Into the Woods
Forest Cover 🇯🇵🇺🇸
Forest Cover 🇯🇵🇺🇸
| # | Country | Forest area (% of land area) (% of land) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 68.34 | 2024 |
| 2 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 58.55 | 2024 |
| 3 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 41.97 | 2024 |
| 4 | 🇺🇸 United States | 33.78 | 2024 |
| 5 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 13.5 | 2024 |
Japan leads this card at 68.34, with United Kingdom at 13.5. The gap is 54.84 % of land. Japan is 5.06 times United Kingdom.
Japan is more forested than Brazil: steep mountains were hard to farm, Edo-era rules protected the woods, and Japan imports most of its timber. Brazil cleared vast land for cattle and soy. Note: share of land, not hectares.
Source: FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment via World Bank See the source.
U, On the Road
Starts with U, and its road deaths per 100,000 people are between Malaysia's and Colombia's. Guess the country.
| # | Country | Estimated road traffic death rate (road deaths per 100k people) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇺🇬 Uganda | 16 | |
| 2 | 🇺🇸 United States | 14.2 |
Uganda's estimated rate is 16.0 deaths per 100,000 people, above the United States at 14.2. Both sit strictly between Malaysia (13.9) and Colombia (16.2). These are WHO modelled estimates for 2021.
Source: WHO Global status report on road safety 2023 (GHO RS_198, 2021 estimates) See the source.
More Spuds
Name a country starting with B with a higher potato consumption per person than the United States.
| # | Country | Potato consumption (kg per person per year) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇧🇾 Belarus | 166.9 | |
| 2 | 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 102.9 | |
| 3 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 90.8 | |
| 4 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | 72.3 |
Belarus is 166.9 kg per person per year, about three times the United States at 55.4. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium and Bolivia also clear the US figure. FAO calls this food supply. The game uses it as a proxy for consumption, not a count of what is eaten at the table. Ireland is higher than the US too, and it does not start with B.
Source: UN FAO Food Balances via Our World in Data. Food available for consumption, kilograms per person per year. Food supply is used here as a proxy for consumption. See the source.
Still Unemployed
Youth unemployment 🇸🇿🇮🇹
| # | Country | Youth unemployment (% of the labor force ages 15–24) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇸🇿 Eswatini | 54.4 | 2024 |
| 2 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | 45.3 | 2024 |
| 3 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | 39.1 | 2024 |
| 4 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 20.2 | 2024 |
| 5 | 🇺🇸 United States | 8.9 | 2024 |
| 6 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 6.6 | 2024 |
Eswatini is 54.4% and Botswana is 45.3%, both above Jordan at 39.1% and Italy at 20.2%. The United States is 8.9%. This is ILO unemployment among people aged 15–24 who are in the labor force, not among every young person. South Africa, at 60.2%, is higher than everyone on this board and is on the other youth board.
Source: World Bank / ILO, unemployment ages 15–24 (SL.UEM.1524.ZS), 2024. See the source.