1 in every 3,400 people in the US is an Elvis impersonator.
Ref: Prospect (UK).

1 in every 32 people in America is in prison.
Ref: Daily Times (Pakistan).

According to the General Social Survey (US) there has been a 300% increase in the number of Americans that have absolutely nobody to talk to about their problems.
Ref: American Sociological Review (US).

The number of prisoners in the UK has increased by 38% since 1997.
Ref: The Guardian (UK).

By the year 2025 people aged over 60 will outnumber those aged under 25 in the UK.
Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK).

Between 2001 and 2005, China accounted for 50% of all global economic growth.
Ref: The Sunday Times (UK).

5% of Californians are currently searching for a meaningless physical relationship.
Ref: Forbes (US).

90% of men that have walked on the moon were once Boy Scouts.
Ref: Prospect (UK).

10% of young people in the UK do not think that their lives are worth living.
Ref: The Prince’s Trust (UK).

85% of primary school teachers in the UK are female and 39% of boys aged 8-11 have no male teachers whatsoever.
Ref: Sunday Telegraph (UK).

Sharks kill around 10 people each year. Failing coconuts kill roughly 150.
Ref: George Burgess, University of Florida (US).

According to an Australian survey, 63% of people feel that they are overloaded with information and 40% have difficulty remembering more than 3 phone numbers.
Ref: Daily Telegraph (Aus).

There are 500,000 semi-automatic machine guns in private hands in Switzerland.
Ref: Prospect (UK).

In the US, 11.9% of black men aged 25-29 are in prison versus 3.9% of Hispanics and 1.7% of white males in the same age group.
Ref: AP.

There is expected to be a 36% increase in the number of people aged 75+ in Japan between 2005 and 2015. During the same period the number of people aged under 5 years-of-age is predicted to decline by 13%.
Ref: McKinsey Quarterly (US).

The increase in the world’s population between now and 2050 will be roughly the same as the entire world population in 1950.
Ref: Guardian (UK).

There was a 25% increase in the number of teachers buying liability insurance in the US between 2000 and 2005.
Ref: Atlantic Monthly (US).

There will be a 33% increase in the number of Germans aged 75+ between 2005 and 2015.
Ref: McKinsey Quarterly (US).

Over a quarter of English adults bought at least one English flag in June of 2005.
Ref: The Guardian (UK).

70% of American students claim that religion is either “somewhat important” or “very important in their lives.”
Ref: San Jose Mercury News (US).

31% of teenagers in America think they’ll be famous some day.
Ref: Psychology Today (US).

By 2050 there will be more Egyptians alive than Russians.
Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK).

A survey in the UK says that 63% of girls aged 15-19 think that being a glamour model is the ideal profession.
Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (Aus).

92% of the land in the UK is still classified as countryside.
Ref: The Spectator (UK).

The number of US university students learning a foreign language has fallen from 16% to 8.5% over the past thirty years.
Ref: International Herald Tribune (US).

In the mid 1950s 9% of adults were single in the US. The figure is now 44%
Ref: Innovation Watch (US).

In 1998 there were roughly 12 pro-terrorism websites worldwide. Last year there were roughly 4,700.
Ref: Harpers (US).

In 1992, 31% of people living in the UK described themselves as English. By 2000 the percentage had increased to 41%.
Ref: British Social Attitudes Survey (UK).

89% of people in the UK now live in towns or cities.
Ref: New Statesman (UK).

Australians spend more than 3 hours every day watching television but only 12 minutes talking to their partner.
Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (AUS).

There are almost as many Chinese learning English in China as there are people who can speak English living in the US, UK and Canada combined.
Ref: Financial Times (UK).

92% of teenage girls in the UK are unhappy with their bodies and teenagers living in urban areas are the least happy according to a study by University College London. In London only 6% of teenage girls are happy with their body compared with 14% in Yorkshire.
Ref: Bliss (UK).

In China there are more households that own a DVD player than have running hot water.
Ref: The Guardian (UK).

To make a cotton T-Shirt requires 27,000 litres of water.
Ref: The Guardian (UK).