World Cup 2010: By the numbers

The World Cup is over: Spain are champions, South Africa won the respect of nearly everyone with its hosting prowess, and Paul the "psychic" octopus became a global sensation. But that's not the whole story. Here, a look at the tournament through a numerical lens:

8

Goals Spain scored in their seven games in South Africa, a record low for a World Cup champion

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60

Percentage of the time defensive-minded Spain held the ball during its matches, also a record

14

Numbers of yellow cards issued during Spain's final brutal match with the Netherlands

700 million

People worldwide who watched the World Cup championship game, according to FIFA

3,085

Tweets posted per second at the height of World Cup activity, a new high for Twitter

8-for-8

Paul the "psychic" octopus' record in predicting World Cup matches. After his statistically unlikely run, the cephalopod is reportedly retiring from the prognostication racket.

$38,000

Sum offered by a Spanish businessman to rent Paul for an upcoming food festival in the small village of Carballino. "Paul, should he attend, would be on the special events program and not on the menu," say reports.

$5.6 billion

Amount spent by South Africa to host the games, including building and renovating 10 stadiums. (Other estimates suggest the real figure is closer to $8-$11 billion.) "Officials believe when everything is counted the country will break even," reports the Toronto Sun.

130,000

Jobs created in South Africa by the event (though many of them were temporary construction gigs).

0.7

Percentage "Bounce" to the GDP that a country enjoys after a World Cup win, according to a 2006 study. "With unemployment hitting 42.9 percent among 16 to 24-year-olds, Spain's World Cup victory could not have come at a better time," says James Montague at CNN.

500,000

Estimated number of foreign visitors who traveled to South Africa for the World Cup, exceeding an earlier estimate by 200,000, according to the Finance Ministry

3.1 million

Total number of people who attended the 64 tournament matches — the third highest figure in history

40,000

Police officers on duty at the World Cup sites to ward off criminals

172

Cases heard by the special criminal courts created by South Africa for World Cup. Most were "trivial like the theft of England's underpants and the cannabis smoking of Paris Hilton's friend."

1,432

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Brazil

Sources: The Times (2), New York, The Age, Hollywood Reporter, Fast Company, BBC, Los Angeles Times (2), Seattle Post-Intelligencer, San Francisco Chronicle, Toronto Sun, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Vancouver Sun (2), New Zealand Herald