by Reb Akiva @ Mystical Paths

Professor Hans Rosling is a professor of statistics that has come to renown in the last few years for demonstrating graphically the associations between number of children, mean income of the people of the country, and life expectancy (average age of death).  His statistics show a clear pattern throughout the world that life expectancy grows as family size decreases and incomes increase and explain it in amazingly easy to understand ways.

Now Instapundit pointed to a Rosling style chart today that impresses by showing the massive change in China’s family sizes and life expectancy since 1970 (where average family sizes decreased from 5 to 1.7 and life expectancy raised from 50 to 75).

But I noticed two important outliers on the chart.  Israel and “West Bank and Gaza”.  Israel because it’s the only country with a high life expectancy AND an average family size larger than 2.  And “West Bank and Gaza” because it has a MASSIVE family size of 5 and a high life expectancy of (almost) 75.

How can a territory under constant war and terrorism and “occupation” with practically no local economy and no health system of it’s own maintain a family size of 5 and a life expectancy of 75 – ten years MORE than any other country with a similar family size???

Source animated data chart here.

 How indeed? 

Here’s an example of Hans Rosling’s data presentation…

(Boycott Israel photo clipped from demonstration photos at Atlas Shrugs.)