Finding America

Me and Tarah

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At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, the United States is an extraordinarily large place. It is so large, in fact, that 11 of its states separately possess a total area larger than that of the entire United Kingdom. This is truly mind-boggling, especially given that the UK is itself comprised of four nations.

That is precisely why I have undertaken this weekly project: tabulating the statistical differences (and sometimes similarities) between each of the fifty states and the United Kingdom. This week, we're going to assess how the state of Arkansas—itself just over half the size of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland combined—shapes up against the UK in each of the data areas listed below.
 
Please keep in mind that the contents of the following table do not serve any social or political agenda. Moreover, this table—as well as those of the other 49 states—is subject to revision, correction, and/or updates as and when such alterations are needed.



ARKANSAS
UK
POPULATION
2,966,369
64,100,000
POPULATION DENSITY
56.4
people per sq. mile
662 people per sq. mile
TOTAL AREA (SQ. MILES)
53,179
94,060
YEAR OF FORMATION
1836
1707
TIME ZONE(S)
Central Time
GMT and BST
LARGEST CITY
Little Rock
London
HIGHEST POINT
2,753 ft (Magazine Mountain)
4,406 ft (Ben Nevis)
HIGHEST REC. TEMP
120 °F
(49 °C)
101.3°F
(38.5°C)
LOWEST REC. TEMP
−29 °F
(−34 °C)
-17°F
(-27.2°C)
MALE LIFE EXPECTANCY
73.29
79.5
FEMALE LIFE EXPECTANCY
78.89
82.5
MURDER RATE (PER 100,000 PEOPLE)
5.9
(Statistics recorded in 2012)
1
(Statistics recorded in 2012)
TALLEST BUILDING
547ft
(Simmons Tower in Little Rock)
1004ft
(The Shard in London)
INCARCERATION RATE (PER 100,000 PEOPLE)
552
147
MINIMUM WAGE
$7.50 (set to increase to $8.50 by 2017)
$9.96 (for workers over 21)
VEHICLES PER 1,000 PEOPLE
700
519
ADULT OBESITY RATE
28.1%
23.1%
AGE OF CONSENT
16
16
MINIMUM AGE FOR FULL, UNRESTRICTED DRIVING LICENSES
16.5
17
(or 16 for some people claiming mobility benefit).
This article was written by Laurence Brown. Laurence is a British expat living in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a contributor for BBC America and has written for Anglotopia. He is Editor-in-chief of Lost in the Pond and loves nothing more than to share these articles with anglophiles, expats, and other interested parties on social media. Follow Lost in the Pond on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

3 comments:

  1. Wow, the incarceration rate is really high compared to the UK. I live just north of there and though it's a lovely state with some very beautiful natural areas, it's among the top ten states for methamphetamine arrests.

    People do drive more here (number of vehicles). Most towns and cities in the middle of the US have poor public transport or none at all.

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  2. I think the incarceration rate in America is higher in general due to how they handle drug arrests.
    On other thoughts - if you ever write a Texas comparison and want any help let me know :D

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  3. My husband and I just moved from Falkirk, Scotland to Arkansas (I grew up here and my family lives here). There have definitely been some adjustments we've had to make (and honestly, many negative aspects about AR that I hadn't noticed before). It isn't uncommon to come across the attitude of 'get out of here, foreigner' and I'm amazed at the number of people who can't understand my husband even though his accent isn't very thick. However, there are many sweet and down to earth people who I feel have things in common with Scots - much of the culture is rooted in immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. Everyone is just a bit less private here in Arkansas! Don't be surprised if someone invites themselves over without a word first - it will do your head in.

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