The explanation the article doesn't give: 1) The category "country" is useless for this comparison. Monaco, Taiwan, New Zealand and China are all countries. 2)

The explanation the article doesn't give: 1) The category "country" is useless for this comparison. Monaco, Taiwan, New Zealand and China are all countries. 2) Population clustering, movement, demographics and culture, public policy. Move those dials in random directions, add exponential contagion and luck.