HARD NUMBERS

5: Just five countries — Timor-Leste (May 2002), Serbia (June 2006), Montenegro (June 2006), Kosovo (February 2008), and South Sudan (July 2011) — have gained independence since the turn of the century. Who will be next?

75: Globally, a median of 75 percent of people surveyed across 38 nations agree that it’s never acceptable for a news organization to favor one political party over another. India is the only country where more people said such favoritism is sometimes acceptable than those who suggested it should never occur. #MediaIndepenence ​

9: The percentage of American voters describing themselves as “independent” actually increased by around 9 percent between 1990 and today — from 29 percent to 38 percent. Yet at the same time the ideological gap between self-described Republicans and Democrats has widened substantially.

1.4 billion: The market for adult diapers in Japan, which already pulls in around $1.4 billion in yearly revenue, is expected to surpass that for babies by the year 2020, due to the country’s large elderly population. #InDepends