Nice To Know: Fun facts

Random curiosity is nothing to be ashamed of.. we all engage in it on a daily basis and there’s plenty out there to be curious about. Ever wondered which country has… the most beer drinkers, murders, smokers or prisoners? Well, you may be surprised.

The 2009 edition of The Economist Pocket World in Figures has some interesting facts and stats indeed. Published by Profile Books Ltd. 2008, the little pocket book (no I don’t carry it with me everywhere I go) includes statistics on everything from which countries have the highest fertility rates, to cities with the highest living costs. 

Below, ESPV has included stats from p.101 Drinking and Smoking / Crime and Punishment. The world figures show the top 10 countries in the categories of: Beer Drinking, Alcohol Sold, Wine Drinking, Smoking, Murders and Prisoners.

Enjoy! 

Beer Drinkers

(off-trade sales, liters per head of pop., 2006)

1. Czech Republic        81.9

2. Venezuela               76.7

3. Australia                 69.3

4. Germany                 67.9

5. Austria                   66.2

6. Finland                   65.4

7. Russia                    62.6

8. United-States          62.5

9. Slovakia                 62.4

10. Denmark              60.8

Wine Drinkers

(off-trade sales, liters per head of pop., 2006)

1. Portugal                                    33.1

2. Switzerland                               29.0

3. Italy                                          28.7

4. France                                       26.7

5. Denmark                                    26.4

6. Argentina                                   26.2

7. Hungary                                     24.3

8. Netherlands                                23.7

9. Germany                                    22.6

10. Belgium                                    21.1

Alcoholic Drinks

(off-trade sales, liters per head of pop., 2006)

1. Australia                                 100.8

2. Czech Republic                        97.7

3. Germany                                 96.4

4. Finland                                    93.3

5. Austria                                    90.2

6. Denmark                                 89.5

7. Hungary                                 88.3

8. Russia                                    86.4

9. New Zealand                          81.3

10. Netherlands                          80.4

Smokers

(Av. ann consumption of cigarettes per head per day, 2007)

1. Greece                                  8.2

2. Slovenia                                7.0

     Ukraine                                7.0

4. Bulgaria                                6.7

5. Czech Republic                     6.5

6. Macedonia                            6.4

     Russia                                 6.4

8. Moldavia                              6.3

9. Spain                                   6.1

10. Bosnia                                5.8

Murders

(per 100,000 pop., 2004)

1. Ecuador                               18.9

2. Switzerland                         13.6

3. Mongolia                             13.1

4. Suriname                            10.4

5. Lithuania                            9.3

6. Latvia                                 8.5

     Zimbabwe                          8.5

8. Belarus                                8.2

     Kyrgyzstan                         8.2

10. Turkmenistan                   8.1        

Prisoners 

(Total prison pop., latest available year)

1. United-States                      2,528,983

2. China                                  1,565,771

3. Russia                                  885,014

4. Brazil                                  419,551

5. India                                   358,368

6. Mexico                                 217,436

7. South Africa                        166,267

8. Thailand                              165,316

9. Iran                                     158,351

10. Ukraine                              150,950

Death Row

(Number of prisoners sentenced to death, population, latest available year)

1. Pakistan                        7,436

2. United-States                 3,246

3. Thailand                        1,140

4. Kenya                             946

5. Bangladesh                      860

6. Burundi                           533

7. Uganda                            417

8. Tanzania                         389

9. Nigeria                             341

10. Sudan                             300