Royal Statistical Society : Best statistics of 2017 are 69 and 0.1

I guess we can characterize the new U.S. immigration ban as “swallowing a camel to strain a gnat” given the following data.

The numbers that best sum up 2017 are 69 and 0.1, said Britain’s Royal Statistical Society as it launched its inaugural “Statistics of the Year” award. Intended as the numerical equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary’s “Word of the Year”, the venerable society, founded in 1834, chose an international and UK award, from a list of nominations made by its members, staff and the general public. The international statistic was 69, the number of US citizens killed on average in lawnmower accidents each year, compared with the two killed by immigrant Islamic terrorists.

…The article’s other numbers also showed that five Americans were killed by far-right terrorists, 21 by “armed toddlers” and 11,737 who were “shot by another American”.  

…“The 0.1 per cent figure highlights the fact that our perceptions about urban density and the country being ‘concreted over’ are not always 100 per cent accurate. “The fact that less than 6 per cent of the UK is built on also shows that there is space for new housing, if we want to build it. But, of course, it’s not always in the places where demand is greatest, and that’s a crucial point,” said Prof Rae.  – FT

 

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