After Africa Check published this report, Information is Beautiful changed its label for South Africa from "death" to "platinum".

“Every country is best at something”, according to data visualisation website Information is Beautiful. A map published on the website shows what countries around the world rank first for.

“According to the data” South Africa is ranked best for “death” – news which made headlines in the UK Daily Mail. Nigeria is first for “scrabble players”. And Kenya is tops for “black tea”.

The website provides a spreadsheet with a list of sources for the rankings, which Africa Check consulted. Does the data back the claims?

SA ranked 51st according to source cited

South Africa is “best or number one for” death rates, according to a spreadsheet Information is Beautiful posted below the map.

The death rate refers to the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a country. This ratio allows for comparisons to be made between countries with varying population sizes.

But the source it links to – the CIA World Factbook – does not show this. According to it, Lesotho is ranked number one for death rates with a rate of 14.9 deaths per 1,000 people in 2016 (although it notes that it is an estimate). South Africa isn’t even a runner-up. It comes in at 51st place with a death rate of 9.6 per 1,000.

Other data sources confirm that South Africa doesn’t bag the top spot.

The World Health Organisation estimated that Sierra Leone had the highest death rate in 2013. South Africa was ranked 30th. Bulgaria topped the World Bank’s death rate estimates in 2014 when South Africa ranked 18th.

Researched by Africa Check, a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org