In 2015, the fight for same-sex marriage right was won. Volkswagen became embroiled in scandal. Caitlyn Jenner became the most famous transgender person in the world. Here are the numbers that made some of the biggest stories of the year so memorable.
1,125 people killed by police
A total of 1,125 people have been killed by police in the US this year. The US government has not kept a comprehensive record of how many people are killed by law enforcement (though new efforts are under way) – so this year the Guardian decided to do just that. The resulting database tells the story of those who were killed: their demographics and how they died. The project was inspired in part by one of those individuals whose death became one of the biggest news stories of 2015. In April, a 25-year-old African American man named Freddie Gray died from injuries he sustained while he was in the custody of the Baltimore police department. Gray’s death – and the more than 1,000 others documented so far this year – have become a focal point for those protesting against police brutality and racial injustice in America.
$517m in ticket sales
The $517m in global ticket sales during the opening weekend of Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned the film a record, second only to Jurassic World’s opening weekend earlier this year. On Sunday, the film jetted ahead of Jurassic World and reached $1bn at the global box office in a record 12 days.
14 fatalities
Fourteen people were killed in a mass shooting in San Bernardino in December, making it the worst since 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook elementary school in 2012 and the sixth deadliest mass shooting since 1982. Mass shootings have become more frequent in the US and more deadly – meanwhile, though, support for gun control measures which could reduce the likelihood of these shootings has fallen.
100% of Americans
One hundred per cent of Americans won the right to marry their partners after the supreme court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal across the country. Before the ruling, gay marriage was only legal in 37 of 50 US states.
3.3m Instagram likes
Kendall Jenner amassed 3.3m likes on her Instagram photo of herself lying down with her hair arranged into hearts - making it the most-“liked” Instagram post of 2015.
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$29 worth of food
Gwyneth Paltrow spent $29 on a week’s worth of food, as part of the food stamp challenge.
This is what $29 gets you at the grocery store—what families on SNAP (i.e. food stamps) have to live on for a week. pic.twitter.com/OZMPA3nxij
— Gwyneth Paltrow (@GwynethPaltrow) April 9, 2015
Paltrow was widely mocked for her choices of purchases, including seven limes, a bunch of kale, and an avocado. Most individuals on food stamps, by contrast, buy processed foods at cheap stores and have at least some other source of income for food.
After four days, Paltrow quit, saying: “My perspective has been forever altered by how difficult it was to eat wholesome, nutritious food on that budget, even for just a few days – a challenge that 47 million Americans face every day, week, and year.”
61,000 acres
Two northern California wildfires incinerated 61,000 acres, or 95 square miles, in September. The wildfires, which are linked to climate change, displaced 23,000 people and destroyed 1,400 homes, in just two days.
11m cars
Volkswagen recalled 11m diesel vehicles in September after the car manufacturer was embroiled in an emissions scandal. The company admitted that those vehicles were fitted with a device designed to cheat emissions tests. The carmaker claimed it would offer $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers to owners of smaller diesel cars who were affected but could lose a great deal more money from the 34 class action lawsuits that have been filed against the company.
11.6 million readers
The Vanity Fair website saw 11.6m visits by people wanting to read Caitlyn Jenner’s exclusive interview, which made her the most famous transgender woman in the world. Though Jenner publicly shared her gender identity, many transgender Americans do not – in a survey, 12% of gender non-conforming adults said they had never told anyone about their gender identity.
107 detainees
A total of 107 detainees remain in Guantánamo Bay, the US military facility that President Obama pledged in 2009 to close within a year. The American Civil Liberties Union describes the prison as a “failure on every front”. Since it opened, 21 children have been detained there, nine prisoners have died in custody (seven as a result of apparent suicide) and more than 200 FBI agents have reported abusive treatment of the prisoners. The number of inmates may come down to 90 by early January, as 17 detainees have been approved for transfer. But pressure is mounting on Obama to fulfill his shutdown promise.
$2m album
A buyer paid $2m for the single-sale collector’s item album by the Wu-Tang Clan. In December, it emerged that the purchaser was Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical boss famous for hiking the price of a drug used by cancer and Aids patients by 50-fold overnight. Shkreli, who has been dubbed “the most hated man in America”, was arrested on fraud charges in December.
3,123 airstrikes
Syria has seen 3,123 airstrikes since a US-led campaign began in September 2014, according to the US monitoring group Airwars. An additional 6,054 airstrikes have been made in Iraq in an attempt to defeat Islamic State militants in the region, the group says. Estimates of civilian deaths as a result of the airstrikes vary widely; it’s thought that between 783 and more than 2,300 civilians have died as a direct result of the missiles.
5-2 victory
Five to two was the final score for the victorious US women’s soccer team in their championship match against Japan in July this year. They took home the Women’s World Cup, the third time the United States has done so since the cup was established in 1991 (the first men’s Fifa World Cup tournament was in 1930).
40% support to Trump
Forty per cent of Republicans support Donald Trump to be the party’s next nominee for presidency, according to recent polls. For most of 2015, experts dismissed Trump’s viability or else repeatedly foresaw “the beginning of the end” – they were wrong.
4.4 million Syrian refugees
A total of 4.4 million Syrian refugees have been registered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The vast majority of them are in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Since 2012, the US has accepted 2,174 Syrian refugees – roughly 0.0007% of America’s total population.
Two draft picks
Two draft picks were docked from the New England Patriots following an investigation which found that at least two employees had probably improperly deflated footballs in the team’s AFC Championship win over the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots were also fined $1m.
5m albums sold
Adele’s third album, 25, sold 5m copies in the US after it went on sale in November. The last time a music album sold so quickly was when Adele released her second album in 2011.
220,000 jobs
Women serving in the US military saw 220,000 jobs become available after the defense secretary, Ash Carter, made the final 10% of military positions accessible to Americans of both genders.
50 Cosby accusers
More than 50 women accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault in 2015. In December, the actor filed a defamation suit against seven of those women.
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