Gun Violence: We’re Number 1
When looking at high-income countries with populations of 10 million or more, the United States ranks number 1 in firearm homicides. Firearm homicide rate is 13 times greater in the United States than in France; 22 times greater than in all the countries of the European Union, and 23 times greater than in Australia, according to data collected by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. In an earlier 2018 Global Burden of Disease study, the United States ranked eighth out of 64 high-income countries and territories for homicides by firearms. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, both US territories, ranked first and third on the list of 64 countries and territories.
In the United States, most homicides are caused by guns. In 2022, some 85 percent of all homicides in America were caused by firearms; but in Canada, it was only 40 percent; in Australia, just 11 percent; and England and Wales, only 4 percent.
Sources: Leach-Kemon and Sirull, “On Gun Violence, the US is an Outlier.” “Global Mortality from Firearms, 1990-2016,” JAMA, 2018, 320 (8): 792-814, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2698492;“How Many US Mass Shooting Have There Been in the 2023? BBC News, August 26, 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41488081; Statistics Canada and CDC 2021; ONS (England and Wales), April 2021-March 2022; Australian Institute of Criminology, July 2021-June 2022.
When looking at high-income countries with populations of 10 million or more, the United States ranks number 1 in firearm homicides. Firearm homicide rate is 13 times greater in the United States than in France; 22 times greater than in all the countries of the European Union, and 23 times greater than in Australia, according to data collected by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. In an earlier 2018 Global Burden of Disease study, the United States ranked eighth out of 64 high-income countries and territories for homicides by firearms. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, both US territories, ranked first and third on the list of 64 countries and territories.
In the United States, most homicides are caused by guns. In 2022, some 85 percent of all homicides in America were caused by firearms; but in Canada, it was only 40 percent; in Australia, just 11 percent; and England and Wales, only 4 percent.
Sources: Leach-Kemon and Sirull, “On Gun Violence, the US is an Outlier.” “Global Mortality from Firearms, 1990-2016,” JAMA, 2018, 320 (8): 792-814, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2698492;“How Many US Mass Shooting Have There Been in the 2023? BBC News, August 26, 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41488081; Statistics Canada and CDC 2021; ONS (England and Wales), April 2021-March 2022; Australian Institute of Criminology, July 2021-June 2022.
Incarceration Rate: We’re Number 1
The Prison Policy Initiative looked at the US incarceration rates and compared them to the founding NATO countries. Again, the United States can claim Number One status. The incarceration rate in the United States is 664 prisoners per 100,000 population. Next highest among NATO countries is the United Kingdom with 129 per 100,000, followed by Portugal (111 prisoners) and Canada (104).
Source: www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2021.html
The Prison Policy Initiative looked at the US incarceration rates and compared them to the founding NATO countries. Again, the United States can claim Number One status. The incarceration rate in the United States is 664 prisoners per 100,000 population. Next highest among NATO countries is the United Kingdom with 129 per 100,000, followed by Portugal (111 prisoners) and Canada (104).
Source: www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2021.html
Homeless: We’re Number 1 in Total Number of Homeless; We’re Number 7 per Capita
The most recent estimate of American total population in 339 million. While the United States has the largest homeless population among OECD countries (580,000), it ranks 7th in per capita (1,707 per 100,000 persons). The United Kingdom, with a total population of 67.7 million has the second largest number of homeless person (365,000) in the OECD, but ranks 1st in homeless persons per capita (5,399 per 100,000).
Source: World Population Review data, https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/homelessness-by-country
The most recent estimate of American total population in 339 million. While the United States has the largest homeless population among OECD countries (580,000), it ranks 7th in per capita (1,707 per 100,000 persons). The United Kingdom, with a total population of 67.7 million has the second largest number of homeless person (365,000) in the OECD, but ranks 1st in homeless persons per capita (5,399 per 100,000).
Source: World Population Review data, https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/homelessness-by-country
Opioid Addiction: We’re Number 1
Opioid use became widespread and rampant in America. The United States consumes 80 percent of the world’s supply of OxyContin and Hydrocodone. Much of it ended up in the most economically depressed areas of America.
When compared to the countries of the European Union, the deaths attributed to drug overdoses in the United States is astounding. In 2020, for the entire European Union, with a population of 440 million, there were 5,800 total overdose deaths. By contrast, in America, with a population of a little over 330 million, there were 68,000 deaths. That number jumped to 80,000 in 2021, and 107,000 deaths in 2022 in America.
Source: David Wallace-Wells, “Why Is America Such a Deadly Place?” New York Times, August 9, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/opinion/mortality-rate-pandemic.html
Opioid use became widespread and rampant in America. The United States consumes 80 percent of the world’s supply of OxyContin and Hydrocodone. Much of it ended up in the most economically depressed areas of America.
When compared to the countries of the European Union, the deaths attributed to drug overdoses in the United States is astounding. In 2020, for the entire European Union, with a population of 440 million, there were 5,800 total overdose deaths. By contrast, in America, with a population of a little over 330 million, there were 68,000 deaths. That number jumped to 80,000 in 2021, and 107,000 deaths in 2022 in America.
Source: David Wallace-Wells, “Why Is America Such a Deadly Place?” New York Times, August 9, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/opinion/mortality-rate-pandemic.html
Highest Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates: We’re Number 1
The Commonwealth Fund, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the OECD, reports that “the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries.” Further, there is an overrepresentation of obstetrician-gynecologists in the maternity workforce, a shortage of midwives, and the US lacks comprehensive post-partum support.
Women in the United States experience more late maternal deaths than women in other high-income countries. In the US, 52 percent of all maternal deaths come after delivery or postpartum while 17 percent of deaths occur on the day of delivery. Roosa Tikkanen and her colleagues at the Commonwealth Fund note during the first week of postpartum that “severe bleeding, high blood pressure, and infection are the most common contributors to maternal deaths, while cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of late deaths.”
As in many cases of health and welfare, there is a racial component to maternal mortality. Research conducted by Marian F. MacDorman and her colleagues concludes that Black women are more than three times as likely to die during pregnancy or postpartum than white women. Linda Villarosa, in Under the Skin, makes a sweeping and powerful assessment of the systematic assault on Black American’s bodies, the racial disparities, the neglect, the inbred biases, and the social racisms that African Americans endure, no matter their social or economic status.
Sources: Roosa Tikkanen, Munira Z. Gunja, Molly Fitzgerald, and Laurie Zephyrin, “Maternal Mortality and Maternity Care in the United States Compared to 10 Other Developed Countries,” Commonwealth Fund, Issue Brief, November 18, 2020, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/nov/maternal-mortality-maternity-care-us-compared-10-countries; Marian F. MacDorman, et al., “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Mortality in the United States Using Enhanced Vital Records, 2016,2017,” American Journal of Public Health, September 2021, https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306375; Linda Villarosa, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on Health in America (New York: Anchor, 2023).
The Commonwealth Fund, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the OECD, reports that “the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries.” Further, there is an overrepresentation of obstetrician-gynecologists in the maternity workforce, a shortage of midwives, and the US lacks comprehensive post-partum support.
Women in the United States experience more late maternal deaths than women in other high-income countries. In the US, 52 percent of all maternal deaths come after delivery or postpartum while 17 percent of deaths occur on the day of delivery. Roosa Tikkanen and her colleagues at the Commonwealth Fund note during the first week of postpartum that “severe bleeding, high blood pressure, and infection are the most common contributors to maternal deaths, while cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of late deaths.”
As in many cases of health and welfare, there is a racial component to maternal mortality. Research conducted by Marian F. MacDorman and her colleagues concludes that Black women are more than three times as likely to die during pregnancy or postpartum than white women. Linda Villarosa, in Under the Skin, makes a sweeping and powerful assessment of the systematic assault on Black American’s bodies, the racial disparities, the neglect, the inbred biases, and the social racisms that African Americans endure, no matter their social or economic status.
Sources: Roosa Tikkanen, Munira Z. Gunja, Molly Fitzgerald, and Laurie Zephyrin, “Maternal Mortality and Maternity Care in the United States Compared to 10 Other Developed Countries,” Commonwealth Fund, Issue Brief, November 18, 2020, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/nov/maternal-mortality-maternity-care-us-compared-10-countries; Marian F. MacDorman, et al., “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Mortality in the United States Using Enhanced Vital Records, 2016,2017,” American Journal of Public Health, September 2021, https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306375; Linda Villarosa, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on Health in America (New York: Anchor, 2023).
Wealth Concentrated in Top 10 Percent of Households (OECD Countries): Number 1
Among OECD countries, the United States stands far above the rest in the unequal distribution of wealth. While the Credit Suisse research shows that the top 10 percent of American families hold 69.2 percent, the OECD, using other date, estimates that nearly 80 percent of all wealth in the US is controlled by the top 10 percent of households.
Source: “Social Mobility,” OECD, https://www.oecd.org/stories/social-mobility/ from OECD Wealth Database.
Among OECD countries, the United States stands far above the rest in the unequal distribution of wealth. While the Credit Suisse research shows that the top 10 percent of American families hold 69.2 percent, the OECD, using other date, estimates that nearly 80 percent of all wealth in the US is controlled by the top 10 percent of households.
Source: “Social Mobility,” OECD, https://www.oecd.org/stories/social-mobility/ from OECD Wealth Database.
Wide Open Campaign Spending: We’re Number 1
The 2020 presidential campaign between incumbent Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden, along with the races for the House and Senate, proved to be, by far, the costliest in American history up to that point. A total of $14.4 billion was spent in 2020, more than double the previous high of $6.5 billion spent in the presidential year of 2016. Then came the 2024 presidential election, which easily topped the 2020 campaign. The Harris campaign raised over $1 billion, while the Trump campaign raised about $600 million. But the striking feature was the amount of money raised by billionaire sources, mostly Republicans, who gave to Super PACs in support of their favored candidates. Most prominent was Elon Musk who gave at least $260 million and played an outsized role in underwriting a get-out-the-vote effort on Trump’s behalf, offering daily $1 million sweepstakes for voters in battleground states.
Sources: Karl Evers-Hillstrom, “Most Expensive Ever: 2020 Election Cost $14.4 Billion,” Opensecrets.org, https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/02/2020-cycle-cost-14p4-billion-doubling-16/; Fredreka Schouten, David Wright, and Alex Leeds Matthews, “Musk Spent More Than a Quarter-Billion Dollars to Elect Trump, Including Funding a Mysterious Super PAC, New Filings Show,” CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/05/politics/elon-musk-trump-campaign-finance-filings/index.html.
It may be surprising to learn that only 1.8 percent of the American adult population gave more than $200 to a federal campaign in 2020. And including the many thousands of state and local campaigns going on during the same election cycle, probably no more than 4 percent of the adult population contributes money to political candidates and causes.
The 2020 presidential campaign between incumbent Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden, along with the races for the House and Senate, proved to be, by far, the costliest in American history up to that point. A total of $14.4 billion was spent in 2020, more than double the previous high of $6.5 billion spent in the presidential year of 2016. Then came the 2024 presidential election, which easily topped the 2020 campaign. The Harris campaign raised over $1 billion, while the Trump campaign raised about $600 million. But the striking feature was the amount of money raised by billionaire sources, mostly Republicans, who gave to Super PACs in support of their favored candidates. Most prominent was Elon Musk who gave at least $260 million and played an outsized role in underwriting a get-out-the-vote effort on Trump’s behalf, offering daily $1 million sweepstakes for voters in battleground states.
Sources: Karl Evers-Hillstrom, “Most Expensive Ever: 2020 Election Cost $14.4 Billion,” Opensecrets.org, https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/02/2020-cycle-cost-14p4-billion-doubling-16/; Fredreka Schouten, David Wright, and Alex Leeds Matthews, “Musk Spent More Than a Quarter-Billion Dollars to Elect Trump, Including Funding a Mysterious Super PAC, New Filings Show,” CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/05/politics/elon-musk-trump-campaign-finance-filings/index.html.
It may be surprising to learn that only 1.8 percent of the American adult population gave more than $200 to a federal campaign in 2020. And including the many thousands of state and local campaigns going on during the same election cycle, probably no more than 4 percent of the adult population contributes money to political candidates and causes.
Prison Population: We’re Number 1
As of October 2021, the World Prison Population List estimated that approximately 10.35 million persons were incarcerated worldwide; by far the greatest number, 2.3 million, were imprisoned in the United States. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, nearly every state in America has a higher incarceration rate than any other country in the entire world. Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in America, at 1,094 persons per 100,000 citizens; it is followed closely by Mississippi with 1,031.
Source: Emily Widra and Tiana Herring, “States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2021,” Prison Policy Initiative, September 2021, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2021.html
As of October 2021, the World Prison Population List estimated that approximately 10.35 million persons were incarcerated worldwide; by far the greatest number, 2.3 million, were imprisoned in the United States. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, nearly every state in America has a higher incarceration rate than any other country in the entire world. Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in America, at 1,094 persons per 100,000 citizens; it is followed closely by Mississippi with 1,031.
Source: Emily Widra and Tiana Herring, “States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2021,” Prison Policy Initiative, September 2021, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2021.html
Obesity
Fatty America!
The OECD ranked the United States Number 1 in both child and adult obesity in 2010; since then we haven’t improved, but other nations are catching up with us.
The Global Obesity Observatory ranks the Polynesian islands and some Caribbean countries higher than the United States in both adult and childhood obesity. But among the industrialized democratic countries, the United States has the highest percentage of overweight adults and overweight children.
How are we doing fighting against obesity? In its 2021 Report, “Obese and Overweight Population,” the OECD found that the US ranked 34th (out of 34 member countries reporting); https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/overweight-or-obese-population.htm.
Sources: “Ranking, % Obesity by Country,” Global Obesity Observatory, https://data.worldobesity.org/rankings/?age=a&sex=t;
“Obese and Overweight Population,” OECD, https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/overweight-or-obese-population.htm.
Fatty America!
The OECD ranked the United States Number 1 in both child and adult obesity in 2010; since then we haven’t improved, but other nations are catching up with us.
The Global Obesity Observatory ranks the Polynesian islands and some Caribbean countries higher than the United States in both adult and childhood obesity. But among the industrialized democratic countries, the United States has the highest percentage of overweight adults and overweight children.
How are we doing fighting against obesity? In its 2021 Report, “Obese and Overweight Population,” the OECD found that the US ranked 34th (out of 34 member countries reporting); https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/overweight-or-obese-population.htm.
Sources: “Ranking, % Obesity by Country,” Global Obesity Observatory, https://data.worldobesity.org/rankings/?age=a&sex=t;
“Obese and Overweight Population,” OECD, https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/overweight-or-obese-population.htm.
How Did They Do It?
Food Labels in Chile. In 2016, Chilean government passed a law, over the vehement objections of the food processing industry, that banned ads directed at children if those products exceeded standards for calories, fat, sugar, and sodium.