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Graphic Truth
In the not-too-distant past, the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a severe blow to international travel in the US and Canada, causing overseas trips for citizens of both countries to plunge. In 2020, international travel from the US dropped by 76% compared to the previous year, while Canadian outbound travel declined by 74%.
By 2022, international travel from both countries showed significant signs of recovery. Fast forward to today, with pent-up demand plus the removal of pandemic restrictions fueling a robust recovery in overseas trips for both nations, with numbers in the US surpassing pre-pandemic highs.
China’s population, once the largest in the world, is now gradually shrinking. The problem has become so acute that the authorities last week raised the pension age by up to five years due to fears that there might not be enough working-age people to support the country’s pension system.
Still, even as the world’s second most populous country – India is now first – China boasts a vast population of some 1.4 billion people.
To put that in perspective, the country is home to nearly one out of every five earthlings.
In fact, of China’s nearly three dozen primary administrative districts, the two most populous – Guangdong and Shandong – alone contain more people than 99% of other entire countries.
Here is a look at China’s provinces expressed (give or take a few million people) as the populations of other entire countries.
For more on the challenge that China faces in maintaining its population, see here.Ah, the elusive youth vote, a demographic that has been historically unreliable in terms of turnout — but will be key in the extremely close US election. In the 2020 election, about half of voters under 30 voted, up from 39% in 2016. Meanwhile, in Canada, youth participation tends to be higher and more stable, with projections indicating about 60% turnout for young voters in the next federal election.
Following the debate on Tuesday, Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris, leading337,000 people to visit vote.gov, a website that helps first-time voters register to vote.
The pop icon’s endorsement, while unlikely to change the minds of many Donald Trump supporters, could have an outsized impact on turning out Democratic-leaning young voters to write Harris’ name in the “Blank Space”on their ballots.
For context, we looked at youth turnout in recent elections in the UK and France, which helped illuminate that when it comes to young voters nothing is guaranteed. In France, the rise of the far right in the first round of parliamentary elections led to a surge in youth turnout, at 57% of voters. This was up from 31% in 2022. Meanwhile, the UK saw youth turnout plummet to a mere 35% in the 2024 general election. This record low highlights deepening disengagement and frustration among British youth with the political establishment.
Life expectancy, a key indicator of a nation’s well-being, has been diverging between the United States and Canada in recent years. The gap in life expectancy now stands at four years between the neighboring countries, highlighting a significant divergence in health outcomes.
In the US, life expectancy has been plateauing – and it even declined by two years from 2019-2021, due to the pandemic, the opioid crisis, and increasing rates of obesity and related health issues. Canada, meanwhile, has fared better, with life expectancy continuing on an upward trajectory because of its universal health care system, lower rates of obesity and drug-related deaths, and more effective pandemic response.
As August 2024 draws to a close, gas prices across the United States are continuing on their downward trend, offering relief to American roadtrippers. The national average for regular gasoline stands at $3.36 per gallon, down from $3.45 at the beginning of the month. This decline is part of a broader pattern, with prices falling steadily since May.
Historically, August tends to see higher gas prices due to increased summer travel demand in the US and Canada. However, this year bucks the trend, with prices lower than in previous months and significantly below last year’s levels. To thank we have record US oil production, reduced demand from China, and a relatively calm hurricane season so far.
Looking ahead, some analysts predict prices could dip below $3 per gallon before Thanksgiving, potentially remaining low into 2025 – a trajectory that could have significant implications for the upcoming US presidential election. This should be good news for Kamala Harris, as high gas prices can be a killer for the incumbent party.
However, Donald Trump’s campaign points to the fact that gas prices hit historic lows during his presidency. While presidents never have much control over gas prices, this was especially true during Trump’s time in office, when the pandemic halted travel, which lowered demand.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is shaping up to be exceptionally active, with forecasts predicting 17-25 named storms, including 8-13 hurricanes and 4-7 major hurricanes. This surge in activity is driven by unusually warm Atlantic waters and El Niño conditions.
Hurricanes are becoming increasingly expensive for the US, with recent storms like Ian in 2022 and Ida in 2021 causing over $113 billion and $75 billion in damages, respectively. This trend is exacerbated by climate change, which intensifies storms and raises sea levels, amplifying coastal flooding.
Map of female leaders around the world
Today, Kamala Harris will address the Democratic National Convention as the first woman of color to lead a presidential ticket as she aims to become the first female US president.
This has already been a significant year for female leadership worldwide. On Sunday, Thailand elected 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra as its newest and youngest prime minister. Mexico and North Macedonia made history by electing their first female heads of state in 2024.
We look at the current landscape of countries led by female leaders.