The Fastest-Growing Jobs in the U.S. in the Next Decade See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Care roles dominate job growth, with home health and personal care aides set to add nearly 740,000 jobs by 2034. Tech jobs offer the best growth-pay mix, led by software developers adding 268,000 roles at $133K median pay. Management roles pay the most, with computer and information systems managers earning $171K while adding 100K+ jobs. Which jobs are adding the most openings over the next decade? This visualization from USAFacts uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to forecast the fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. over the next decade. Data on the Fastest-Growing Jobs to 2034 As the U.S. population continues to age, home health and personal care aides are the fastest-growing profession by far. In the span of a decade, there will be a whopping 739,800 new positions in this field added nationwide. However, it’s worth mentioning that these jobs have one of the lowest median salaries on the list at under $35,000 per year. RankOccupationProjected New JobsMedian Annual Pay (2024) 1Home health and personal care aides739.8K$34.9K 2Software developers267.7K$133.1K 3Stockers and order fillers235.0K$37.1K 4Fast food and counter workers233.2K$30.5K 5Cooks, restaurant217.0K$36.8K 6Registered nurses166.1K$93.6K 7General and operations managers164.0K$103.0K 8Medical and health services managers142.9K$118.0K 9Financial managers128.8K$161.7K 10Nurse practitioners128.4K$129.2K 11Construction laborers106.5K$46.7K 12Computer and information systems managers101.6K$171.2K 13Medical assistants101.2K$44.2K 14Management analysts94.5K$101.2K 15Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers89.3K$57.4K 16Data scientists82.5K$112.6K 17Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors81.0K$59.2K 18Light truck drivers78.9K$44.1K 19Electricians77.4K$62.4K 20First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers73.0K$42.0K Tech careers, such as software developers and computer and information systems managers, also feature strongly in the mix, though it’s arguable that AI could impact some of these fields tremendously. Big tech companies famously slowed the hiring of developers in 2025. Finally, it’s worth noting that there are some well-paying careers that make the list. In terms of jobs with median earnings well over $100,000 per year, there are a few roles that hit the spot: data scientists ($112.6K), software developers ($133.1K), computer and information systems managers ($171.2K), financial managers ($161.7K), and nurse practitioners ($129.2K) are just a few that stand out. Learn More on the Voronoi App Which jobs are the safest from AI? See this infographic on Voronoi to see where the most job security lies.

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Ranked: The Great Lakes by Maximum Depth See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Lake Superior is the deepest of the Great Lakes, plunging more than 1,300 feet at its lowest point. Lake Erie is by far the shallowest Great Lake, with a maximum depth of just 210 feet. The Great Lakes are one of North America’s most defining natural features. Together, they hold roughly 20% of the world’s surface fresh water and stretch across more than 94,000 square miles. While they are often discussed as a single system, each lake has a very different underwater landscape. This visualization maps the maximum depth of each Great Lake, highlighting dramatic contrasts shaped by glaciers, geology, and time. The data for this visualization comes from WorldAtlas, supported by bathymetric data from NOAA and geographic data from Natural Earth. Lake Superior: The Deepest Freshwater Giant Lake Superior is the undisputed heavyweight when it comes to depth. At 1,333 feet (406 meters), it is not only the deepest of the Great Lakes, but also the deepest freshwater lake in the United States. Its immense volume means it contains more water than the other four Great Lakes combined. LakeMax Depth (feet)Max Depth (meters)U.S. States Bordered Lake Superior1,333406Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan Lake Michigan923281Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana Lake Ontario802244New York Lake Huron751229Michigan Lake Erie21064Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York Why is depth important? Depth plays a critical role in water temperature, circulation, ecosystems, and even shipping routes. Deeper lakes tend to warm more slowly, mix differently, and support distinct aquatic life compared to shallower ones. Lake Superior’s depth contributes to colder average temperatures and powerful storms, making the lake both ecologically unique and notoriously dangerous for shipping. Its deep basins were carved by glaciers over thousands of years, leaving behind steep underwater cliffs and trenches. Lakes Michigan, Ontario, and Huron: Deep but Distinct Lake Michigan ranks second in depth at 923 feet (281 meters). Unlike the others, it is the only Great Lake located entirely within the United States. Its depth supports major commercial shipping lanes and a diverse aquatic ecosystem. Lake Ontario follows closely with a maximum depth of 802 feet (244 meters), despite being the smallest by surface area. Lake Huron, at 751 feet (229 meters), appears shallower by comparison but still contains enormous volumes of water due to its sprawling size. Lake Erie stands apart as the shallowest Great Lake, reaching just 210 feet (64 meters) at its deepest point. Its shallow depth allows it to warm quickly in summer and freeze more easily in winter. Learn More on the Voronoi App If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Forests on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization U.S. Population by Generation See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S., accounting for more than one in five Americans. Boomers and Gen X together still make up nearly 40% of the population, reflecting the country’s aging demographic profile. The age structure of the U.S. population is undergoing a major transition, as younger generations are becoming more prominent. This visualization breaks down the U.S. population by generation in 2025, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2025. Millennials and Gen Z Are the Two Largest Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, are the largest generation in the U.S., with roughly 74 million people. They account for 22% of the total population and are now firmly in their prime working and family-forming years. Close behind is Generation Z, with over 71 million people, representing 21% of Americans. GenerationBirth YearsAge Range (2025)PopulationShare of population Silent Generation1928–194580–9713,741,6304% Baby Boomers1946–196461–7964,448,24819% Generation X1965–198045–6065,432,12119% Millennials1981–199629–4474,104,18622% Generation Z1997–201213–2871,146,11621% Generation Alpha2013–20250–1251,238,68715% Total Population--340,110,988100% Boomers and Gen X are a Major Demographical Force Baby Boomers remain a major demographic force, totaling about 64 million people, or 19% of the population. Now aged 61 to 79, this group continues to impact healthcare demand, retirement systems, and wealth distribution. Generation X is nearly the same size, with 65 million people and an equal 19% share. Meanwhile, generation Alpha, born from 2013 onward, already numbers more than 51 million people. Although they represent 15% of the population, their impact is still emerging. This cohort will shape future education systems, technology adoption, and long-term workforce trends. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Silent Generation now makes up just 4% of Americans. Learn More on the Voronoi App If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Why U.S. Homes Feel Pricier: House Prices vs. Income (1985–2025) on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Every ‘Word of the Year’ According to Dictionaries (2020-2025) See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. It’s impossible to describe an entire year with just a single word, but the various major dictionaries try each year. While it can’t capture all of the complexity a year had in store, the right word can be emblematic of a year’s social phenomena, newly established terminology, and shared cultural experiences over those 365 days. This graphic visualizes the words of the year of five major dictionaries from 2020 to 2025, with the dictionaries’ sites (Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster, Collins, Oxford, and Cambridge) being the source of the data. How Dictionaries Choose Their Word of the Year Dictionary.com, Collins, Merriam-Webster, Oxford, and Cambridge all treat their ‘Word of the Year’ as an editorial choice that is guided heavily by evidence of real-world usage and public interest. Dictionary.com weighs cultural impact alongside signals like news and social trends, while Collins draws on its Collins Corpus of spoken and written English to spot words that rose to prominence. Merriam-Webster and Cambridge lean strongly on lookup and search spikes on their sites, then apply editorial judgment (Cambridge also filters for zeitgeist and what’s linguistically notable). Oxford combines corpus-based language research with editor curation and, in some years, public voting, before its team makes the final call. In short: editors make the final pick, primarily using data from searches, written and spoken language, along with cultural trends. Words That Defined Each Year From 2020 to 2025 With the words of the year of various dictionaries laid out clearly, it’s fascinating to see the trends that were felt most each year. The table below shows the word of the year of major dictionaries from 2020 to 2025: 202020212022202320242025 Dictionary.compandemicallyshipwomanhallucinatedemure6-7 Merriam-Websterpandemicvaccinegaslightingauthenticpolarizationslop CollinslockdownNFTpermacrisisAIBratvibe coding Oxfordno word chosenvaxgoblin moderizzbrain rotrage bait Cambridgequarantineperseverancehomerhallucinatemanifestparasocial We can see how 2020 was defined by the pandemic, with pandemic, quarantine, and lockdown all chosen that year (while Oxford University Press didn’t choose a word that year). While 2021’s words feature vaccine, vax, and perseverance, non-pandemic words and trends like NFT and allyship were part of the mix. 2023 brought AI-related words like hallucinate and AI into the mix, as it was ChatGPT’s first full year after launching in November of 2022. In 2025, we’ve seen evolutions of more specific AI-related jargon like slop (sloppy or low-quality AI-made digital content) and vibe coding, which defines AI-driven software development through prompts rather than writing out the code oneself. 2025’s other words of the year like parasocial and rage bait define growing cultural trends and behaviors of an increasingly online world, while 6-7 remains a largely incomprehensible meme—ubiquitous among younger generations despite having no clear or widely agreed-upon meaning. Learn More on the Voronoi App If you liked this visualization, check out this graphic on Voronoi that breaks down the world’s most-spoken languages.

See more visualizations like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Ranked: The 30 Largest Cities in North America in 2025 See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles are the only three cities with populations exceeding 10 million. The U.S. is home to 15 of the top 30 most populous cities in North America. With 17.7 million residents, Mexico’s capital is bigger than New York City and Chicago combined. Over the next decade, Mexico City is forecasted to add another 175,000 to its population. The Big Apple, in contrast, is set to shrink by about 189,000 residents. This graphic shows the biggest North American cities by population, based on data from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects 2025. Urban populations can be measured in different ways. In this methodology, the UN looks at satellite-mapped urban footprints for consistency. For this reason some city populations may not line up exactly as you may expect. Where Are the Largest Cities in North America? Below, we show the 30 most populous cities in North America in 2025: RankCityCountry2025 Population 1Mexico City Mexico17,734,000 2New York City U.S.13,920,000 3Los Angeles U.S.12,740,000 4Toronto Canada5,494,000 5Santo Domingo Dominican Republic4,600,000 6Guadalajara Mexico4,135,000 7Houston U.S.3,955,000 8Monterrey Mexico3,938,000 9Chicago U.S.3,683,000 10Washington, D.C. U.S.3,270,000 11San Francisco U.S.3,163,000 12Miami U.S.2,912,000 13Guatemala City Guatemala2,838,000 14Montreal Canada2,669,000 15Denver U.S.2,266,000 16Philadelphia U.S.2,232,000 17Las Vegas U.S.2,184,000 18San José Costa Rica2,171,000 19Phoenix U.S.1,972,000 20Puebla Mexico1,948,000 21San Diego U.S.1,915,000 22Port-au-Prince Haiti1,868,000 23Vancouver Canada1,708,000 24San Antonio U.S.1,686,000 25Boston U.S.1,640,000 26San Salvador El Salvador1,615,000 27Tegucigalpa Honduras1,607,000 28Havana Cuba1,594,000 29Tijuana Mexico1,558,000 30Panama City Panama1,527,000 With the largest population by far, the Mexico City region drives almost 25% of Mexico’s GDP. Trade and transportation is the capital’s most prominent sector, bolstered by shifting supply chains and nearshoring. After Mexico City, Guadalajara, known as the “Silicon Valley of Mexico” is the country’s second-most populous city, at 4.1 million. Meanwhile, New York City sits at a population of 13.9 million in 2025. Since 2020, the financial hub has lost about 128,000 residents, with many moving to Florida, Texas, and California. In contrast, Los Angeles has grown by nearly 250,000 over the same period to reach 12.7 million. Ranking fourth is Toronto, Canada’s leading financial center. Like Los Angeles, it has added roughly 250,000 residents since 2020, making it one of the country’s fastest-growing major cities. Looking ahead, Toronto is projected to grow by another 370,000 people over the next decade, largely driven by international migration. Learn More on the Voronoi App To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the two largest cities on every continent.

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Mapped: Natural Resource Income as a Share of GDP See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Libya derives over half of its GDP from natural resource rents, making the country highly exposed to commodity price swings. Resource dependence is far more common in developing and energy-exporting economies than in advanced industrial nations. Natural resources remain a powerful driver of economic output for many countries. From oil and gas to minerals and forests, these assets can generate enormous income, but they also create vulnerability. This visualization maps natural resource income as a share of GDP, highlighting which economies are most dependent on extracting and selling raw materials. The data for this visualization comes from the World Bank Group. It measures natural resource rents as a share of GDP in 2021, defined as the economic surplus generated from oil, gas, coal, minerals, and forests after accounting for extraction costs. Extreme Resource Dependence in Energy Exporters A small group of countries sits at the extreme end of resource dependence. Libya tops the list, with natural resource rents accounting for 61% of its GDP, reflecting its heavy reliance on oil exports. Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo also derive more than one-third of their economic output from natural resources. In these economies, government revenues, employment, and foreign exchange earnings are closely tied to global commodity prices. RankCountryNatural Resources Income (% of GDP) 1 Libya61.03% 2 Iraq43.45% 3 Democratic Republic of the Congo38.83% 4 Republic of Congo37.71% 5 Zambia35.26% 6 Timor-Leste34.73% 7 Guyana33.68% 8 Mongolia33.14% 9 Iran, Islamic Rep.30.45% 10 Angola29.97% 11 Azerbaijan29.94% 12 Oman29.21% 13 Papua New Guinea27.39% 14 Qatar27.29% 15 Kazakhstan26.84% 16 Saudi Arabia25.57% 17 Brunei Darussalam24.28% 18 Equatorial Guinea23.50% 19 Algeria22.59% 20 Liberia21.92% 21 Chad21.34% 22 Uzbekistan20.47% 23 Burkina Faso20.14% 24 Russia18.51% 25 Gabon18.49% 26 Mali18.42% 27 Solomon Islands18.40% 28 Cabo Verde17.66% 29 United Arab Emirates17.63% 30 Chile16.90% 31 New Caledonia16.79% 32 Bahrain16.64% 33 Mozambique14.91% 34 Burundi13.96% 35 Australia13.36% 36 Ghana13.35% 37 Sudan12.75% 38 Peru12.72% 39 Kyrgyz Republic11.51% 40 Mauritania11.45% 41 Somalia11.24% 42 Guinea-Bissau10.43% 43 Central African Republic10.26% 44 Norway10.05% 45 Suriname9.59% 46 Bolivia9.47% 47 Tajikistan9.05% 48 Sierra Leone9.04% 49 Myanmar8.68% 50 Nigeria8.55% 51 Brazil7.94% 52 Togo7.86% 53 Trinidad and Tobago7.86% 54 Ukraine7.51% 55 Uganda7.48% 56 South Africa7.33% 57 Armenia7.05% 58 Malaysia6.92% 59 Ecuador6.70% 60 Tanzania6.69% 61 Niger6.41% 62 Zimbabwe6.40% 63 Ethiopia5.87% 64 Madagascar5.53% 65 Cameroon5.53% 66 Lao PDR5.38% 67 Colombia5.32% 68 Indonesia5.16% 69 Egypt5.14% 70 Canada4.95% 71 Cote d'Ivoire4.74% 72 Guinea4.52% 73 Senegal4.40% 74 Lesotho4.32% 75 Malawi4.22% 76 Namibia4.03% 77 Rwanda4.02% 78 Nicaragua3.84% 79 Panama3.66% 80 Mexico3.64% 81 India3.16% 82 Eswatini3.00% 83 Gambia, The2.86% 84 Bhutan2.73% 85 Argentina2.65% 86 Viet Nam2.55% 87 Benin2.30% 88 Fiji2.25% 89 Tunisia2.25% 90 Dominican Republic2.08% 91 Philippines1.97% 92 Guatemala1.93% 93 Uruguay1.93% 94 Sao Tome and Principe1.88% 95 Belarus1.86% 96 Thailand1.82% 97 Serbia1.75% 98 Estonia1.72% 99 China1.71% 100 Comoros1.63% 101 New Zealand1.49% 102 Albania1.44% 103 Pakistan1.44% 104 Georgia1.39% 105 Paraguay1.35% 106 United States1.28% 107 Kenya1.23% 108 Honduras1.22% 109 Sweden1.21% 110 Latvia1.17% 111 Romania1.14% 112 Botswana1.04% 113 Poland1.03% 114 Kosovo0.93% 115 Bulgaria0.92% 116 Cambodia0.84% 117 Turkiye0.83% 118 Bosnia and Herzegovina0.81% 119 Costa Rica0.76% 120 Croatia0.68% 121 Montenegro0.64% 122 Bangladesh0.61% 123 United Kingdom0.59% 124 Vanuatu0.57% 125 El Salvador0.54% 126 Belize0.52% 127 Nepal0.50% 128 Jamaica0.46% 129 Finland0.45% 130 Israel0.44% 131 Afghanistan0.43% 132 Hungary0.40% 133 Czechia0.39% 134 Morocco0.39% 135 Netherlands0.34% 136 Denmark0.34% 137 Barbados0.33% 138 Haiti0.33% 139 Portugal0.29% 140 Lithuania0.29% 141 Samoa0.28% 142 Djibouti0.28% 143 Moldova0.24% 144 Slovak Republic0.23% 145 Slovenia0.19% 146 North Macedonia0.14% 147 Seychelles0.12% 148 Austria0.12% 149 Spain0.12% 150 Italy0.11% 151 Ireland0.10% 152 Greece0.09% 153 Sri Lanka0.08% 154 Jordan0.08% 155 Germany0.08% 156 Korea, Rep.0.05% 157 Japan0.05% 158 Belgium0.04% 159 Kiribati0.04% 160 Tonga0.04% 161 Dominica0.03% 162 France0.03% 163 St. Vincent and the Grenadines0.02% 164 Micronesia, Fed. Sts.0.02% 165 The Bahamas0.01% 166 St. Lucia0.01% 167 Cyprus0.01% 168 Switzerland0.01% 169 Luxembourg0.00% 170 Maldives0.00% 171 French Polynesia0.00% 172 Turks and Caicos Islands0.00% 173 Lebanon0.00% 174 Mauritius0.00% 175 Aruba0.00% 176 Hong Kong0.00% 177 Macao0.00% 178 Singapore0.00% 179 Iceland0.00% 180 Andorra0.00% 181 Antigua and Barbuda0.00% 182 American Samoa0.00% 183 Bermuda0.00% 184 Cuba0.00% 185 Curacao0.00% 186 Eritrea0.00% 187 Faroe Islands0.00% 188 Grenada0.00% 189 Gibraltar0.00% 190 Greenland0.00% 191 Guam0.00% 192 Isle of Man0.00% 193Channel Islands0.00% 194 St. Kitts and Nevis0.00% 195 North Korea0.00% 196 Kuwait0.00% 197 Cayman Islands0.00% 198 Liechtenstein0.00% 199 Monaco0.00% 200 St. Martin (French part)0.00% 201 Marshall Islands0.00% 202 Northern Mariana Islands0.00% 203 Malta0.00% 204 Nauru0.00% 205 Puerto Rico (U.S.)0.00% 206 West Bank and Gaza0.00% 207 Palau0.00% 208 San Marino0.00% 209 South Sudan0.00% 210 Sint Maarten (Dutch part)0.00% 211 Syrian Arab Republic0.00% 212 Turkmenistan0.00% 213 Tuvalu0.00% 214 Venezuela, RB0.00% 215 British Virgin Islands0.00% 216 Virgin Islands (U.S.)0.00% 217 Yemen, Rep.0.00% Many of the most resource-dependent countries are concentrated in the Middle East and Africa. Oil- and gas-rich nations such as Iran, Angola, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia feature prominently. In sub-Saharan Africa, mineral exporters like Zambia and Mongolia, along with oil producers such as Equatorial Guinea and Chad, rely heavily on resource rents. Advanced Economies Show Low Resource Reliance In contrast, most advanced economies generate only a small share of GDP from natural resources. Countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom all register resource rents near or below 1% of GDP. Even resource-rich developed nations like Norway and Australia show relatively moderate dependence, reflecting diversified economies with strong manufacturing and services sectors. Learn More on the Voronoi App If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Global GDP Growth Projections in 2025 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Top 20 Central Banks Ranked by Total Assets (Q3 2025) Key Takeaways The Euro Area leads the world with over $7.1 trillion in central bank assets, narrowly ahead of China and the United States. Central bank assets can signal how actively a country intervenes in its economy, through QE, currency pegs, or reserve accumulation. Emerging markets like India, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia are increasingly significant, each holding over $500 billion in assets. Global central banks play a critical role in shaping economic stability and monetary policy. Their balance sheets, often stacked with government securities, foreign reserves, and other financial instruments, offer a window into their financial firepower and strategic priorities. The latest data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reveals the world’s largest central banks by total assets as of Q3 2025. This ranking reflects not only the size of the underlying economies but also differences in monetary policy strategies, levels of quantitative easing, and foreign exchange interventions. Central Bank Assets: A Breakdown Here’s a look at the top 20 central banks by assets held: RankCentral Bank LocationTotal Assets (billion $USD) 1 Euro Area7,130 2 China6,621 3 U.S.6,587 4 Japan4,517 5 Switzerland1,108 6 United Kingdom1,001 7 India911 8 Brazil898 9 Singapore610 10 Hong Kong534 11 Saudi Arabia515 12 South Korea410 13 Thailand309 14 Poland303 15 Mexico296 16 Türkiye289 17 United Arab Emirates276 18 Indonesia272 19 Australia263 20 Israel259 At the top of the list is the Euro Area with $7.13 trillion in total assets, followed closely by China ($6.62 trillion) and the United States ($6.59 trillion). These three collectively hold over half of the world’s central bank assets. Switzerland, despite its smaller population, holds over $1.1 trillion, which is an outsized figure driven by foreign exchange interventions and reserve accumulation. What Are Central Bank Assets, Exactly? Central bank assets represent everything from gold and foreign currency reserves to government bonds and loans to financial institutions. These reserves serve as the foundation for a central bank’s monetary operations and its ability to influence interest rates, control inflation, and stabilize currency values. Central banks are increasingly expected to act, not only as lenders of last resort, but also as stabilizers of financial markets through asset purchases and liquidity facilities. The Rise of Emerging Markets While developed economies dominate the top of the list, emerging markets are gaining ground. India’s Reserve Bank holds $911 billion in assets, and Brazil is close behind with $898 billion. Saudi Arabia, with $515 billion, reflects its massive energy-driven surplus and the management of its sovereign wealth and currency peg. This financial clout feeds into broader global power dynamics. For example, central bank reserves help back a country’s currency in international trade. In this light, countries with large reserves wield more influence over the global economy. As seen in our article Ranking the World’s Most Powerful Reserve Currencies, reserve-backed assets play a foundational role in global finance. Final Thoughts While total asset size doesn’t measure GDP or productivity, it reveals how much firepower a central bank has to stabilize markets or influence exchange rates. Countries with larger asset bases have more levers to manage financial shocks. As we head into a new phase of monetary tightening and shifting global capital flows, understanding these asset levels offers insight into which economies are best positioned to weather future volatility.

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization How Global Economic Power Shifted (1980–2025) See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways The U.S. has remained the world’s largest economy since 1980, with nominal GDP more than tenfold higher in 2025. China’s rise since 2000 is the most dramatic shift, overtaking Japan, Germany, and many others to become the world’s second-largest economy. Over the past four decades, the global economic hierarchy has undergone profound change. Some economies have grown steadily, others have surged, and a few have slipped down the rankings as new players emerged. This visualization charts the world’s top economies from 1980 to 2025. The data for this visualization comes from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (October 2025). GDP figures are measured in current U.S. dollars and are not adjusted for inflation. The United States Remains on Top Since 1980, the United States has consistently ranked as the world’s largest economy. Its GDP rose from about $2.9 trillion in 1980 to more than $30.6 trillion by 2025. While its global share has fluctuated, the U.S. has maintained its lead due to a large domestic market, deep capital markets, and sustained productivity growth. China represents the most dramatic structural change in the global economy over the past 45 years. Rank1980GDP ($bn)2000GDP ($bn)2025 GDP ($bn) 1 U.S.2,857 U.S.10,251 U.S.30,616 2 Japan1,129 Japan4,968 China19,399 3 Germany857 Germany1,968 Germany5,014 4 France695 UK1,669 Japan4,280 5 UK605 France1,362 India4,125 6 Italy480 China1,220 UK3,959 7 China304 Italy1,150 France3,362 8 Canada276 Canada745 Italy2,544 9 Mexico242 Mexico742 Russia2,541 10 Argentina234 Brazil655 Canada2,284 In 1980, it ranked outside the top five, with GDP just over $300 billion. By 2010, China had already surpassed Germany and Japan, and by 2025 it stands firmly as the world’s second-largest economy at nearly $19.4 trillion. Japan dominated the global economy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, briefly narrowing the gap with the United States. However, slower growth and demographic headwinds caused it to lose ground, falling to fourth place by 2025. Europe’s largest economies—Germany, the United Kingdom, and France—have remained among the top 10. Emerging Markets Gain Ground Beyond China, several emerging economies climbed into the top ranks. India’s GDP expanded from under $200 billion in 1980 to more than $4.1 trillion in 2025, placing it among the world’s five largest economies. Outside of the top 10, countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and Türkiye have also moved up the rankings, reflecting faster growth than many advanced economies over the long run. Learn More on the Voronoi App If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Global GDP Growth Projections in 2025 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

See more visualizations like this on the Voronoi app. Charted: Declining Fertility Rates in OECD Countries (1950-2025) See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Across 37 out of 38 OECD countries, fertility rates are below the 2.1 replacement level needed to sustain a population’s size. While South Korea and Chile have the lowest fertility rates across the group, Israel and Mexico have the highest. Fertility rates are collapsing faster than expected around the world. In Mexico, years of declining fertility rates have pushed average births per woman to 1.9, down from 6.7 in 1950. Moreover, fertility rates in Costa Rica are lower than the U.S., standing at 1.3 births per woman. This graphic shows total fertility rates in OECD countries compared to 1950, based on data from the United Nation’s World Population Prospects: The 2024 Revision. A Closer Look at Declining Fertility Rates Below, we show the total fertility rates of countries, which represents the average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime if current birth rates remain constant. CountryTotal Fertility Rate1950Total Fertility Rate2025Change1950 to 2025 South Korea6.10.7-5.4 Chile4.81.1-3.7 Italy2.51.2-1.3 Lithuania2.71.2-1.5 Japan3.61.2-2.4 Spain2.51.2-1.3 Finland3.21.3-1.9 Poland3.71.3-2.4 Costa Rica6.31.3-5.0 Austria2.11.3-0.8 Canada3.41.3-2.1 Greece2.61.3-1.3 Latvia2.11.3-0.8 Estonia2.31.4-0.9 Belgium2.31.4-0.9 Luxembourg2.01.4-0.6 Norway2.51.4-1.1 Sweden2.31.4-0.9 Netherlands3.11.4-1.7 Switzerland2.41.4-1.0 Germany2.21.5-0.7 Czechia2.81.5-1.3 Hungary2.61.5-1.1 Iceland3.91.5-2.4 Portugal3.21.5-1.7 Denmark2.61.5-1.1 United Kingdom2.21.5-0.7 Slovakia3.61.6-2.0 Slovenia3.01.6-1.4 Ireland3.51.6-1.9 Colombia6.41.6-4.8 Türkiye6.51.6-4.9 United States3.11.6-1.5 France3.01.6-1.4 Australia3.11.6-1.5 New Zealand3.61.6-2.0 Mexico6.71.9-4.8 Israel4.62.8-1.8 South Korea’s average fertility rate has plummeted from 6.1 births per woman in 1950 to 0.7 today, one of the fastest declines globally. Fertility rates in the country fell below the replacement level more than 40 years ago and have steadily declined since. Among the factors driving down birth rates are high childbearing costs, workplace barriers, and a rigid work culture. As we can see, Chile has the second-lowest total fertility rate in the OECD, at 1.1 births per woman, falling below Japan. In 1950, the total fertility rate was 4.8—higher than the majority of OECD countries. Meanwhile, Italy faces the lowest fertility rate among European countries, at 1.2 births per woman, and France has the highest at 1.6. Similarly, the U.S. sits on the higher end of the pack, with 1.6 births per woman, even as fertility rates hit record lows. Overall, only two OECD countries—Mexico and Israel—have higher fertility rates. Learn More on the Voronoi App To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on falling fertility rates of the world’s 10 biggest countries.

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Mapped: The Most Populated Cities in the Middle East This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Cairo is by far the Middle East’s largest city, with a population exceeding 25 million in 2025. Egypt, Türkiye, Iran, and Saudi Arabia dominate the ranking, reflecting long-term urbanization trends. The Middle East is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing and most densely populated cities. Rapid population growth, rural-to-urban migration, and economic concentration have driven major cities to expand well beyond their historic cores. This map highlights the most populated cities in the region in 2025. The data for this visualization comes from the United Nations. Cairo Stands Alone at the Top Cairo ranks as the Middle East’s most populated city, with more than 25.5 million residents in 2025. The Egyptian capital has expanded steadily for decades, driven by high birth rates and sustained migration from rural areas. Alexandria and several other Egyptian cities also rank highly. RankLocationCity2025 population 1 EgyptAl-Qahirah (Cairo)25,566,000 2 TürkiyeIstanbul15,015,000 3 IranTehrān (Tehran)9,175,000 4 EgyptAlexandria7,267,000 5 Saudi ArabiaAr-Riyāḑ (Riyadh)6,916,000 6 JordanAmmān (Amman)6,404,000 7 IraqBaghdād (Baghdad)6,391,000 8 IranMashhad5,398,000 9 United Arab EmiratesDubai5,284,000 10 SyriaDimashq (Damascus)4,288,000 11 Saudi ArabiaJeddah4,284,000 12 KuwaitAl Kuwayt (Kuwait City)4,265,000 13 EgyptLuxor4,188,000 14 YemenŞan'ā' (Sana'a)4,019,000 15 TürkiyeAnkara3,612,000 16 IranKaraj3,599,000 17 SyriaAleppo2,922,000 18 TürkiyeIzmir2,650,000 19 IsraelTel Aviv2,643,000 20 Saudi ArabiaDammam2,336,000 21 TürkiyeBursa2,282,000 22 QatarAd-Dawhah (Doha)2,194,000 23 EgyptBanha2,089,000 24 IraqBasra2,034,000 25 IranIsfahan1,844,000 26 LebanonBayrūt (Beirut)1,794,000 27 EgyptEl Mansura1,713,000 28 Saudi ArabiaMecca1,692,000 29 IraqMosul1,665,000 30 IranAhwaz1,639,000 Türkiye and Iran Anchor Urban Growth Türkiye places multiple cities in the top 20, led by Istanbul with over 15 million people, followed by Ankara and Izmir. Iran also features prominently, with Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and several secondary cities reflecting the country’s large population and relatively balanced urban network. Gulf Cities Punch Above Their Weight Several Gulf cities appear high on the list despite much smaller national populations. Riyadh, Dubai, Jeddah, Doha, and Kuwait City have grown rapidly over the past two decades, fueled by economic diversification, infrastructure investment, and foreign labor inflows. While smaller than Cairo or Istanbul, their growth rates remain among the fastest in the region. Learn More on the Voronoi App If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Wealthiest Nations in 2025 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

See more visualizations like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Ranked: The Performance of Magnificent Seven Stocks in 2025 See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Magnificent Seven stocks are up 27.5% year-to-date as of December 23. Alphabet is the best-performing stock among the pack, driven by a 47% share price gain in the fourth quarter. Performance across the Magnificent Seven stocks showed a clear divergence in 2025. This year, Google-parent Alphabet has surged above the rest thanks to optimism surrounding its in-house TPU chips and AI tools. In contrast, Amazon posted only single-digit gains amid slowing growth in its cloud computing business over the year. This graphic shows the performance of Magnificent Seven stocks in 2025, based on data from TradingView. A Closer Look at the Magnificent Seven Stocks in 2025 As of December 23, Magnificent Seven stocks averaged 27.5% returns in 2025, continuing to outpace the S&P 500 index by a sizable margin: Company/ Index2025 YTD Returns Alphabet65.8% Nvidia40.9% Tesla20.2% Microsoft15.5% Meta13.6% Apple8.8% Amazon5.8% S&P 500 (market cap weighted)17.5% Magnificent Seven Average27.5% With 65.8% returns, Alphabet, the world’s most profitable company, surged past Nvidia this year. Back in 2015, Alphabet began developing Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), designed for AI model training and inferencing. But in recent months, it announced it would begin selling these chips, sending its share price soaring. Not only is Meta in talks with Alphabet to buy its chips, the company signed a deal with Anthropic PBC to supply tens of thousands of chips to the AI firm. Nvidia follows with a 40.9% return, well below its 171% gain in 2024 and the 239% surge the year before. Despite doubling revenue year over year, the company is facing intensifying competition from Alphabet, AMD, and Broadcom. Meanwhile, Apple posted just 8.8% returns. This year, several high-level executives have left the company for other Big Tech firms amid a lackluster AI rollout. Among them is Jony Ive, a key builder of the iPhone, who went to OpenAI in a $6.5 billion pay package. Learn More on the Voronoi App To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the returns of global stock markets in 2025.

12 NASA Satellite Images That Tell the Story of Earth in 2025 From devastating wildfires to swirling cloud vortices, NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites captured remarkable views of our planet throughout 2025. These images reveal both the beauty and fragility of Earth’s systems, documenting natural phenomena, climate events, and human impacts visible from space. All images featured in this article come from NASA’s Earth Observatory, captured by instruments aboard a variety of satellites in orbit around Earth. Together, they tell the story of a dynamic planet in constant flux. The Palisades Fire’s Footprint NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey This false-color Landsat 9 image from January 14, 2025, reveals the burn scar left by the Palisades fire in Los Angeles County. The fire ignited on the morning of January 7 near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and spread rapidly, consuming nearly 24,000 acres (97 square kilometers) of wildland and developed areas within one week. In this image, which combines shortwave infrared, near infrared, and visible light, unburned vegetation appears green while recently burned landscape shows as light to dark brown. The charred areas stretch north and west of Pacific Palisades toward Malibu, where land previously burned by the December 2024 Franklin fire is also visible along the coast. Desert Dust Streams from Iran NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview This Terra MODIS image from January 22, 2025, captures dust plumes sweeping across southeastern Iran and streaming over the Gulf of Oman toward the Arabian Peninsula. The airborne material originates primarily from the dried bed of Hamun-e Jazmurian, an intermittent lake in one of southwest Asia’s major dust source regions. In this arid basin, some areas receive less than 10 centimeters (4 inches) of annual rainfall while evaporation rates remain high. The dust traveled south-southwest across the water to the coast of the United Arab Emirates, where the haze reduced visibility and prompted weather warnings. Beyond disrupting transportation, such dust events pose health risks: a recent analysis found that material from Jazmurian basin storms contains heavy metals and other substances hazardous to human and ecosystem health. Floating Solar Farm on India’s Narmada River NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey This Landsat 9 image from January 30, 2025, shows arrays of floating solar panels, known as “floatovoltaics,” spread across a reservoir on the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh, India. The geometric blue rectangles visible in the reservoir represent two floating solar projects commissioned in 2024, with a combined capacity of 216 megawatts. The reservoir, created by the Omkareshwar Dam completed in 2007, spans more than 90 square kilometers. Floating solar installations offer an alternative to land-based systems in areas where space is limited. They can also reduce evaporation, impede algal growth, and benefit from the cooling effect of water on panel efficiency. Swirling Skies and Melting Icebergs NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) This NOAA-20 VIIRS image from February 24, 2025, captures von Kármán vortex streets forming behind three of the remote South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The swirling cloud patterns appear when persistent westerly winds of moderate strength push marine stratocumulus clouds past the steep volcanic peaks of Visokoi, Candlemas, and Saunders islands. Named after mathematician and aerospace engineer Theodore von Kármán, who first described these oscillating flow features in 1911, the vortices form alternating spirals that rotate in opposite directions downstream of each obstacle. The cloud trail extending from Saunders Island appears slightly brighter than surrounding clouds due to volcanic emissions from Mount Michael, which has been weakly erupting since 2014. To the west of the island chain, several icebergs drift visibly beneath thin cloud cover. Haze Sweeps Over the Mediterranean NASA/ISS External Camera This photograph from the International Space Station’s external camera on April 30, 2025, provides an oblique view stretching from the Alps to Sicily, revealing layers of industrial haze drifting across the Mediterranean basin. Much of the haze originates from the Po Valley in northern Italy and the Rhône Valley in France, where surrounding mountains trap pollutants. The Po Valley haze drifts hundreds of kilometers over the Adriatic Sea toward Greece. Astronauts have documented this atmospheric phenomenon for decades, providing a unique perspective on how geography shapes air quality across southern Europe. Glacier Collapse Buries Swiss Village NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey This Landsat 9 image from May 29, 2025, shows the aftermath of a catastrophic collapse of the Birch Glacier in Switzerland’s Lötschental valley. The debris buried most of the village of Blatten, traveled 2.5 kilometers down the valley, and climbed 240 meters up the opposite valley wall before damming the Lonza River and causing flooding. Authorities began evacuating residents on May 19 after detecting instability. By May 27, the glacier was moving at 10 meters per day. Scientists believe rockfall accumulation on top of the glacier led to basal melting that reduced friction, triggering the collapse. The event was unusual in magnitude for the Swiss Alps. Rare Snow Blankets Australia’s Northern Tablelands NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey This Landsat 8 image from August 3, 2025, captures a rare blanket of snow across New South Wales’ Northern Tablelands, the heaviest snowfall in the region since the mid-1980s. A powerful low-pressure system brought up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) of snow to the highlands while dumping more than 100 millimeters of rain at lower elevations. The storm stranded vehicles, closed highways, and left properties without power. Flooding triggered dozens of rescues across the region. Phytoplankton Bloom in the Barents Sea NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview This Aqua MODIS image from August 5, 2025, reveals a massive phytoplankton bloom swirling through the Barents Sea near Norway’s Bear Island. The milky turquoise-blue colors indicate the presence of coccolithophores, single-celled organisms armored with calcium carbonate plates that scatter light. The green hues come from diatoms, another type of phytoplankton. The Barents Sea typically experiences two bloom seasons: diatoms dominate in May and June, while coccolithophores peak in August. These microscopic organisms form the base of the Arctic marine food web and play a critical role in the ocean’s carbon cycle and oxygen production. Researchers are closely studying how warming Atlantic currents may be shifting the location and extent of these blooms. Hurricane Erin Roils in the Atlantic NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview This Terra MODIS image from August 18, 2025, shows Hurricane Erin churning in the Atlantic Ocean as the first hurricane of the 2025 season. The storm underwent rapid intensification, jumping from Category 1 to Category 5 in just 24 hours between August 15 and 16, reaching peak sustained winds of 160 mph. Erin became only the 43rd Atlantic hurricane to reach Category 5 status since 1851, and the earliest to do so at this location. Factors contributing to its explosive strengthening included light wind shear, a compact structure, and warm sea surface temperatures. While Erin did not make landfall, it caused more than 147,000 power outages in Puerto Rico and prompted evacuation orders for North Carolina’s Outer Banks. British Columbia Wildfires Send Smoke Skyward NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview This Aqua MODIS image from September 2, 2025, captures thick smoke plumes rising from multiple lightning-ignited wildfires in British Columbia’s Cariboo region. The Itcha Lake fire had burned approximately 17,000 hectares (170 km²), while the Beef Trail Creek fire consumed around 7,800 hectares (78 km²) and the Dusty Lake fire charred about 2,800 hectares (28 km²). Evacuation orders were issued for surrounding communities. The towering pyrocumulus clouds generated by these fires can inject smoke and particulate matter high into the atmosphere, where it can travel thousands of kilometers and degrade air quality across distant regions. By the end of the season, British Columbia had burned 732,000 hectares (7,320 km²), slightly above the 10-year average. Overall, Canada experienced one of its worst fire seasons on record, trailing only 2023. A Desert Intersection NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey This Landsat 9 image from September 11, 2025, reveals a striking geological boundary in China’s Tarim Basin where the Mazartagh ridge meets the Hotan River. The 145 km (90 mile) ridge acts as a natural barrier, creating distinct dune patterns on either side. The Hotan is the only river fed by glacial meltwater that maintains enough flow to cross the entire Takla Makan Desert. For centuries, this region served as an important source of nephrite jade collected along the ancient Silk Road. Stubble Burning Shrouds Northern India in Haze NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview This Aqua MODIS image from November 11, 2025, shows thick haze blanketing northern India during the annual crop residue burning season. Farmers in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh burn rice stubble between October and December to quickly clear fields before planting wheat. On this day, air quality exceeded 400 on India’s national index, well into the “severe” category. Scientists have detected a shift in burning patterns: fires now peak from 4-6pm rather than the previous window of 1-2pm, meaning traditional satellite monitoring systems miss many fires. Estimates suggest stubble burning contributes 40-70% of particulate pollution on peak days. The Tip of the Iceberg These 12 images represent just a fraction of the thousands of observations NASA’s satellites make each year. From tracking climate patterns to monitoring natural disasters, this orbital perspective helps scientists understand Earth’s interconnected systems and provides critical data for decision-makers around the world. As our planet continues to change, these eyes in the sky remain essential tools for documenting and responding to the challenges ahead.

The world moved fast in 2025. And so did the data. From the AI boom (and the infrastructure behind it) to shifting trade dynamics, our team published hundreds of charts and maps designed to help readers quickly understand what matters most. Many of this year’s standout visuals shared one thing in common: they revealed hidden scale—whether it was Africa’s true size, the sheer output of the world economy, or how a handful of regions, people, and companies dominate the numbers we live by. What does 2026 have in store? We’ve analyzed thousands of predictions about next year in the VC+ Global Forecast Series. Sign up to become a VC+ member before Jan 1 and get a free gift! In this yearly round-up, we’ve highlighted a small selection of our most impactful work. The following visualizations were selected because they reached millions of people, sparked lively conversations, or stood out for clarity, relevance, and design. Let’s dive in! Editor’s note: Click on any preview below to see the full-sized version of a visualization. #25 How Much Power Do Data Centers Use? AI didn’t just transform software in 2025. It kicked off a hyperscaler buildout, and that buildout has a real energy footprint. This visual shows how data centers already use about 8.9% of U.S. electricity, with projections pointing higher over the next few years. #24 The Smartest AI Models, by IQ This was published earlier in the year, but it still captures a defining theme of 2025. AI models are getting shockingly capable, shockingly fast. By comparing leading models on an IQ-style benchmark, the chart makes the “how smart is smart?” question feel very real. #23 Europe’s Top Economies in 2026 by Projected GDP This one stood out for its structure as much as its numbers. Countries are organized by where they sit regionally in Europe (North, West, South, and East). Then they’re sized by projected GDP, making Europe’s economic center of gravity obvious at a glance. #22 The Best-Selling Video Games Since 2020 A post-pandemic era deserves a post-pandemic snapshot. This radial chart shows which titles and franchises dominated sales since 2020. And it highlights a familiar pattern in entertainment: a small number of megahits tower over everything else. #21 How Many Countries Fit in Africa? The Continent’s True Size This is a classic visualization that we re-did. And it still captures people’s imagination every time. By overlaying entire countries onto Africa, it helps correct the mental distortion created by common map projections. #20 The World’s Largest Economies, Including U.S. States A big economic milestone helped inspire this one. Earlier in the year, California climbed high enough to rank as the world’s fourth-largest economy. So we compared countries and U.S. states side-by-side, showing how enormous sub-national economies can be. #19 How Much Control China Has Over the World’s Critical Minerals Critical minerals sit at the intersection of tech, defense, and energy. This infographic shows why the topic is also geopolitical. China dominates both production and refining for multiple key minerals, creating a potential supply-chain pressure point for the rest of the world. #18 The World’s Fastest Shrinking Countries Demographic shifts were one of the key themes of 2025. Fertility rates are falling, and more countries are entering population decline. This ranking shows where shrinkage is happening fastest, and hints at what it could mean for labor markets and long-term growth. #17 All of the World’s Births in 2025 in One Giant Chart This chart makes global demographic momentum impossible to ignore. The vast majority of births in 2025 occurred in Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, North America and Europe account for only a tiny slice of the world’s newborns, shaping very different futures across regions. #16 How Coca-Cola’s Secret Formula Has Changed Over Time A pop-culture brand story, with a timely twist. After political pressure pushed Coca-Cola to introduce a cane sugar variant in the U.S., we looked backward. This timeline compares Coke recipes over time, showing that the “secret formula” hasn’t been as static as people assume. #15 Visualizing the Top 10 Global Risks (2020-2025) What the world worries about changes year to year. This visualization tracks that evolution across the first half of the decade. It’s a simple way to see which risks are fading, which are rising, and which are becoming permanent fixtures. #14 Every Country’s Richest Billionaire in 2025 This is a massive infographic that identifies the richest billionaire in every single country. Beyond the names, the list makes a bigger point about wealth concentration, and how unevenly billionaire capital is distributed globally. #13 The World’s Largest Coal Producing Countries in 2024 The data is important here, but also the design is particularly memorable. When many people think of coal, they are also thinking of the impact it has on air quality. And this design takes that into consideration, creating a circular smoke ring that gets divvied up based on country coal production. #12 Every State’s Share of U.S. GDP Most people think about GDP at the country level. But state-level GDP is one of those unanswered questions people don’t realize they have. This mosaic answers it quickly, showing how concentrated U.S. economic output really is across just a handful of states. #11 The Most Reliable Car Brands in 2025 This was one of our most-read posts of the year, clearing 1.1 million views. That tells you the topic resonated, and the ranking format made it easy for readers to find and share the results. #10 Salary by Education Level in the United States The link between education and pay is well known, but this chart makes it feel even more concrete. It also stands out visually, using stacked books to turn a familiar statistic into something people stop scrolling for. #9 The World’s Most Profitable Companies in 2025 This is an 80/20 list in the truest sense. A handful of companies are clear outliers. The ranking makes modern corporate power visible, and shows how profitability is concentrated among a small group of tech and oil giants. #8 Which Countries Hold the Most Gold Reserves? Gold surged in 2025, reaching new highs. So naturally, this map felt especially relevant. It shows which countries hold the largest reserves, and which governments have the biggest “hard asset” backstops. #7 Countries With the Best Reputations in 2025 Soft power matters, and it can shift quickly. In 2025, amid foreign policy changes, the U.S. saw a major drop in international reputation, while countries like Switzerland and Canada remained strong at the top. #6 The 1%’s Share of U.S. Wealth Over Time (1989-2024) This was a standout partly because of the visualization approach. It uses a Mount Rushmore-style design to tell a very modern story. And beneath the style, it’s tracking a long-term trend: the steady rise in wealth concentration at the top. #5 Top 40 Jobs at Risk From AI Jobs and AI were central to the zeitgeist in 2025. This scatterplot highlights which occupations are most exposed based on task overlap with generative AI. It helped readers see something counterintuitive: many high-paying, white-collar roles rank as more exposed than hands-on jobs. #4 The Top Import Partner of Every U.S. State Trade and tariffs were one of the biggest topics to kick off the year. This visual helped make that story relevant on a more local level to many viewers: it shows each state’s top import partner, and it resonated strongly, pulling in 862,000 views. #3 The Most Educated Populations, Across 45 Countries This was our most popular post of the year, reaching 1.7 million views. Education continued to be a key topic on the Visual Capitalist website, partially because the impact of AI on the future of learning and work is still up in the air. #2 The World’s 30 Most Powerful Rivers This is one of our most unique visuals of the year. It uses a striking satellite-like effect, with rivers cutting through forests. Those rivers are scaled by discharge, turning a geography lesson into something that feels alive. The data is just as compelling. The Amazon is in a category of its own, with average discharge around 209,000 to 224,000 m³ per second. That’s about 20% of global river flow. The next most powerful systems trail far behind, which makes the visualization feel like a genuine “wow” moment. #1 The $117 Trillion World Economy in One Giant Visualization When you can see the entire world economy in one place, you instantly understand its size and scale, along with the big contrasts between blocs and countries. The U.S. remains the largest economy at roughly $30.6 trillion, but the visual also makes it easy to spot momentum. India’s economy reached roughly $4.1 trillion in 2025 and is on track to climb further in the global rankings. And beyond the numbers, this year’s edition just looks great. The color palette and design choices make it something readers want to stare at, and share.

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Mapped: China’s Military Drills Around Taiwan (2022-2025) See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways China’s military drills around Taiwan have grown larger, more complex, and more geographically expansive since 2022. The 2025 “Justice Mission” exercises appear to simulate a full blockade of Taiwan, marking the most extensive drills to date. China’s military activity around Taiwan has intensified sharply over the past few years, with the latest “Justice Mission 2025” being the largest-scale set of military drills to date around the island. This graphic maps out major People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drills in 2022, 2024, and 2025, showing how their scale and positioning have evolved over time. The data for this visualization comes from Reuters, drawing on announcements from China’s Maritime Safety Administration and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as well as analysis from the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. China’s Military Drills Around Taiwan in 2022 and 2024 “Justice Mission 2025” is the latest set of military drills around the island of Taiwan, following two major military exercises in 2022 and 2024. China’s 2022 military drills marked a major escalation in response to then–U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Following the visit, the PLA launched large-scale exercises encircling the island, with missiles fired over Taiwan along with naval and air forces operating in close proximity. Drill zones overlapped with Taiwan’s territorial waters, breaking with past norms. In 2024, the PLA again conducted drills around Taiwan, reinforcing patterns established two years earlier. These drills helped normalize a higher level of Chinese military presence around Taiwan, with a clear message that such pressure was no longer exceptional, but part of an ongoing posture. “Justice Mission 2025” Drills Simulate Taiwan Blockade The most recent drills, code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” include live-fire components and represent the largest and most comprehensive set of exercises to date. For reference, China’s armed forces far outnumber Taiwan’s in nearly every category. According to the PLA Eastern Theater Command, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force units were deployed around Taiwan, with the drills focused on sea-air combat readiness patrols, joint assaults, and blockades of key ports and areas. PLA spokesperson Shi Yi described the drills as a “stern warning” against Taiwan independence forces and external interference, calling them a necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty, as outlined in an official release from China’s Ministry of National Defense. These drills come amid newly heightened regional tensions after comments by Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, who suggested that an attack on Taiwan would result in a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Learn More on the Voronoi App To learn more about Taiwan and its essential role in the global technology industry, check out this graphic that charts Taiwan’s rising tech exports to the United States.

See more visualizations like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization How Income Distribution Stacks Up in America See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways The top 20% of U.S. earners receive more than half of all national income, a figure that has climbed from 43.5% in 1974. The middle 20% of earners, averaging $84,390 in household income, received 13.9% of the total. High income households in America capture a large share of the nation’s earnings, and this gulf has widened over time. In 2024, the top 20%—with an average household income of $316,100—took home 52.2% of all national income, up 8.7 percentage points from 1974. Meanwhile, the bottom 20% received just 3.1%, further shrinking over the period. This graphic shows U.S. household income distribution in 2024, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Trends in U.S. Income Distribution (2024 vs. 1974) Below, we show how household income is divided across different income brackets: Income LevelAverage Household Income (2024)Share of Household Income 2024Share of Household Income 1974Change in Share1974-2024 (p.p.) Bottom 20%$18,4603.1%4.3%-1.2 Second 20%$49,3808.2%10.6%-2.4 Middle 20%$84,39013.9%17.0%-3.1 Fourth 20%$136,80022.6%24.6%-2.0 Top 20%$316,10052.2%43.5%+8.7 Top 5%$560,00023.1%16.5%+6.6 In 2024, the bottom fifth of U.S. earners averaged $18,460 in household income. While small, their share of total national income has fallen sharply, declining by about 28% since 1974. Moreover, this group includes workers earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, as well as the roughly 760,000 workers who earn below this level. In particular, younger workers make up a large portion of this bracket, with 43% of those earning minimum wage or less being 25 years old or younger. As we can see, the middle fifth of earners received 13.9% of U.S. household income in 2024, down from 17% in 1974. With an average household income of $84,390, this bracket largely reflects median-wage workers, spanning occupations such as civil engineers, computer programmers, and clinical psychologists. On the other hand, the top 5% of earners, averaging $560,000 in income has seen it share expand by 6.6 percentage points. Moreover, it is the only income bracket, along with the top 20%, to see its share of national income grow compared to 1974. Learn More on the Voronoi App To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on real wage growth by state.

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Ranked: The Countries With the Most Oil Reserves See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Just five countries control more than half of the world’s proven oil reserves. Despite the energy transition, fossil fuels still account for nearly 70% of global energy demand. Oil remains one of the most strategically important resources in the global economy. It powers transportation systems, underpins industrial activity, and continues to shape geopolitics and trade flows. While renewable energy is growing, oil still plays a dominant role in meeting global energy needs. This visualization ranks countries by the size of their proven oil reserves at the end of 2024. The data for this graphic comes from OPEC’s Annual Statistical Bulletin 2025. Figures represent proven oil reserves as of year-end 2024 and are measured in billions of barrels. The data includes conventional crude oil as well as oil sands. Five Countries Dominate Global Oil Reserves Global oil reserves are highly concentrated. Venezuela ranks first with an estimated 303 billion barrels of oil reserves. However, turning this vast resource base into economic and geopolitical power has proven difficult, as ongoing U.S. sanctions and the recent seizure of Venezuelan oil shipments under the Trump administration continue to limit the Maduro government’s ability to export crude and fully monetize its reserves. Saudi Arabia follows the South American country with 267 billion barrels. Iran, Canada, and Iraq round out the top five. RankCountry2024 (Billion Barrels) 1 Venezuela303 2 Saudi Arabia267 3 Iran209 4 Canada163 5 Iraq145 6 Kuwait102 7 Russia80 8 Libya48 9 United States45 10 Nigeria37 11 Kazakhstan30 12 China28 13 Qatar25 14 Brazil16 15 Algeria12 16 Azerbaijan7 17 Norway7 18 Mexico5 19 Sudan5 20 India5 21 Oman5 22 Vietnam4 23 Egypt3 24 Argentina3 25 Malaysia3 26 Angola3 27 Indonesia2 28 Colombia2 29 Gabon2 30 Congo2 31 Australia2 32 United Kingdom2 33 Brunei1 34 Equatorial Guinea1.1 35 Turkmenistan0.6 36 Uzbekistan0.594 37 Ukraine0.395 38 Denmark0.365 39 Belarus0.198 40 Chile0.15 The Role of OPEC and the Middle East Many of the world’s largest oil reserves are held by OPEC members, particularly in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates anchor the region’s dominance. These countries benefit from low extraction costs and large, easily accessible reserves. As a result, Middle Eastern producers are expected to remain critical suppliers even as global demand growth slows. Oil Sands and Non-OPEC Producers Canada stands out among non-OPEC countries, ranking fourth globally with 163 billion barrels of reserves. The majority of Canada’s reserves come from oil sands, which are more expensive and carbon-intensive to extract. Russia and the United States also rank among the top 10. Taken together, the data highlights how unevenly oil resources are distributed and why oil-rich nations continue to have significant economic and geopolitical power. Learn More on the Voronoi App If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Charted: Global Grid Investment by Country (2020–2027F) on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Ranked: The Top 20 Exporters of Goods vs Digital Services See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Global goods exports totaled $23.8 trillion in 2024, far exceeding the $4.8 trillion in digital exports. China leads the world in goods exports, while the U.S. dominates digital services exports. Several smaller economies like Singapore, Switzerland, and Luxembourg rank much higher in digital exports than in goods trade. Global trade today spans two very different categories: physical goods such as machinery, vehicles, and manufactured products, and digital services like software, cloud computing, and online platforms. This infographic breaks down the world’s top 20 exporters of physical goods and digital services in 2024, based on data from the World Trade Organization. The World’s 20 Largest Exporters of Goods Goods trade remains the backbone of global commerce. In 2024, countries exported a combined $23.8 trillion worth of physical goods, driven largely by manufacturing powerhouses. The table below ranks the top 20 exporters of physical goods worldwide: RankCountryGoods Exports in 2024 (USD, billions) 1 China$3,577 2 U.S.$2,065 3 Germany$1,682 4 Netherlands$921 5 Japan$707 6 South Korea$684 7 Italy$674 8 Hong Kong$646 9 France$639 10 Mexico$617 11 UAE$604 12 Canada$569 13 Belgium$536 14 UK$513 15 Singapore$506 16 Taiwan$474 17 Switzerland$447 18 India$443 19 Russia$433 20 Spain$424 China sits firmly at the top, exporting $3.38 trillion in goods—more than the United States and Germany combined. The U.S. follows with $2.02 trillion, while Germany ranks third at $1.69 trillion, reflecting its strong automotive and industrial base. Other major goods exporters include the Netherlands, Japan, Italy, France, South Korea, and several European economies. Mexico and Canada also rank among the largest goods exporters globally, with the majority of their exports going to the United States. The World’s 20 Largest Digital Services Exporters While smaller in total value, digital exports are growing rapidly and reshaping global trade patterns. In 2024, digital services exports reached $4.8 trillion worldwide. The table below shows the top 20 exporters of digital services: RankCountryDigital Exports in 2024 (USD, billions) 1 U.S.$741 2 UK$488 3 Ireland$425 4 Germany$280 5 India$276 6 China$221 7 Singapore$220 8 Netherlands$205 9 France$204 10 Luxembourg$140 11 Switzerland$122 12 Japan$119 13 Belgium$89 14 Canada$84 15 Sweden$82 16 Spain$81 17 South Korea$68 18 Israel$66 19 Italy$65 20 Poland$54 The United States leads by a wide margin, exporting $741 billion in digital services, supported by its dominance in software, cloud infrastructure, and digital platforms. The U.S. is also the largest importer of digital services globally. The U.K. comes second with $488 billion in digital exports, a significant jump from its 13th spot in goods exports. Ireland follows with $425 billion, up 24% from 2023 to 2024. Similar to its standing in goods exports, Germany ranks highly in the digital category, with $280 billion worth of digital services exported in 2024. Meanwhile, India’s strong showing reflects its growing role as a global hub for IT and business services, with digital exports up 10% from 2023 levels. Several smaller economies, including Switzerland, Singapore, and Luxembourg, rank disproportionately high in digital exports, benefiting from financial services and intellectual property flows. Two Paths to Trade Leadership Goods exporters tend to rely on scale, capital-intensive industries, and physical infrastructure. Digital exporters, by contrast, often benefit from human capital and intellectual property, allowing smaller countries to compete globally without massive manufacturing bases. As the global economy continues to digitalize, the balance between goods and digital trade is likely to change, reshaping how countries generate export growth and economic influence. Learn More on the Voronoi App If you enjoyed today’s post, explore more global trade and economy insights on Voronoi, including The Global Export Power Shift.

Global risk is entering a new phase. From Trump-era policy shifts and geopolitical tension to financial fraud, life sciences disruption, and record-breaking extreme weather, the landscape in 2025 is more volatile and interconnected than ever. Throughout 2025, we partnered with Inigo to map these pressures across key themes, including politics, markets, and climate. Below is a curated set of 10 visuals, grouped into five themes, with links to view each graphic in full, illustrating how data-driven storytelling can bring clarity to today’s risk landscape. A New U.S. Administration 1. Ranked: Executive Orders by President in the First 100 Days Executive orders signed in the first 100 days reveal how aggressively different presidents have used unilateral power, with Trump ranked at the top of the modern pack at 143 orders in his first 100 days of this term. Since then, he has brought his total to about 220 executive orders as of December 2025, far eclipsing recent presidents over a similar period. Explore the ranking 2. Are Tariffs Causing U.S. Inflation Fears? Inflation remains near 3% year-over-year, but proposed universal tariffs and higher levies on Chinese imports have reopened debate over whether trade policy could reignite price pressures. See the breakdown Geopolitics 3. Which Types of Government Rule the World? The global political map shows a patchwork of democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian governments, with a large share of the world’s population living under non-democratic systems. This distribution shapes everything from policy predictability and the rule of law to sovereign-risk profiles. See the split 4. Breaking Down the $524B Investment Needed to Rebuild Ukraine Ukraine’s estimated reconstruction bill is spread across housing, transport, energy, industry, and agriculture, illustrating the breadth of damage from the war. The sector breakdown highlights that rebuilding will require decades of capital, coordination, and political risk management. Explore the breakdown Fraud 5. Ranked: America’s Most Common Financial Crimes The most frequently reported financial crimes in the U.S.—from check fraud and purposeless transactions to suspicious transfers and identity theft—reveal where everyday vulnerabilities are most exposed. These patterns help risk teams focus controls and monitoring on the channels criminals exploit at scale. Explore the ranking 6. The Fraud Trends Reshaping Risk in 2025 AI-powered scams, deepfakes, instant payments, and synthetic identities are among six trends pushing fraud into a new, more complex phase. The graphic shows how emerging technology is lowering the cost of sophisticated attacks and shifting liability across banks, platforms, and end users. See the six trends Extreme Weather 7. Which U.S. Cities Saw Record-Breaking Temperatures in 2024? Record-breaking temperatures in 2024 popped up across a wide range of U.S. cities, not just traditional heat hotspots. The pattern underscores mounting stress on public health, infrastructure, and power grids as extreme heat becomes more frequent and widespread. View the map 8. Ranked: The Most Expensive U.S. Wildfire Events, So Far A relatively small number of mega-wildfires account for a disproportionate share of insured and economic losses in the United States. These outsized events raise hard questions about pricing, capacity, and long-term insurability at the wildland-urban interface. Explore the ranking Life Sciences 9. The $5.6T Pharmaceutical Industry in One Chart Revenue across the roughly $5.6 trillion pharma ecosystem is heavily concentrated among a small group of global giants and blockbuster therapy areas. The landscape reflects how aging populations, chronic disease, and medical innovation are reshaping both growth prospects and risk exposures. View the full chart 10. The $58B Weight Loss Drug Market in One Chart GLP-1s and related treatments have rapidly built a $58 billion weight-loss drug market, transforming expectations around obesity and metabolic disease. The surge in demand hints at far-reaching implications for healthcare costs, longevity, food and beverage demand, and life & health insurance. Explore the chart Looking Ahead: Building the Future Grid From Trump-era policy shifts and geopolitical shocks to fraud, pharma breakthroughs, and extreme weather, today’s threats are deeply interconnected. Navigating them demands smarter data, flexible capital, and a holistic view of how risk propagates across systems. From geopolitical shocks to climate extremes, Inigo helps turn uncertainty into clarity. Discover Inigo’s approach

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization Ranked: Top U.S. Industries by Investment Share (1949–2025) See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways The industries attracting the most investment in the U.S. have shifted dramatically over time, from farming and railroads to technology and data. Today’s leading sector, information and data processing, commands a smaller share of total investment than past dominant industries. Investment has long been a driving force behind U.S. economic growth, but the sectors attracting the most capital have changed with each era. From agriculture and electrification in the mid-20th century to telecommunications, real estate, and now digital infrastructure, investment trends reflect broader shifts in technology, consumer demand, and policy. This visualization shows the top five U.S. industries by share of total investment at key historical peaks, spanning 1949 to 2025. The data for this visualization comes from Vanguard, using calculations based on Bureau of Economic Analysis data as of October 31, 2025. The figures exclude residential investment. Postwar America: Farming, Power, and Railroads In 1949, U.S. investment was concentrated in industries that supported a rapidly expanding, industrializing economy. Farming led with a 12% share of total investment, reflecting the sector’s central role in employment and production. Electric power and railroads followed closely, underscoring the importance of nationwide infrastructure as the U.S. rebuilt and modernized after World War II. Telecommunications and oil and gas rounded out the top five. EraRankIndustryShare 19491Farming12% 2Electric power7% 3Railroads6% 4Telecommunications6% 5Oil and gas5% 19821Oil and gas11% 2Telecommunications8% 3Real estate6% 4Electric power5% 5Banking4% 20001Telecommunications11% 2Real estate7% 3Computers and electronics6% 4Banking6% 5Electric power4% 20251Information and data processing7% 2Electric power6% 3Chemical products5% 4Real estate5% 5Miscellaneous5% The 1980s and 2000s: Energy, Communication, and Finance By 1982, investment leadership had shifted toward oil and gas, which accounted for 11% of total investment. Telecommunications and real estate also gained prominence, alongside banking and electric power. In 2000, at the height of the dot-com era, telecommunications topped the list, while computers and electronics emerged as a major investment destination. Real estate and banking also featured prominently. 2025: Technology Dominates, but Less Concentrated Today, information and data processing leads U.S. investment with a 7% share—making it the top industry, but with far less dominance than historical leaders. Electric power, chemical products, and real estate follow closely, each capturing around 5–6% of total investment. This lower concentration suggests a more diversified investment landscape, where capital is spread across a wider range of industries rather than clustered in a single dominant sector. Learn More on the Voronoi App If you enjoyed today’s post, check out America’s $38 Trillion Mountain of Debt on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

See more visualizations like this on the Voronoi app. Use This Visualization The Average Cost of a New Home vs. Square Footage (2015-2024) See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways The average size of a new single-family home in America has shrunk by 323 square feet since 2015, while the average price is up $161,000 as of 2024. The share of new-home buyers is at a record low given rising unaffordability. Each year, new single-family homes continue to shrink further. With the exception of 2022 and 2023, the average square footage of new homes has declined since 2015. In contrast, home prices have jumped 46% over the decade, averaging $514,000 in 2024 due to strong housing demand. This graphic shows the typical size versus the average cost of a new home since 2015, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau via Fixr. Shrinkflation and the Average Cost of a New Home Below, we compare the average square footage of a single-family home in America to sales prices in the last decade: YearAverage Sales Price of a New HomeAverage Square Feet 2015$353,0002,687 2016$361,0002,640 2017$385,0002,631 2018$385,0002,588 2019$384,0002,509 2020$392,0002,480 2021$458,0002,480 2022$521,0002,509 2023$514,0002,485 2024$514,0002,364 Since 2015, the average home size has shrunk by 323 square feet, with even sharper decreases in the South, at 374 square feet. Meanwhile, prices are $161,000 higher than 10 years ago. Even though average 30-year fixed mortgage rates sit around 6.5–7%—up from 2.7% in 2020—prices remain elevated. Along with a higher cost of capital, the prices of land, labor, and raw materials have increased meaningfully, further driving up costs. Overall, construction costs account for almost two-thirds of the sales price. More recent data shows that new-home buyers are at record lows in America, representing just 21% of the total market. Meanwhile, the average age of first-time buyers is at an all-time high of 40. For perspective, first-time homebuyers have made up 38% of all buyers, on average, for about four decades. Learn More on the Voronoi App To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on rent and home price changes across major global cities since 2015.