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% of Americans?

C

Carta

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I was AMAZED when I found this stat......Americans only make up 5% of the world's population...I figured maybe 15-20% for some reason...(never really thought about it)......Here's something VERY alarming::::Americans make up 25% of prison population ...WHOA!!!!!!

Whatcha think?
 
There are many similar examples of American exceptionalism.

I think gun ownership runs at the same level.

College education for the flip side example.

Contribution to global warming as another negative.

Population density is low here vs much of the planet. Even in cities like NYC.
 
Voluntarily removed my post and further participation in this thread, which seems headed for politically charged arguments in which I do not want or choose to engage.
 
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The United States also has a very organized justice system where those in other much more populated nations may not? Other nations may not be as tolerant and execute more people for lesser crimes than in the US.
 
We're also responsible for about 20% of the world economic output, and significantly higher percentages of many other things (including charity, foreign aid, innovative research, etc.).
 
Can you provide the source? (Assuming it's non-political.)
 
I saw that too, on the news. NBC. Also we consume 40 % of energy use. I wanted to know what % was drug related, but they never went that far.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
I would suggest that the long sentences handed out to prisoners certainly has an effect on the population. Compare the sentences to the paltry ones handed out to UK prisoners (particularly repeat offenders) and those in other Western European countries.

I understand that the majority of prisoners are incarcerated for drug offences, some of which appear particularly unjust as a result of the 'three strikes' rule. It would be interesting to see the results of a study on the numbers of drug related custodial sentences being imposed since the legalisation of cannabis in Colorado and Washington for example.
 
MichaelColey said:
We're also responsible for about 20% of the world economic output, and significantly higher percentages of many other things (including charity, foreign aid, innovative research, etc.).
Click to expand...

Let's remember that foreign 'aid' is nothing more than foreign bribery and none of us can feel any degree of altruism in that respect.
 
Carta said:
I was AMAZED when I found this stat......Americans only make up 5% of the world's population...I figured maybe 15-20% for some reason...
Click to expand...

My general observation that most Americans think they make up most of the world. We can blame it on news media as they do not cover much of news outside of the US. I believe India, China and Africa (continent) make up most of the world's population.
 
sptung said:
My general observation that most Americans think they make up most of the world. We can blame it on news media as they do not cover much of news outside of the US. I believe India, China and Africa (continent) make up most of the world's population.
Click to expand...
Covering news oversees is a dangerous task these days thus the lack of it possibly? No telling the good guys from the bad guys anymore.
 
DeniseM said:
Can you provide the source? (Assuming it's non-political.)
Click to expand...

It seems the information has been quoted a lot on the campaign trail a lot this year. So providing the source may go against the rules.
 
Hmmmm, are we talking about citizens of the USA here, or AMERICANS, as in the population of two continents? Two other countries in North America and all those in Central and South America included, or only those of you in the US of A?

Gosh, and I wasn't even sensitive to this distinction until I moved to Canada from Oregon (30 years ago now). It is true, the news media in the US has so much domestic stuff to cover that the international coverage really comes as a poor cousin. My eyes were opened to what goes on in the world big time by moving North!
 
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PrairieGirl said:
Hmmmm, are we talking about citizens of the USA here, or AMERICANS, as in the population of two continents? Two other countries in North America and all those in Central and South America included, or only those of you in the US of A?

Gosh, and I wasn't even sensitive to this distinction until I moved to Canada from Oregon (30 years ago now). It is true, the news media in the US has so much domestic stuff to cover that the international coverage really comes as a poor cousin. My eyes were opened to what goes on in the world big time by moving North!
Click to expand...

Good clarification. I meant USA. I moved to the US about 2 decades ago and I was shocked/disappointed that news media mostly/only covered domestic news. The general population has no clue where other countries are located on the map.
 
So when they say dang I'm 'merican they really are confused
 
I watch BBC World News on PBS, its an eye opener sometimes compared to CNN, MSN, and Fox.


Sent from my iPad Mini 4 using Tapatalk
 
DeniseM said:
Can you provide the source? (Assuming it's non-political.)
Click to expand...
Not sure who this is directed at, but here's some backup for some of my claims.

MichaelColey said:
We're also responsible for about 20% of the world economic output, and significantly higher percentages of many other things (including charity, foreign aid, innovative research, etc.).
Click to expand...
If you look at the GDP for each country, the US is #1 with about $17 trillion out of $77 trillion for the entire world. That's over 20%. Not bad for a country that makes up only 5% of the population of the world.

For charitable giving, we as a country give about $350 billion a year to charity. I'm having a hard time finding worldwide totals, but I'm confident that no other country comes close. Some studies show charitable giving as a percentage of citizens and the percentage of GDP, and the US is at or near the top of each list. A lot of press was given that Myanmar topped the US last year (based on percent of people that give), but their GDP is only $63 billion, so in terms of raw giving their charitable giving is dwarfed by ours. As another example, after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, almost $3 billion of the $10 billion given (30%) came from the US.
 
SmithOp said:
I watch BBC World News on PBS, its an eye opener sometimes compared to CNN, MSN, and Fox.


Sent from my iPad Mini 4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Yes, there are excellent alternatives to US based/biased news sources that all should review on occasion. This isn't to say those sources (including the BBC) have their own editorial slant, but the accuracy of factual news is demonstrably higher outside the US (at least in regards to well known sources...). For myself, I'm much more interested in learning what actually occurs rather than what I should think about it, and unfortunately that's primarily what US news sources are now doing.


Sent from my iPad
 
sptung said:
The general population has no clue where other countries are located on the map.
Click to expand...

This is a perpetual myth. Many Americans are WELL versed on geography, some are not, just like in any other country.

Of course Europeans know Europe better, and Asians know Asia better. Cultures tend to be geocentric.

I'll put my geographic knowledge up against an above average person in any other nation. It's fun to call ourselves stupid, but it isn't true. And late night shows interviewing thousands of people on the street in order to showcase the handful of respondents who can't answer the questions is helping the myth along nicely.

It is true that many other countries, particularly in Europe, have more varied linguistic abilities than we do, but I believe that's because A: European countries are smaller and contact zones between languages more numerous, and B: English has become the international standard, allowing us 'mericans to be lazy to learn a second (or third) language. I learned German and Japanese, and have largely lost both for inability to practice.

We do not have the best education system in the world, but it is light years from the worst.
 
sptung said:
:p

Not to get political, Sarah Palin said Africa is a country and she could see Russia from her home. Tongue-in-cheek. :p
Click to expand...

Ah yes, the typical American.
 
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