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 2nd in breadth of global connectedness

According to DHL, the United States has a “breadth of global connectedness” score of 46.82 (out of a possible score of 50), which makes the United States rank second out of one hundred forty countries ranked in that category. The United Kingdom ranks first, with a score of 49.37.

The U.S. ranks 12th in age of first sex education

According to the 2005 Durex Global Sex Survey, the average age at which Americans have their first sex education is 12.5 years, which makes the United States tied for twelfth with Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom out of forty-one countries ranked in that category. Germany ranks first, with the average age of first sex education at 11.3 years.

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 23rd in Women’s Index

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

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

The U.S. ranks 1st in men’s figure skating gold

According to Olympics.org, American men have won six Olympic gold medals in individual figure skating, or 26.1% of all Olympic gold medals in the history of that event, which makes the United States tied for first with Russia in that category. Just seven countries–the United States, Russia, Sweden, Austria, the United Kingdom, Czechoslovakia, and Germany–have won all the gold medals in that event.

The U.S. ranks 23rd in protected wetlands

According to the World Resources Institute, in 2007 there were twenty-two protected wetlands of international importance in the United States, which makes the United States rank twenty-third out of one-hundred-sixty-three ranked countries in that category. The United Kingdom (including several overseas territories) ranked first, with one-hundred-sixty-six protected wetlands of international importance.

There are 1702 such wetlands in the world.

The U.S. ranks 17th in property rights

According to the Heritage Foundation’s 2010 Index of Economic Freedom, the United States has a property rights score of 85, which makes the United States tied for seventeenth with Chile and the United Kingdom in that category, out of 179 ranked countries. New Zealand and Sweden rank first, with a score of 95.

The U.S. ranks 3rd in fermented imports

According to the International Trade Centre, in 2007 the United States imported $69,002,000 worth of cider, mead, perry, and other, similar, fermented beverages, or 9.8% of the world total. That’s enough to make the United States rank third in that category. The United Kingdom ranks first, importing 24.9% of the world total.

The U.S. ranks 12th in growth of hours worked

According to the OECD, between 2000 and 2005, there was an average annual decrease of 0.4 hours worked per full-time equivalent employee. This was in line with the OECD average, and was enough to make the United States tied for twelfth with Finland, France, and the United Kingdom. Austria and Denmark were tied for first, with an average annual increase of 0.3 hours worked.