Real-time payments, or RTP, were commonly used in Asia-Pacific in 2023, with transactions in India being almost 10 times higher as in China. RTP is important in India due to its implementation in the country's Unified Payments Interface or UPI. An expanded ranking on the number of instant payments per country places India at the top with a figure that was higher than 43 other countries combined. India is expected to keep this position by 2028, although its predicted CAGR will be lower than Brazil, the United States, and Indonesia. UPI (India) and Pix (Brazil) are the two main systems Real-time payments generally have two main characteristics that make them appealing: One, as the name suggests, payments can be initiated and settled almost immediately, allowing consumers, businesses, bank to send and receive money across the world within minutes. Two, these schemes are not bound to the opening times of a bank, and are available "24/7" and 365 days in the year. These traits matter especially to countries with a complex payment market that need to be digitalized — such as in India with its UPI system, but also in Brazil (PIX). UPI in India and Pix in Brazil together reached nearly 100 billion transactions in 2022. A2A payments: An enabler of real-time payment technology UPI and Pix are both also examples of applications that allow for A2A payments. A2A or account-to-account payments refers to direct payments from one party to the other without the need for an intermediary. Such intermediaries are card rails from the likes of Visa and Mastercard, which are essentially bypassed in A2A. These typically domestically developed payment options come from banks. A2A apps were more common in Latin America than in other parts of the world in late 2022. It should be noted that sources sometimes interpret A2A in different ways, as bank transfers (push requests) and direct debit (pull requests) can technically be a part of A2A as well.

The statistic shows the 30 largest countries in the world by area. Russia is the largest country by far, with a total area of about 17 million square kilometers.

Population of Russia

Despite its large area, Russia - nowadays the largest country in the world - has a relatively small total population. However, its population is still rather large in numbers in comparison to those of other countries. In mid-2014, it was ranked ninth on a list of countries with the largest population, a ranking led by China with a population of over 1.37 billion people. In 2015, the estimated total population of Russia amounted to around 146 million people. The aforementioned low population density in Russia is a result of its vast landmass; in 2014, there were only around 8.78 inhabitants per square kilometer living in the country. Most of the Russian population lives in the nation’s capital and largest city, Moscow: In 2015, over 12 million people lived in the metropolis.

The top five Coal producing countries (Million Tonnes, 2021)

In 2022, India overtook China as the world's most populous country and now has almost 1.46 billion people. China now has the second-largest population in the world, still with just over 1.4 billion inhabitants, however, its population went into decline in 2023. Global population As of 2025, the world's population stands at almost 8.2 billion people and is expected to reach around 10.3 billion people in the 2080s, when it will then go into decline. Due to improved healthcare, sanitation, and general living conditions, the global population continues to increase; mortality rates (particularly among infants and children) are decreasing and the median age of the world population has steadily increased for decades. As for the average life expectancy in industrial and developing countries, the gap has narrowed significantly since the mid-20th century. Asia is the most populous continent on Earth; 11 of the 20 largest countries are located there. It leads the ranking of the global population by continent by far, reporting four times as many inhabitants as Africa. The Demographic Transition The population explosion over the past two centuries is part of a phenomenon known as the demographic transition. Simply put, this transition results from a drastic reduction in mortality, which then leads to a reduction in fertility, and increase in life expectancy; this interim period where death rates are low and birth rates are high is where this population explosion occurs, and population growth can remain high as the population ages. In today's most-developed countries, the transition generally began with industrialization in the 1800s, and growth has now stabilized as birth and mortality rates have re-balanced. Across less-developed countries, the stage of this transition varies; for example, China is at a later stage than India, which accounts for the change in which country is more populous - understanding the demographic transition can help understand the reason why China's population is now going into decline. The least-developed region is Sub-Saharan Africa, where fertility rates remain close to pre-industrial levels in some countries. As these countries transition, they will undergo significant rates of population growth

Learn about the top five wheat producing countries in the world, including China, India, the United States, Russia, and France. These countries contribute significantly to the global wheat supply and play a crucial role in ensuring food security.

Monaco led the ranking for countries with the highest population density in 2024, with nearly 26,000 residents per square kilometer. The Special Administrative Region Macao came in second, followed by Singapore. The world’s second smallest country Monaco is the world’s second smallest country, with an area of about two square kilometers, and its population only numbers around 40,000. It is a constitutional monarchy located by the Mediterranean Sea, and while Monaco is not part of the European Union, it does participate in some EU policies. The country is perhaps most famous for the Monte Carlo casino and for hosting the Monaco Grand Prix, the world's most prestigious Formula One race. The global population Globally, the population density per square kilometer stands at about 60 inhabitants, and Asia is the most densely populated region in the world. The global population is increasing rapidly, so population density is only expected to increase as well. In 1950, for example, the global population stood at about 2.54 billion people, and it reached over eight billion during 2023.

The top five Copper producing countries (Thousand Tonnes, 2021)

Discover the top five wheat producing countries in the world and learn about the factors contributing to their success in meeting global wheat demand.

In 2023, Germany was the country with the highest number of publications in the field of life sciences in Europe, with almost 65 thousand studies published. Italy and France followed, with 56.7 thousand and 40.7 thousand, respectively. This statistic shows the five European countries with the highest number of studies published in the field of life sciences in 2023.

As of February 2025, China ranked first among the countries with the most internet users worldwide. The world's most populated country had 1.11 billion internet users, more than triple the third-ranked United States, with just around 322 million internet users. Overall, all BRIC markets had over two billion internet users, accounting for four of the ten countries with more than 100 million internet users. Worldwide internet usage As of October 2024, there were more than five billion internet users worldwide. There are, however, stark differences in user distribution according to region. Eastern Asia is home to 1.34 billion internet users, while African and Middle Eastern regions had lower user figures. Moreover, the urban areas showed a higher percentage of internet access than rural areas. Internet use in China China ranks first in the list of countries with the most internet users. Due to its ongoing and fast-paced economic development and a cultural inclination towards technology, more than a billion of the estimated 1.4 billion population in China are online. As of the third quarter of 2023, around 87 percent of Chinese internet users stated using WeChat, the most popular social network in the country. On average, Chinese internet users spent five hours and 33 minutes online daily.

France and Italy were the top two countries of origin for wine imported into the United Kingdom in 2023. The import value from the top five countries of origin came to approximately 2.55 billion British pounds in 2022, of which 896 million came from France alone.

Wine trade

Imports of wine to the UK predominantly came from the European Union. Other countries in Western and Eastern Europe only had a minor share of UK wine imports. Besides Australia and Oceania one other region supplied imports of a notable size. With over 301 million worth of wine Latin America supplied more wine than any single country except for France and Italy.

Wine consumption

Of those who drank wine, the majority did so on a weekly basis. Household purchases of table wine had been experiencing a decreasing trend in favor of increased champagne and sparkling wine purchases. .

Discover the top 5 crude oil producing countries in the world, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, and China. Learn about their production levels, oil reserves, and impact on the global economy.

The world's major economies heavily rely on oil imports to meet their energy needs. Here are the top 5 oil importing countries: United States, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. These countries' high levels of oil imports highlight their dependence on foreign oil.

Based on 2014 - 2015 Estimated Finance allocations for Government Projects (e-ProMIS Portal)E-ProMIS is the Electronic Project Monitoring Information System Developed by the Economic Affairs department at the Treasury. The visualisation looks at the top five countries and development partners that Kenya has signed finance agreement with for both Loans or Grants.

This statistic shows the five African countries who suffered the largest losses in their elephant populations between 2007 and 2013. The country who lost the most elephants was Tanzania, dropping from 108,816 elephants in 2007 to 53,833 elephants in 2013.

Singapore led the Index of Economic Freedom in 2024, with an index score of 83.5 out of 100. Switzerland, Ireland, Taiwan, and Luxembourg rounded out the top five. Economic Freedom Index In order to calculate the Economic Freedom Index, the source takes 12 different factors into account, including the rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency, and open markets. All 12 factors are rated on a scale of zero to 100 and are weighted equally. Every country is rated within the Index in order to provide insight into the health and freedom of the global economy. Singapore's economy Singapore is one of the four so-called Asian Tigers, a term used to describe four countries in Asia that saw a booming economic development from the 1950s to the early 1990. Today, the City-State is known for its many skyscrapers, and its economy continue to boom. It has one of the lowest tax-rates in the Asia-Pacific region, and continues to be open towards foreign direct investment (FDI). Moreover, Singapore has one of the highest trade-to-GDP ratios worldwide, underlining its export-oriented economy. Finally, its geographic location has given it a strategic position as a center connecting other countries in the region with the outside world. However, the economic boom has come at a cost, with the city now ranked among the world's most expensive.

This page displays a table with China Imports By Country in U.S. dollars, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.

This dataset provides values for CORRUPTION INDEX reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for CORONAVIRUS DEATHS reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

France was the country with the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world as of August 2024, with 636 restaurants in the country having been awarded one, two, or three stars. Meanwhile, second in the ranking was Japan which had 387 restaurants with Michelin stars. Japan is also home to the city with the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, Tokyo. What is the world’s highest-priced Michelin-starred restaurant? The most expensive Michelin-starred restaurant worldwide, was Sublimotion in Ibiza, Spain. Visitors to the high-end Mediterranean dining concept were expected to pay around 1.7 thousand U.S. dollars for a full-tasting course. Two of the top five restaurants in the ranking, Ultraviolet and Kitcho Arashiyama Honten, were located in Asian countries. What is the best restaurant in the world? “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants,” published by William Reed Business Media, is widely considered to be the Oscars of gastronomy. In 2023, the publication ranked “Central” to be the best restaurant in the world. The Peruvian restaurant utilizes indigenous ingredients from Peru’s coastal region, the Andes highlands, and the Amazon rainforest to create a unique culinary experience for its diners.