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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

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More or Less: The Death Toll in Syria

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A Syrian man standing on the rubble of his house

08/09/2013

The Death Toll in Syria

BBC World Service - More or Less, The Death Toll in Syria

How accurate are the reported death estimates in the Syrian conflict?

How accurate are the reported death estimates in the Syrian conflict? Do left-handed people really die earlier than right-handed people?

As global leaders remain divided on whether to carry out a military strike against Syria in response to the apparent use of chemical weapons against its people, Tim Harford looks at the different claims made about how many people have been killed. The United States, the UK and France are sharing intelligence, but all quote different estimates of how many people they think died in the attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Tim speaks to Kelly Greenhill, a professor of political science at Tufts University in the US, and co-author of Sex, Drugs and Body Counts about why the numbers vary so widely. And he speaks to Megan Price from the Human Rights Data Analysis Group, who has been trying to keep a tally of the deaths in Syria since the conflict began.

Apparently, it is a fact that if there's one thing that's worse for you than drinking, scoffing bacon sandwiches and smoking 80 unfiltered cigarettes a day, it is being left-handed. Left-handers die on average several years earlier than right-handers. Or do they? Tim gets to the bottom of a sinister statistic with Professor Chris McManus, author of Right Hand, Left Hand.

(Image: A man holds his forehead as he stands amongst rubble in Syria. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

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