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International Organization for Standardization Members

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:33:34 +0000

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This map shows list of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) members. ISO is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards.

ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 163 national members, out of the 247 total countries in the world, one member per country. Founded on 23 February 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary industrial and commercial standards. It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.

ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations. Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.

ISO has three membership categories:

Member bodies are national bodies that are considered to be the most representative standards body in each country. These are entitled to participate and exercise full voting rights on any technical committee and policy committee of ISO.
A correspondent member is usually an organization in a country which does not yet have a fully-developed national standards activity. These members are informed about ISO's work, but do not participate in standards promulgation.
Subscriber membership has been established for countries with very small economies. They pay reduced membership fees that nevertheless allow them to maintain contact with international standardization.

ISO has developed over 18,000 International Standards on a variety of subjects and some 1100 new ISO standards are published every year. The full range of technical fields can be seen from the listing International Standards website (follow the reference link below)

List of International Calling Codes and Prefixes

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:53:22 +0000

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This map shows list of country calling codes defined by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), also called International Direct Dialling (IDD) or International Subscriber Dialling (ISD) codes. The table below will help you find the dialing codes you need to make long distance phone calls to friends, family, and business partners around the globe.

The list contains the country code, the international prefix, the national (trunk) prefix and the national (significant) number in accordance with ITU-T Recommendation E.123 and E.164.

The country code is composed of one digit or is the combination of two or three digits, characterizing the called country which is used to route calls to the required country. It is usually dialled after the international prefix. Generally, as in the list below, the need for this prefix is indicated with a "+".

The international prefix is the digit, or combination of digits, such as "00" or "011", that must be dialled before a country code when dialling a call to a country other than the one from which the call is being placed. If the entry in this column is blank for a particular country, it means that the country does not have direct dialling facilities to other countries (in other words, international calls must be placed through the assistance of an operator).

The national (trunk) prefix is the digit, or combination of digits, which must be dialled before an area (city) code when dialling a call to a subscriber from inside his own country but outside his own numbering area. It provides access to the automatic outgoing trunk equipment. If the entry in this column is blank for a particular country, it means that the country has a single nationwide numbering plan that does not use area codes, and all calls to anywhere in the country are dialled by using the entire local number.

Time Required to Close a Business

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:06:17 +0000

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This map shows time required to close a business around the world in days.

This data identifies weaknesses in existing bankruptcy law and the main procedural and administrative bottlenecks in the bankruptcy process. The data are derived from survey responses by local insolvency practitioners and verified through a study of laws and regulations as well as public information on bankruptcy systems.

Methodology

Time is recorded in calendar years. Information is collected on the sequence of procedures and on whether any procedures can be carried out simultaneously. Potential delay tactics by the parties, such as the filing of dilatory appeals or requests for extension, are taken into consideration.

The recovery rate, expressed in terms of how many cents on the dollar recouped by creditors through the bankruptcy, insolvency or debt enforcement proceedings.

The cost of the proceedings is recorded as a percentage of the estate's value. The cost is calculated on the basis of survey responses by insolvency practitioners and includes court fees as well as fees of insolvency practitioners, independent assessors, lawyers and accountants.

The time and cost required to resolve bankruptcies is shown below table.

For more information please follow reference link below.

Linguistic Diversity Index

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:59:25 +0000

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This map shows linguistic diversity index around the world. Linguistic Diversity Index (LDI) or Greenberg's diversity index is an index to measure how diverse a country's languages are.

LDI is on a scale of 1 to 0 with 1 indicating total diversity (that is, no two people have the same mother tongue) 0 indicates no diversity at all (that is, everyone has the same mother tongue).

The computation of the diversity index is based on the population of each language as a proportion of the total population. The Coverage column indicates the completeness of the computation by reporting the percentage of languages in the country for which population estimates are available. The index cannot fully account for the vitality of languages. Also, The distinction between a language and a dialect is fluid and often political. A great number of languages are considered to be dialects of another language by some experts and separate languages by others.

Minimum Legal Age for Buying Alcohol around the World

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:40:14 +0000

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This chart shows legal age for purchasing alcohol around the world.

Update (August 2010): New Zealand has increased the age for buying alcohol from 18 to 20 (18 years of age for on-licences and 20 years of age for off-licences.) but kept the drinking age at hotels and bars at 18. Adults will also face fines of $2,000 for serving alcohol to under-18s unless they have a parent's consent.

World Prison Population Rates per 100,000 of the national population

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:28:29 +0000

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This map shows world prison population rates per 100,000 of the national population.

Curent world prison population rate: 168 per 100,000 people

Curent world prison population total: 9,949,696

How the World Prison Population Data is Compiled?

The World Prison Population List is compiled from a variety of sources. In almost all cases the original source is the national prison administration of the country concerned, or else the Ministry responsible for the prison administration. Most figures relate to dates between the beginning of 2006 and the end of 2009. Since prison population rates (per 100,000 of the national population) are based on estimates of the national population they should not be regarded as precise. In order to compare prison population rates in different regions of the world, and to estimate the number of persons held in prison in the countries for which information is not available, median rates have been used because they minimise the effect of countries with rates that are untypically high or low.

For more information please follow the reference link below.

List of Members of the Commonwealth of Nations

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:37:47 +0000

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This map shows current member of the Commonwealth of Nations by their dates of Joined. The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 countries that support each other and work together towards shared goals in democracy and development.

How does a country become a Member of the Commonwealth of Nations?

All member states, except for Mozambique, have experienced direct or indirect British rule or been linked administratively to another Commonwealth country. At the 1997 summit in Edinburgh, Heads of Government considered the criteria for Commonwealth membership and agreed that in order to become a member of the Commonwealth, an applicant country should, as a rule, have had a constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member state; that it should comply with Commonwealth values, principles and priorities as set out in the Harare Commonwealth Declaration of 1991; and that it should accept Commonwealth norms and conventions.

Current Worldwide Military Expenditure as a percentage of GDP

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:23:08 +0000

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This map shows public expenditure in a given financial year on military as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).

Current world military expenditure: roughly 2% of GDP of gross world product

Military expenditures, which includes all current and capital expenditures on the armed forces, including peacekeeping forces; defense ministries and other government agencies engaged in defense projects; paramilitary forces, if these are judged to be trained and equipped for military operations; and military space activities. Such expenditures include military and civil personnel, including retirement pensions of military personnel and social services for personnel; operation and maintenance; procurement; military research and development; and military aid (in the military expenditures of the donor country). Excluded are civil defense and current expenditures for previous military activities, such as for veterans' benefits, demobilization, conversion, and destruction of weapons.

List of European Union Member States

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:50:49 +0000

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This map shows current member states of the European Union by their year of entry. The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe.

How does a country become a Member of the European Union?

A country must meet the Copenhagen criteria. The Copenhagen European Council of June 1993 defined the criteria as:

the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities (political criterion);
the existence of a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the EU (economic criterion);
the ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union (criterion concerning adoption of the Community acquis)

What are the advantages of being a part of the European Union?

The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states, and ensures the free movement of people, goods, services, capital, the euro (the single European currency), safer food and a greener environment, better living standards in poorer regions, joint action on crime and terror, cheaper phone calls and millions of opportunities to study abroad, including the abolition of passport controls by the Schengen Agreement between 22 EU states. It maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development and enacts legislation in justice and home affairs. Sixteen member states have adopted a common currency, the euro, constituting the eurozone.

Countries where James Bond Visited in the Films

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:02:25 +0000

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This map shows list of countries in which films of the James Bond series have been set and filmed. The James Bond film series is a series of motion pictures, based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond (code designation "007") appearing in the novels of Ian Fleming.

Number of countries where Bond visited in the films, and where James Bond films have been filmed in: 30
Number of countries where Bond visited in the films, but James Bond films have not been filmed in: 18
Number of countries which Bond films have been filmed in, but where Bond does not visit in the films: 6

The countries Bond visits all over the world are almost always filmed on location. Only the following countries appear in Bond movies, but were not actually shot on location: Afghanistan, Albania, Bolivia, China, Croatia, Cuba, Haiti , Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Madagascar, Montenegro, Korea, North, Pakistan, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Uganda and Vietnam.

The Best and Worst Countries to Be a Mother

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:28:41 +0000

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This map shows 2010 Mothers' Index around the world. The Mothers' Index helps document conditions for mothers and children in 160 countries (43 developed nations and 117 in the developing world) and shows where mothers fare best and where they face the greatest hardships. All countries for which sufficient data are available are included in the Index.

Norway, Australia, Iceland and Sweden top the rankings this year. The top 10 countries, in general, attain very high scores for mothers’ and children’s health, educational and economic status. Afghanistan ranks last among the 160 countries surveyed. The 10 bottom-ranked countries (seven from sub-Saharan Africa) are a reverse image of the top 10, performing poorly on all indicators. The United States places 28th this year.

Conditions for mothers and their children in the bottom 10 countries are grim.

On average, 1 in 23 mothers will die from pregnancy-related causes.
1 child in 6 dies before his or her fifth birthday.
1 child in 3 suffers from malnutrition.
Roughly 1 child in 5 is not enrolled in primary school.
Only 4 girls are enrolled in primary school for every 5 boys.
On average, females have little over 5 years of formal education.
Women earn only 40 percent of what men do for equal work.
Nine out of 10 women are likely to suffer the loss of a child in their lifetime.
Nearly 50 percent of the population lack access to safe water.
Sixty percent of all births are not attended by skilled health personnel.

What is the Mothers’ Index Rankings?

The "Mothers' Index" is highlighted in Save the Children's State of the World's Mothers 2010 report, which compiles statistics on the well-being of mothers and children in 160 countries and uses them to produce rankings of nations corresponding to varying levels of economic development.

Key Indicators used:

The status of mothers was compared in 160 countries based on the following indicators of women's and children's well-being:

Lifetime risk of maternal mortality
Percentage of women using modern contraception
Skilled attendant at delivery
Female life expectancy
Expected number of years of formal schooling for females
Ratio of estimated female-to-male earned income
Maternity leave benefits
Participation of women in national government
Under-5 mortality rate
Percentage of children under age 5 moderately or severely underweight
School enrollment ratios
Ratio of girls to boys enrolled in primary school
Percentage of population with access to safe water

These statistics go far beyond mere numbers. The human despair and lost opportunities represented in these numbers demand mothers everywhere be given the basic tools they need to break the cycle of poverty and improve the quality of life for themselves, their children, and for generations to come.

For more information please follow the reference link below.

Time Required to Start a Business

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:25:29 +0000

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This map shows time required to start a business around the world in days. Time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business.

Methodology

Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments. It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is 1 day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day (that is, simultaneous procedures start on consecutive days). A procedure is considered completed once the company has received the final document, such as the company registration certificate or tax number. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost, the fastest procedure is chosen. It is assumed that the entrepreneur does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. The time that the entrepreneur spends on gathering information is ignored. It is assumed that the entrepreneur is aware of all entry regulations and their sequence from the beginning but has had no prior contact with any of the officials.

A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founder with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries). Interactions between company founders or company officers and employees are not counted as procedures.

Cost (% of income per capita) is recorded as a percentage of the economy's income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law. Fees for purchasing and legalizing company books are included if these transactions are required by law. The company law, the commercial code and specific regulations and fee schedules are used as sources for calculating costs. In the absence of fee schedules, a government officer's estimate is taken as an official source. In the absence of a government officer's estimate, estimates of incorporation lawyers are used. If several incorporation lawyers provide different estimates, the median reported value is applied. In all cases the cost excludes bribes.

The paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) requirement reflects the amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a notary before registration and up to 3 months following incorporation and is recorded as a percentage of the economy's income per capita. The amount is typically specified in the commercial code or the company law. Many economies have a minimum capital requirement but allow businesses to pay only a part of it before registration, with the rest to be paid after the first year of operation.

For more information please follow reference link below.

Countries Currently Contributing Troops to ISAF

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:35:05 +0000

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This map shows countries currently contributing troops to International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). ISAF is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council.

ISAF total trops: 117,738

What is International Security Assistance Force?

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was created at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Bonn Conference in December 2001. In August 2003, NATO created a multinational headquarters in Kabul that allowed smaller nations to take a more prominent role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

According to the ISAF mandate, the Afghan authorities had the primary responsibility for security. ISAF's role was to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRA) in providing and maintaining a secure environment in order to facilitate the re-building of Afghanistan and the establishment of democratic structures, and to assist in expanding the influence of the central government across the country.

What is the mission of ISAF?

ISAF's mission was an integral part of the International Community's comprehensive approach to Afghanistan and its efforts to bring lasting peace and stability back to the country.

Note on numbers: Totals are approximations and actual numbers change daily. Number of troops should be taken as indicatives.

For more information please follow the reference link below.

Death Sentence Executions in 2009

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:10:24 +0000

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This map shows death sentence executions in 2009. More than two-thirds of the countries of the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. While 58 countries retained the death penalty in 2009, most did not use it.

Eighteen countries were known to have carried out executions, killing a total of 714 people; however, this figure does not include the thousands of executions that were likely to have taken place in China, which again refused to divulge figures on its use of the death penalty.

Military Conscription Policy by Country

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:06:50 +0000

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This map shows the status of Conscription Policy by country. Conscription (also known as "The Draft", the "Call-up" or "National service") is the compulsory enrolment of persons especially for military service.

Number of countries where conscription exist: 69
Number of countries where selective conscription: 8
Number of countries where conscription possible in emergency: 8
Number of countries with no Conscription: 88
Number of countries with no active armed forces: 21

Update for Sweden as of July 2010 Compulsory military service abolished.

The Largest Oil Spills in History, 1901 to Present

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:47:10 +0000

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This map shows the largest oil spills in history (1901 to Present), from tanker accidents and drilling operations, as well as a number of other notable spills. An oil spill is a release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activity, and is a form of pollution.

There is not much attention to oil spills until in 1967, when one supertanker, TORREY CANYON, ran aground on Pollard Rock off the coast of England. The TORREY CANYON disaster made headlines around the world. Legislation governing oil tankers carried oil was passed after the crash.

Note:

Only spills that have spilled over 10,000 tonnes included.
The amount of oil spilt in an incident include all oil lost to the environment, including that which burnt or remained in a sunken vessel.

Update for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: An underwater well gushed oil into the Gulf unrestrained until June 6, when a containment cap began capturing some. On July 15, a better-fitting containment cap was attached. Relief wells are being drilled to stop the flow permanently.

Right-click to see a full screen map.

List of United Nations Member States

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:30:11 +0000

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This map shows current member states of the United Nations by their dates of admission. There are currently 192 United Nations (UN) member states, and each of them is a member of the United Nations General Assembly.

How does a country become a Member of the United Nations?

Membership in the Organization, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, "is open to all peace-loving States that accept the obligations contained in the United Nations Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able to carry out these obligations". States are admitted to membership in the United Nations by decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

FIFA World Cup Countries Best Results, 1930 to Present

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:14:36 +0000

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This map shows FIFA World Cup countries best results.

Note: Current FIFA World Cup 2010 results

* above year = hosts country

Updated for 2010

Independence Day around the World

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 12:27:09 +0000

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This map shows Independence Day around the world.

An Independence Day is an annual celebration commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another state, more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Most countries honor their respective independence day as a national holiday and some countries or nations' independence-date honors are contested.

Note: Not all countries have independence days, instead they celebrate another national day (not included in this map).

Current Worldwide Annual Prevalence of Cocaine among Adults

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:49:45 +0000

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This chart shows current worldwide annual prevalence of cocaine in population aged 15-64.

Number of people who used cocaine at least once in year: 15 - 19.3 million people (equivalent to 0.3% to 0.4% of the population) worldwide

Cocaine has been a popular recreational drug for decades, and while demand appears to be on the wane in its largest markets, it has gained popularity in an ever widening range of countries. 'Cocaine' comprises at least two distinct drug products: powder cocaine on the one hand, and a range of cocaine base products, mostly falling under the heading of 'crack', on the other. Powder cocaine produces a more subtle effect, is more expensive to use, and has become emblematic of economic success in some circles. Demand has emerged in many developing countries, particularly among elites. Crack is cheaper, more intense, and associated with prostitution and street crime. Traditionally, crack use was rare outside the United States of America and the United Kingdom, but this also appears to be changing, especially in Latin America and parts of Africa.

According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) the new estimates – like those reported for previous years - suggest that the largest market is still North America, followed by West and Central Europe and South America. Compared to previous year, the range shifted to lower levels, suggesting a decrease in the global number of cocaine users. This change is due to the decrease in the number of cocaine users in North America. In addition, missing data and/or absence of recent reliable estimates affect many regions, particularly East Africa, Central Asia, the Near and Middle East and South Asia.

For more information please follow the reference link below.