The U.S. ranks 15th in perceived press freedom

According to Gallup, 87% of Americans believe that the United States has a free media. That is enough to make the United States tied for fifteenth with Senegal out of one hundred thirty-three countries ranked in that category. Finland ranks first, with 97% of Finns believing that their country has a free media.

The U.S. ranks 29th in intellectual property protection

According to the World Economic Forum, the United States has an “intellectual property protection” score of 4.97 (out of 7.00 possible points), which makes the United States rank twenty-ninth out of one hundred forty-four countries ranked in that category. Finland ranks first, with a score of 6.28.

The U.S. ranks 17th in educational performance

According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance. Finland ranks first. The top ten countries in educational performance are:

1. Finland
2. South Korea
3. Hong Kong SAR
4. Japan
5. Singapore
6. United Kingdom
7. Netherlands
8. New Zealand
9. Switzerland
10. Canada.

The U.S. ranks 1st in death by violence

According to the National Academy of Sciences, in 2008 the United States had a death-by-violence rate of 6.47 per 100,000 people. That is enough to make the United States rank first out of seventeen “high-income democracies” ranked in that category. The second-ranked country was Finland, with a death-by-violence rate of 2.24 per 100,000.

Graph from the National Academy of Sciences
http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/CPOP/DBASSE_080393#violence

The U.S. ranks 47th in press freedom

According to Reporters Without Borders, the United States ranks forty-seventh out of one hundred seventy-nine countries ranked for freedom of the press. The top ten countries for press freedom are:

1. Finland
2. Norway
3. Estonia
4. Netherlands
5. Austria
6. Iceland
7. Luxembourg
8. Switzerland
9. Cape Verde
10. Canada and Denmark (tied)

The U.S. ranks 3rd in electricity imports

According to the International Energy Agency, in 2010 the United States imported a net total of twenty-six terawatts of electricity, or 10.7% of the world’s total electricity imports. That was enough to make the United States rank third in that category. Italy ranks first, importing forty-four terawatts, or 18.2% of the world’s total. Just five countries–Italy, Brazil, United States, Finland, and Argentina–account for over half of all electricity imports in the world.

The U.S. ranks 19th in state success

According to the Fund for Peace, the United States has a “failed state index” score of 34.8, which makes the United States the nineteenth most successful state in the world, out of one hundred seventy seven countries ranked in that category. Finland ranks first, with a score of 20.0. The least successful state in the world is Somalia, with a score of 114.9 out of 120 possible points.

The U.S. is listed as a “stable” nation by the Fund for Peace, but not a “sustainable” nation.

The U.S. ranks 12th in prosperity

According to the Legatum Institute, the United States ranks twelfth in prosperity, out of one hundred forty-two countries ranked in that category. Norway ranks first. The eleven countries more prosperous than the United States are:

1. Norway
2. Denmark
3. Sweden
4. Australia
5. New Zealand
6. Canada
7. Finland
8. Netherlands
9. Switzerland
10. Ireland
11. Luxembourg

The U.S. ranks 22nd in freedom of the press

According to Freedom House, the United States has a press freedom score of 18, which makes the United States tied for twenty-second with Estonia and Jamaica out of one hundred ninety-seven countries ranked in that category. Finland, Norway, and Sweden are tied for first, with a press freedom score of 10.

 

The U.S. ranks 11th in happiness

According the the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the United States ranks eleventh in the “Average Cantril Ladder,” a measure of happiness. Denmark ranks first. The top ten countries are:

1. Denmark
2. Finland
3. Norway
4. Netherlands
5. Canada
6. Switzerland
7. Sweden
8. New Zealand
9. Australia
10. Ireland