'50 Facts that Should Change the World'

There are numerous shocking, sickening and sordid facts in our world, with new ones forming even in these few moments as you read this article. We try to follow world events through media such as television, newspapers, radio and the Internet, but did you ever wonder if there is any misinformation or disinformation? Did the media or government hide or gloss over something? Sadly, we don't have much option but to believe in these organizations.

However, there are people trying to find out what's really going on in the world. One of them, the Jessica Williams, has attempted to do so with her book “50 Facts that Should Change the World.” Williams is a journalist and television producer for the BBC, where she has researched and produced interviews with such disparate figures as the political philosopher Noam Chomsky, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Sir David Attenborough and Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble.

Williams' facts are very powerful and can alter the course of the world. Here is the list of 50 facts carefully detailed by Williams in her book:

[HH Facts on women: 

1- The average Japanese woman can expect to live to 84. The average Botswanan will reach just 39.

2- The United States and Britain have the highest rates of early pregnancy among industrialized countries.

3- A total of 44 million women in China are reported missing.

4- There are more “Avon cosmetics women” in Brazil than soldiers.

5- More than 12,000 women in Russia die annually from domestic violence.

6- Since 1977, more than 80,000 acts of violence and harassment have taken place in abortion clinics in America.

7- Two million young girls and women are vaginally circumcised every year.

8- The number of young females forced into prostitution in Western Europe is about 120,000.

Facts on children:

9- There are 44 million child workers in India.

10- Half of British children under 15 have tried drugs and a quarter smoke regularly.

11- Every week, an average of 88 children are expelled from American schools for bringing a gun to class.

12- The number of child soldiers fighting in wars is about 300,000.

13- Children living in poverty are three times more likely to suffer a mental illness than children from wealthy families.

Facts on war and brutality: 

14- Some 81 percent of the world's executions in 2002 took place in just three countries: the United States, China and Iran.

15- Landmines kill or maim at least one person every hour.

16- More than 150 countries still use torture.

17- Black men born in the United States today stand a one-in-three chance of imprisonment.

18- One third of the world's population is in a war or conflict zone.

19- A quarter of wars are based on capturing and controlling natural sources.

20- More people commit suicide than those dying from conflicts or wars.

21- There are at least 300,000 people in the world considered guilty of a crime because of their views and thoughts.

Facts on malnutrition:

22- One third of the obese in the world live in industrialized countries.

23- The daily subsidy in EU countries for a cow is $2.50; this is more than three-quarters of African people's daily income.

24- One fifth of the world's population, some 1.2 million people, tries to live on a daily income of less than $1.

25- People in industrialized nations ingest between 13 to15 pounds (6 or 7 kilograms) of food additives every year.

26- Seven million female and one million male Americans are malnourished.

27- More people in the world can identify the golden arches of McDonald's than a Christian cross.

28- One-seventh of the world, nearly 800 million people, go hungry every day.

29- Eighty-two percent of smokers live in industrialized countries.

Facts on science and development:

30- Americans dispose of a total of 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. Every three weeks the end-to-end length of this bottle collection is enough to reach the moon.

31- British supermarkets know more about their customers than the government.

32- An average of 13.2 million Americans undergo cosmetic surgery every year.

33- Motor vehicles kill two people every minute.

34- Nearly half of Americans believe aliens have landed on the Earth.

35- Some 70 percent of the world's population has never heard a “dial tone” in their lives.

36- An ordinary British resident is caught on camera 300 times a day.

37- Exported from New Zealand to Britain, every kiwi fruit releases sera gases, the weight of which can be five times bigger than the kiwi's own weight, into the atmosphere.

Facts on freedom and human rights:

38 - There are 27 million slaves working in the world today.

39- More than 70 countries restrict homosexual relationships and nine nations can even impose the death penalty for being gay.

40- The top earning athlete in the world is golfer Tiger Woods. He averages $78 million a year, about $148 in a second.

Facts on politics:

41- A family living in Kenya has to spend one-third of their monthly income on bribes.

42- Some 67,000 people work in the “lobby industry” in Washington. So, every congress member has 125 people to help him/her.

43- A total of 26 million people in Britain voted in the 2001 elections while the number of those voting for the first season of Pop Idol (a music competition) was 32 million.

44- The military budget of the United States of America is 33 times bigger than those of seven countries that are declared by the United States as “terrorist states.”

45- America owes more than $1 billion to the United Nations.

Some bad facts:

46- Thirty-million people living in Africa have HIV.

47- Every year 10 languages become extinct.

48- The illegal drug market worldwide is worth $400 billion.

49- Oil reserves are expected to be exhausted by 2040.

50- The American public spends $10 billion on pornography every year -- the same amount the government spends on foreign aid.