Gerontocracies
How many countries are led by an octogenarian?
– Out of 187 states assessed in March last year, 10 had heads of government aged over 80. The oldest – who is still in power, is the president of Cameroon, Paul Biya, who celebrated his 91st birthday this week.
– The median age of a world leader in March last year was 62, with 18% in their forties, 22% in their fifties, 35% in their sixties and 18% in their seventies.
– Countries classified as ‘free’ (as defined by the thinktank Freedom House) tend to have younger leaders, with a median age of 58. Leaders of ‘partly free’ countries have a median age of 61 and those which are ‘not free’ a median age of 69.
– Following the death of Namibia’s 81-year-old president Hage Geingob on 4 February, Joe Biden, also 81, is now the oldest leader of a ‘free’ country.
Source: Pew Research Center
Force majorities
How ‘diverse’ is the army? Percentages of regular forces in 2023 that were:
Female | Ethnic background
Army 10.2 | 14.8
Royal Navy/Marines 10.6 | 5.1
RAF 15.6 | 3.8
All 11.5 | 10.1
In 2013, 9.7% of personnel were female and 7.1% were from an ethnic minority.
Source: House of Commons Library
Off the table
How many NHS operations are being cancelled (for other than clinical reasons)?
Jan-Mar 2022 17,477 (1%)
Apr-Jun 2022 17,579 (1%)
Jul-Sep 2022 19,439 (1%)
Oct-Dec 2022 21,273 (1.1%)
Jan-Mar 2023 18,975 (1%)
Apr-Jun 2023 17,024 (0.9%)
Jul-Sept 2023 18,749 (0.9%)
Oct-Dec 2023 20,372 (1%)
Source: NHS England
Choosing death
The former Dutch prime minister Dries van Agt and his wife Eugenie, both aged 93, died after choosing euthanasia, which was legalised in the Netherlands in 2002. Which countries had the highest number of deaths from euthanasia/assisted suicide in 2021?
Canada 10,064
Netherlands 7,666
Belgium 2,699
US 1,300
Switzerland 1,196
Source: Forbes
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Get 10 issues for just $10
Subscribe to The Spectator Australia today for the next 10 magazine issues, plus full online access, for just $10.
You might disagree with half of it, but you’ll enjoy reading all of it. Try your first month for free, then just $2 a week for the remainder of your first year.
Comments
Don't miss out
Join the conversation with other Spectator Australia readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.
SUBSCRIBEAlready a subscriber? Log in