Market Transition
Who approves most of the switch from communism to a market economy?
Who approves most of the switch from communism to a market economy?
| # | Country | % approving the change to a market economy since 1989/1991, by country and age (% approve) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇧🇬 Bulgarians 18–34 | 74 | 2019 |
| 2 | 🇨🇿 Czechs 60+ | 69 | 2019 |
| 3 | 🇷🇺 Russians 18–34 | 51 | 2019 |
| 4 | 🇸🇰 Slovaks 60+ | 49 | 2019 |
| 5 | 🇷🇺 Russians 60+ | 30 | 2019 |
Bulgarians 18–34 leads this card at 74, with Russians 60+ at 30. The gap is 44 % approve. Bulgarians 18–34 is 2.47 times Russians 60+.
Young Bulgarians approve most. Older Russians, who lived through the 1990s crash, mostly disapprove. Czechs aged 60+, who lived under communism, still approve more than young Russians.
Source: Pew Research Center, Spring 2019 Global Attitudes Survey (European Public Opinion Three Decades After the Fall of Communism, p.23) See the source.
S, In Between
Starts with S, and its quality of life (HDI) is between Germany's and Spain's. Guess the country.
| # | Country | Human Development Index (HDI (0–1)) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 0.95 | |
| 2 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 0.94 | |
| 3 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 0.93 |
Singapore (0.946), South Korea (0.937) and Slovenia (0.931) sit strictly between Spain (0.918) and Germany (0.959). Sweden ties Germany at 0.959, so it is outside the range. HDI mixes life expectancy, schooling and income.
Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025 See the source.
Still Married
Name a country starting with P or V that has no general divorce law.
| # | Country | General divorce law | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 1 | |
| 2 | 🇻🇦 Vatican City | 1 |
The Philippines and Vatican City are the two sovereign states with no general divorce law. A divorce bill passed the Philippine House in 2024 and died when that Congress ended; as of October 2026 it was still not law. Annulment exists, and Presidential Decree 1083 allows divorce for Muslim marriages, but that is not a general divorce law.
Source: Family Code of the Philippines; Vatican City has no divorce procedure. Status checked October 2026. See the source.
Long Queue
Youth unemployment 🇿🇦🇺🇸
| # | Country | Youth unemployment (% of the labor force ages 15–24) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 60.2 | 2024 |
| 2 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 26.6 | 2024 |
| 3 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 24.3 | 2024 |
| 4 | 🇫🇷 France | 18.6 | 2024 |
| 5 | 🇺🇸 United States | 8.9 | 2024 |
| 6 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 6.6 | 2024 |
South Africa is 60.2%, second in this series to Djibouti at 76.5%, and far above the United States at 8.9% and Germany at 6.6%. The rate counts young people who are in the labor force and out of work. Students who are not looking for a job are not in the denominator.
Source: World Bank / ILO, unemployment ages 15–24 (SL.UEM.1524.ZS), 2024. See the source.