Hard Numbers

10,316: The Berlin Wall stood for a total of 10,316 days, and as of this week, has been down for the same length of time. And yet still, more than half of Germans feel that their country hasn’t fully reunified.

58: percent of Iranians who think the economy is “getting worse.” That’s more than 20 points higher than it was back in 2015, when the country was under more severe sanctions. The protests that erupted late last year about economic issues have fizzled, but clearly discontent still lingers.

3.7: ISIS controls just 3.7% of Syrian territory, down from more than half at the peak of the “caliphate’s” reach. Now that ISIS, which just about everyone hated, is gone — are deeper divisions within Syria, and the region more broadly, re-emerging?

1: The economic output of the single South Korean province Gangwon, the country’s poorest, exceeds that of the entire economy of North Korea. You will hear more about Gangwon in the coming days because it’s where this year’s Winter Olympics will take place.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

A military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May nearly pushed the two nuclear-armed countries to the brink of war. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the complicated history of the India-Pakistan conflict, one of the most contentious and bitter rivalries in the world.

A combination picture shows Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Arkhangelsk Region Governor Alexander Tsybulsky in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, Russia July 24, 2025.
REUTERS/Leah Millis

In negotiations, the most desperate party rarely gets the best terms. As Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska today to discuss ending the Ukraine War, their diverging timelines may shape what deals emerge – if any.

The Caryn influencer artificial intelligence AI page is seen in this illustration photo taken in Warsaw, Poland on 05 December, 2023.
(Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto)

Since its inception, generative AI such as ChatGPT has run primarily in the cloud: large data centers run by large companies. In that home, AI is reliant on electricity-hungry computers, robust internet connections, and centralized data.