2011 in booze

Since many of us may be getting ready to pop up our champagne bottles to celebrate the new year, I thought it would be appropriate to post about the second most popular article of The Economist of 2011: Drinking habits.

A map of world alcohol consumptionTHE world drank the equivalent of 6.1 litres of pure alcohol per person in 2005, according to a report from the World Health Organisation published on February 11th. The biggest boozers are mostly found in Europe and in the former Soviet states. Moldovans are the most bibulous, getting through 18.2 litres each, nearly 2 litres more than the Czechs in second place. Over 10 litres of a Moldovan's annual intake is reckoned to be 'unrecorded' home-brewed liquor, making it particularly harmful to health. Such moonshine accounts for almost 30% of the world's drinking. The WHO estimates that alcohol results in 2.5m deaths a year, more than AIDS or tuberculosis. In Russia and its former satellite states one in five male deaths is caused by drink.

I am curious to read the recipe for that "home-made" brewed Moldovan alcohol... :-)

Christmas spending and wealth

A fun daily chart from The Economist: correlation between expected gift spending during the Christmas season and a countries' wealth (in purchasing-power parity terms) .

I want a Luxembourgish friend! :-P

"The Promised Land"

I am indulging on the newest New Yorker's cover. By Christoph Niemann. 

Here is an extract from some comments he made to the Huff Post:

"The debate should be about how can a country benefit from immigration. America depends on immigration. The discussion will be more valuable if it is focused on benefits". 

"I draw a parallel between current immigrants and early settlers -- the hope is that it will provide context, to help keep things in perspective." 

Also The Economist had an article last week about the benefits of diasporas: usually immigrants are very hard workers, with high aspirations, and create good support networks that help boost economic growth. Not only they send money back home, but they also get more educated abroad and bring back that knowledge to their countries of origin. I quite like the closing paragraph of the article

As for the old world, its desire to close its borders is understandable but dangerous. Migration brings youth to ageing countries, and allows ideas to circulate in millions of mobile minds. That is good both for those who arrive with suitcases and dreams and for those who should welcome them.

Also from The Economist, here is a nice chart that shows where are the Chinese and the Indians outside their own countries. There are "more Chinese leaving outside mainland China than French people living in France." And only about 22million Indians live away from home.