In this edition of Brookings Data Now: minimum wage, global poverty, troops in Afghanistan, student loan debt, China’s trade with Africa, Helsinki innovates, and life expectancy in Nigeria.
| 73% | Percent of Americans who favor increasing the minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $10.00/hour. Support when disaggregated by political affiliation: Democrats (88%); Independents (73%); Republicans (50%). See more polling data from the 2013 Economic Values Survey » |
| ½ billion | Since 2000, half a billion fewer people are living under $1.25 per day. Learn more about the Millennium Development Goals and the Brookings Blum Roundtable » |
| 63,000 | Number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan as of July 2013. Get more data in the Afghanistan Index » |
| 77% | Percent of households with student loan debt under $25,000. About 1 percent of households have student loan debt greater than $100,000. Find out why this may not be the crisis some claim it to be » |
| $180 bn | Value of China’s trade with Africa in 2012. It was $10 billion in 2000. China is now Africa’s second-largest trading partner after the European Union. |
| 17th | Helsinki, Finland’s rank in patenting per resident among 296 global metropolitan areas, between Raleigh, North Carolina and Austin, Texas. |
| 52 | Life expectancy in Nigeria, below the African average. |
Commentary
Brookings Data Now: Minimum Wage, Student Loan Debt, Helsinki, and More
August 1, 2013