Statistics

New Statistics: AIG, Water, SMS, Migrants, Drugs, China’s Post-80 Generation

By Justin Long ⋅ March 24, 2009 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

AIG: Outrage on principle
Bonuses paid to executives of AIG: $218 million
Proposed tax by US Congress on bonuses: 90%
Amount received by AIG: $170 billion
Bonus as % of amount received: 0.15%
A great visual picture of where $170 billion went

Water
People without access to safe drinking water: 1 billion
People without access to adequate sanitation: 2.5 billion
Investment in sanitation, % of global GDP: 0.3%
Number who defecate in open, spreading disease: 1.2 billion
Children killed by diarrhea, daily: 5,000
Source: Sanitation is a life-saver, Taiwan News

In China, SMS is the new black
SMS messages sent by Chinese mobile phone users, 2009: 607 billion
Increase over 2008: 100 billion
Total mobile phone subscribers in China: 463.92 million
Mobile newspaper subscribers in China: 41.5 million
Mobile newspapers offered: 110
Total population of the United States: 306 million

In Russia, arms are the new black
Amount to be spent on weapons over next 3 years: $140 billion
Unemployed in Russia: 6 million (7.5% of labor force)
Expecting to lose jobs this year: 33%

Migrants in Southeast Asia
Myanmar workers in Thailand: 1 million
Average salary of garment workers: US$2/day
Amount sent home, yearly, by workers: US$300
Source: The Economist

Culture shock: when a billion people vote
Length of India’s general election: April 16th to May 13th
Polling stations: 828,000
Total registered voters: 714 million

Structures of Sin: Drug Wars
Estimated number of people taking illegal drugs: 200 million
% of adult population taking illegal drugs: 5%
Total spent by US yearly on anti-drug measures: $40 billion
Death toll in Mexico, annual, due to drug wars: 6,000
Annual value of global illegal drug industry: $320 billion p.a.
Source: The Economist

China’s College Graduates
Number of graduates entering work force, 2009: 6 million
% of 2008 graduates who are unemployed: 12% to 15%
"Increased state spending on education and rising wealth has seen enrollments quadruple over past six years."
Last period of significant unemployment among university graduates was the late 1980s, and “China’s leaders haven’t forgotten how that ended.”
Source: Wall Street Journal

China’s “Post-1980” generation:
Born after the Cultural Revolution
Never experienced a downturn
Less cynical than parents
Politically apathetic
Almost all only children
Families heavily invested in their education

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