How does Canada fare in The Newsroom’s “greatest country” rant?

One of the best moments of television I’ve seen in awhile is the rant fictional news anchor Will McAvoy gives early in the pilot episode of Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom, when he’s asked by a student to discuss why he thinks the United States is the greatest country in the world. He proceeds to rhyme off a litany of statistics to outline why feels it no longer is.

I thought it would be interesting to see how Canada fared in the categories outlined by McAvoy.

Literacy

McAvoy said U.S. was 7^th. The OECD ranks the U.S. at 17^th. Canada was 6^th.

Math

McAvoy said U.S. was 27^th. The OECD puts them 31^st, and Canada 10^th.

Science

McAvoy said U.S. was 22^nd. According to the OECD they’re 23^rd, and Canada is 8^th.

Life Expectancy

McAvoy said U.S. is 49^th. According to the CIAWorld Factbook, the US is 50^th in the world with a live expectancy of 78.49 years. Canada is 12^th, at 81.48 years.

Infant morality

McAvoy put the U.S. at 178^th. According to the CIA they’re 174^th with 5.98 deaths of infants under one year old per 1,000 live births. Canada was 182^nd (which is better) at 4.85.

Median household income

McAvoy said the U.S. was 3^rd. According to the OECD they’re 2^nd, at US$31,111. Canada is 7^th, at US$25,363.

Labour Force

McAvoy put the U.S. 4^th, and so does the CIA with a labour force of 153.6 million. Canada is 31^st at 18.67 million.

Exports

McAvoy said the U.S was 4^th. According to the CIA they’re third with exports of $1.5 trillion, while Canada was 12^th with $450.6 billion.

Incarcerated citizens per capita

McAvoy said the U.S. leads the world and according to the International Centre for Prison Studies they do, with an incarceration rate of 730 out of every 10,000 citizens. Canada is 130^th, at 117 per 10,000.

Number of adults who believe angels are real

McAvoy said the U.S. is the world leader, but I couldn’t find any comparative global numbers or rankings. An Associated Press-GfK poll said 77 per cent of Americans believe angels are real, while an Ipsos Reid poll found 66 per cent of Canadians believe the same.

Defence spending

McAvoy put the U.S on top and according to SIPRI they are, at $1.6 trillion. Canada is 14^th, at $24.7 billion.

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