EVERY WEEK, TheJournal.ie offers a selection of statistics and numerical nuggets to help you digest the week that has just passed.
3,808 – The number of homeless people in Ireland on Census Night 2011. The Central Statistics Office carried out its first ever detailed analysis of Ireland’s homeless population on April 10 last year. 457 of those counted were aged 14 or under.
4,149 – The number of women giving addresses in the Republic of Ireland who had abortions carried out in England or Wales last year. That’s down by 5.75 per cent on 2010 – and about 36 per cent from the first detailed figures given in 2002.
2,123,000 – The number of Irish people covered by private health insurance at the end of June. The figure is 16,000 less than at the end of March – and means that the numbers covered by private insurance has fallen in 14 of the last 15 quarters.
€33 million – The amount that Permanent TSB lost in 2009 when a computer error allowed customers to switch to another mortgage plan without charge. That’s the equivalent of how much the bank would make in a year if it increased the mortgage interest rate for 61,112 mortgage holders with loans of €300,000 by just 0.25 per cent. In other words, quite a bit.
92,000 – The number of (non-farm) jobs created in the US economy in August. That was significantly less than expected – and not good news for Barack Obama, with the news coming just hours after his flagship speech at the Demoratic National Convention in North Carolina.
60 – The number of days between now and the US presidential election.
$96.21 – The price of a barrel of crude oil on the world’s markets yesterday afternoon. That means the extra 778 million barrels’ worth of the black stuff found off the coast of Co Cork is worth €58.9 billion. That’s not including the 1.6 billion barrels already discovered… (How much is that worth to the Irish government?)
18 per cent - The amount by which a fill of home heating oil will have increased in price in the last year. A National Consumer Agency survey found the average delivery of 1,000 litres now costs €964 – compared to €818 this time last year.
456,256 – The number of people on the Live Register in August. The August figures marked the 26th month in succession in which the number of under-25s signing on was lower than the same point in the previous year.
€11,000 – The approximate value of a diamond that a crafty Chinese thief tried to nab at a Sri Lankan trade fair – by swallowing it. He’s to undergo survey to remove the gem, which became lodged in his gullet. We assume that when the diamond is removed, it’ll probably be worth a little bit less.
€2,316.39 – The amount, in euro, that the actual gold content of Ireland’s eight (and more, hopefully!) Paralympic gold medals are worth. The 400g medals are only 6% gold, but 92.5 per cent silver. The actual silver in the eight golds and three silvers is worth €3,536.71.
8.42 - The number of average girls who could pay for their Debs beauty treatment with the price of the gold and silver in Ireland’s Paralympic medals. Debenhams claims the average girl spends €695 on beauty, clothes, accessories and treatments – and that’s not including the price of a ticket.
143 stone – Yes, stone. That’s the weight of the largest ever cheeseburger, cooked at a Minnesota casino this week. The 2,014-pounder includes 60lb of bacon, 40lb of pickles and 40lb of cheese. The patty – which needed a crane to flip – took four hours to cook.
