Information Access in North Korea Continues to Increase

The Economist recently published an article exploring the ways in which North Koreans are accessing more information connecting them to the outside world. Despite the efforts of leaders inside the country to curb such access, it is estimated that more than 70% of North Koreans have access to television and more than 40% have access to radio.

Nearly 80% of North Koreans surveyed claimed that word of mouth was an important source of information but only 40% said the same of domestic television. Moreover, slightly more than 20% said that South Korean radio was an important source of information, despite the fact that listening to non-state run radio stations is illegal. In contrast, only about 5% said that domestic radio was an important source of information.

U.S. Naturalization

The Economist's recent Daily Chart depicts the number of naturalizations that occurred over the past decade in a handful of countries.  The graph also displays the proportion of each country's population that is foreign born.


The nations that naturalized the most citizens were the United States, Russia, and Canada. With a figure of 6.6 million, the United States naturalized the most citizens from 2001-2010. Russia comes in second, with about half as many naturalizations at 3.1 million people, while Canada follows with just under 2 million naturalized citizens in just as many years. Other countries with more than a million naturalized immigrants are Britain, France, and Germany.

However, the countries that naturalized the most immigrants are not necessarily the ones whose populations have the greatest proportion of foreign born people.  For example, while the United States conferred citizenship on 6.6 million individuals in the past decade, immigrants only account for 13% of its total population.  On the other hand, Australia and Switzerland naturalized 1 million and about 0.4 million people, but both their foreign born populations constitute 27% of the total population, the most of any countries depicted in the graphic.  Countries with other high proportions of foreign born people are New Zealand (23%), Canada (20%), Spain (15%), and Sweden (15%).

South Korea to Surpass Japan's GDP per Person

Although Japan was once the foremost nation in terms of economic growth, the Economist's daily chart suggests that this trend is changing. Countries like South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, who used to trail behind Japan in regards to GDP per person, are now quickly outpacing Japan. Even more remarkable, South Korea is expected to achieve a higher GDP per person measured at purchasing-power than Japan within five years. Singapore outpaced Japan in this category in 1993 and Taiwan passed Japan in 2010. However, the case of South Korea will be extraordinary, give that 32 years ago South Korea’s GDP per person was roughly a fourth of Japan’s.

Plastic Surgery

A recent post on the Economist's Graphic Detail blog discusses the rate of cosmetic plastic surgery in 2010, as reported by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.  The graph from the post ranks countries based on procedures per 1,000 people and categorizes the procedures as either "non-invasive" or "invasive."  South Korea topped the list at 16 procedures per 1,000, followed by Greece and Italy at 14 and about 13 respectively.  The US had the 6^th largest number of procedures done per 1,000 at approximately 10.5.  India and China had the fewest, at around 1 procedure per 1,000.