- 80 per cent of admissions to hospital are for emergencies. [The Guardian, 3rd February 2006]
- In Sweden, prison sentences of over five years are given out only for serious crimes like drug dealing, murder and rape. In 2004, only 329 people were serving sentences of over five years. [New York Times magazine, 5th February 2006]
- The number of armed conflicts in the world has declined by more than 40 per cent since 1992. [Human Security Report 2005]
- One in three Bangladeshi men in Britain works as a waiter, and one in eight Pakistanis as a taxi driver. [David Miliband's Scarman lecture, 31st January 2006]
- Middlesbrough is responsible for 25 per cent of national kerb-crawling convictions. [The Week, 28th January 2006]
- More American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan in 2005 than during any of the previous three years. [The Economist, 4th February 2006]
- The suicide rate for 11-17 year olds is five times higher in Wales than England. [BBC News Online, 6th February 2006]
- Of all Oxbridge graduates working as teachers, 54 per cent are teaching in private schools. [Sutton Trust]
- Half the world's supertankers are disassembled at Chittagong port in Bangladesh. [Foreign Policy, January 2006]
- Ruth Kelly's grandfather was an IRA quartermaster. [The Times, 23rd January 2006]
- In China and Japan, 59 per cent and 66 per cent of undergraduates respectively receive their degrees in science and engineering, compared with 32 per cent in the US. [Washington Post, 6th December 2006]
- The IRS has a computer devoted solely to Bill Gates's tax return. [The Guardian, 11th February 2006]
- In the US, 45 per cent of Republicans say they are happy compared to 29 per cent of Democrats. [Pew]
