By The Numbers

It’s not you, it’s me and my Facebook profile

Marketplace Staff Nov 20, 2015
$64 billion

That’s the worth of China’s largest underground banking network, which the country announced Friday it had dismantled. The bust has been ongoing for about a month, and as the Associated Press reports, over 370 people have been arrested in connection with the crime.

23

That’s the percentage of white scientists who received research funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2013. Compare that to the 19 percent of minority researchers who received funding that same year. (It should be noted that data grouped some multi-racial researchers with white scientists). A group of health researchers crunched the numbers on grant funding from the NIH and found a troubling racial gap in who receives grant money.

1.5 billion

That’s how many users Facebook has worldwide. Think about how many likes, status updates and relationship announcements that equals. Now think about the number of break-ups. Announced Thursday, the social network has debuted a new tool that lets users hide exes and former lovers. As the Associated Press writes, the function will only be available in the U.S. while it’s being tested.

7 million

That’s the number of low-income Americans who are currently excluded from The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s estimate of homelessness in the U.S. People in this category may have lost their homes, but are now doubling up with others. This kind of nuance is just one of the reasons it’s so difficult to get an accurate read on the problem.

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