Index Archive

Chance that an American teen suffers from a severe emotional or behavioral disorder

: 1 in 5

Percentage that did so between 1991 and 2000

: 48

Number of countries with which the United States has a trade deficit

: 77

Percentage change since 2007 in the amount of venture capital raised annually in the United States

: ???55

Number of offshore oil and gas leases approved by the federal government since 2005

: 4,603

Number of offshore wind projects approved since then

: 1

Number of U.S. states that provide paid leave to new parents

: 2

Percentage of men and women, respectively, who have accessed this benefit

: 21, 79

Estimated market price paid by panhandlers in Johannesburg to rent a baby for the day

: $3

Percentage of U.S. parents who rank bullying as their greatest fear for their children

: 30

Percentage of developing nations whose economies have grown faster than the United States’ since 2001

: 89

Amount the state of California spent last year on each minor in its juvenile-detention system

: $224,712

Amount spent on each student in the Oakland public school system

: $4,945

Number of check-cashing shops currently operating in San Francisco

: 141

Number by which this exceeds the combined number of Starbucks and McDonald’s franchises

: 42

Estimated number of Californians who hold a medical order to purchase marijuana

: 355,000

Tons of marijuana the Mexican government burned in October following a major seizure

: 148

Estimated number of joints that could have been rolled with this much of the drug

: 268,000,000

Number of drug and alcohol addicts who have been sterilized since 1998 in exchange for a payment from a U.S. charity

: 1,325

Amount the charity pays per sterilization

: $300

Percentage of these people who said they would sell it for less than $65

: 47

Rank of “sucks”

: 4

Percentage of Americans who say government programs don’t help their families

: 54

Portion of American families that received federal benefits in the past two years

: 7/10

Percentage of bills proposed by the last Congress that became law

: 3

Percentage change in spending by independent political groups between the 2006 and 2010 midterm elections

: +310

Portion of these funds in 2010 that came from organizations not legally required to disclose their donors

: 1/2

Percentage of such groups that supported conservative candidates

: 80

Estimated percentage of votes cast in Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections in September that were fraudulent

: 23

Portion of Ukrainian voters in an October survey who said they would be willing to sell their vote

: 1/4

Rank of “disappointed” among terms used by Americans in an October survey to describe their feelings about the government

: 1

Fee charged by Myanmar’s ruling junta for a candidate to appear on the ballot in November’s national elections

: $500

Average annual household income in Myanmar last year

: $459

Percentage of Germans who say they would accept a leader with a “strong hand”

: 13

Percentage who favor “sharply restricting” Muslim religious practices

: 56

Percentage who support the expulsion of foreigners during periods of high unemployment

: 32

Number of the six Chinese Nobel Laureates who were in prison or living abroad when their award was conferred

: 5

Global rank of China’s economy in 2010, measured by GDP

: 2

Rank if GDP is calculated on a per-capita basis

: 94

Number of times the word “growth” appeared in an 18-page statement released by world leaders at the last G-20 meeting

: 46

Harper’s Index

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