Index Archive

Estimated number of billionaires worldwide

: 1,226

Portion of service members who are under the age of 25

: 1/3

Of those who commit suicide who are

: 1/2

Chance an American child lives in a family headed by a single mother

: 1 in 4

Portion of new U.S. jobs since 2009 that have gone to men

: 4/5

Percentage by which sales of convertibles increase when the temperature is at least 20 degrees warmer than average

: 8.5

Percentage of the continental United States that experienced drought conditions this summer

: 60

Last year in which the number was that high

: 1954

Portion of the 2012 U.S. corn crop in “poor” or “very poor” condition, according to the USDA

: 1/2

Amount by which the average Canadian household is richer than the average American one

: $43,232

Among military-age members of the general population

: 1 in 20

Years it would take the average American household to spend a billion dollars

: 20,786

Amount the debt-ceiling standoff cost the federal government in 2011

: $1,300,000,000

Percentage increase since 1976 in the portion of Americans living at or below half the poverty line

: 100

Number of registered Pennsylvanians who may be prevented from voting by a new voter-identification law

: 1,600,000

Portion of Philadelphians the law may affect

: 2/5

Number of documented instances of voter-impersonation fraud in Pennsylvania history

: 0

Percentage of Americans who believe Obama would handle an extraterrestrial invasion better than Romney

: 65

Date on which Harry Reid said Romney “couldn’t be confirmed as a dogcatcher” if he didn’t release more tax returns

: 7/12/2012

Number of years of his own tax returns Reid has made public

: 0

Of Americans who do

: 3/4

Among Democrats

: +54

Ratio of the value of Obama contributions to Romney contributions among education workers

: 6 to 1

Among for-profit education workers

: 1 to 4

Percentage of Americans who viewed college as a good financial investment in 2008

: 81

Who do today

: 57

Portion of college students who reported experiencing “phantom” cell phone vibrations in a July study

: 9/10

Date on which Grum, a Russian spambot, was taken offline

: 7/18/2012

Percentage of the world’s spam for which Grum was responsible at its peak

: 17

Portion of Russians who believe that “most people can succeed if they are willing to work hard”

: 1/3

Percentage change in Chief Justice John Roberts’s approval rating among Republicans since his 2005 confirmation

: -60

Percentage change since 2007 in the portion of Spaniards who believe people are better off in a free market economy

: -30

In the portion of Americans who do

: -4

Percentage increase since 1990 in the share of U.S. men who say they “worry about their weight”

: 95

Portion of adults worldwide who don’t meet World Health Organization standards for physical activity

: 1/3

Estimated number of deaths caused by physical inactivity each year

: 5,300,000

Percentage by which the Defense Department’s health care spending is projected to increase in the next two decades

: 81

Estimated percentage of its current health care spending allocated for mental health

: 5

Chance that a death among U.S. service members is a suicide

: 1 in 5

Harper’s Index

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