Some leaders, like Alain Berset of Switzerland, specifically studied political science or law in university. Other leaders, such as Paraguayan president, Horacio Cartes, took a more roundabout path to the top, having studied aviation mechanics in the United States. The following maps, from SavingSpot, are an informative look at what national leaders around the world studied in school. Note: Hover over the maps to learn about leaders and their educational background....

The magnitude of this impact should not be understated. It’s bigger than the size of notable economies like the UAE ($371B) or Norway ($370B) – which is why it’s no surprise to see organizations putting major resources to shore up their internal defenses and to reduce the risk of threats. But while the origins of this cybersecurity boom may be clear, what is less obvious is why all of this hacking is happening in the first place....

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has worn on, entrenching geopolitical divides Energy prices have surged around the world with record-setting volatility Markets await the Fed’s pivot on interest rates as a global recession looms To help you navigate the year ahead, we’re giving a glimpse into the future at what experts are predicting for 2023 with the upcoming Global Forecast Series. Over the next few weeks, VC+ members will be receiving the ultimate cheatsheet for 2023, giving them a head start into the New Year....

Junk Bonds Finally Capitulate to Lower Oil Price Environment [Chart] High-yield bond ETFs are down double-digits since the summer. The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays. Over the month of December, the market for high-yield bonds (also known as junk bonds) had a mini-meltdown that’s raised some eyebrows. Junk bonds, which are non-investment grade debt instruments that are issued by companies with poor credit ratings, are both high-risk and high-reward....

Today’s graphic from HowMuch.net uses data from GO Banking Rates and the U.S. Census Bureau to map out the most profitable industry in each U.S. State. A Unique State Identity While each U.S. state is unique in its cultural identity, the lay of the land determines which industries will thrive. Where some regions are ideal for agriculture, others have built a strong foundation of industry and research, and still others have established themselves as tourism hubs....

Submarine cables are decidedly uncool. But while they lack the flashiness of satellites, it’s actually the world’s vast network of fiber optic cables that does most of the heavy lifting in keeping our information flowing from place to place. The map above, by Ben Pollock, is a comprehensive look at the world’s cable network, as well as some of the impressive information on bandwidth and maintenance jurisdictions. The History of Submarine Cables The first transcontinental cable – laid in 1858 – ran from Ireland to Newfoundland, and made telegraph communication possible between England and Canada....

The world has now accumulated $215 trillion in private wealth, a 12% increase over 2017, according to the latest report by market research company New World Wealth. This number today includes wealth held by the general population, as well as the 15.2M millionaires ($1M+ in assets), 584,000 multi-millionaires ($10M+ in assets), and 2,252 billionaires ($1B+ in assets) in the world. But the picture of global wealth hasn’t always been constant – in fact, it’s always shifting based on market performance, the movement of high net worth individuals (HNWIs), demographic trends, and other factors....

In many Western countries, it’s easy to take press freedom for granted. Instances of fake news, clickbait, and hyper-partisan reporting are points of consternation in the modern media landscape, and can sometimes overshadow the greater good that unrestricted journalism provides to society. Of course, the ability to do that important work can vary significantly around the world. Being an investigative journalist in Sweden comes with a very different set of circumstances and considerations than doing the same thing in a country such as Saudi Arabia or Venezuela....

In the above graphic, we dissect how America’s top employers have changed over the last five years based on employee reviews on Glassdoor, a website that allows current and former employees to anonymously review their employers on things like company culture, pay, benefits, diversity, and more. Tech Fares Best Despite widescale layoffs in 2022, technology companies made up more than 40% of Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list in 2023....

If you spend any time online, it’s likely you’re familiar with some of the world’s most visited websites. On today’s internet, a handful of giants have unmatched dominance. Top Three Websites (Monthly visits): Google: 92.5 billion YouTube: 34.6 billion Facebook: 25.5 billion Together, the top three websites rake in 152 billion visits monthly, outpacing the next 47 websites combined. What’s more, as the pandemic transformed everything from the way we work, learn, communicate, and shop—a majority of these activities migrated online....

Sharing is the New Buying in the Collaborative Economy Uber, the ride sharing app, continues to skyrocket in valuation. In August 2013, it was valued at $3.7 billion. In June 2014, it was valued at $17 billion. And today, it’s reportedly worth $40 billion, making it the world’s highest valued startup. This is the financial impact of the new sharing economy, and investors need to take note. What is this new collaborative economy?...

However, while China’s story is continually staggering in its scale, the Chinese economic powerhouse is only a part of a much wider story in Asia. Just like China, rapidly-growing countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and The Philippines are also seeing their economies transform in meaningful ways – and Southeast Asia as a whole is becoming one of the most exciting regions for technological adoption, foreign investment, and digital innovation in the world....

The Gold Series Part 4: Five Reasons To Own Gold This infographic, part four in our 2014 Gold Series, covers the best reasons to own gold. Gold helps investors diversify their portfolios. Gold is a great store of value. Gold helps protect against inflation and other risks. Gold demand is driven by a growing east, while grades are dropping and new discoveries are more scarce. Gold stocks are as cheap as they have ever been, using the GDX as a proxy....

Like any other market, there are many opinions on what a currency ought to be worth relative to others. With certain currencies, that spectrum of opinions is fairly narrow. As an example, for the world’s most traded currency – the U.S. dollar – the majority of opinions currently fall in a range from the dollar being 2% to 11% overvalued, according to organizations such as the Council of Foreign Relations, the Bank of International Settlements, the OECD, and the IMF....

Over the last decade, the prospect of mass automation has seemingly shifted from a vague possibility to an inescapable reality. While it’s still incredibly difficult to estimate the ultimate impact of automation and AI on the economy, the picture is starting to become a bit clearer as projections begin to converge. Today’s infographic comes to us from Raconteur, and it highlights seven different charts that show us how automation is shaping the world – and in particular, the future outlook for manufacturing jobs....

Most U.S. housing markets peaked sometime in 2006, and it wouldn’t be until just before the third-round of quantitative easing in 2012 that this fall would finally be cushioned. Since then, the combination of QE and record-low interest rates have helped re-inflate the housing market. For better or worse, real estate in many U.S. cities are now approaching or passing their 2006 housing highs, but with a growing disparity between individual metropolitan areas....

Throughout the 20th century and before globalization reached its current peaks, American companies made the country an economic powerhouse and the source of a majority of global market value. But even as countries like China have made headway with multi-billion dollar companies of their own, and the market’s most important sectors have shifted, the U.S. has managed to stay on top. How do the top 100 companies of the world stack up?...

Defined borders are a relatively new concept in many parts of the world. In fact, until the latter half of the 20th century, most of the world was still wide open territory with loosely or completely undefined borders. On the European continent, however, jurisdiction over territory has been a fact of life for thousands of years. In some cases, they’ve left a paper trail. In other cases, there are more concrete remnants....

At an industry level, container shipping is dominated by several very large firms. This includes Maersk, COSCO Shipping, and Evergreen. If you live along the coast, you’ve probably seen ships or containers with these names painted on them. Generally speaking, however, consumers know very little about these businesses. This graphic aims to change that by ranking the 10 largest container shipping companies in the world. Ranking the Top 10 Companies are ranked by two metrics....

While public urgency surrounding climate action has been growing, it can be difficult to comprehend the potential extent of economic disruption that environmental risks pose. Front and Center Today’s chart uses data from the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks Report, which surveyed 800 leaders from business, government, and non-profits to showcase the most prominent economic risks the world faces. According to the data in the report, here are the top five risks to the global economy, in terms of their likelihood and potential impact: With more emphasis being placed on environmental risks, how much do we need to worry?...