The Britannica Book of the Year 2013 provides a valuable viewpoint of the people and events that shaped the year and serves as a great reference source for the latest news on the ever changing populations, governments, and economies throughout the world. It is an accurate and comprehensive reference that you will reach for again and again.

Who has the most nuclear assets in the Middle East? Whose power is waning, whose increasing? Updated with data from 2013, the latest available, these tables of economic, demographic and military indicators establish the pecking order for 236 countries, with estimates of all nuclear arsenals including rarely published data on non-signatory nations. The author also sums up what statistics in the developed world show in relation to the efficiency of private health insurance versus a 'public option' and whether it is true that 'taxation stifles the economy.' This statistical annual presents fundamental data comparing measures of (1) Quality of Life, (2) Balance of Power, and (3) Developed Market Economies since 1960. It is far more complete other statistical publications. Section 2 includes data about nuclear delivery systems and the number of nuclear warheads of all nuclear powers, including estimates of the Israeli nuclear arsenal which usually do not appear in the press. Official estimates of Russian military expenditures distributed by U.S. and British intelligence communities are methodologically flawed, claiming to show military expenditures of other countries at market exchange rates while they apparently cite Russian military expense figures at purchasing power parities, thus distorting the comparison. Such deceptive practices of the Anglo-American intelligence services are counter-balanced by presenting two different tables, showing military expenditures estimates both at market exchange rates and by purchasing power parities. Members of the U.S. Congress and others who care about the foundations of power politics in the nuclear age will find facts that speak for themselves in this novel yearbook.

The Orthodox migration in the West matters, despite its unobtrusive presence. And it matters in a way that has not yet been explored in social and religious studies: in terms of size, geographical scope, theological input and social impact. This book explores the adjustment of Orthodox migrants and their churches to Western social and religious contexts in different scenarios. This variety is consistent with Orthodox internal diversity regarding ethnicity, migration circumstances, Church-State relations and in line with the specificities of the receiving country in terms of religious landscape, degree of secularisation, legal treatment of immigrant religious institutions or socio-economic configurations. Exploring how Orthodox identities develop when displaced from traditional ground where they are socially and culturally embedded, this book offers fresh insights into Orthodox identities in secular, religiously pluralistic social contexts.

Who's winning and who's losing? This book provides hard data for all who ponder the shifting sands of power, whether economic, military or demographic, and seek keys to decipher the media news. Going far beyond the major powers and the BRIC countries, this economic statistical work, issued every few years, presents historical statistics in nine sections. Volume 1 lists (1) Population by rank, (2) GDP Per Capita by rank, (3) GDP by rank, (4) Growth Rates of Population by rank, (5) Growth Rates of GDP Per Capita by rank, (6) Growth Rates of GDP by rank. Volume 2 (sold separately) covers: (1) Population/Growth Rates of Population by country, (2) GDP Per Capita/Growth Rates of GDP Per Capita by country, and (3) GDP/Growth Rates of GDP by country. This biennial work contains data generally not available elsewhere, and in ways that help make it possible to draw useful comparisons. First, it provides statistical data for all countries of the world (236 countries, within their 2011 borders) since the year 1950 (by decade, with 2011 in addition), plus forecasts for 2020 and 2030. Second, it provides data for 135 countries since the year 1000 (with data for 1000, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1820, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1913, 1920, 1929, and 1938). Third, it provides data for 134 countries for the first year AD. In Volume 1 [572 pages], this data is arranged by rank, or size. In Volume 2 [438 pages], the countries are listed alphabetically. This book is based on the groundbreaking works of Angus Maddison but it gives data up to the most recent year available and calculates GDP (gross and per capita) in the prices of that year. For recent years, the World Bank, CIA, and Encyclopedia Britannica were principal sources. But, despite the author's great debt to these sources, the preponderance of data in the book is not direct citations from them but rather the result of calculations. Among other computational techniques he uses a new logarithmic interpolation which takes care of cross-country statistical distortions when calculating in the prices of the most recent year. For every line of data (for every country, each year), he provides a note on the technique used in obtaining his estimate (i. e., proxy, exponential interpolation, direct estimate with source citation, etc.). Dr. Avakov's annual title, "Quality of Life, Balance of Powers, and Nuclear Weapons," gives a current snapshot of world economic and military statistics. This work, "Two Thousand Years of Economic Statistics," gives world population figures and current GDP data in a historical perspective.