowest reported enrollment rate for boys in primary school is Sudan, at 43%.

The U.S. ranks 9th in home internet access

According to a 2009 study by Gallup, 81% of American homes have internet access, which makes the United States rank ninth out of one-hundred-sixteen countries ranked in that category. Sweden ranks first, at 88%.