1. Crime. The number of crimes committed per 100,000 population is almost two and half times higher in England and Wales than in the US.
2. Unemployment. The average rates of unemployment in the first and second halves of the 20th century in the UK were virtually identical (4.9 and 4.7 per cent respectively).
3. Religion. In the 2001 census, 71 per cent of the UK population said they were Christian.
4. Income inequality. World income inequality was about the same in 2000 as it was in 1900.
5. Stock markets. Since 1997 the stock market in the "weak" economy of Germany has risen by 29 per cent and by only 17 per cent in the "strong" economy of Britain. After adjusting for inflation, the increases are 17 and
6 per cent, respectively.
6. GDP comparison. Mississippi is the only US state with a per capita GDP lower than the UK.
7. Education and economic success. Across the developed world, the correlation between the percentage of GDP spent on education and GDP per head is close to zero.
8. Sport and culture. Total attendances at the Edinburgh Festival are just over 2.6m. This is more than two and a half times the attendances at English Premiership football games over a comparable period of time.
9. Consumer preferences. Households in Britain spend nearly twice as much a week on pets (£2.90) as they spend on books (£1.60).
10 Road safety. In 1926 in Britain, there were 2.9 deaths per 1,000 vehicles on the road. The current rate per 1,000 vehicles is only 0.1. If we still had the 1926 rate, there would be over 100,000 road deaths per year instead of the current level of around 3,500.
