The World

The decade in numbers: a snapshot of what has changed from 2000 to 2010

By Harriet Barovick, Ishaan Tharoor, Alexandra Silver, Claire Suddath, Frances Romero, Kayla Webley, Dan Fastenberg and Josh Sanburn Monday, Dec. 06, 2010

    • 1 | A DISAPPEARING ICE CAP

    Arctic sea ice melted perceptibly, continuing a long-term decline in the thickness of ice at the top of our planet. Scientists say a smaller ice cap will reflect less sunlight, leading to warmer global temperatures.

    [The following text appears within a map. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual map.]

    2000

    2.7* MILLION SQ. MI.

    *1979-2000 LONG-TERM AVERAGE

    2010

    1.9 MILLION SQ. MI.

    2 | WEDDINGS FOR ALL

    The Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage; Argentina was the first to do so in Latin America.

    2000

    0 COUNTRIES

    2010

    10 COUNTRIES

    Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina (all dark blue on map)

    3 | COLLEGE COSTS CLIMB IN THE U.S.

    The average student debt for four-year bachelor's degrees at public and private colleges steadily rose, with more students applying for financial aid.

    [The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]

    1999-2000

    $16,928

    2008-09

    $24,000

    4 | THE U.S. DEFENSE BUDGET

    Military expenditure by the U.S. currently amounts to more than the world's 20 next highest national defense budgets combined.

    2001

    $316 BILLION

    ($13 billion to Afghanistan)

    2010

    $693 BILLION

    ($102 billion to Afghanistan and $61 billion to Iraq)

    5 | REBEL FACTION ON THE WANE

    The current numbers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia--a Marxist guerrilla group founded in the 1960s and financed largely by the illegal drug trade--are about half what they once were.

    2001 16 THOUSAND

    2010 8 THOUSAND

    6 | BRAZIL'S PER CAPITA GDP

    Under the stewardship of outgoing President Lula da Silva, Brazil's once debt-ridden economy became one of the emerging world's most robust. Some 20 million people have been lifted out of poverty since 2003.

    [The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]

    $3,700 2000

    $8,536 2008

    7 | PRISON POPULATION

    The U.S. imprisons more people than any other country. More than 1 in 100 adults are behind bars, which cost the country $52 billion in 2008.

    [The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]

    2000 1,391,261

    2010 1,612,071

    =100,000 prisoners

    8 | MATERNAL MORTALITY IN ETHIOPIA

    The number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in Ethiopia decreased, reflecting a global trend.

    2000 750

    2008 470

    2. Previous Page
    3. 1
    4. 2
    5. 3