The U.S. ranks 23rd in gender equality

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report for 2013, the United States ranks twenty-third in gender equality out of one hundred thirty six countries ranked in that category. The United States is sandwiched in between Burundi and Australia. The report measures “the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities.”

The top ten countries for gender equality are:

1. Iceland
2. Finland
3. Norway
4. Sweden
5. Philippines
6. Ireland
7. New Zealand
8. Denmark
9. Switzerland
10. Nicaragua

The U.S. ranks 33rd in internet download speeds

According to the Ookla Speedtest, the average internet download speed in the U.S. is 21.72 Mbps, which makes the United States rank thirty-third out of one hundred ninety economies ranked in that category. Hong Kong ranks first, with an average internet download speed of 72.54 Mbps. The top ten internet download speeds are:

1. Hong Kong (72.54 Mbps)
2. Singapore (58.73 Mbps)
3. Romania (56.69 Mbps)
4. South Korea (52.35 Mbps)
5. Japan (42.28 Mbps)
6. Andorra (42.08 Mbps)
7. Sweden (41.39 Mbps)
8. Lithuania (40.48 Mbps)
9. Switzerland (40.35 Mbps)
10. Macau (40.25 Mbps)

The U.S. ranks 1st in women’s Olympic figure skating gold medals

Women’s individual figure skating has been part of the competition of twenty-one winter Olympics. American women have won seven of the gold medals. That is enough to make the United States rank first in that category.

The U.S. ranks 46th in freedom of the press

According to Reporters Without Borders, the United States has the forty-sixth freest press in the world (sandwiched between Romania and Haiti), a decline of thirteen spots from 2013. This decline was one of the biggest in the world.

The top ten countries for press freedom are:

1. Finland
2. Netherlands
3. Norway
4. Luxembourg
5. Andorra
6. Liechtenstein
7. Denmark
8. Iceland
9. New Zealand
10. Sweden

Reporters Without Borders ranked 180 total countries.

The U.S. ranks 13th in disapproval of marital infidelity

According to the Pew Research Center, 84% of Americans say that “married people having an affair is morally unacceptable.” That makes the United States tied for thirteenth (with Brazil and Bolivia) out of thirty-nine countries ranked in that category. The Palestinian Territories and Turkey are tied for first, with 94% of people believing that marital infidelity is bad.

The U.S. ranks 30th in folk religions

According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, there are an estimated 630,000 Americans who practice folk religions. That is enough to make the United States rank thirtieth out of more than two hundred countries ranked in that category. China ranks first, with an estimated 294,320,000 practitioners of folk religions.

The U.S. ranks 24th in foreign born

According to Pew, 14% of the population of the United States was born outside of the United States. That is enough to make the United States tied for twenty-fourth (with Latvia, Spain, and Norway) out of one hundred fifty-five countries ranked in that category. The United Arab Emirates ranked first, with 84% of its population being foreign born.

The U.S. ranks 26th in child well-being

According to UNICEF, the United States ranks twenty-sixth out of twenty-nine developed countries in terms of the overall well-being of children. Here is a list of the top ten countries in child well-being:

1. Netherlands
2. Norway
3. Iceland
4. Finland
5. Sweden
6. Germany
7. Luxembourg
8. Switzerland
9. Belgium
10. Ireland

An article I wrote for Huffington Post regarding a proposed academic boycott of Israel

“Why I am Opposed to an Academic Boycott of Israel”

The U.S. ranks 24th in literacy

According to the Program for International Student Assessment, the average reading literacy score for U.S. fifteen-year old students is 498 (out of 1000 possible points). That is enough to make the United States rank twenty-fourth out of sixty-five educational systems ranked in that category. Shangai, China, ranked first, with a score of 570.