By the Numbers

We’re #1!

When you’re number’s up: We as Americans are like no other country when it comes to lists. We’re number one! Of course, if one wishes to be scatological about the whole list thing, they might think it is number 2. (If you didn’t get it, think of a first grade teacher asking if a child needs to leave for #1 or #2).

But seriously, we are #1, right?: So many Americans, especially those who have never been outside our borders, or are "Hilton Travelers," and travel but never leave their comfort zone are quick to say, "...yeah, but the good old USA is the best country in the world." And I don't want any of you right wing nuts to say, "Well, if you don't like it here, leave." I am reminded of the Viet Nam era bumper sticker that said, "America, Love it or Leave it," and the answer bumper sticker that read, "America, Change it or Lose it."

I have compiled several top 10 lists from various sources to see just how well my country stacks up. Some of what I discovered was…. Well, you might say it knocked me down a few pegs.

Where we stand: Did you realize, Canada is bigger than we are? CANADA for crying out loud! Many of their residents can't even speak English! We're third in car production, just ahead of FRANCE, the country that brought us that kiddie car, the Smart. We don't even make the top 10 in cleanest countries, life expectancy, honeymoon destinations, or coffee drinking per capita despite our love affair with Starbucks, and we're number 10 in chocolate consumption. Our workforce is half the size of India's and a quarter the size of China's. Our cattle count is behind that of China, Brazil, and India where cows are supposed to be sacred. Our Mighty Mississippi doesn't even rank among the top 10 longest rivers. But take heart, we do rank #1 in ice cream consumption.

Now we’re getting somewhere: We rank third in divorce rates behind only Maldives (which has maybe a dozen permanent residents) and Belarus (which sounds like some sort of walrus), but we make the top 10 list in number of births per year and that is without the Octuplet Mom figured in - better living through welfare I guess. I'm not too sure how smart we are as a country but among the top 10 most intelligent dogs you can find a German, French Poodle nad even an Australian, there is no breed among the smart barkers with American in its name.


There's much to be proud of in America but we're just not #1 in everything.


Top ten of everything. Read and Learn:

Longest Rivers:

1. Nile Africa 4,180
2. Amazon South America 3,912
3. Mississippi-Missouri-Red Rock United States 3,710
4. Chang Jiang (Yangtze) China 3,602
5. Ob Russia 3,459
6. Huang Ho (Yellow) China 2,900
7. Yenisei Russia 2,800
8. Parana South America 2,795
9. Irtish Russia 2,758
10. Zaire (Congo) Congo 2,716



Largest countries, area and population:

Country Area in
Square Miles Population Country Population Area in
Square Miles
1 Russia 6.59 million 143 million 1 China 1,306 M 3.70
2 Canada 3.86 million 33 million 2 India 1,080 M 1.15
3 China 3.70 million 1,306 million 3 United States 296 M 3.71

4 U S 3.71 million 296 million 4 Indonesia 242 0.74
5 Brazil 3.27 million 186 million 5 Brazil 186 M 3.27 M

6 Aus. 2.94 million 20 million 6 Pakistan 162 M 0.31
7 India 1.15 million 1,080 million 7 Bangladesh 144 M 0.06

8 Argentina 1.06 million 40 million 8 Russia 143 M 6.59
9 Kazakhstan 1.05 million 15 million 9 Nigeria 129 0.36 M
10 Algeria 0.919 million 32 million 10 Japan 127 M 0.14

Top 10 Cleanest Countries:
1. Finland
2. Norway
3. Canada
4. Sweden
5. Switzerland
6. New Zealand
7. Australia
8. Austria
9. Iceland
10. Denmark

Hardest Working Countries (hrs. per worker per year)
1. Korea (2,357)
2. Greece (2,052)
3. Czech Republic (1,997)
4. Hungary (1,989)
5. Poland (1,985)
6. Turkey (1,918)
7. Mexico (1,883)
8. Italy (1,800)
9. United States (1,797)
10. Iceland (1,794)

Countries with the largest workforce:
1. China – 780 million
2. India – 502 million
3. USA – 145 million
4. Indonesia – 102 million
5. Brazil – 79 million
6. Russia – 78 million
7. Bangladesh – 69 million
8. Japan – 68 million
9. Pakistan – 52 million
10. Nigeria – 45 million

Countries with the highest life expectancy
1. Andorra- 83.51
2. San Marino- 81.71
3. Singapore- 81.71
4. Japan- 81.25
5. Sweden- 80.51
6. Switzerland-80.51
7. Australia- 80.50
8. Iceland- 80.31
9. Canada- 80.22
10. Italy- 79.81

World Top 10 - Countries by Highest Divorce Rate:
Country Divorce Rate Per 1000
Maldives 10.97
Belarus 4.65
USA 4.19
Panama 3.82
Russia 3.66
Estonia 3.65
Puerto Rico 3.61
Ukraine 3.59
Costa Rica 3.58
Cuba 3.54

Top 10 Best Selling Cars
1. Ford F-Series: 515,513
2. Chevy Silverado: 465,065
3. Toyota Camry: 436,617
4. Honda Accord: 372,789
5. Toyota Corolla: 351,007
6. Honda Civic: 339,289
7. Nissan Altima: 269,668
8. Chevy Impala: 265,840
9. Dodge Ram: 245,840
10. Honda CR-V: 197,279

Top 10 Countries with the Biggest Car Production

1. Japan
2. Germany
3. United States
4. France
5. Korea
6. Spain
7. United Kingdom
8. Brazil
9. Canada
10. Italy


Top 10 Coffee Drinking Nations

1. Finland – 1.686 cups per capita
2. Denmark – 1.374 cups per capita
3. Norway – 1.372 cups per capita
4. Belgium – 1.354 cups per capita
5. Sweden – 1.249 cups per capita
6. Austria – 1.065 cups per capita
7. Switzerland – 1.017 cups per capita
8. Germany – 988 cups per capita
9. Netherland – 915 cups per capita
10. France – 831 cups per capita

Top 10 Ice Cream Consuming Countries in the World

1) United States

2) New Zealand

3) Denmark

4) Australia

5) Belgium / Luxembourg

6) Sweden

7) Canada

8) Norway

9) Ireland

10) Switzerland

The Top Chocolate Loving Nations are (lbs/yr):
1. Switzerland 22.36
2. Austria 20.13
3. Ireland 19.47
4. Germany 18.04
5. Norway 17.9
6. Britain 8.5
7. Denmark 8.2
8. Sweden 8.2
9. Belgium 6.8
10. U.S.A 5.3

Countries which has most number of Cows
1. India
2. Brazil
3. China
4. USA
5. Argentina
6. Sudan
7. Ethiopia
8. Mexico
9. Australia
10. Russia

Ten Smartest Dog Breeds:

1 Border Collie

2 French Poodle

3 German Shepherd

4 Golden Retriever

5 Doberman Pinscher

6 Shetland Sheepdog

7 Labrador Retriever

8 Mexican Chihuahua Papillon

9 Rottweiler

10 Australian Cattle Dog



A little blogging music Maestro: The top 10 songs of all time...
1. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
2. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
3. Imagine, John Lennon
4. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye
5. Respect, Aretha Franklin
6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
7. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
8. Hey Jude, The Beatles
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
10. What'd I Say, Ray Charles

Dr. Forgot