Numbers of the year 2025

The "More or Less" podcast from the BBC World Service presents its annual "Numbers of the Year" for 2025, hosted by Tim Harford. The episode features contributions from experts discussing significant numbers from the year. Thomas Sampson from the London School of Economics highlights the peak US tariff rate of 28% following President Trump's announcements, noting its decline to 18% by October but still marking the highest average since the 1930s. Hannah Ritchie discusses China's achievement of 1 trillion watts (1 terawatt) of installed solar power, emphasizing its rapid growth and capacity to meet new electricity demand, though fossil fuels still dominate China's energy mix. Finally, Catherine Haymans, Professor of Astrophysics, celebrates the discovery of 3i Atlas, the third interstellar object found in our solar system, a comet estimated to be over 7 billion years old.