The French are better drivers
My socio-political conversations are changed forever. I've received the hard copy of the OECD in figures yesterday and instantly became addicted.
Did you know that...
- Belgium (341) is more densely populated that Japan (338)?
- Between 1993 and 2003, Germany has reduced its CO2 emissions (-3.7%) while Finland has increased them (31.2%)?
- The proportion of people 65 years old and over in Japan has gone from 5.7% to 19.5% from 1960 to 2000?
- In Greece, 19 people per 100,000 of population are killed in car accident, while there are only 10 in France?
- On average, the highest rate of personal income tax is higher in the US (45.2%) than in the European Union (44.6)?
Nor more conversations running on bogus perception, like the one I had last week-en where the German nagged the French because he pretended that the German are better drivers. According to the OECD statistics, the French have 1.5 accident with injuries for every 10,000 of population while the German have 4.3.
Careful what you say in front of me: I'll be carrying that gold mine everywhere I go.
posted by Mozza @ 9:23 AM
6 Comments:
>The proportion of people 65 years old and over in Japan has gone from 5.7% to 19.5% from 1960 to 2000<
I don't mean to brag but I did have some awareness of this one. Japan has a major problem w/ its aging population.
I bet the (relatively) high rate of car accidents in Germany is largely b/c of their no-speed limit autobahns.
I didn't know that about Belgium!
And here's the weather forecast for Japan: they have a national debt approaching 140% of their GDP. That's huge - the highest among OECD countries. As a comparison, the US has 35%, Canada 36% and Germany 38%.
Who will pay for this debt? Retirees?
As for the autobahn, there are less mortal car accidents in Germany than in France. You would guess that high speed accidents would be more leathal. It looks like minor accidents are what increases German stats - or zealous reporting from the Germans!
My Belgian was quick to defend this statistic ... ;)
He said it's because Japan has more open spaces than Belgium.
Istanbul was stunning actually, I was living next to a 'suburb' that had almost as many people as my whole country. Bakirkoy was its name. Estimates have about 14 million people living in the city of Istanbul ... it felt more crowded, writes the woman who comes from a place with plenty of space.
Cough cough ... how are you? :)
Oops, I realize that I've left you hanging on and you might have imagined that my life had ended under some truck during my commuting. I hope I didn't scare you.
All is well. I've been extremely busy, travelling and making tons of interviews among other things. I've decided that my blog should never be a chore, so since I didn't really have the time for it, I didn't force it. I should be back soon. Thanks for staying tuned.
Phew :) thanks for letting me know ... your trip to work was on my mind. Interviews ... sounds interesting.
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