Bermuda sends about 60 percent more of its people to prison than Cuba, according to the latest world rankings from the Economist magazine.

The Island also has the world's highest marriage rate and the fourth highest divorce rate, and retains its place in the club of the world's most affluent and consumerist nations.

Bermuda continues to be listed among the top six nations with the highest incidence of AIDS per capita. And it has comparatively more people in prison than almost every other country in the world - including Cuba, Singapore and South Africa.

The rankings are contained in the latest edition of the Economist Pocket World in Figures, an annual publication. Using data compiled from a variety of sources, the publication contains dozens of tables which ranks countries' performance according to a number of social, economic and other indicators.

Bermuda comes fifth for the incidence of AIDS as of November 25, 2001 with 667.7 cases per 100,000 - a revised estimate from last year's figure of 540.6 cases per 100,000 population, when the Island was ranked sixth.

Namibia, Congo-Brazzaville, the Bahamas and Lesotho top the list with 1,485.3, 1,346.7, 1,150.7 and 719.4 cases per 100,000 population respectively. Statistics on AIDS depend on the efficiency of the reporting system in place and the quality of the medical system and is likely to be underreported in many countries.

According to the Economist, Bermuda shares first place with Hong Kong and Singapore in the list of countries with the highest urban population. All three are reported to have 100 percent of its population living in urban areas. Guadeloupe, Macau and Kuwait come next at 99.7, 98.8 and 97.6 percent respectively.

With a reported 1,034 people per square kilometre, the Island ranks fifth in terms of overall population density, behind Macau (24,687), Hong Kong (6,564), Singapore (6,502) and Malta (1,234). Bangladesh comes right behind Bermuda with 954 people per square kilometres.

While Bermuda does not make it onto lists of countries with the highest crime statistics, its prison population statistics are quite dire when compared to the rest of the world. At 448 prisoners per 100,000 population (one more than the last time the figures were compiled) the Island's lock up rate is the sixth highest in the world - up from number seven.

Topping that list is the United States with 732 people in prison per 100,000 of its population. The US is followed closely by Russia (676) and former Soviet republics Belarus and Kazakhstan with 554 and 522 respectively. Kazakhstan is the only country in the top six which managed to bring down its lock up rate.

Bahamas kept its rate the same with 478 prisoners per 100,000 population but moved up the table to fifth place from sixth last year. Cuba, which continues to be criticised for intolerant hard-line policies, comes at the bottom of the list of 22 countries with a penchant for locking up its citizens.

The communist nation has 297 prisoners per 100,000 of its population, the same as last year. China, with close to one and a half million people in prison, is not on the list.

The "good" news for Bermuda comes with statistics on affluence and marriage rates. According to the Economist, which says its data is based on the latest available figures, Bermuda continues to have the highest marriage rate in the world - with 15.7 marriages per 1,000 population. The Island is followed closely by Barbados, Cyprus and Iraq with 13.5, 11.1, and 11.1 marriages per 1,000 population respectively.

Last year Bermuda was reported to rank eleventh when it came to the countries with the lowest divorce rates. This time it comes fourth in the list of countries with the highest divorce rates, with 3.7 divorces per one thousand people.

The United States, Belarus and Puerto Rico top the list with 4.6, 4.4 and 3.9 divorces per one thousand people respectively. Cuba and Ukraine share fifth place in the divorce stakes with 3.5 per thousand.

Bermuda leads the world in the number of telephone lines per 100 people (87.2). Coming second and third are Luxembourg (78.3) and Sweden (73.9) respectively. And 49.5 percent of Bermuda's population own computers, putting it at eighth place and nine spots above the United Kingdom where only 36.6 percent of the population own computers.

Topping that list is the United States, Sweden and Australia with 62.3, 56.1 and 51.7 percent respectively.

At $42,830 per head Bermuda's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is second only to Luxembourg's $43,090. Japan comes third with 38,160. At $100, Burundi and Ethiopia share the number one spot in the list of countries with the lowest GDP per head. Sierra Leone and Myanmar follow closely behind with $130 and $140 respectively.

GDP, defined as the sum of all economic output within a country, is a standard of living measure which focuses on economic welfare. Bermuda is not ranked in the list of 85 highest scorers in the more recently established Human Development Index (HDI) which takes into account adult literacy levels and life expectancy as well as income levels.

Leading the world in HDI stats is Norway which has an HDI of 93.9 (out of a possible 100), Australia, Canada and Sweden share second place (93.6) followed by Belgium and the United States at 93.5 and 93.4 respectively. China scores a respectable 71.8.

The Island does make it onto a list of countries with the largest current account surpluses as a percentage of GDP. Oil rich Kuwait, Qatar and Yemen top the list with surpluses equal to 39.3, 37.4 and 24.2 percent of GDP respectively.

Bermuda comes in at number 24, with a more modest 7.3 percent surplus but the Island is far ahead of about 24 other countries including Canada (2.6) and Bahrain (1.4).