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Brookings Data Now: 90 Billion Barrels of Oil in the Arctic?

Fred Dews
Fred Dews Managing Editor, New Digital Products - Office of Communications

March 27, 2014

  • 1 min read

In this edition of Brookings Data Now: undiscovered oil in the Arctic; health sector’s portion of U.S. GDP; obesity rate among American children; many Americans still think we’re in a recession; and the UN’s many days of recognition.

90 billion

Estimated undiscovered oil resources (barrels) in the Arctic

This represents about 13 percent of the total estimated undiscovered oil resources globally; the Arctic is believed to hold 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered natural gas resources.
17%

The portion of U.S. GDP represented by the health sector

National healthcare spending is but one part of the overall U.S. debt picture.

12.5 million

Estimated number of American children who are obese

This is nearly 17 percent of children, though the number is declining. An estimated 35.7 percent of adults are obese.

6 in 10

Number of Americans who believe the country is still in a recession

Although the recession ended in mid-2009, this persistent belief about the economy could have negative repercussions for Democrats in the 2014 mid-term congressional elections.
132

Number of official “Days” recognized by the United Nations

These include the recent “International Women’s Day,” calling attention to the fact that, globally, women still earn on average 15 percent less in wages than men for equivalent jobs in advanced economies.

Mingwei Ma contributed to this post.