There are 87.4 violent deaths per 100,000 population in Lithuania: the highest figure in the world. [World Health Organisation]
400m people watch the varsity boat race on television. [The Guardian, 7th April 2003]
French troops are in active service in eight African countries. [Foreign Office]
One in three of Britain's 1.1m rabbits are obese. [The Times, 18th March 2003]
The 50 most popular television programmes in Britain are all British. [The Economist, 5th April 2003]
In 2002, violent racist attacks in France were at the highest level for a decade. Attacks on Jews increased from 32 in 2001 to 193 in 2002. [Globe and Mail, 28th March 2003]
The annual budget of the Afghan government is around $460m-about half the monthly US military spend in Afghanistan. [The Guardian, 18th March 2003]
The average bee produces one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey during its lifetime. [Horizons, March 2003]
Only 16 per cent of Germans hold a university degree; about the same proportion as Turkey and Mexico. [OECD]
The US has paid disability compensation to more than 110,000 of the 696,000 troops that fought in the first Gulf war. [New Scientist, 26th March 2003]
1 per cent of Cambridge's population is Buddhist. [The Times, 14th February 2003]
Tommy Franks and Laura Bush attended the same Texas high school at the same time-but they didn't know each other. [New York Times, 23rd March 2003]
In 2002, the following companies each set a record for the largest loss in their respective country's corporate history: Deutsche Telekom (Germany, $21.2 billion), Vivendi Universal (France, $20.3 billion) and KPN (Netherlands, $10.4 billion). [Wall Street Journal, 15th March 2003]
