United States

 

Eating meat, owning guns and making billions

 

The US tops countless¹ tables. It eats the most meat (120kg per person, per year, putting it clear of Kuwait, Australia, The Bahamas and Luxembourg), own the most guns (112.6 for every 100 residents; Serbia comes next with 75.6), and has the most airports (13,513), flight departures (9,553,214 in 2014), roads (6,586,610km), railways (224,792km), billionaires (540), and volcanoes (173).

 

Venezuela

 

Cheap petrol and Miss World winners

 

Thanks to a policy of heavy subsidisation, petrol costs just $0.01 a litre in Venezuela, according to the fuel analyst² website globalpetrolprices.com. That's just one percent of the global average, $0.97, and well ahead of second placed Saudi Arabia ($0.24).

 

The country has produced six Miss World winners, putting it ahead of the UK (5), India (5) and the US (3).

 

Costa Rica

 

Happiness

 

Costa Rica is the most cheerful country on Earth according to the annual Happy Planet Index. Released last summer, it ranks 140 destinations according to "what matters most - sustainable wellbeing for all".

 

France

 

Michelin stars and tourism

 

More people visit France (84.5 million in 2015) than any other country on Earth (the US comes next, followed by Spain, China and Italy).

 

Why? It's got everything, including mountains for skiing and hiking, beaches to flop³ on, chateaux and cultured cities to explore, and more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other nation.

 

The Maldives

 

Divorce

 

Ironically, given that it's so popular with honeymooners, the Maldives has a divorce rate of 10.97, earning it recognition in the Guinness Book of Records. The UN even estimates that the average Maldivian woman, by the age of 30, has been divorced three times.

 

Why is the rate so high in the Maldives? Various reasons have been cited. Perhaps the most compelling is that, as in other Muslim societies, where premarital sex is taboo⁴, many marry young, but, under the country's mixed Sharia and common law system, they can then secure a divorce relatively⁵ easily when things don't work out. Others have blamed a lack of childcare facilities combined with a rise in women entering the workforce⁶.

 

South Korea

 

Internet speed and 4G coverage⁷

 

Internet addicts⁸ should head to South Korea. It has the highest average connection speed, as recorded by Akamai - the content delivery network (CDN) responsible for serving between 15 and 30 percent of all web traffic, and the best 4G availability, according to the website OpenSignal (ahead of Japan and Lithuania).

 

India

 

Vegetarians⁹, cheap living and public holidays

 

India and its neighbour Bangladesh eat less meat than anywhere else on the planet (just 4.4kg and 4kg per person, respectively.)

 

India is also the cheapest country in the world according to a Numbeo survey of around 50 items, including a wide variety of accommodation, food and drink from both supermarkets and restaurants, clothing, taxi fares, leisure activities, utility, internet and mobile phone bills.

 

The Netherlands

 

Height

 

A typical Dutchman is 1.838m tall, while its ladies average 1.699m, making it the tallest nation on the planet. Montenegro, Denmark and Norway come next.

 

The shortest? Indonesia.

 

Best of the rest

 

The world's highest country is Bhutan

 

The world's most elderly country is Monaco (Niger is the youngest)

 

The Japanese live longest (those in Sierra Leone die youngest)

 

China has the fewest English speakers

 

Italy has the most World Heritage sites

 

Canada has the most coastline

 

Bermuda is the most expensive place on the planet

 

The Faroe Islands has produced the most Nobel Prize winners per capita

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