Get your final dose of facts for 2014 with 27 facts from ABC Fact Check that you might have missed this year.

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1.

Australia pays lower levels of tax than most other OECD nations.

2.

In May 1788, three months after the British established their first settlement in Australia, there were seven horses, seven cattle, 29 sheep, 74 pigs, five rabbits, 18 turkeys, 29 geese, 35 ducks and 209 chooks in the colony.

3.

Men who have had Ebola can still pass it through their semen for up to seven weeks after recovery from illness.

Liberian health workers at the Medecins Sans Frontieres Ebola treatment centre in Monrovia on October 18, 2014. ( AFP: Zoom Dosso )

4.

Of all male taxpayers, 17.5 per cent earn over $100,000 a year, compared with 7 per cent of female taxpayers.

5.

Australians visit the GP around five times a year and visit any doctor between six and seven times a year.

6.

History shows that if you back the favourite horse in the Melbourne Cup, you'll have a 22 per cent chance of winning.

Glen Boss riding Makybe Diva wins the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse November 1, 2005 ( Ryan Pierse: Getty Images )

7.

Federal Government spending on science, research and innovation has fallen to 0.56 per cent of GDP, lower than when records began in 1978-79 and an equal low only to two years in the late 1980s.

8.

For de facto couples who never marry, the chance of separating is more than six times higher than for couples who marry.

9.

An average feral cat requires about 300 grams of prey, per day. Stomachs of dissected feral cats can contain one rabbit, or up to 50 frogs.

A large male feral cat in north Queensland. ( Andrew Cooke, Invasive Animals CRC )

10.

UK research predicts one in three babies will live to 100 but Australian projections range from one in four to one in 37.

11.

Cuts to foreign aid accounted for one fifth of the total savings in the 2014-15 federal budget.

12.

At least 10 countries undertake some kind of whaling activity. But Japan is the only one with a program that goes beyond its own territorial and economic boundaries. Japan's program is the largest and covers more ocean than any other program.

Japanese whalers slaughter a whale at the Wada port on June 25, 2006 in Chiba, Japan. ( Koichi Kamoshida: Getty Images )

13.

Australia's refugee intake is less than one per cent of the total number of refugees needing asylum around the world.

14.

Deforestation is one of the largest contributors to rising global greenhouse gas emissions, representing 11 per cent of all emissions.

15.

Between 0.1 and 0.2 per cent of Australia's population is HIV positive. By comparison, Australia's nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, has an adult HIV prevalence rate of about 0.5 per cent.

A patient with HIV/AIDS in Port Moresby's General Hospital on October 28, 2005. ( REUTERS: David Gray )

16.

The ANU's Centre for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament has found there is a global stockpile of nearly 18,000 nuclear weapons, 94 per cent of which are held by the US and Russia.

17.

Over the past decade mental illness has become the number one reason people are receiving the disability pension. In 2013, more than 30 per cent of recipients suffered from psychiatric and psychological conditions. About a quarter of recipients suffered from 'muscular' diseases such as arthritis, joint pain and chronic pain, while people with intellectual disabilities and learning difficulties made up 12 per cent.

18.

Since Federation in 1901 the prime minister and cabinet have made all decisions about deploying troops. No parliament has ever been given the opportunity to debate Australia's active role in a foreign conflict before the prime minister of the day has made a decision about committing to military engagement.

Prime Minister John Howard visits troops in Afghanistan on March 15, 2007. ( Captain Lachlan Simond/Department of Defence, file photo: AAP )

19.

The ANZUS treaty has only been invoked once - by former Australian prime minister John Howard after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

20.

The Australian Government has a legal right to stop boats with suspected unlawful non-citizens if the boats are within Australia's territorial or contiguous zones - in other words, within 24 nautical miles of Australian shores.

21.

Polar bear fur is not actually white. Hair shafts are transparent and have a hollow core that scatters and reflects visible light, similar to what happens with ice and snow.

A polar bear shakes itself dry after taking a swim to cool off at Berlin's zoo on August 6, 2007. ( Axel Schmidt: AFP )

22.

Australia has nearly 150,000 known living species, and about two thirds of these are invertebrates – insects, spiders and other creatures without spines, such as shellfish.

23.

Research from Graduate Careers Australia shows female graduates earn less than male graduates with exactly the same qualifications. In law, the median salary for female graduates is $62,000. For male graduates it's $70,000. In teaching the median starting salary for male graduates is $2,000 more than for female graduates, despite women making up well over three-quarters of all graduates.

24.

With the world population expected to hit 8.3 billion in 2030 and 9.1 billion in 2050, food demand is expected to rise by 50 per cent in the next 15 years, and 70 per cent by mid century.

Residents crowd in a swimming pool in Sichuan province on July 4, 2010. ( Reuters: Stringer )

25.

Of Australians aged 12 or over who use marijuana, more than a third use it only once or twice a year.

26.

In the decade to 2013 the number of days that set new records for extreme heat outnumbered the records set for extreme cold by almost three to one.

27.

Around a quarter of Crimeans - approximately 500,000 people - are Ukrainian, while over half are Russian. The proportion of people identifying as Ukrainian is highest in the western areas of Ukraine (up to around 98 per cent Ukrainians in one area), while it is lower in the east.