As you can see from our World Affairs Annual 2011, there are many ways to present information other than simply writing it out in text. Our Snapshots 2011 spread does it visually, using charts and graphs to present and compare data about countries. Which country has the most billionaires—and which has the most tourists? Read on to find out.

The word “language” comes from the Latin word for “tongue.” About 7,000 languages are spoken in the world today. Language is a central part of who we are and where we come from. What languages are spoken in your family? What language is the most widely spoken worldwide? Does this surprise you? Why or why not?

Feel like going abroad? You’re not alone. In 2009, international travelers made about 880 million trips. For years, European countries were the top tourist destinations. Where is the U.S. on the list of the most-popular destinations in 2009? What qualities would make you want to visit a place?

Facebook was started in 2004 as a social network for students at Harvard University. It now has more than 500 million users worldwide—and has made its founder a billionaire. How would you compare the number of U.S. Facebook users with those of other countries? About how many users does Turkey have? Why do you think Facebook has become so popular? Do you think that it is TOO popular? Explain.

According to one study, more than 9.25 million people are in prisons around the world. The U.S. has the highest prison population rate of any country. This graph shows the countries with the highest ratio of prisoners to the general population. What is the ratio in Cuba? What factors might explain why some countries have more prisoners than others?

From the beginning of human history, people have organized their common beliefs into religions. The enormous variety of religions makes their actual number impossible to count. This chart shows the largest categories of religions—for instance Christianity, which has many sects, or divisions. What percent of people on Earth are Hindus? A recent study reports that half of Americans change their faith at least once. Why do you think that might be?

The data for this chart come from FORBES magazine’s annual list of billionaires. Which country has the most billionaires? Why might there be such a large gap between the first and second countries on the list? Why do you think people are so fascinated with the superrich? What other measures of success are there besides monetary wealth?

Ambitious builders are continually breaking the record for the world’s tallest structure. As of January 2010, the title of world’s tallest goes to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, one of the states in the United Arab Emirates. Which one of these buildings is the oldest? On which continent is the International Commerce Center located?

This graph measures municipal waste, meaning trash collected by cities and towns. Picking up and getting rid of this garbage is expensive and has many environmental implications. How many pounds of trash per year does the average American produce? Which countries’ people produce even more? Where does all the garbage we toss out go? What problems does this cause?

Movies are America’s second-largest export. (Agricultural products are the first.) But it isn’t Hollywood that puts out the most movies—it’s Bollywood. That nickname for India’s main film center comes in part from Bombay, the former name of the city of Mumbai. What two other Asian countries produce nearly the same number of films? Why do you think movies are so popular around the world?

2. In what ways can charts and graphs be misleading? 3. Which data on these pages impressed or surprised you the most? Why? 1. What questions do these charts and graphs raise in your mind that can’t be answered using the data provided? How would you go about finding answers to your questions?