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Author: Aran Ali

Projecting Europe’s Metro Population Growth from 2021‒2100

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

Top 50 metropolitan regions in Europe population growth

Projecting Europe’s Metro Population Growth from 2021‒2100

European cities have a storied history as global destinations, both for tourism and for immigration.

Despite lengthy histories, they are not immune to the global shifts in population patterns or urbanization. Even though the majority of the EU’s population already lives in urban areas, Europe’s urbanization rate is expected to rise to 84% by 2050.

However, not all cities are subject to that same growth. This visual from Gilbert Fontana uses data from Eurostat and breaks down the expected EU population growth rates for the 50 largest metropolitan regions from 2021 to 2100.

Drivers of Growth

It may come as no surprise that economic prosperity is a key driver of population growth.

Countries like Sweden, France, and Ireland are expected to see large swaths of population growth. Sweden’s largest three cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, are forecasted to experience the largest population growth by 2100 in percentage terms.

Metro regionCountryPopulation (2021)Population (2100)Growth rate (%)
MalmöSweden1,389,3362,009,51044.6%
StockholmSweden2,391,9903,424,31743.1%
GothenburgSweden1,734,4432,449,55241.2%
ToulouseFrance1,434,4391,906,35932.8%
BordeauxFrance1,661,9292,185,09031.4%
DublinIreland2,160,7812,831,08831.0%
BarcelonaSpain5,639,5237,319,53729.7%
LyonFrance1,899,5992,401,55326.4%
MadridSpain6,755,8288,486,42925.6%
NantesFrance1,461,2671,828,15525.1%
RotterdamNetherlands1,834,4172,196,55519.7%
PragueCzech Republic2,733,0813,204,49317.2%
LisbonPortugal2,869,0333,232,62312.6%
ViennaAustria2,890,5773,244,85712.2%
HelsinkiFinland1,702,6781,899,42011.5%
BerlinGermany5,351,7655,968,36511.5%
(Read more...)

What Baseball Can Teach Us About Investing in Innovation

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

Published • Updated •
The following content is sponsored by Guinness Atkinson Funds
How different hits in baseball like home runs compare to different types of innovation investing

What Baseball Teaches Us About Innovation Investing

Innovation investing is a popular investment theme due to its return potential.

However, not all innovation investing is the same, and too many approaches today focus on home-run-style disruptive innovation, Llaving the other forms relatively unnoticed and underrated.

In this sponsored post by Guinness Atkinson Funds, we explore innovation investing through the lens of baseball by comparing types of hits at base to forms of innovation. 

Types of Innovation

There are three common types of innovation that various business strategies fall under.

Persistent InnovationDisruptive InnovationEfficiency Innovation
Exploring new opportunities to build on top of services/products within a market a business already competes in.Meant to reinvent the wheel through technology or a business model.Seeks to optimize operational parts of a business through small incremental changes.
Nike making clothes out of recyclable material to improve carbon footprint and brand value.

Starbucks introducing mobile orders while driving sales growth through higher add on.

Amazon adding new perks to the overall Amazon Prime membership subscription bundle.

Netflix disrupting the market by changing the way people consume media.

Airbnb entering and then dominating the short term rental and vacation market through shared homes.

Uber disrupting the taxi industry with mobile ride hailing.
Walmart constantly optimizing their supply chain and investor (Read more...)

Visualizing California’s GDP Compared to Countries

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

How California's GDP exceeds ten select countries

California’s GDP Compared to Countries

Comedian Trevor Noah once said America is fifty little countries masquerading as one.

From an economic sense, this might carry some truth. When looking at the economic output of each state, especially the largest and wealthiest ones, they often compare to or even exceed the GDPs of entire nations.

To illustrate, this visual from StatsPanda looks at California’s $3.36 trillion GDP using data from The World Bank and compares it to 10 sizable country economies. Let’s take a closer look.

Sizing Up California’s GDP in 2021

California’s $3+ trillion GDP is an enormous figure in its own right, so it’s no surprise that it is larger than certain nations’ economic output.

But even when comparing with economies like Malaysia, Colombia, and Finland, all among the top 50 countries by GDP, California stands tall.

CountryGDP (2021 USD)
🇲🇾 Malaysia$372B
🇭🇰 Hong Kong$369B
🇻🇳 Vietnam$366B
🇮🇷 Iran$359B
🇵🇰 Pakistan$348B
🇨🇱 Chile$317B
🇨🇴 Colombia$314B
🇫🇮 Finland$297B
🇷🇴 Romania$284B
🇨🇿 Czechia$281B
Total$3.31T
California$3.36T

What’s more, these 10 countries are quite densely populated, with a combined population of 653 million compared to California’s 39 million total.

A Closer Look At California’s Economy

What makes California’s GDP so vast and their economy so powerful?

Relative population is a big factor, as the state is the most populous in the U.S. with roughly 12% of the country’s population calling it home. But since California’s GDP makes up over 15% of the country’s economic output, there (Read more...)

Ranked: Crypto Popularity Across European Union Nations

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

Comparing the level of crypto investment from Europeans

Ranked: Crypto Popularity Across European Union Nations

Depending on where you live, investors can have wildly different preferences when it comes to choosing asset classes.

For a modern example, we can see how different countries (and regions) act when it comes to cryptocurrency. Within the European Union—one of the regions dealing with faster crypto adoption—attitudes towards investing can vary considerably.

This graphic from Gilbert Fontana looks at crypto popularity amongst investors in the EU using data from the European Commission’s Eurobarometer. It compares exposure to cryptocurrencies relative to stocks, funds, and bonds.

Crypto Popularity in Europe in 2022

Given that crypto has experienced bubble-like asset rallies, including a dramatic rise to over a trillion dollars in value before crashing, it’s fair to say it’s well known by now.

But even with a vast rise in awareness, there are still discrepancies between the level of investment crypto receives amongst European Union nations. Let’s see which countries have the highest proportion of citizens invested in crypto:

CountryPopulation Investing in CryptoPopulation Investing in Traditional Assets
🇸🇮 Slovenia18%22%
🇭🇷 Croatia16%17%
🇱🇺 Luxembourg14%36%
🇧🇬 Bulgaria13%13%
🇨🇾 Cyprus13%10%
🇸🇰 Slovakia12%25%
🇦🇹 Austria12%32%
🇵🇹 Portugal12%23%
🇨🇿 Czech Republic12%24%
🇪🇪 Estonia12%30%
🇳🇱 Netherlands12%19%
🇱🇹 Lithuania11%14%
🇮🇪 Ireland11%21%

Topping the list is Slovenia, considered by some the most crypto-friendly nation in the world. According to the survey, 18% of the country’s population has some sort of investment in it. Cyprus also (Read more...)

The Future Value of Disruptive Materials

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

The following content is sponsored by Global X ETFs

The Briefing

  • By 2030, the collective market for disruptive materials is expected to reach over $800 billion
  • Copper is the largest market while lithium is the fastest growing

The Future Value of Disruptive Materials

A select number of materials have a critical role to play in the expansion of next generation technologies. This could lead to a surge in demand and a potential soaring of market values for each material as a result.

This graphic from Global X ETFs takes a closer look at the forecasted market value for 12 disruptive materials, which are seeing increasingly large climate investment.

Soaring Market Values

The materials highlighted are each a billion dollar market in their own right. But which has the largest projected future market value?

Copper is one of the largest and most mature markets from this group. And as a result sees a lower projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

However, when it comes to the fastest growing market, lithium reigns supreme with a CAGR of over 23% between the forecast period of 2021 and 2028. Lithium is a vital ingredient for lithium-ion batteries, used in EVs and elsewhere.

Disruptive MaterialProjected Market Value ($B)CAGR (over forecast period)
Copper$394.0B by 20294.2% (2021-2029P)
Lithium$191.0B by 202823.3% (2021-2028P)
Nickel$59.0B by 20287.3% (2021-2028P)
Zinc$49.6B by 20274.0% (2021-2027P)
Manganese$42.0B by 20277.4% (2019-2027P)
Cobalt$17.3B by 202912.5% (2021-2029P)
Rare Earth Metals$15.4B by 2030 (Read more...)

What Does 30 Years of Global Deforestation Look Like?

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

The following content is sponsored by The LEAF Coalition

The Briefing

  • 177.5 million hectares of land have been lost to deforestation since the 1990s
  • Deforestation accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions

30 Years of Deforestation

Estimates say deforestation practices need to be thwarted by 75% by 2030, in order to effectively manage rising global average temperatures. But when looking at deforestation data over the last 30 years, it’s clear we’ve gone in the opposite direction.

This sponsored graphic from The LEAF Coalition looks at the total land lost to deforestation since the 1990s and compares it to the total land in the U.S. as a point of reference.

The Rise and Fall of Forests

Approximately 4% of the world’s forests have been lost since the 1990s. This is equivalent to 177.5 million hectares or 685,000 square miles, and greater than the total land area of 179 countries in the world. In addition, this covers one-fifth of the land in America. Here’s how the average global annual net change in forest area looks on a decade-by-decade basis.

Period

Global Annual Forest Area Net Change (Hectares)

2010-2020

-4.7M ha

2000-2010

-5.2M ha

1990-2000

-7.8M ha

A silver lining here is that in the most recent decade that’s passed we’ve seen a reduction in the amount of deforestation. Compared to the late 1990s, the decade between 2010 and 2020 has seen yearly deforestation reduce by 3.1 million hectares from 7.8 million to 4.7 million.

However, there’s still plenty of work that needs (Read more...)

Disruptive Materials: Visualizing America’s Import Dependency

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

The following content is sponsored by Global X ETFs

The Briefing

  • The U.S. is 100% import dependent on manganese and graphite
  • China and Canada are the two nations the U.S. is most import reliant on

America’s Import Dependency for Disruptive Materials

The U.S. is expected to see surging demand for disruptive materials, which are those deemed to have high level importance for their role in next generation technologies. But many of these disruptive materials like manganese, cobalt, and lithium are primarily imported from foreign countries.

This graphic from Global X ETFs takes a closer look at Americas reliance on net imports for these disruptive materials. Countries are ranked by how many commodities of which the U.S. is a net importer. And net importer is defined as over 50% of domestic use or consumption comes from foreign sources rather than domestic production.

Ranking Country Reliance

The U.S. imports commodities from a lot of countries, including from economic rivals. And these commodities include well known ones like nickel, zinc, and lithium, which are critical to climate-friendly technologies. However, the data reveals that there are a select number of countries where dependency is highest. Here’s a look at the top eight countries.

CountryNumber of Commodities Net Import Reliant
🇨🇳 China 19-23
🇨🇦 Canada13-18
🇷🇺 Russia 7-12
🇮🇳 India7-12
🇧🇷 Brazil7-12
🇿🇦 South Africa 7-12
🇩🇪 Germany7-12
🇲🇽 Mexico7-12

The U.S. is most dependent on China where they are net import reliant on 19-23 different commodities, followed by Canada with 13-18. In addition, the U.S. (Read more...)

Visualizing the Forest Funding Gap Relative to Emissions

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

The following content is sponsored by The LEAF Coalition

The Briefing

  • Deforestation accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions
  • Deforestation receives just 2.2% of climate funding

The Forest Funding Gap

Climate change has been referred to as modern day civilization’s greatest challenge. And stopping deforestation is an important step in the battle to stop rising global temperatures. Yet, when you look at the amount of climate funding earmarked for deforestation, something doesn’t add up.

This graphic from The LEAF Coalition looks at the state of global deforestation and compares how much climate funding it receives relative to its global CO2 emissions.

Deforestation’s Role in Global Emissions

Protecting our forests and protecting the climate are one in the same. In fact, the data reveals that tropical deforestation accounts for 10% of global CO2 emissions.

What’s more, these levels of emissions exceed that of all individual countries except for the U.S. and China. Despite this, climate funding towards deforestation only accounts for $14 billion of the over $618 billion available, representing a small 2.2% slice of the total.

This is especially problematic when considering a forest’s carbon stock and carbon sequestration capabilities. Here’s how different forests across the globe compare when looking at gigatonnes of carbon stock.

EcosystemEstimated Carbon Stock (Gt)Annual Loss Rate
Tropical moist forests295 Gt0.45%
Boreal forests283 Gt0.18%
Temperate broadleaf forests133 Gt0.35%
Temperate conifer forests66 Gt0.28%
Tropical dry forests14 Gt0.58%
Mangroves7.3Gt0.13%

A carbon stock (Read more...)

Should You Invest in Disruptive Materials?

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

Published • Updated •
The following content is sponsored by Global X ETFs
graphic showing the forecasted surge in demand as a result of emerging climate and clean energy technologies.

Should You Invest in Disruptive Materials?

New technologies are having a transformative impact on the transportation and energy sectors. As these technologies develop, it is becoming clear that a small selection of materials, metals, and minerals—known collectively as disruptive materials—are critical components required to innovate.

This graphic from Global X ETFs takes a closer look at the disruptive materials that are key to fueling climate technologies. With a growing global effort to decarbonize, disruptive materials may enter a demand supercycle, characterized as a structural decades-long period of rising demand and rising prices.

Building Blocks Of the Future

There are 10 categories of disruptive materials in particular that are expected to see demand growth as part of their role within emerging technologies.

Disruptive MaterialApplicability
ZincProtects metal surfaces from rusting through a process called galvanization. This is essential to wind energy.
Palladium & PlatinumOften used in catalytic converters, thus playing a major role in hydrogen fuel cell technology.
NickelA corrosion-resistant metal used to make other metals more durable.
ManganeseAn important mineral needed for battery and steel production.
LithiumThe foundational component of lithium-ion batteries.
GrapheneThe thinnest known material which is also 100x stronger than steel. Used in sensors and transistors.
Rare Earth MaterialsA broader category including 15 lanthanide series elements, plus yttrium. These metals are found in (Read more...)

Ranked: Latin American Countries By Green Energy Use

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

This graphic shows how much electricity production Latin American countries derive from green energy relative to fossil fuels

Ranked: Latin American Countries By Green Energy Use

The global push for increasing green energy use is well underway, as countries around the world are feeling pressure to revamp their climate-impacting practices.

But with different populations, energy use requirements, and access to natural resources, certain regions will have a more significant role to play. With a population of 664 million and an abundance of natural resources, Latin America (LatAm) is one such region.

How green is LatAm’s energy today? This graphic from Latinometrics charts countries’ electricity production from renewables relative to fossil fuels and highlights the significant disparities between certain nations.

Green Energy Use in Latin America

As of 2020, many LatAm countries actually produced 50% or more of their electricity from renewable sources including nuclear energy. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the outliers:

Paraguay

Hydropower is Paraguay’s primary renewable energy source, and plentiful. In fact, the country produces surplus electricity and exports the remainder to Argentina and Brazil. Altogether, 60% of Paraguay’s hydroelectric power is exported, contributing to 6% of its GDP.

The primary resource for this hydropower—the Itaipú Dam—sits between Paraguay and Brazil and is jointly owned by both. The dam is responsible for 79% of Paraguay’s total power capacity.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica has been running on at least 98% renewable energy since 2014. Both within the Americas and on a global scale, the country’s green energy usage ranks extremely high, primarily driven by hydropower:

Costa Rica's Renewable Energy Sources% of (Read more...)