Barometer | 22 February 2018

The great indoors

How to get the Winter Olympics experience without leaving England:
— The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead: ‘London’s closest indoor real snow slope.’ A 160-metre slope with alpine restaurant.
— SnowDome, Tamworth: ‘The original and ultimate snow, ice and leisure experience.’ Includes Santa’s Winter Wonderland.
— Chill Factore, Stretford: A 180-metre slope with button lift and seasonal moguls. Parents go free in Mini Moose Land.

Crowded house

The government is considering early release for prisoners to cut overcrowding. How many people do we incarcerate compared with other countries?
— The UK’s imprisonment rate is 143 per 100,000, putting us 109th out of 222 nations.

HIGHEST RATE
Seychelles	738
US	666
El Salvador	614
Turkmenistan	583
Virgin Islands	542
Cuba	510

LOWEST RATE
Guinea-Bissau	10
Central African Republic	16
Guinea	23
Congo	27
Democratic Republic of Congo	29
India	33

Source: prisonstudies.org

On the move

The IFS reported that homeownership among 25- to 34-year-olds has fallen from
65 per cent to 27 per cent in 20 years. Where in Europe should they move to if their priority is owning a home?

HOME OWNERSHIP RATE
Romania	96%
Lithuania	92%
Slovakia	91%
Hungary	90%
Croatia	89%
Bulgaria	86%

Source: European Mortgage Federation

Generous Britain

The Oxfam scandal has led to worries that we will reduce our donations to charity. How much do we actually give?
— In 2016 Britons gave £9.6 billion of their own money, an average of £160 per head.
— The median value of each donation was £18 and the mean was £40.
— We are at our most generous in May,
July, October and December, and least generous in June and November.

Source: Charities Aid Foundation