Doug Ross @ Journal

Some facts and predictions to make you think

From McKinsey's latest (registration required):

Total world cross-border trade as a percentage of global GDP 1990: 18% 2015 (estimated): 30% Number of regional trade agreements In 1990: 50 In 2005: 250 Change in Germany's population over the age of 75 from 2005 to 2015: 33% Increase in tax burden needed to maintain current benefit levels for Germany's future generation: 90% Change in Japan's population over the age of 75 from 2005 to 2015: 36% Change in Japan's population under the age of 5 from 2005 to 2015: -13% Increase in tax burden needed to maintain current benefit levels for Japan's future generation: 175% Computational capability of an Intel processor, as measured in instructions per second 1971: 60,000 2005: 10,800,000,000 Multiple by which e-mail traffic has grown from 1997 to 2005: 215 Number of US tax returns prepared in India 2003: 25,000 2005: 400,000 Combined market cap of top 150 mega-institutions 1994: $4 trillion 2004: $11 trillion Growth rate of the total wealth controlled by millionaires in China from 1986 to 2001: 600% Estimated number of Chinese households to achieve European income levels by 2020 (assuming real income grows at 8 percent annually): 100 million Total number of workers in China: 750 million Number employed in China's state-owned companies: 375 million Part of national GDP spent on the public sector in the United Kingdom in 2004: 20% UK public-sector spending as a ratio of GDP when transfer payments (for example, pensions) are included: 40% Proportion of Latin Americans who would prefer a dictator to democracy if he improved their living conditions: 50% Muslims as a percentage of the global population 2000: 19% 2025 (estimated): 30% Number of major violent conflicts 1991: 58 2005: 22 Number of coal-fired power plants China plans to build by 2012: 562 Estimated year China will overtake the United States as the number-one carbon emitter: 2025 Estimated year CO2 levels will hit 500 parts per million: 2050 Years since CO2 levels last hit 500 parts per million: 50 million Average years it takes a CO2 molecule, once produced, to degrade: 100