MapGEO

Geography facts, with the reasoning attached.

People and place: how populations moved

For several countries the population living elsewhere outnumbers the one at home, and for a few others the majority of residents arrived within a single lifetime. Both facts reshape everything downstream of them.

  1. Which passports generally allow visa-free travel to the most countries?

    Singapore and Japan

    Singapore and Japan have led recent rankings with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to roughly 190 destinations. Rankings shift year to year with bilateral agreements.

    Source: Henley Passport Index

  2. Roughly how many people worldwide have no nationality at all?

    Several million

    UNHCR counts several million stateless people, and estimates the true figure is higher because many are undocumented by definition. Statelessness can block school, work and travel.

    Source: UNHCR statelessness reports

  3. Which city is often cited as the most linguistically diverse in the world?

    New York

    Researchers have documented over 700 languages spoken in the New York area, including many endangered languages with more speakers there than in their homelands.

    Source: Endangered Language Alliance surveys

  4. Which country has the largest diaspora living abroad?

    India

    Roughly 18 million people born in India live in another country, the largest such population. Mexico and Russia follow, though relative to population several smaller countries exceed all of them.

    Source: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs migration stock data

  5. How large is the gap in life expectancy between the highest and lowest countries?

    Around 30 years

    Japan, Switzerland and others exceed 84 years while several countries remain in the mid-50s, a gap of roughly three decades driven mostly by child mortality and conflict.

    Source: World Health Organization life tables

  6. Which country has the youngest population by median age?

    Niger, at around 15

    Niger's median age is around 15, meaning half the country is a child. Monaco and Japan are at the other end, above 48.

    Source: UN World Population Prospects

  7. When did more of humanity start living in cities than outside them?

    Around 2007

    The urban share passed 50 percent around 2007 and is now above 56 percent, projected towards 68 percent by 2050.

    Source: UN World Urbanization Prospects

  8. Which country abolished its army in 1948 and has not had one since?

    Costa Rica

    Costa Rica abolished its military after a civil war and redirected the budget to education and health. About two dozen countries have no standing army, mostly microstates.

    Source: Constitution of Costa Rica, article 12

  9. Which region has seen the fastest rise in literacy over the last fifty years?

    Asia

    Global literacy rose from roughly 68 percent in 1979 to about 87 percent now, driven overwhelmingly by South and East Asia where the starting point was lowest.

    Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

  10. What do current UN projections say about world population this century?

    It peaks then falls

    Fertility has fallen faster than expected almost everywhere. Recent projections put the peak around 10.3 billion in the 2080s, followed by decline.

    Source: UN World Population Prospects, 2024 revision