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 7th in knowing how to avoid pregnancy

According to Durex, 84.5% of Americans are confident that they know how to avoid pregnancy, which makes the United States rank seventh out of twenty-six countries ranked in that category. South African ranks first, with 86.5% of South Africans confident that they know how to avoid pregnancy.

The U.S. ranks 3rd in vermiculite

According to the British Geological Survey’s publication, World Mineral Production, 2003-2007, in 2007 the United States produced 100,000 tonnes of vermiculite, or 19.5% of the world’s total vermiculite production. That was enough for the United States to rank third in that category. South Africa ranks first, producing 199,664, or 39% of the world’s total.

The U.S. ranks 2nd in asylum seekers

According to the UNHCR, at the end of 2008 there were 69,228 people seeking political asylum in the United States, or 8.4% of all asylum seekers in the world. That was enough to make the United States rank second in that category. South Africa ranked first, with 227,125 asylum seekers, or 27.5% of the world total.

The U.S. ranks 16th in women with HIV

According to UNICEF’s The State of the World’s Children, 2009, there are an estimated 230,000 women over the age of fifteen living with HIV in the United States. That is enough to make the United States rank sixteenth in that category. South Africa ranks first, with an estimated 3,200,000 women living with HIV.

The U.S. ranks 5th in platinum

According to the British Geological Survey, in 2006 the United States produced 4,292 kilograms of platinum, enough to make the United States rank fifth in that category. South Africa ranks first, producing 168,125 kilograms of platinum in 2006.

The U.S. ranks 24th in government function

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2008, the United States has a government functioning score of 7.86 out of 10, which makes the United States tied for twenty-fourth with Austria, Brazil, Cape Verde, Slovenia, South Africa, and Spain in that category. Finland and Sweden are tied for first, scoring a perfect 10.

The EIU explains the significance of this score: “Most measures [of democracy] also include aspects of the minimum quality of functioning of government. If democratically-based decisions cannot or are not implemented then the concept of democracy is not very meaningful or it becomes an empty shell” (16).

The U.S. ranks 57th in electoral process and pluralism

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index, 2008, the United States has a score of 8.75 out of 10 in the measurement of electoral process and pluralism, which measures the fairness of elections as well as the free choice of candidates, and the transparency of campaigns. This score makes the United States tied for fifty-seventh, with Japan, South Africa, Israel, Argentina, Peru, and Guatemala.

The top-ranked country, all of which had a score of 10, are Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Australia, and Uruguay.

The U.S. ranks 4th in gold

According to the British Geological Survey, in 2006 the United States produced 242,000 kilograms of gold from gold mines, or 10.5% of the world’s total, enough to make the United States rank fourth in that category. South Africa ranked first, producing 272,128 kilograms, or 11.8% of the world total.

Together, the top five gold producing countries–South Africa, China, Australia, the United States, and Russia–accounted for 50.5% of the world’s total.

The U.S. ranks 36th in press freedom

According to Reporters Without Borders, in 2008 the United States was tied for thirty-eighth in terms of press freedom. The countries it was tied with are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, South Africa, Spain, and Taiwan. Iceland, Luxembourg, and Norway were tied for first.

Compare the ranking here with this one previously posted.