In addition to looking at personal characteristics such as age and relationship status, the researchers divided the countries into high- and middle-to-low income groups according to average household earnings.

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Dominating the list are high-income countries, whose average ecological footprint is now five times that of low-income nations.

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The number of claims dropped, but the average award rose, suggesting that more high-merit cases got their day in court while low-merit filings were deterred or settled for less.

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If stocks match the historical average return of about 7.5% for 1999 through 2019, the index would wind up twice as high and the 10-year total return from the 2009 low would average 18%!

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African Americans were hit especially hard by the recession, struggling with significant economic losses, including near-record high levels of unemployment and low incomes compared to the national average.

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Mothers of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin had a high risk of having low birth-weight babies - their babies are on average 300g lighter than those of white mothers.

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Reforms launched by the government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (1998-2005), deemed necessary to address chronically high unemployment and low average growth, contributed to strong growth in 2006 and 2007 and falling unemployment.

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But its low profile has translated into an average annual total return over the past decade of 4.14%--dominated by the dividend it has paid and raised every year--that crushed the average annual total return of the broader market--characterized by low payouts, low yields and high growth expectations--of negative 1.81%.

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The average age of a person buying sports apparel has already increased from the low 30s to the high 30s in six years--and this trend should continue to grow, according to the NPD Group, which tracks apparel spending.

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