In the 1820s, the U.S., Japan, and the U.K. were some of the only countries where the average population received at least two years of formal schooling.
I like festivals of all kinds: in 1969, I made a film about the first Pan-African festival in Algiers, which celebrated the countries that had been liberated 10 years earlier. There was a tremendous feeling of kinship.
Like many other Americans, I'm tired of the U.S. taxpayer paying for foreign wars, especially when the countries we defend have raked in huge oil profits.
Footballers are an easy target. They are offered big lines of credit. Every sport is vulnerable; it's such a big gambling industry, and there are problems with syndicates in other countries.
China is committed to work with other countries for a solution to the global challenge of energy and resources.
We must ensure that more binding, durable, and enforceable fiscal rules go hand-in-hand with funding certainty for countries pursuing sound and sustainable economic policies. We need to keep pushing forward towards a comprehensive solution to the challenges of the eurozone.
We're somewhat lucky here in the United States, where we hope that the checks and balances hold out for many years to come and decades to come. But in a lot of countries, you don't have these checks and balances.
I went to high schools in four different countries. The gift is that you can constantly reinvent yourself. I still feel that freedom. One day, I'll wear a dress I got in India; the next, Converse sneakers and jeans.
I think sometimes we rush through countries, ticking off the attractions, but that's missing the point.
As you may know, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, or MCC, awards grants only to countries which rule justly, promote economic freedom, and invest in their people.
I went to a number of foreign countries, and during whenever I went, I would try to go to an orphanage or a home for children. And I was seeing thousands of kids around the world that needed homes.
We anticipate countries increasing their spending on infrastructure like railways, airports, power plants and ports. Our heavy forging plant has the capacity to cater to each of these segments.
It seems strange to the rest of the world, but we Americans can't seem to stop talking about how other countries should be democratic like we are.
Although it's the second largest country in the world, our useful area has been reduced. Our immigration policy is disgusting: We plunder southern countries by depriving them of future leaders, and we want to increase our population to support economic growth.
Some version of 'Deal or No Deal' airs in 120 countries. And they play it exactly the same way, with models and briefcases. It crosses language and culture and gender, because it's the simplest game in the world, and everyone wants to press their luck.
Foreigners like me have no privacy rights whatsoever. Yet we keep using U.S.-based services all the time, making us a legal target for gathering and storing our private information. Other countries do surveillance as well. But nobody has the global visibility that United States does.
I believe in free trade. I don't support regulating trade prices between different regions. Our point of view is we don't want trade barriers between different countries.
We can't possibly fight all the terrorists in all the countries where they exist because we don't have the money or manpower to do so.
A global tax body would give all countries - not just the rich and powerful - an equal say in how the global rules on taxation are designed.
The history of Germany is not the history of a nation, but of a race. It has little unity, therefore; it is complicated, broken, and attached on all sides to the histories of other countries.
In many countries, IT is a pillar of growth and attracts a lot more competitive talent.
The idea of traveling in Africa for me is based on going by road or train or bus or whatever and crossing borders. You can't travel easily or at all through some countries.
During the Cold War, America took sides not only in disputes between Arab countries, but also in debates within them.
Corporations are like countries now, there's a king, there are serfs, there's a court, basically everything but moats. They're feudal societies, and there are good ones and bad ones.
By June 1974, Treasury Secretary George Shultz was already suggesting that rising oil prices could result in a 'highly advantageous mutual bargain' between the United States and petroleum-producing countries in the Middle East.
Not many countries establish a prize for peace. The Seoul Peace Prize has its roots in the 1988 Summer Olympics when this country opened its doors to people and athletes from more than 160 countries. Korea did so in part because it believes in the power of sports for peace and development.
We don't tell New Zealanders we can stop the global recession, because we can't. What we do tell them is we can use this time to transform the economy to make us stronger so that when the world starts growing again we can be running faster than other countries we compete with.
I think that in Sweden and a lot of European countries, there's this whole mythology of the wounded artist: that you can't really do any great art unless you're suffering.
A lot more people are willing to invest in bonds denominated in euros. And there was the fiscal discipline argument, which is that this tied the hands of countries the market hasn't always trusted, which also helped them borrow at low rates.
It's the only sport that's played in every country in the world. It's played and watched all over the world, it's the most popular sport in probably 90% of the countries, and then with the World Cup, you have the most viewed tournament of any sport in the world.
I find that there are a lot of similarities between French and Japanese food. I think they're two countries that have really systemized their cuisine and codified it.
Seen from the United States or Europe, Iran's nuclear program often causes most concern, but from the perspective of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the North Korean program is equally worrying.
Countries that perceive themselves to be vulnerable can be expected to try to redress that vulnerability - and in some cases, they will pursue clandestine weapons programs.
The Commonwealth is a vital and positive partnership between countries striving to develop trade relations and promote democracy and human rights, united by shared values.
Baseball is played by all countries now, and softball, too.
As leaders, we need to rise above petty politics and lead, rather than follow, the various interests and pressure groups in our respective countries.
