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But did you know there’s a way to get even more out of Visual Capitalist, all while helping support the work we do? More Visuals. More Insight. More Understanding. Last week, VC+ members received the World at 8 Billion report, which dives into the most pressing trends and effects of our global population reaching 8 billion people. Along with this, we’re offering subscribers a bonus gift that highlights all of Our Greatest Ever Visualizations on Population for free....

50 Interesting Bitcoin Facts We have previously covered bitcoin in two past infographics. Here’s how it works and here’s a great summary of its 5 year history. However, we thought that this infographic neatly covered many interesting bitcoin facts in a digestable form. It not only shows the versatility of the bitcoin market, but it also captures the difference of opinion on cryptocurrencies: many embrace the technology, but some institutions show signs of hostility....

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that after a 4.2% drop this year, the global economy will reach pre-pandemic levels in 2021. This animation, which uses data from the OECD, shows which countries will recover the fastest from the global recession in 2020. Economic Forecast by Country The projections assume that renewed virus outbreaks remain contained, and that a widely available vaccine near the end of 2021 helps to support confidence....

In 1975, the median age in the United States was just 28 years old. However, it’s been rising fast as the Baby Boomers age, and it’s expected to break the 40 year mark by 2030. This shift is so fundamental that its ripples will be felt in almost every area imaginable. How we manage this change will have implications on the economy, culture, and politics – and it will almost certainly affect our personal wealth and investments, as well....

Water is the lifeblood of humanity; it turns out it is in short supply. Like any other commodity high in demand, you should keep an eye on it for investment purposes as we get closer and closer to “peak water.” The overwhelming majority of global fresh water is locked up as ice or permanent snow cover, making it inaccessible and severely limiting our readily available supply. The average American uses 65 to 78 gallons of water per day, while the average person in the Republic of Gambia, Africa, uses just 1....

Correlation does not necessarily imply causation. In other words, just because two sets of data may follow a similar pattern, it does not mean there is any direct causal relationship. However, as we were assembling our previous research on Currency and the Collapse of the Roman Empire, we noticed something that was too uncanny to skip past: during the 113-year stretch of time from 192 to 305 AD, an astonishing amount of Roman emperors (84%) were either brutally murdered or assassinated....

Prices Skyrocketing, But Only For Things You Actually Need Everything else has fallen in price over the years The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays. The way that economic data is presented, we often think of inflation as a singular number representing a general increase in prices. For example, it might be reported that nominal GDP growth was 3%, and that inflation was 2%. Since the inflation represents a rise in price levels, we subtract it from the nominal rate to get a real GDP growth of 1%....

We look at the 20 top stocks of 2020 by price return (% change), and earnings per share (EPS), which is an indicator of a company’s profitability. EPS is calculated by dividing a company’s profit by its outstanding shares of common stock. The higher an EPS value, the more profitable a company is deemed. A Closer Look at the Leaderboard Tesla’s value surged in 2020, as it raked in 743....

The Times They Are A-Changin’ The Numbers Behind the New York Times’ digital transition The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays. For the most part, legacy print media stalwarts are dying a death by a thousand cuts. There are exceptions to this rule, and The New York Times is often touted as the best example of an old-school media company that is successfully navigating the challenging transition to digital....

Forecasts for mobile payment adoption in the United States remain flat for now; however, two major brands – WeChat and AliPay – offer a glimpse of what the future may eventually hold for mobile payments in North America. Digging Through WeChat’s Wallet WeChat, a platform owned by Tencent, is a force to be reckoned with. It’s fast closing in on one billion monthly active users (MAUs), and the average user spends over an hour on the app each day....

Company Snapshot: Great Lakes Graphite Great Lakes Graphite (TSX-V: GLK) is an industrial minerals company focused on bringing value-added carbon products to a well-defined market. The Company’s Innovation Division has entered into long-term agreements for use of the Matheson Micronization Facility and for supply of high quality natural graphite concentrate which are positioning Great Lakes Graphite to become an emerging domestic manufacturer and supplier of micronized products to a growing regional customer base where pricing and demand continue to rise....

Spotify has a relatively short history, launching in Europe in 2008, and eventually moving into the U.S. market in 2011. Since then, the Stockholm-based company has become the world’s most popular audio streaming service with 456 million users across 183 markets. With such a large userbase, major artists on Spotify have seen their biggest hits accumulate millions, if not billions of streams. So, in July 2021, Spotify created the Billions Club, a playlist comprising every song to reach the 1 billion milestone....

Now, rising inflation and interest rates, and a possible recession on the horizon are bringing these societal divides into sharp focus. In the above visualization, U.S. households are parsed out into a neighborhood of 100 homes and then grouped by income brackets, using recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Neighborhood Breakdown American households vary widely on their respective incomes. The largest cluster of homes, representing nearly 20% of all American households, are in the $25-$49....

But how alike are we to other, non-human life forms? Turns out, we’re a lot more similar than you might think. Comparative Genomics 101 First, how do scientists compare the genetic makeup of various life forms? Comparative genomics is a branch of biology that compares genome sequences across different species to identify their similarities and differences. This field of research is important because it: Helps us better understand evolution, and how living things have adapted over time....

Gold has been used to show affectionate love, but it has also represented power, status, and riches for the greatest kings of antiquity. Gold’s history is truly legendary, ripe with colorful tales and anecdotes from people ranging from William Shakespeare to Christopher Columbus. But gold doesn’t just “talk the talk”. Gold also walks the walk, because its grandeur is backed up by impressive chemical properties and uses. As we documented in our extensive Gold Series, it’s been used as a monetary metal for thousands of years by ancient civilizations such as the Lydians, Greeks, Chinese, and Romans....

People tune in from all over to see these athletes in peak form, and tournaments rake in cash from media rights, advertisements, sponsorships, merchandise, and also the live event itself. In turn, these competitions offer millions of dollars in prize pools for the participants. But what if there was a new type of sport that upped the ante? While sport purists might scoff at the idea of any type of competition involving video games – the numbers speak for themselves....

Since then, cryptocurrency has surged in popularity as an asset class – and Bitcoin is now just one of many digital currencies out there. Investment has poured into the sector because many see the blockchain as an important foundational technology for the future, and it’s also gained traction for speculative reasons. However, strictly from a payments perspective, certain issues have cropped up since the original Bitcoin vision was outlined, and they’ve ultimately prevented crypto from receiving mainstream adoption as a currency for day-to-day transactions....

World of Wealth: The Top Cities for Millionaires Previously, we featured this post on the world’s millionaires, which covers millionaire density and the top cities as well. However, today’s infographic has some information that is particularly interesting, which can be found in the “Ultra High Net Worths by Country” section. This breaks down the demographics of the rich by looking at age, gender, net worth, political involvement, charitable foundations, and whether they are self-made or have inherited their money....

Lithium: The Key Ingredient Powering Today’s Technology Lithium infographic presented by: Dajin Resources Lithium is nature’s lightest metal, but it is also one of the most chemically reactive, which makes it a key ingredient in powering and building the latest technology. Most similar to a material such as wood in density, lithium would float on water if it didn’t react with it so intensely. The light metal even reacts with air almost instantly, turning from a silvery-white to dark grey....

Amidst whispers of Brexit and potential changes within NATO, you might be wondering how these organizations fit into the big picture of Europe’s member states. Europe has members in at least four major treaty groups, each of which governs a different aspect of the region’s infrastructure. Let’s break down each group: European Union (EU) The European Union is primarily a political organization. It promotes economic, social, and political cooperation among its member states, encompassing more than 510 million citizens....