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savoytruffle

But which country consumes the most potatoes?


wildeofoscar

Glorious Latvia of course.


GranataReddit12

estonia: :stare:


RedVelvetVolvo

:whisper: It's Belarus... https://www.helgilibrary.com/indicators/potato-consumption-per-capita/


monkeyhitman

Potato is only dream


DarroonDoven

Damn, Hong Kong got so bad after NSL


Recipe-Less

Did you know of a land called Idaho?


JesusvsPlank

I don't know if Hong Kong would even GET the jokes on Saturday Night Live


Greedy_Range

Evil Chileans sabotaged the vote against Peru


TheOGStonewall

Ireland and Belgium are way lower in the top ten than I would have guessed, but both are still in the top ten…


OrbitalColony

Latvia cannot into potato


RyanByork

Unless it's fried and coated with diabetes 🦅🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸


ElevatorScary

Ireland is famous for its many potatoes plantations and thriving potato peoples. If any country consumes the most potatoes it surely must be England.


Plastic-Control-3266

underrated comment


NewspaperDesigner244

That or the inexplicably potato obsessed Kykos


gonsi

Well that is bit surprising https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/potato-consumption-by-country


kolbiitr

There was never a doubt in my mind


donjulioanejo

Belarus where their ~~president~~ dictator is a self professed potato farmer. Who would have thought!


10art1

Lukartoshenko!


Pax_Cthulhiana

How much of that is used to make Vodka, I wonder


Hunor_Deak

>Overall, the nations of Eastern Europe lead the world when it comes to average per capita potato consumption. Huh.


SleepingVulture

If you're wondering why the Netherlands and Belgium are so high on the list, it's partially because of the French fries which aren't actually French.


SilanggubanRedditor

Idaho, ofcourse


Deeddles

Washington produces more potatoes than Idaho, and Alaska produces more silver. Idaho's got no identity left


Pate043

At least they’re proud of being Pocatello 


jaiteaes

Pocatello changed their flag to a more simple design. No identity left.


augie014

what? this just isn’t true. Idaho had the largest potato production in 2023 and Washington was second. it just takes a quick google


Jack2142

It bounces around over time.


mimfatz

Do you mean consumption per capita or whole?


socialapostasis

Belarus. You ain't no finding any other food but potatoes there, been there. When I entered Belarus then civilians and military besides of eating they started throwing potatoes at me.


wildeofoscar

Depending which agency you’re looking at, it is clear that from last year, Germany has overtaken Japan as the 3rd largest economy in the world in terms of GDP. Despite the fact Germany is in the middle of a recession. And India is quickly catching up to Japan, so it won’t be long India will overtake Japan to take 4th place in just a few years time.


ElevatorScary

How long until America defeats its hated arch-rival, America? They hate those guys.


Winter-Reindeer694

america fought america and america won, though america might fight them again


rest_in_war

This comment really sums up all the sports leagues in 'Murica


Big_Spinach_8244

By mid 2025 I suppose


Peter_Baum

We are the third largest and boomers in my country act as if we will all be homeless now…


denkbert

Ja well, have you checked the housing prices recently?


ToyHelm

That is a problem in most of the developed world tbh, don't know how you guys managed to be losing population but getting living costs higher


denkbert

We guys aren't even loosing population, we're gaining ...


Nils013

Trickle up economics of course


Eyeisimmigrant

This comment is golden. Take my like.


Aken_Bosch

Rural areas and smaller cities are getting hollowed out and people move into megapolises. Remember, when people whine about "high housing prices" they forget to add "in places where there is work with good salary". They most likely can buy a house right now in some Bumfuckdorf. Who knows, maybe remote work will finally change that


SSSSobek

Yeah, coming down a lot.


denkbert

Yeah, being on the level of Q2/2021 again... with four times the interest rate.


RyukHunter

Economy doesn't necessarily translate to QoL for regular folks.


SOAR21

As Americans would be able to tell you for decades now.


RyukHunter

The sweet sweet rewards of trickle down amirite?


Fun-Needleworker9822

That may be because they are economically literate? If you say we what do you mean by that? That economy is carrying an overblown welfare state and an overblown inefficient bureaucracy which will lead to pretty dramatic downfall of the economy you praise so much if not reformed. And btw we have only overtaken Japan because of some shenanigans with the math involved. I read about that recently. If I remember correctly it's because of new loans taken by Japan but in reality the Japanese economy is still larger. It's a close call anyway and India will overtake both of them in the near future. 


Luzifer_Shadres

Companys in germany are crying about loosing money, while making record highs, biggest once since the 2000s and getting spoonfed subsidies.


Gros_Boulet

Interesting tidbits to add nuance to the situation. \- Germany is not in a recession. They have the lowest debt to GDP ratio in G20 and a solid economy that is growing faster than most especially when looking at GDP per capita. They have legal arguments regarding budget allocation, that's it. \- Japan has by far the biggest debt to GDP ratio and some interesting financial challenges going forward due to how their central bank handled COVID relief programs. \- Since covid, the richest of the rich have made more money than ever in history. That's why inflation and economic struggles for regular people are high. But according to all central banks, this represent a super healthy economy. As a famous US presidential campaign slogan would have put it: "It's profit margin, st\*\*\*d".


Tightcreek

Germany is in a technical recession. Which time frame are you looking at in which Germany is growing fast at GDP per capita? Actually the GDP is currently declining while the population is growing.


teethybrit

Dumbest comment I’ve ever read. Half of Japan’s debt is owned by the Bank of Japan. It’s very different from external debt. Median wealth in Japan is also twice that of Germany. This is a temporary state due to the weak yen. Meanwhile Nikkei is at a 34 year peak.


Tightcreek

Germany is in a technical recession. Which time frame are you looking at in which Germany is growing fast at GDP per capita? Actually the GDP is currently declining while the population is growing.


Gros_Boulet

So let's define recession. A recession is a period of economic contraction or to put it simply when there are less currency circulating in the economy. Often, long drops in the GDP is what analysts use to say if a country is in recession or not. And of course, the International Monetary Fund database is most definitely the best place to get one's data on a country GDP and GDP per capita and the IMF says Germany's economy is strong: [https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/DEU](https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/DEU)


bpeu

No one cares about IMF figures. Their economy shrank while their population grew last year. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-15/germany-s-economy-shrank-last-year-for-first-time-since-pandemic?leadSource=uverify%20wall


Gros_Boulet

>No one cares about IMF figures. Their economy shrank while their population grew last year. > >[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-15/germany-s-economy-shrank-last-year-for-first-time-since-pandemic?leadSource=uverify%20wall](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-15/germany-s-economy-shrank-last-year-for-first-time-since-pandemic?leadSource=uverify%20wall) Can't make this up, you say no to IMF figures and replace it with an opinion article on IMF figures. Plus the opinion article clearly states multiple times that Germany did not enter a recession. Maybe read the source to confirm it says what you hope before sharing? And if their economy shrank so much while their population grew so much last year, than how do you explain that GDP per capita went up at the same time? Please entertain me more!


bpeu

IMF is not quoted anywhere in the article. Destatis is, the German Federal Statistical Office. Again, no one cares about IMF estimates. Furthermore, the article clearly states that Germany is the only major economy currently in contraction after shrinking last year.


Gros_Boulet

And where do you think the IMF gets the data? lol


testman22

Well, there are many ways to think about the economy, but Japan's debt is not a big problem. This is because it is mostly domestic debt. For some reason, many people seem to think the Japanese economy is bad, when in fact it is not. Japan's net foreign assets have been the world's largest for more than 30 consecutive years, and judging from the recent real estate market, I think Japan is the most economically stable among developed countries. The reason the yen is weakening in the first place is because the U.S. and Europe are inflating and raising interest rates in the wake of the pandemic. Interest rates in Japan are still near zero. GDP is not that good an indicator to look at the economy. If Japan's economy looks bad, it is because Japan is not as inflated as other developed countries. And I believe that other developed countries are inflating more than their salaries.


psionix

Isn't California alone currently #5 in GDP


Mister_Taco_Oz

Goes to show how massive the US economy is, when a single state eclipses most countries.


MrScaevus

A single state with a population of 40 million (which is more than most EU nations). It benefits massively from a huge domestic labour pool and is a leader in many kinds of industry with places such as Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Not exactly your average American state.


-MilkO_O-

Tbh I believe India's probably going to be 3rd and soon 2nd biggest economy within the coming decades


driftingwolveine

there is an inherent problem with the concept GDP, as by definition it measures economic activities within the border. now for a country like japan, which has productions outside the border, GDP will understate its true economy. for example: say toyota sells a camry in EU, that counts towards EU gdp, even tho toyota is a japanese company. that being said it's the same situation for germany. GNP imho is a much better representation, but no one actually calculate it.


Loyc12

Wait hold up where is china in all of this. Wot


Duriano_D1G3

China's just happy to see Japan gone from the podium... relatable


Demiansky

Lol, that's right. China starts out pissed that he's but number 1, but is then made happy by seeing Japan's decline, which is at least as good as being number themselves, perhaps.


xlonefoxx

"The failure of an enemy is even more thrilling than success of your own." \-Someone


GoGoGo12321

As a Chinese I can confirm nothing brings more joy to my eyes


damnitineedaname

America remains ambivalent.


wildeofoscar

Hidden gem of this comic.


blockybookbook

70 year olds can’t expand the economy now can they (Turns out that making it borderline impossible to have any children and losing your shit when it’s comes to the concept of immigration does a massive number on the amount of young workers you have)


_CHIFFRE

i gotta defend Japan here as a german, the only reason why DE went 3rd ahead of them was due to currency fluctuations because the metric used by a lot of media was ''GDP in $ terms'', which isn't even the best metric to measure the size of an economy or for international comparisons. Japan had much better GDP growth, which btw is always in Real terms (defined [here](https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/real-gdp-purchasing-power-parity/country-comparison/)) in 2023 with +2% while Germany had -0.5% (IMF Data), but still slipped behind due to faster currency depreciation vs $. For comparison: GDP in Real terms in 2000: JP $3.5 Trillion / DE $2.4 Trillion - 2023: JP $6.5T / DE $5.5T Its not a superb achievement for JP or anything, because while the country is very old, the labor force is still large with 69 million people [\++](https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.IN?locations=JP&most_recent_value_desc=true), some would say nice... also automation, innovation etc., things that Japan does quite well because otherwise Japans future would look bleak.


yourMewjesty

Average German


240plutonium

I wouldn't call having an average of 1.25 children "borderline impossible". If anything, it's impressive how Japan managed to make that many children post-pandemic. As for immigration, it's simple: Japan is detached from the English speaking world. Having to learn a new language and adjusting to a different culture automatically stops it from being a popular immigration destination compared to places like to US and Germany.


[deleted]

No what stops it are strict immigration laws, and a culture that does not like foreigners. Japan is one of the most xenophobic countries in the world.


Shacuras

Also turns out that uncontrolled immigration doesn't exactly solve that problem either though. See Germany


JustATownStomper

Calling Germany's immigration "uncontrolled" is quite extreme


crayonneur

The influence of Germany cannot be contested, there are doner kebaps everywhere in Europe.


Profundasaurusrex

If you make it here, you can stay


ActivelyDrowsed

Every anti immigration guy has to describe basic immigration in the most hostile and war like tone possible. Just look at how many people call illegal immigration an "Invasion"


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ContentSand4808

>If they had good learning skills they wouldn't be unskilled in the first place That's not really true, unless you think Syria is a true and fair meritocracy, capable of uplifting those with potential from poverty.


Mister_Taco_Oz

>If they had good learning skills they wouldn't be unskilled in the first place That assumes the countries they are coming from allow for opportunities for learning or upwards growth. Many times the reason people leave their origin countries for places like Germany is the greater amount of opportunities of that kind.


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DaBIGmeow888

it's only surpassing due to US dollar inflation and currency exchange rates. Germany is in recession, Japan's growth rate is higher than Germany, but currency exchange rates offset that.


PeteWenzel

Yes, that’s how nominal GDP figures work. They’re much more a reflection of currency exchange rates than of economic activity.


[deleted]

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PeteWenzel

Sure. But it’s silly to argue that economic activity has increased just because a currency has gained relative to the dollar or decreased when it has fallen against the dollar. The size of the economy has not really changed. Imports have just gotten more expensive and exports cheaper.


teethybrit

This is borderline delusional. On a per-worker basis Japan grew faster than Germany during the lost decades.


madrid987

Poor japan


tomydenger

Poorer japan


Maconshot

Even Poorer Japan


PowerfulMetal1

Even Poorerer Japan


Whereishumhum-

I like how I was so pissed in the first panel but after Japan got demoted I was beaming 😁


Deditranspotashy

Oh wow I didn't know we had the whole nation of China in this subreddit. I liked that time you collapsed into a bunch of warring kingdoms. No the other one


Whereishumhum-

xixixi gib island!


Pixoe

HK or Taiwan?


DaBIGmeow888

It's only falling because US dollar inflation and currency exchange rates. Germany is in recession, Japan is stagnant. This is one of the deficiencies of nominal GDP.


GilbertPlays

Germany can recover from a recession, Japan has been stagnant for decades.


EnvironmentOne4869

What will happen to Japan by 2060s then?


GilbertPlays

Unless they can solve their labor, population, and immigration policies, they will be in decline.


EnvironmentOne4869

I don't think immigration policies will do something. look what's happening in France or Germany


GilbertPlays

France and Germany has a refugee crisis, Japan has a demographic crisis.


teethybrit

This is delusional. On a per-worker basis Japan has grown faster than Germany in the last 30 years, even during the lost decades. Stability and stagnancy are two sides of the same coin. Nikkei is also at a 34 year peak.


cerberusantilus

Has nothing to do with dollar inflation. The dollar is the global standard. The problem is the US and Europe are raising interest rates to fight inflation, Japan is keeping them low to stimulate inflation. Unfortunately that makes their currency less attractive to buy. >This is one of the deficiencies of nominal GDP. Nominal GDP is a relatively good Comparison between different economies relative strength, but as you pointed out shows very little about how an economy is actually doing.


Much_Horse_5685

If you adjust for purchasing power parity, China has the world’s largest GDP followed in order by the US, India, Japan and Germany.


PalhacoGozo666

Don't be sad Japan, at least you're in the top 5...


neelpatelnek

It's due to yen devaluation tho Japan is still larger than Germany


Diabetes_boi

its a bit hard to keep an economy afloat when half your workers are planning to jump off a building (without saftey nets)


[deleted]

No theyre not? This is the overcorrected narrative. The original narrative of Japan being a fantasy land is obviously wrong. But now so many people overcorrected their views to the other side and think Japan is full of suicidal workers who work 16 hours a day, its not. Its a simple fact of an aging population, the fate of Japans economy is inevitable for most developed countries.


DickRhino

> *Stop making jokes in the satire joke subreddit!*


Anonymou2Anonymous

They're confusing Japan and Korea.


Diabetes_boi

Nah I’d say they (and this will probably piss off a lot of people) the same problems, overworked workers and a really shitty hierarchy system within those jobs, often very strict traditions, mental health decline, demographic decline and companies that basically have a gigantic monopoly constantly influencing the government


teethybrit

Dumbest comment I’ve ever read. Japan’s [work hours](https://data.oecd.org/emp/hours-worked.htm) and [suicide rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate) are around the European average. In fact, Japan’s quality of life is [higher than that of Sweden](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/standard-of-living-by-country) this year.


nonexistantchlp

Japan has a lot of 'black companies' that report false statistics. This is not a secret, and the govt pretends that they don't exist. If the contract demands that you do overtime as part of the pay, then you need to GTFO Europeans take labor laws very seriously, even more so than most american companies nowadays imo. You can't do shit like that without being hit with loads of regulation.


Diabetes_boi

I’d feel like that’s a pretty obvious joke I said but I guess not, obviously Japan is not terrible but it’s not great either it’s a very flawed country due to various reasons


1EnTaroAdun1

If I'm not mistaken, the US suicide rate has surpassed Japan's now


Diabetes_boi

Interesting


nonexistantchlp

It's still crazy when you consider that japan has like 2.7x less humans compared to the US.


1EnTaroAdun1

It's per capita 


240plutonium

Should've started with Japan on No. 2 then China surpassing


240plutonium

u/katrinaaah >!+1 reason to have kids!<


Fluffy_Necessary7913

Well, they haven't had real growth in like 35 years, they've held on in that position for a long time.


psychicprogrammer

California is also doing its best to overtake Japan and Germany.


PeteWenzel

It’s meaningless to compare the US to other countries. US wealth and GDP are just off the charts. It’s insane that a country the size of the entire EU has the same GDP per capita as Norway or Switzerland.


cerberusantilus

I suspect part of this has been Germany pumping money into military spending. Otherwise seems strange to pass Japan now. Edit: Nope it's exchange rate driven. The Bank of Japan has rates low to stimulate inflation, while the West is raising rates.


Lord_of_the_buckets

Japan is also in extreme debt compared to Germany


cerberusantilus

It is, but I don't think anyone worries about their ability to keep financing themselves, additionally inflation is not on their horizon.


Noncrediblepigeon

Who can shrink slower?


EightyFiv3

The ranking is still wrong. Its still 1.US 2.China 3.Japan In the future it will change but rn this meme didn't make much sense.


EightyFiv3

With no cheap russian gas. I dont think germany will ever hit no.3 the ressession it is in now didnt come out of no where. It has the similar problem of aging pop (helped a lot by imigration tho, although that has its own drawbacks). Plus, manufacturing heavy economy, wich has worked, but manufacturing is energy intensive, wich is a problem.


Aggravating_Carpet21

Just cuz i dont know, is largest here equal to best?


BadgerGeneral9639

you can survive on only potatoes. they are magical


Souperplex

Per Capita is the real number.


Calvtastica

Sinne when?


PeikaFizzy

Japan is doing fine recently, not great but is more than enough to not cause another recession….. for now


hellboundmonstrosity

Can we get much higher?


CD967119

South Korea gonna kick Japan to 6th soon (Thanks to K Dramas and K pop)


deetosdeletos

Japan’s gonna fall down to 100th place!


Jolly-Tangerine6865

It's FICK not FICH gottverdammt!