With all the sectarian violence in Iraq, it is often easy to forget about Afghanistan — a country whose future is still in grave doubt. In addition to facing a resurgent Taliban — which is striking at international forces with increasing intensity — the country also must confront the challenge of a rapidly growing population. We wonder: Which of the following countries has roughly the same population as Afghanistan?
February 2007
America’s Homegrown Oil
Much has been made of the United States’ voracious appetite for oil — and the fact that much of it is imported from unstable parts of the world. What is often overlooked, however, is that the United States produces a good deal of oil domestically. We wonder: Where does the United States rank among the world’s top oil-producing nations (as of 2005)?
Top Takers
In more and more societies around the world, there is an intense debate over whether the income distribution at home is fair or not. The concern is that those who are already well-off end up with an ever larger share of the national income pie. We wonder: Which of the following countries has the most imbalanced income distribution?
The Pentagon Budget on a Global Scale
In February 2007, President Bush asked the U.S. Congress for a record $623 billion to fund the U.S. military and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2008. We wonder: Just how large is the proposed level of U.S. defense spending? Is it larger than…