The FP Quiz

1. After China, which country executed the most people last year?
a) Iran                                  
b) Saudi Arabia                
c) United States

2. Which country spends the most on its military, per person?
a) China       
b) Israel      
c) Singapore

3. What percentage of the world’s languages are at risk of going extinct?
a) 10 percent                    
b) 26 percent                    
c) 42 percent

4. What percentage of Silicon Valley tech companies founded between 1995 and 2005 were started by immigrants?
a) 23 percent                    
b) 34 percent
c) 52 percent

5. Which country’s citizens can travel to the most countries and territories without a visa?
a) Canada
b) Denmark
c) Vatican City

6. In how many languages is Google available?
a) 43
b) 87
c) 127

7. Which African country has the largest U.S. troop presence?
a) Egypt
b) Djibouti
c) Kenya

8. North Korea recently imprisoned two U.S. journalists. Which other country is holding a foreign journalist in custody?
a) United States
b) Saudi Arabia
c) Singapore

Answers to the FP Quiz

1) A, Iran. In 2008, China had at least 1,718 executions, followed by Iran with 346. According to Amnesty International, the real numbers might be even higher. Saudi Arabia was the No. 3 executioner, with 102 killed, generally by public beheading. The United States, whose methods include electrocution and lethal injection, was No. 4, with 37 executions.

2) B, Israel. Israel spent about $2,300 per person on its military in 2008, some $400 more per person than No. 2 United States, according to The Economist. Tiny Singapore was No. 4, spending about $1,650 per person. When it comes to total military expenditure, however, no country comes close to the United States, which spent $607 billion in 2008, or 41.5 percent of the world’s total, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

3) C, 42 percent. Of the world’s approximately 6,000 languages, 2,498 are known to be at risk of dying out, according to UNESCO. This means that children are no longer learning these languages or are speaking them only in restricted settings, such as within the home. One of the latest languages to go extinct is the Alaskan language of Eyak, whose last known speaker died in 2008.

4) C, 52 percent. Of the Silicon Valley science and technology companies founded from 1995 to 2005, 52.4 percent had a chief executive or lead technologist who was foreign-born, according to research by Duke University’s Vivek Wadhwa. The figure for the entire United States was 25.3 percent. Meanwhile, far more skilled workers are waiting for U.S. visas than are available, leading to concern that the United States could lose its competitive edge.

5) B, Denmark. Danes have the most freedom to travel — they could enter 157 countries and territories without a visa as of Sept. 1, 2008, according to consulting firm Henley & Partners. Other nationalities facing the least red tape when traveling abroad include Finns, Irish, and Portuguese (156 visa-free countries and territories), and Americans, Belgians, Germans, and Swedes (155). Countries whose people are relatively stuck: Afghanistan (22 visa-free destinations); Iraq (23); and Iran, Pakistan, and Somalia (25).

6) C, 127. As of July 31, Google’s home page, messages, and buttons were offered in 127 interface languages, from commonly spoken tongues such as Hindi and Japanese to more obscure languages such as Basque and Tonga. Also available are Esperanto, a constructed language, and the made-up languages of Klingon and Pirate, the latter of which turns the "Advanced Search" button into "Use Me Better Spyglass." Meanwhile, Google Translate can convert English into 42 languages.

7) B, Djibouti. As of March 31, 1,294 active-duty U.S. military personnel were in Djibouti, a former French colony located at the south entrance to the Red Sea, near the Horn of Africa and close enough to monitor terrorist networks in Somalia and Yemen. Last fall, the newly created U.S. Africa Command (Africom) assumed control of operations in Djibouti. Many Africans are suspicious of Africom, given the continent’s colonial history and Washington’s Cold War practice of supporting autocratic regimes.

8) A, United States. Ibrahim Jassam, a freelance Iraqi photographer working for Reuters, has been held in U.S. custody in Iraq since Sept. 2, 2008, on the grounds that he is a security threat, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the United States has detained dozens of journalists, at least 12 of whom were held for prolonged periods. None of the journalists was convicted of any charge.