Is America Still No. 1?

From an Article in Parade Magazine - 1/14/07
by David Wallechinsky

America is No 1 in:

• billionaires - 371, worth a reported $1.1 trillion
• 2004 Olympic medals - 102 in the Summer Games
• Internet Users - 205,327,000
• Nobel Prize Winners - 296
• Roads - 3.98 million miles
• Airports - 14,858
• Gold Reserves - $157.88 billion

Where we lag:

• We lead the world in total imports But since 2003, Germany has passed us in total exports. China, too, has made significant gains and may claim our second position.
• Unemployment - the U.S. unemployment rate is higher than the rates of 38 other nations, including not only Japan and Switzerland but also MEXICO. MEXICO has LOWER rate of unemployment than the U.S.
• Health - 43 countries have more doctors per capita, including France Switzerland, Mongolia and Lebanon.
  49 have more hospital beds per capita than the U.S.
  33 nations, including Cuba, have a lower infant death rate than the U.S. and have a lower maternal death rate.
  We rank 30th in life expectancy for women and 28th for men.
  In all of these health-related categories the U.S. position has steadily declined over the last 20 years.
• Crime Prevention - the U.S. has greater rate of incarceration (737 per 100,000 people - or 2.2 million) than any other nation, and we perform the 4th highest number of execution (60 in 2005, trailing China, Iran and Saudi Arabia). Of 53 countries for which there are reliable statistics, only South Africa and Canada have higher rape rates. The U.S. also has the 3rd highest rate of major assaults and the 15th highest murder rate.
• Voting -the U.S. ranked 139th out of 172 nations that held elections.