Charted: America’s Import Reliance of Key Minerals

​Charted: America’s Import Reliance of Key Minerals
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The push towards a more sustainable future requires various key minerals to build the infrastructure of the green economy. However, the U.S. is heavily reliant on nonfuel mineral imports causing potential vulnerabilities in the nation’s supply chains.

Specifically, the U.S. is 100% reliant on imports for at least 12 key minerals deemed critical by the government, with China being the primary import source for many of these along with many other critical minerals.

This graphic uses data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to visualize America’s import dependence for 30 different key nonfuel minerals along with the nation that the U.S. primarily imports each mineral from.

U.S. Import Reliance, by Mineral
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While the U.S. mines and processes a significant amount of minerals domestically, in 2022 imports still accounted for more than half of the country’s consumption of 51 nonfuel minerals. The USGS calculates a net import reliance as a percentage of apparent consumption, showing how much of U.S. demand for each mineral is met through imports.

Of the most important minerals deemed by the USGS, the U.S. was 95% or more reliant on imports for 13 different minerals, with China being the primary import source for more than half of these.

These include rare earths (a group of 17 nearly indistinguishable heavy metals with similar properties) which are essential in technology, high-powered magnets, electronics, and industry, along with natural graphite which is found in lithium-ion batteries.

These are all on the U.S. government’s critical mineral list which has a total of 50 minerals, and the U.S. is 50% or more import reliant for 43 of these minerals.

Some other minerals on the official list which the U.S. is 100% reliant on imports for are arsenic, fluorspar, indium, manganese, niobium, and tantalum, which are used in a variety of applications like the production of alloys and semiconductors along with the manufacturing of electronic components like LCD screens and capacitors.

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Visualizing the World’s Space Debris by Country Responsible

​Space Debris: The Earth’s Orbiting Threat
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Earlier in July, a suspicious object washed up on a remote beach in Western Australia. This chunk of golden metal was reported to be a piece of space debris that found its way back to Earth.

And it is not the only one. Today, thousands of defunct satellites, spent rocket stages, metal shards from collisions, and other remnants of human space exploration are orbiting the Earth at breakneck speeds.

In this graphic, Preyash Shah uses tracking data from the Space-Track.org, maintained by the U.S. Space Force, to help visualize just how much debris is currently orbiting the Earth, while identifying the biggest contributors of this celestial clutter.

Note: Many spent rocket bodies are still actively tracked and controlled by their launch authorities, and the source tracks these separately. Space debris includes spent rocket bodies that are defunct and uncontrolled.

Ranked: Countries Responsible for the Most Space Debris
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According to the data, there are roughly 14,000 small, medium, and large debris objects floating about in low Earth orbit as of May 2023. And this is not counting the millions of tiny debris fragments that are too small to be tracked.

Although space debris is a global problem, certain countries have played a larger role in contributing to the clutter. In the 1950s, the U.S. and Russia (formerly USSR) led the space race with the highest number of launched space objects. In the 1970s, they were joined by China, and objects from all three countries account for the vast majority of today’s space debris:

*China-Brazil space debris originates from various cooperational space programs over the years

The debris count of Russia—including former launches by the Soviet Union—currently stands at 4,521. But the U.S. and China are not far behind with more than 4,000 each. And though many of these are accumulated over time, thousands of debris are created in single catastrophic moments.

China’s anti-satellite test in 2007 destroyed its own weather satellite, creating 3,500 space debris pieces. Likewise, the 2009 collision between inactive Russian satellite Cosmos-2251 and operational U.S. communications satellite Iridium 33 created over 2,000 pieces of debris.

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Mapped: Carbon Pricing Initiatives Around the World

​Mapped: Carbon Pricing Initiatives Around the World
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Over the past two decades, governments around the world have responded to climate change through various initiatives and policies, with carbon pricing at the forefront.

A recent example is the Canadian province of Ontario’s Emissions Performance Standards program, first launched in 2022. The program sets annual carbon emissions limits for industrial facilities, with a fee on excess carbon emitted.

This graphic by Jonathan Letourneau maps 70 active carbon pricing initiatives around the world and highlights their global impact as seen in the 2022 World Bank report.

But first, let’s look at the different types of carbon pricing:

Carbon Tax vs. ETS
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Broadly speaking, carbon pricing gives emission generating organizations a choice between reducing their carbon emissions and paying for them.

The two typical initiatives used to offer this choice are carbon taxes and emissions trading systems (ETS):

Carbon tax: This tax or levy is directly applied to the production of carbon emissions or fuels that release greenhouse gases. This makes products or services that release substantial carbon more expensive than greener alternatives (or reducing emissions).Emissions Trading System (ETS): Also called the cap-and-trade system, ETS puts a cap on the total level of greenhouse gases a licensed industry can emit. Companies with low emissions can sell their unused emission allowance with larger emitters that have exceeded the cap.The World’s Carbon Pricing Initiatives
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As of the end of 2022, Europe was home to 24 of the 70 active carbon pricing initiatives in the world.

Europe’s position is not surprising given many of its countries have set ambitious carbon neutral goals. The region’s European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is the world’s largest carbon market, covering 1.8 billion tonnes of emissions annually.

Canada has also implemented numerous regional and national carbon pricing initiatives, with many provinces falling under both main types of carbon pricing. For example, carbon emissions in British Columbia—the first jurisdiction in North America to implement carbon pricing—are priced under both a carbon tax and an ETS.

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Internet Adoption in America: Who Isn’t Online Yet?

​America Offline: Who Isn’t on the Internet Yet?
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The internet is so widely used today that for many, it’s hard to imagine life without it. Yet, despite its prevalence, there’s still a small fraction of Americans who aren’t online.

Who are these non-adopters? Using data from Pew Research Center, this graphic provides a demographic breakdown of the U.S. adults who don’t use the internet.

### The Demographic Breakdown

In the last two decades, internet adoption in the U.S. has skyrocketed, causing America’s offline population shrink to just 7%.

That’s a significant drop from 2000, when almost half of the American population did not use the internet.

According to the data, age seems closely linked to non-internet use—25% of respondents aged 65+ claimed they do not use the internet, compared to just 4% of those aged 50-64.

However, it’s worth noting that 86% of U.S. seniors (65+) weren’t online in 2000, so this age group has seen a significant increase in internet adoption over the last two decades.

Income also seems to be correlated with non-internet use. 14% of respondents with an annual household income below $30,000 claimed to not use the internet, compared to 1% who make $75,000 or more per year.

Additionally, education may have positive correlation with internet adoption. Just 2–3% of survey respondents who went to college claimed to not use the internet, compared to 14% for those who didn’t study beyond high school. Interestingly, the data did not show a strong correlation between non-adoption and gender or race.

### Why is This Important?

As the world becomes increasingly more digital, the internet is starting to become a necessity rather than a luxury. And those who don’t have good access to the web are starting to face significant obstacles in their day-to-day lives.

For instance, when schools closed down during the early days of the global pandemic, many American children in lower-income homes did not have reliable internet at home or didn’t have a computer to complete their schoolwork on.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Pew Research Center

Details: This survey is based on telephone interviews conducted in the U.S. from Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 2021, among a national sample of 1,502 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

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World Risk Poll: Visualizing Harassment and Violence in the Workplace

​Visualizing Harassment and Violence in the Global Workplace
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Did you know that one in five people have experienced violence and harassment in the workplace at least once?

In this graphic sponsored by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, we showcase the findings from the World Risk Poll 2021: Safe at Work? report and uncover some uncomfortable truths about workplaces across the world.

The Context
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There is an urgent need for comprehensive and reliable data on the nature and scale of workplace harassment to help policymakers target their efforts.

To address this need, the Lloyd’s Register Foundation partnered with Gallup to produce the World Risk Poll—the first global and comparable survey on violence and harassment in the workplace from respondents across 121 countries. 
 
One extremely important note to mention is that all data is based on incidents that were reported and therefore may be an underestimation of actual cases of physical, sexual, and psychological harassment in the workplace.

The Findings and What They Mean
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The study found that a concerning number of people reported harassment and violence at work and that experiences varied by gender.

The data shows the reported instances of multiple types of violence and harassment in the workplace that were experienced one or more times.

Take for example the first row of the table below. It is saying that 49% of men who reported at least one instance of violence reported it as psychological abuse alone, compared to 20% of men who experienced a combination of both psychological and physical abuse one or more times.

Notably, women’s experiences had a sexual element in 32% of cases, while just 16% of men’s experiences had this element.

Moreover, foreign-born women and men reported higher instances of violence and harassment in the workplace, with 30% of foreign-born women and 26% of foreign-born men experiencing some for of workplace abuse—surpassing the global average of 20%.

Examining statistics related to age in the global workforce also reveals concerning trends. Among those aged under 24 years old, over 33% experienced psychological abuse in the workplace.

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Where are Immigrant Founders of U.S. Unicorns From?

​Where are Immigrant Founders of U.S. Unicorns From?
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The majority of U.S. unicorns—private startups worth more than $1 billion—have at least one immigrant founder, according to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).

While some of the companies and founders are well known, like SpaceX from South Africa’s Elon Musk, hundreds of lesser-known unicorns have been founded from the top talent of just a handful of countries.

This visual using NFAP data lays out the countries which are home to the most U.S. billion-dollar startup founders as of May 2022.

Note: These rankings are based on unicorn valuations as of May 2022. As valuations regularly fluctuate, some companies may have gained or lost unicorn status since that time.

Countries with the Most U.S. Unicorn Founders
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Here’s a look at the countries that these immigrant founders come from.

The 382 founders accounted for below have combined to start 319 of 582 U.S.-based unicorns.

Far in the lead is India with 66 startup founders and Israel with 54 startup founders. Together, they account for 31% of all unicorn founders listed. In fact, more than half of the immigrant unicorn founders came from just six countries: India, Israel, the UK, Canada, China, and France.

These immigrant founders have helped found many of the world’s biggest startups:

Stripe was co-founded by Irish brothers Patrick and John CollisonInstacart’s founder and former CEO, Apoorva Mehta, was born in India, then moved to Libya and Canada as a child.Big data startup Databricks was founded by a group of seven computer scientists from the University of California, including five immigrants from Iran, Romania, and China.Immigration and Entrepreneurship
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Though some of these founders came to the U.S. as successful business leaders, the report noted that many immigrated as children or international students.

In addition, there are another 51 founders (not included in the above statistics) that were not immigrants themselves but are first-generation Americans born to immigrant parents. Data from the report also shows that 80% of unicorns have an immigrant in some key role, whether it’s as a founder, a C-level executive, or some other crucial position.

Even historically, some of the biggest companies in the U.S.

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Top U.S. Food Imports by Origin Country

​Top U.S. Food Imports by Origin Country
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The U.S. is a major producer and exporter of food products, but did you know that it’s also one of the world’s largest food importers?

Due to seasonality and climate, some foods can’t be grown on home soil, at least enough to fulfill consumption demands. Indeed, many familiar grocery items come from other countries.

This infographic from Julie Peasley uses data from the Chatham House Resource Trade Database (CHRTD) to show where the U.S. gets its food from, highlighting the top exporting countries of various imported food items.

The Types of Imported Foods
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The U.S. imported around $148 billion worth of agricultural products in 2020, and according to the USDA, this has since risen to $194 billion in 2022.

Around 50% of all U.S. agricultural imports are horticultural products like fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and more. Other large import categories include sugar and tropical products, meat, grains, and oilseeds.

With that context in mind, we break down each category and highlight the five foods with the largest single-origin import value.

Farm Fresh: Fruit and Vegetable ImportsU.S. fruit and vegetable imports have been on a steady rise since 2000. In fact, between 2011 and 2021, fruits and nuts imports made up 44% of domestic consumption, while 35% of vegetables consumed in the U.S. came from outside the country.

Mexico is by far the largest exporter of fruits and vegetables to the United States.

The U.S. imported $2.5 billion worth of tomatoes from Mexico in 2020, representing 31% of international tomato trade. Avocados, native to central Mexico, were nearly as popular with $2.1 billion worth of imports.

Generally, the largest exporters of fruits and vegetables to the U.S. are North and South American countries, with products often coming from Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, and Brazil.

Beefed Up: Meat ImportsThe U.S. is the world’s largest overall consumer of beef (or bovine meat), and the third-largest per capita consumer at nearly 37.9 kg (84 lbs) per person per year.

Therefore, despite being one of the top producers of beef, the country still imports a lot of it.

Precisely, The U.S. imported $8.7 billion worth of meat in 2020. Canada was the largest source of imported beef, with the U.S. accounting for more than 70% of all Canadian beef exports.

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The Frequency of Billion-Dollar Disasters in the U.S.

​Frequency of Billion-Dollar Disasters in the U.S.
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Wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui have had devastating effects on people, towns, and nature, and the final cost is nowhere near tallied. They are the latest of many climate disasters in the U.S.—and data shows that their frequency has been increasing.

These graphics from Planet Anomaly use tracking data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to show the average number of days between billion-dollar weather disasters in the U.S. from 1980 to 2022.

Methodology
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NOAA’s database examines billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in America. Total associated damages and costs for each event are adjusted for inflation using the 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Disasters are categorized as one of seven different types:

Drought: Prolonged dry spells resulting in water shortages and reduced soil moisture.Flooding: Overflow of water inundating land usually due to intense rainfall or melting snow.Tropical Cyclone: Intense rotating storm systems known as hurricanes.Severe Storm: Includes windstorms and tornadoes, hail, lightning, and heavy precipitation.Winter Storm: Heavy snow, freezing rain, and icy conditions impacting transportation and infrastructure.Wildfire: Uncontrolled fires consuming vast areas of forests and vegetation.Freezes: Sub-zero temperatures damaging crops and infrastructure, such as pipes or energy lines.The average days between billion-dollar disasters are calculated from the start dates of adjacent events within a single year.

Days Between Billion-Dollar Disasters in the U.S. (1980‒2022)
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Between 1980 and 2022, there were 155 total disasters in the U.S. that cost more than a billion dollars in damages when adjusted for inflation.

And when looking at the average number of days between these billion-dollar events within each year, we can see the decades becoming more and more costly:

Back in the early 1980s, the average interval between these major disasters (within each year) was 75 days. Even more starkly, 1987 had no climate disasters that topped $1 billion in damages, while 1988 only had one.

Fast forward to 2022, and that average window has drastically reduced to a mere 20 days between billion-dollar disasters in the United States.

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Charted: Market Volatility and Investor Emotions

​Market Volatility and Investor Emotions
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The Fear & Greed Index, created and popularized by CNN, is a powerful tool that captures investor sentiment and confidence levels. It rises when markets are greedy and falls when investors are fearful.

In this infographic sponsored by Fidelity Investments, we compare the Fear & Greed Index with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) to see the connection between volatile markets and the impulses of investors.

The Fear & Greed Index
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The Fear & Greed Index combines the following indicators to see how much they differ from their averages.

Market momentumStock price strengthStock price breadthPut and call optionsJunk bond demandMarket volatilitySafe haven demandThe index gives each indicator equal weighting in calculating a score from 0 to 100, with 100 representing maximum greediness and 0 signaling maximum fear.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)
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The VIX gauges expected price changes in S&P 500 Index options over the next month, indicating market volatility. It has lower values during bull markets and higher values during bear markets.

When these two indexes are correlated, it becomes evident that lowering market volatility corresponds to heightened investor greed.

Impact of Key Events on Investor Sentiment
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This infographic highlights significant points emphasizing the relationship between the two indexes.

### September and October 2022

During this period, rising prices, interest rates, and the possibility of a recession led to the highest level of fear observed between May 2022 and May 2023.

### February 2023

February brought a breath of fresh air as GDP growth led to the highest levels of investor confidence during the period under study.

### March 2023

The collapse of three mid-sized tech-friendly banks triggered a wave of extreme fear. It served as a stark reminder of the inherent vulnerability of financial markets and how quickly panic can spread.

Weathering the Storm
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By proactively thinking about their emotional impulses, investors can better navigate volatile conditions, and what’s more, benefit from them.

Fidelity’s new market volatility guide provides invaluable insights, empowering investors to make informed decisions in unpredictable markets while avoiding emotional biases.

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Visualizing the Global Population by Water Security Levels

​Visualizing the Global Population by Water Security Levels
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Most of the world’s population today lives in countries facing critical water security issues.

Dealing with issues such as declining freshwater availability, demand from growing populations, insufficient infrastructure, or flawed water governance can impact how easily a country’s population can access water. A combination of multiple factors quickly makes problems with water security a lived reality.

A recent Global Water Security Report by the United Nations University assessed the water security of different countries across the world.

Methodology
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This study assesses water security in countries by examining 10 different underlying components, ranging from water quality and sanitation to availability, resource stability, and climate-related risks.

Each component is given a score out of 10, with a nation’s overall water security score calculated from the sum. Water security levels are assigned based on the overall scores:

75 and above is classified as “water secure”65‒74 is classified as “moderately secure”41‒64 indicates a country is “water insecure”40 and below is considered “critically insecure”Water Security Levels by Country
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Water security remains a concern around the world, but is especially dire in regions like the Middle East and Africa, where 13 of the 23 nations in the critically insecure category are located.

In total, 113 countries are considered water insecure, including the world’s two most populated, India and China. An additional 24 countries are considered critically water insecure, with the largest by population including Pakistan and Ethiopia

Countries facing water security issues account for 72% of the world’s population, with an additional 8% of the global population facing critical water insecurity.

That includes 4.3 billion people in the Asia-Pacific region alone, and an additional 1.3 billion people across Africa. Many of these countries are grappling with issues including fast-growing populations and drought conditions faster than they can develop the necessary infrastructure to deal with them.

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12 Different Ways to Organize the Periodic Table of Elements

​The Periodic Tables You’ve Never Seen Before
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The Periodic Table of Elements is an iconic image in classrooms and laboratories all around the world.

Yet despite having an almost unanimous agreement amongst scientists on its composition, there are over 1,000 different periodic tables—and that number continues to grow. This is because the standard table does not highlight all of the existing relationships between the elements.

With 118 elements currently known, there are many different interactions and stories to tell. Here are some of the most remarkable, fascinating and bizarre periodic tables that we could find.

Purpose and Properties of the Periodic Table
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To understand why there are so many periodic tables, we first need to understand exactly what a periodic table is. “Periodic” tables get their name because they organize the chemical elements by periodicity (or recurring periodic patterns).

When the elements are organized by their relatively stable number of protons, for example, we get the standard periodic table of elements first devised by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in the year 1869.

Compared to protons, electrons are very mobile. The way electrons are configured around a nucleus—and how they behave with the electrons of other elements—gives them specific chemical properties.

These properties are similar amongst some elements and repeat periodically. The standard periodic table of elements visualizes this by arranging elements based on these shared chemical properties, providing a guide for understanding similar electron configurations at a glance.

Examining Different Periodic Tables
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Below are just a few of the most interesting and unique periodic table permutations not commonly used.

Charles Janet’s “left-step” periodic table is the most popular alternative table. It organizes the elements by the way that electrons fill orbitals (the regions they whir in) rather than valence (an electron’s ability to bond).

The ADOMAH table by Valery Tsimmerman is a form of the left-step table that groups elements by their principal quantum number.

The Physicist’s Periodic Table of Elements by Timothy Stowe rearranges the standard table into both 3D-vertical (A) and 2D-horizontal (B) layouts.

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Timing the Market: Why It’s So Hard, in One Chart

​The Risks and Rewards of Timing the Market
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This was originally posted on Advisor Channel. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on financial markets that help advisors and their clients.

Timing the market seems simple enough: buy when prices are low and sell when they’re high.

But there is clear evidence that market timing is difficult. Often, investors will sell early, missing out on a stock market rally. It can also be unnerving to invest when the market is flashing red.

By contrast, staying invested through highs and lows has generated competitive returns, especially over longer periods.

The above graphic shows how trying to time the market can take a bite out of your portfolio value, using 20 years of data from JP Morgan.

The Pitfalls of Timing the Market
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Mistiming the market even by just a few days can significantly affect an investor’s returns.

The following scenarios compare the total returns of a $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 between January 1, 2003 and December 30, 2022. Specifically, it highlights the impact of missing the best days in the market compared to sticking to a long-term investment plan.

As we can see in the above table, the original investment grew over sixfold if an investor was fully invested for all days.

If an investor were to simply miss the 10 best days in the market, they would have shed over 50% of their end portfolio value. The investor would finish with a portfolio of only $29,708, compared to $64,844 if they had just stayed put.

Making matters worse, by missing 60 of the best days, they would have lost a striking 93% in value compared to what the portfolio would be worth if they had simply stayed invested.

Overall, an investor would have seen almost 10% in average annual returns using a buy-and-hold strategy. Average annual returns entered negative territory once they missed the 40 best days over the time frame.

The Best Days in the Market
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Why is timing the market so hard? Often, the best days take place during bear markets.

Over the last 20 years, seven of the 10 best days happened when the market was in bear market territory.

Adding to this, many of the best days take place shortly after the worst days. In 2020, the second-best day fell right after the second-worst day that year.

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Visualized: Which Airports Move the Most Cargo?

​Which Airports Move the Most Cargo?
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From facilitating crucial international supply chains to ensuring the smooth delivery of personal Amazon packages, cargo shipping is an important part of the global economy. Total air cargo shipped measured around 117 million metric tons in 2022.

This map uses data from Airports Council International (ACI) to showcase the global airports that move the most goods.

The Busiest Cargo Airports
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The world’s busiest airport in terms of cargo is Hong Kong’s, which has held the number one spot for almost 28 years. Here’s a look at the ranking:

Some of these busy airports are not well-known, and none of them, aside from LAX, rank as highly in terms of passenger traffic. For example, Anchorage ranks in the top 10 in cargo processed because it is cheaper for cargo carriers to stop over and refuel there, rather than flying nonstop from Asia to the United States.

The Memphis airport handles the most cargo in North America, largely because of FedEx’s significant presence there. FedEx processes over 245,000 documents and 180,000 packages an hour at Memphis’ airport.

On top of being home to UPS’ Worldport, the world’s biggest fully automated package processing facility, Louisville is also central to other transport routes in the United States. Packages come into this hub and then head out on the many highways and railways, as well as the Ohio River, which connects to the Mississippi River, one of the country’s main waterways for barge transit.

Cargo Shipment
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Nearly every airport has seen significant increases in the amount of cargo moved year-over-year, with numbers now rising above pre-pandemic benchmarks. Notably, however, Shanghai and Hong Kong have experienced decreases due to geopolitical tensions.

In Hong Kong, goods movement via air travel is integral to the economy. Around half of the entire region’s external trade went through the airport in 2022.

Cargo transit is inherently important to the global economy. Around $6 trillion worth of goods move through airports annually, representing approximately 35% of world trade.

The post Visualized: Which Airports Move the Most Cargo? appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

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Charted: Gen Z Job Attitudes Compared with Other Generations

​Charted: Gen Z Job Attitudes Compared with Other Generations
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Young working adults from Gen Z—born between 1997-2012—so far have a different relationship with their employers than other generations.

Gone are the days of sticking with one company for an entire 40-year career. According to Oliver Wyman, Gen Z workers shop around when it comes to work: 62% of them are actively or passively looking for new jobs.

This chart uses data from Oliver Wyman’s Gen-Z Report (2023) to showcase the generational divides of survey respondents who said they were either actively or passively looking for new work. The survey assessed 10,000 adults in the United States and United Kingdom.

The Survey Results
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As of 2023, Gen Z already makes up approximately 15% of the workforce in the U.S. and UK. By 2031, that share is predicted to climb to 31%, second only to millennials.

And many in this young, up-and-coming labor force are more open about seeking alternative employment compared to their older counterparts:

While millennials follow closely behind, far fewer Gen Xers and baby boomers are seeking new roles. Part of this, however, could simply be that those in older generations are far more established in their roles or careers, and are less actively looking for change.

Regardless, Gen Z is incredibly flexible. When compared to other generations, they are also more than twice as likely to have an additional job on the side of their main role.

Shifting Approach to Work
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One of the biggest reasons Gen Z actively scours available job postings is because of economic disparities between generations.

Of Gen Z workers, 37% feel underpaid for the amount of hours they work, compared to 29% of non-Gen Z workers. Gen Z women in particular were found to be almost 60% more likely than Gen Z men to leave a job in search of better compensation.

On top of consistently seeking better pay, Gen Z also wants to retire earlier. Looking at average U.S. and UK data, Gen Z’s ideal retirement age is astoundingly young at 54 years old, but most don’t realistically expect to be retired until 60.

Gen Z is important to watch as they are the most diverse, most educated, and most technological savvy generation in history.

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Ranked: The World’s Largest Cities By Population

​Ranked: The World’s Largest Cities By Population
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The world has experienced rapid urbanization over the last century.

Today, more than 4.3 billion people live in urban settings, or 55% of the world’s population.

But what is the world’s largest city? Answers to that question will vary greatly depending on which lines are being used to demarcate city boundaries and measure their populations.

The graphic above uses data taken from the latest official censuses and projections to rank the top cities based on the three most common metrics.

The Largest Cities by City Proper
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Our first metric is based on the city proper, meaning the administrative boundaries.

According to the United Nations, a city proper is “the single political jurisdiction which contains the historical city center.”

The Chinese city of Chongqing leads the ranks by this metric and has an administrative boundary the size of Austria, with an urban population of 32.1 million.

The city’s monorail system holds records for being the world’s longest and busiest, boasting 70 stations. Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, is among the world’s top 50 busiest airports. Additionally, the city ranks among the globe’s top 50 hubs for scientific research.

Other Chinese cities dominate the ranking by this metric:

The first non-Chinese city, Delhi, has been experiencing one of the fastest urban expansions in the world.

The United Nations projects India will add over 400 million urban dwellers by 2050, compared to 250 million people in China and 190 million in Nigeria.

The Largest Cities by Urban Area
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This measurement largely ignores territorial boundaries and considers a city a contiguous, connected built-up area.

Demographia describes urban areas as functioning as an integrated economic unit, linked by commuting flows, social, and economic interactions.

By this metric, Tokyo leads the ranking:

The city proper houses about 10% of Japan’s population. If the greater Tokyo metro area is considered, including cities like Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, then Tokyo’s total population surpasses 37 million—about 30% of the country total.

Consequently, even with one of the world’s largest railway systems, trains in Tokyo are incredibly crowded, with a boarding rate of 200% during peak time in the most overcrowded areas.

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Charted: The Rise and Fall of WeWork

​Charted: The Rise and Fall of WeWork
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Despite its recommitment to core business fundamentals in the last few years, WeWork’s management—which saw a shakeup in May 2023 when CEO Sandeep Mathrani departed—is setting off a signal flare about the company’s future.

“Our losses and negative cash flows from operating activities raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.” — WeWork, SEC filing, August 8th, 2023.

But how did the once-poster child of Silicon Valley end up seeing its valuation collapse more than 99% from its peak?

Pulling together data from Business Insider, YCharts, SEC Filings, and Crunchbase we follow the rise and fall of WeWork since 2011.

The Rise of WeWork: 2010–2019
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WeWork was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey with the primary objective of providing shared workspaces catered to freelancers, startups, and companies seeking “flexible office solutions.”

The business model, which rested on renting space from developers long-term, renovating and parceling the property, and subsequently leasing it out to short-term clients, thrived in a decade of low interest rates.

Its valuation surpassed $1 billion in 2014, earning the coveted “unicorn” status. In 2017, SoftBank Group made the first of its total $18.5 billion investment in the company. Two years later, WeWork hit a peak valuation of $47 billion with SoftBank’s continued investments, raising expectations for an imminent IPO.

Footnote: *SoftBank valuation is based on discounted cash flow method.

The Fall of WeWork: 2019–2023
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Intensive scrutiny fueled by the impending IPO raised several questions for the company. These included concerns around Neumann’s leadership style, excessive spending, creative accounting, and conflicts of interest leading to Neumann’s resignation and delay of the IPO.

In October 2019, SoftBank Group acquired 80% of the company with $5 billion of additional funding. A month later WeWork laid off 2,400 employees, nearly one-fifth of its workforce.

Real estate veteran Sandeep Mathrani was made CEO in 2020, tasked with turning the company around by eliminating recurring costs and restructuring its debt.

That same year the COVID-19 pandemic forced a significant shift to remote work, causing a decline in office space demand.

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The Most-Viewed YouTube Videos of All Time

​The Most-Viewed YouTube Videos of All Time
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YouTube has been the dominant force in video streaming for well over a decade, with music being a huge driver of the platform’s growth.

However, there seems to have been a demographic shift in YouTube’s audience over the years.

While commercial music videos once dominated the rankings of the most-viewed videos on YouTube, they have since faced stiff competition from an unlikely source: nursery rhymes and children’s educational videos.

This graphic pulls up the 20 most viewed videos on YouTube, revealing the rising demand for kid-focused content and videos as of August 2023.

Now Streaming for Children
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Launched in 2016 by Korean education brand Pinkfong, the catchy “Baby Shark (do-do, do-do-do-do)” dance video became the first music video ever to cross 10 billion views in January 2021.

Nine of the top 20 most-viewed YouTube videos today offer content geared toward children:

With total views of 13 billion today, “Baby Shark” surpasses the music video for Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” (previously the most-viewed YouTube video) by almost five billion views.

And other popular child-focused music videos are close behind. “Johny Johny Yes Papa” (#3) and Cocomelon’s “Bath Song” (#4) nudged Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” and Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” down to the fifth and sixth rank in the list of most-viewed YouTube videos.

Catchy or Educational?
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While many attribute the popularity of kid-focused videos to repetitive lyrics, familiar nursery rhymes, or otherwise catchy music that can’t get out of your head, research says otherwise.

A study by the Pew Research Center found that YouTube plays a key role in providing content for children. 81% of parents of kids aged 11 and younger allow their children to watch YouTube, with 35% of these kids using the platform regularly.

And this has become a lucrative business too. In 2021, the company behind Cocomelon and other popular kids channels was acquired for around $3 billion.

If these trends keep up, we may see more kid-focused content climb up this Top 20 list in the future as well.

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Digital Transformation: 4 Essential Strategies for Businesses

​4 Digital Strategies to Transform a Business
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Digital technology can have a profound impact on the success of a business, so it’s no surprise that a whopping 93% of organizations are either operating with a digital-first business strategy or plan to in the future.

But what does digital transformation involve? 

In this graphic, sponsored by Airwallex, we explore four strategies that are essential for digital transformation. Let’s dive in.

1. Embrace Embedded Finance
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Embedded finance weaves financial products such as payment plans or insurance into non-financial products, creating symbiotic financial ecosystems with a variety of benefits for both the business and their consumers.

For example, Uber created a financial ecosystem using embedded finance by allowing customers to pay for their rides without the need for cash or cards, providing safety and security while securing payment in real time. 

2. Optimize the Payment Experience
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Businesses of all shapes and sizes can operate without borders because of the evolution of eCommerce. However they need to support the right payment solutions to reflect the changing behaviors of consumers.

In 2022, digital wallets were the most used eCommerce payment method globally, representing 49% of transaction value—significantly higher than credit cards (20%) and debit cards (12%).

According to the Global Payments Report, businesses must also consider regional payment trends that are local to their customers. In the Australian market for example, almost 25% of eCommerce transactional value comes from payment types like buy now pay later (BNPL) or direct transfers using Account-to-Account (A2A) payments.

Moreover, Australia will continue to lead the digital wallet charge with an estimated CAGR of 16% to 2026 according to the same report.

3. Leverage Software Integration
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Integrated and cloud-based software systems have become indispensable tools in digital transformation. These systems provide enhanced databases, advanced analytics, and provide valuable business intelligence.

In a 2023 survey, PwC found 78% of executives had adopted cloud technology in most or all parts of the business, and that this was unlocking significant value in many areas.

4.

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Visualizing $156 Trillion in U.S. Assets, by Generation

​Visualizing U.S. Wealth by Generation
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The distribution of wealth is an important measure of the economic power of each generation.

In the U.S., for example, baby boomers own half of the nation’s $156 trillion in assets despite making up 21% of the country’s population.

To learn more about U.S. wealth by generation, we’ve created two visualizations using Q4 2022 data from the Federal Reserve that break down both the assets and liabilities held by each American generation.

Assets by Generation
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Assets by generation are listed in the table below. All figures are as of Q4 2022 and in USD trillions.

Baby boomers’ biggest category of assets is Equities & Mutual Funds, where they own 56% of the national total. Millennials, on the other hand, represent just 2%.

Where millennials do have more wealth is Real Estate, with 12% of the national total. This suggests that millennials have, for the most part, foregone investing in financial assets in order to purchase a home.

Liabilities by Generation
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The following charts show a breakdown of liabilities by generation. Not surprisingly, Mortgages make up the largest component of liabilities for all generations.

Something to highlight is that millennials are carrying the largest amount of Consumer Credit, at $2 trillion (representing about 43% of total consumer credit). As of 2022, millennials accounted for 22% of the U.S. population.

U.S. Wealth by Generation
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Finally, we subtract liabilities from assets to arrive at total wealth by generation in the United States. Figures again are USD and in trillions.

As a final note, it’s worth highlighting that Gen Z is still too young to be included as a separate demographic in datasets like these. Born between 1997 and 2012, these individuals are currently between 11 and 26 years old. Interestingly, the Federal Reserve currently considers all U.S. adults born after 1981 as millennials.

The post Visualizing $156 Trillion in U.S. Assets, by Generation appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

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Ranked: World’s Biggest Wine Producers by Country

​Ranked: World’s Biggest Wine Producers By Country
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“Wine gives a man fresh strength when he is wearied”—Homer, The Iliad

Wine has been in our cups, in our thoughts, and in our poems for many a millennia, from the antics of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, to its symbolism in the Last Supper. But breaking down the biggest wine producers by country in the modern era leads to some interesting surprises.

This infographic by Alberto Rojo Moro uses data from the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) to visualize where wine production is concentrated in the world.

We take a quick look below.

The Top Wine Producers By Country in 2022
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At the top of the list, Italy produced nearly 50 million hectoliters—or about 1,994 Olympic-sized swimming pools—of wine in 2022, accounting for nearly one-fifth of total production in the year. Less than half of that wine was sent to overseas markets, also making Italy the biggest exporter of the beverage by volume.

One hectoliter is equal to 100 liters and is used as a unit of measure for wine, beer, and other agricultural produce.The country’s long coastline results in a moderate climate, allowing winemaking to occur in 20 different regions in Italy, with Veneto, Apulia, Emilia-Romagna, and Sicily leading in production.

Other known wine connoisseur countries—France (45.6 hectoliters) and Spain (35.8 million hectoliters)—rank second and third in wine production respectively. Together these three countries make up half of the world’s wine supply.

Here’s a full list of the world’s biggest wine producers by country.

Note: Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

The U.S., ranked 4th, is the top wine producer from the Americas, beating out other wine-producing countries like Chile (8th) and Argentina (9th).

South Africa, ranked 10th, is one of only four African countries in the dataset as winemaking isn’t as widespread on the continent as other regions in the world.

Meanwhile, China (ranked 14th) is the top wine producer from Asia. The region’s preference for other distilled spirits helps explain why the next two biggest Asian wine producers, Japan (25th) and Türkiye (31st) occupy the middle ranks.

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The 50 Most Valuable Companies in the World in 2023

​The 50 Most Valuable Companies in the World
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Market capitalization, or market cap, is one measure of a company’s value as determined by the stock market. It is easily calculated by multiplying the company’s outstanding shares by its current share price.

In this graphic, we present a treemap chart that visualizes the world’s top 50 publicly-traded companies by market cap, using data as of Aug. 16, 2023.

Editor’s note: While market capitalization is a simple way to compare publicly-traded companies, it does have some limitations. Most importantly, it does not include debt or cash in the calculation.

Data and Highlights
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All of the data we used to create this graphic is included in the table below. 


From this data, we can see that there are only a handful of trillion dollar companies in the world, including Apple, Microsoft, Saudi Aramco, Amazon, Alphabet, and Nvidia.

Two former members of the trillion dollar club are Meta and Tesla, but both companies currently hover around the $700 billion range in terms of market capitalization. In 2022, Meta lost significant value as its earnings fell, while Tesla suffered from demand concerns.

Altogether, the 50 most valuable companies represent over $26.5 trillion in shareholder value. At a sector level, Information Technology is the most represented in the top 50, with $9.3 trillion in combined market cap. The next biggest sectors are Consumer Discretionary ($4.0 trillion) and Health Care ($3.3 trillion).

Geographical Breakdown
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At a geographical level, the majority of the 50 most valuable companies are American. The following chart shows each country’s tally.

After the U.S., the three most represented countries are Switzerland, France, and China, with three companies apiece.

From Switzerland are companies such as Nestlé, Roche, and Novartis. The latter two are major players in the healthcare industry.

France’s companies in the top 50 list all belong to the Consumer Discretionary sector, and include fashion giants LVMH and Hermès, as well as L’Oréal, a global leader in cosmetics. Earlier this year, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault was officially the richest person in the world with a fortune of $215 billion.

Finally, from the Chinese side are two globally-recognized names in Tencent and Alibaba.

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