March Madness: Atlas Edition – A champion!

Today’s the day! Either Michigan or Louisville will end March Madness with a victory, and we can all return to our normal television programming — although we hope intelligent madness continues.

Since the 11th of March, Oxford University Press has been running March Madness: Atlas Edition based on statistics drawn at random from Oxford’s Atlas of the World: 19th Edition. Mexico and Indonesia met in the finals while Madagascar and Turkey competed for third place.

To get to this point, we’ve asked:

Sweet Sixteen: 11 March              Which country has the highest GDP per capita?
Round of 8: 18 March                     Which country has a higher level of endemism?
Final Four: 25 March                      Which country’s capital will be more populated by 2015?

To determine the winner, we asked: Which country has a larger industrial output (that includes mining, manufacturing, construction, and energy)?

For Third Place:                               Madagascar vs. Turkey                     WINNER: Turkey

For First Place:                                  Mexico vs. Indonesia

OUP is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2013 March Madness: Atlas Edition is Indonesia!

First place: Indonesia
Second place: Mexico
Third place: Turkey

Indonesia’s industrial output equals $389 billion (US dollars), 10 billion ahead of Mexico. Turkey beat out Madagascar for third place with an output of $209 billion. Indonesia, with its 136,000 islands of which 6000 are inhabited, exports oil, natural gas, tin, timber, textiles, rubber, coffee and tea (to name a few). Mexico, in second place, is largely agricultural, but oil and oil products are its chief export, while manufacturing is the country’s most valuable activity. Mexico is the leading silver producer. In Turkey, agriculture employs 21% of people, and textiles, cars, machinery and paper products are the leading exports. In Madagascar, fishing, farming and forestry employ about 80% of people, but population growth has stressed the region’s forests and the unique wildlife.

Thanks for playing along, either on the courts or in your atlas! May the madness continue…

Oxford’s Atlas of the World — the only world atlas updated annually, guaranteeing that users will find the most current geographic information — is the most authoritative resource on the market. The Nineteenth Edition includes new census information, dozens of city maps, gorgeous satellite images of Earth, and a geographical glossary, once again offering exceptional value at a reasonable price.

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