A taste of statistics

Statistics is all about numbers with a context. Each number corresponds to some real life context, and it is important to never lose site of that.

In this section we get a taste of the richness of statistical information and visualization by exploring a rich interactive data set of information about the various countries of the world. A short video showcases the amazing possibilities there.

Some questions we will consider while exploring this data set.

1. How do the economies of various countries compare in 2018? Identify specific countries as well as overall and regional trends.
2. What effect did the second world war have on the economies of the European countries, and the United States?
3. Discuss the effect that the first world war (1914-1918) and the spanish flu (influenza) pandemic (1918-1919) had on the world population.
4. Which countries had a sudden drop in life expectancy in 1933, and what event triggered that drop?

Your first homework will ask you to explore this data further.