Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. Which states have the highest reported rape rates?
  2. How much carbon dioxide does each country emit per person?

Chart 1 of 2 · Crime

Which states have the highest reported rape rates?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

In 2025 Alaska had the highest rate of rapes reported to police, about 122 per 100,000 people, followed by Arkansas (72) and Montana (64). Connecticut (16), New Jersey (17) and Delaware (19) had the lowest; the U.S. rate was about 37. Many rapes are never reported, so these rates show reports, not how often rape happens, and they use the FBI's broader definition adopted in 2013. Rates count only the police agencies that reported to the FBI; in a few states, such as Florida and Mississippi, those cover only about 80 to 85% of residents. Since 2021, when the FBI began taking only its newer NIBRS reports, state rates don't line up exactly with earlier years.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, Uniform Crime Reporting Program (Public domain (U.S. government work); source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

Open the chart and its numbers

Chart 2 of 2 · World

How much carbon dioxide does each country emit per person?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

In 2024, people in the United States emitted 13.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide each, in China 9.3 and in India 2.2, against 4.7 worldwide. The highest figure was 82.8 tonnes in Palau, then Qatar (47.3) and Bahrain (23.9). Search 203 countries and territories. The figures count carbon dioxide from burning fuel, industry and other sources, but not from changes in land use such as cutting forests; in a small country, a few power plants, refineries or fuel sales spread over few people can make the figure very high.

How to read this chart

Each bar is the carbon dioxide a country put into the air in a year, divided by its population, in tonnes per person. The dashed line is the world. A country can emit a lot in total but little per person if it has many people, and a tiny country with a refinery or power plant can top the list.

Questions to discuss

  1. Compare the United States, China and India. Which emits the most per person, and is that the one that emits the most in total?
  2. Why might some small countries have the highest figures on the chart?
  3. Which seems fairer for comparing countries' share of the blame for climate change, total emissions or emissions per person? Why?

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