According to the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, 2011, the United States has a government spending score of 54.6, which makes the United States rank one hundred twenty-first out of one hundred seventy-nine ranked countries. Burma ranks first, with a government spending score of 98.1.
According to the World Bank, Americans in 2008 paid $ 0.56 per liter at the gas pumps making the United States rank one hundred and forty-eighth of one hundred and sixty-seven countries ranked in that category. Eritrea ranked first, paying $2.53 per liter at the gas pumps.
Entry prepared by Dan Witkowski
According to the World Bank, in 2009 the total value of exports of goods and services from the United States equaled to 11% of the country’s GDP. That makes the United States tied for one hundred and thirty-eighth with Brazil out of one hundred forty-three countries in that category. Luxembourg ranks first, with exports equaled to 169% of GDP.
According to the World Bank, the average precipitation depth in the United States in 2008 was 715 millimeters (28.15 inches), which makes the United States rank one-hundred-and-eighth in the world in that category. Sao Tome and Principe ranks first, with 3200 millimeters (125.98 inches) of rain in 2008.
According to the publication Doing Business 2011, it takes an average of forty days in the U.S. to gain the “necessary licenses and permits, complet[e] required notifications and inspections and obtain…utility connections” for the construction of a warehouse. That is enough to make the United States rank one-hundred and eightieth out of one-hundred eighty-three countries ranked in that category. Haiti ranks first, at 1,179 days.
According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, 20.8% of all prisoners in the U.S. have not stood trial, which makes the United States rank one-hundred and thirty-second out of one-hundred and ninety-six countries ranked in that category. Liberia ranks first, with 97.3% of all prisoners detained without trial.
According to the World Health Organization’s World Health Statistics 2010, twenty percent of Americans are under the age 15, which makes the United States tied for one-hundred-forty-second with China and Montenegro in that category, out of 193 ranked countries. Niger ranks first, with 50% of its population under the age of fifteen. Japan and Bulgaria are tied for last, at 13%.
According to the World Bank, 70.3% of American males over the age of fifteen were in the labor force in 2008, which makes the United States tied for one-hundred-twenty-first in that category with Chile and Turkmenistan. The United Arab Emirates ranks first, at 93.5%.
According to the Fund for Peace, the United States has a “failed state index” score of 35.3, which makes the United States rank one-hundred-fifty-eighth out of one-hundred-seventy-seven ranked countries. Somalia ranks first, with a score of 114.3 out of 120 possible points.
The U.S. score puts the U.S. in the category of “moderate” as opposed to “sustainable.”
According to the World Resources Institute, in 2004 agricultural workers accounted for 1.8% of all workers in the United States, which makes the United States rank two-hundredth out of two-hundred twenty eight ranked countries. Bhutan ranks first, at 93.6%.
