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Jump to navigationJump to searchPocket World in Figures 2013 by The Economist (view source)
Revision as of 09:46, 17 September 2012
, 09:46, 17 September 2012no edit summary
As with all Economist books there's an absence of fluff and padding - or, as some might call it, explanation and this is the book's strength and its weakness. Is the UK's rail network nearly as large as the one in France? Canada is a surprising absentee from the countries with the most air travel and do more tourists arrive in Indonesia than the United States? The figures might be surprising but correct, but I would ''love'' to have known a little more of the background.
There are some new features this year. Top of the world rankings for mobile banking is Kenya where it's apparently used by 68% of the population. This is the percentage of people who used a mobile phone to pay a bill or send or receive money. There's a footnote which says that high-income economies are excluded, but in a country where there are just just nine cars per thousand population it's a pointer to the way the world is changing. Less surprising is the list of the most popular museums and art galleries - the most popular by a long way is the Louvre.
I don't think the book's perfect but it would be hard to beat as a concise source of information whether you want it for work or just for interest - I can waste ''hours'' just looking through it and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
