Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

2016

  • short reads

    Is God Dead? No, but belief has declined slightly

    Fifty years ago this month, Time magazine published one of its most famous and controversial covers. Splashed in bold red print across a black background was a short, simple and yet intensely provocative question: “Is God Dead?” Without providing a definitive answer, the authors of the piece, dated April 8, 1966, seemed to imply that, […]

  • report

    Libraries and Learning

    Most Americans think that local libraries serve the educational needs of their communities and families well. But many do not know about key education services libraries provide.

  • short reads

    Who relies on public transit in the U.S.

    America’s love affair with the car is well-documented, but many U.S. adults also rely on a bus, train or subway to get around. One-in-ten Americans (11%) say they take public transportation on a daily or weekly basis, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2015, but who is taking public transit […]

  • short reads
    Room to grow: Internet access and smartphone ownership in India

    Global tech companies see India’s vast offline population as untapped market

    Only about a fifth of India’s roughly 1.2 billion people are online, according to a recent Pew Research Center report, and the world’s biggest technology companies are clamoring for this large, untapped user base. Facebook recently tried (and failed) to implement its “Free Basics” internet program, and Google is also vying for the vast Indian […]

  • short reads

    The biggest U.S. tax breaks

    The hundreds of exemptions, deductions and other breaks embedded in the tax code will cost the federal government more than $1.3 trillion this fiscal year.

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    Restrictions on Women’s Religious Attire

    Many countries have laws that ban or limit women from wearing religious attire in public places. By comparison, far fewer countries require women to wear particular types of attire for religious reasons.