The U.S. ranks 1st in wine consumption

According to the Wine Institute, 12.54% of the wine consumed in the world in 2010 was consumed in the United States. That is enough to make the United States rank first in that category. Five countries–the United States, France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom–accounted for just under half of all the wine consumed in the world in that year.

The U.S. ranks 12th in perceived Chinese supremacy

According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project, 12% of Americans believe that China has overtaken the United States as a global superpower. That makes the United States tied for thirteenth with Japan out of twenty-two countries ranked in that category. France ranks first, with 23% of the French believing that China has surpassed the United States. China ranks last, with only 6% of Chinese believing that their country has surpassed the United States.

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 34th in Children’s Index

According to the Save the Children publication, State of the World’s Mothers 2010, the United States ranks thirty-fourth out of forty-three “more developed countries” in the “Children’s Index”ranking. The top ten countries are:

1. Sweden
2. Italy
3. Germany
4. France
5. Austria
6. Iceland
7. Japan (tied with Iceland)
8. Portugal
9. Luxembourg
10. Norway (tied with Luxembourg)

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 4th in women’s 400m gold medals

According to olympic.org, the United States has won one Olympic gold medal in the women’s 400m run, or 8.3% of all gold medals awarded in that event. That makes the United States tied for fourth with Great Britain, the Bahamas, Poland, and the Soviet Union. France ranks first, winning three gold medals, or 25.0% of all gold medals awarded in that event.

The U.S. ranks 9th in bribery

According to Transparency International, the United States has a “Bribe Payers Index” score of 8.1 out of a possible 10, which makes the United States tied for ninth with France and Singapore, out of twenty-two ranked countries in that category. Belgium and Canada are tied for first, with a score of 8.8.

According to Transparency International, the higher the score, the less likely firms from that country are to engage in bribery abroad.

The U.S. ranks 13th in human development

According to the United Nations 2009 Human Development Report, the United States ranks thirteenth in human development, which is a drop of one place from last year. Norway ranks first. Here are the top 15 countries:

1) Norway

2) Australia

3) Iceland

4) Canada

5) Ireland

6) Netherlands

7) Sweden

8 France

9) Switzerland

10) Japan

11) Luxembourg

12) Finland

13) United States

14) Austria

15) Spain

The U.S. ranks 8th in total spending on recreation and culture

According to the OECD, in 2005 total spending (household and government) on recreation and culture amounted to 6.7% of GDP, which made the United States tied for eighth with France in that category out of twenty three OECD nations. Iceland ranked first, with 9.8% of total GDP spent on recreation and culture.

The U.S. ranks 13th in government expenditures on health

According to data gathered in 2006 by the OECD, government expenditures on health in the United States amounted to 7.0% of GDP, which made the United States tied for thirteenth with Canada in that category out of thirty-two ranked nations. France ranked first at 8.8%. The OECD average was 6.5%.