The U.S. ranks 3rd in Jewish population

According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, an estimated 1.8% of Americans are Jewish, which makes the United States rank third out of more than two hundred countries ranked in that category. Israel ranks first, with 75.6% of Israelis being Jewish. Only six countries have Jewish populations equalling one percent or more of the total population: Israel, Gibraltar, United States, Monaco, Belize, and Canada.

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 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

The U.S. ranks 4th in employees faking illness

According to The Workforce Institute, 52% of American workers admit to calling in sick to work when they aren’t really sick. That is enough to make the United States tied for fourth with Canada out of eight countries surveyed. China ranks first, with 71% of employees admitting to faking illness.

The U.S. ranks 17th in credit worthiness

According to Standard & Poor’s, the U.S. has a credit rating of AA+, which makes the U.S. rank seventeenth in the world in that category. Sixteen economies rank higher, at AAA. They are: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Isle of Man, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

The U.S. ranks 3rd in Winter Olympic gold medals for mens hockey

According to the Olympic.org, the U.S. has won 2 gold medals in Mens Ice Hockey since 1920. That is enough to make the United States tied for third with Sweden. Canada and the Soviet Union are tied for first with eight gold medals each.

Entry prepared by Henry Cumoletti

The U.S. ranks 46th in civil liberties

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2010, the United States has a civil liberties score of 8.53 out of a possible score of 10.00. This makes the United States tied for forty-sixth in democracy with Italy, South Africa, France, and Hungary. Several countries tied for first with a score of 10.00, including Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ireland and Uruguay. The United States has the lowest civil liberties of any fully democratic country.

The U.S. ranks 3rd in surface area

According to the World Bank, the United States has a surface area of 9,632,030 square kilometers, or 7.19% of the world’s total surface area. That is enough to make the United States rank third in that category. Russia ranks first, with a surface area of 17,098,240 square kilometers, or 12.76% of the world total.

The U.S. ranks 31st in nocturnal safety for women

According to the Gallup Organization, 64% of American women report feeling safe walking alone at night. That is enough to make the United States tied for thirty-first with Canada and Germany out of one-hundred-and-five countries ranked in that category. Singapore ranks first, with 98% of women reporting feeling safe walking alone at night.

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.