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Author: Carmen Ang

Animated Chart: The Benefits of Investing Early in Life

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

The Benefits of Investing Early in Life

“Time in the market beats timing the market.”

This quote by Ken Fisher, founder of Fisher Investments, speaks to the often-overlooked benefits of long-term investing.

Timing the market for the perfect trade can be a tricky and potentially dangerous proposition—even for the most seasoned investors. That’s why the buy and hold strategy has been a popular investment tactic among many successful investors like Warren Buffett and Jack Bogle.

And thanks to the power of compound interest, it’s important to start as early as possible. This animated graphic by Sjoerd Tilmans shows the benefits of investing early on in life, and just how much of your total earnings can come from your early years.

Compound Interest

The reason that investing early is so beneficial is because of compound interest. Simply put, compound interest is the phenomenon of earning interest on interest.

For instance, let’s say you make an initial deposit of $1,000 in an account that returns 10% annually. By the end of the year, you’ll earn $100 in interest. In the following year, with your total now at $1,100 and assuming the same rate of return, you’ll earn $110 in interest.

And these annual gains, while starting off small, add up significantly over time.

What If I Double Down When I Have More Money?

What happens when you wait to invest?

Though you should only invest money that you don’t need access to in the short term, the reality is that (Read more...)

Charted: The World’s Working Poor, by Country (1991-2021)

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

Breakdown of poverty rates among employed people

Charting Three Decades of the World’s Working Poor

Poverty is often associated with unemployment—however, millions of working people around the world are living in what’s considered to be extreme poverty, or less than $1.90 per day.

Thankfully, the world’s population of poor workers has decreased substantially over the last few decades. But how exactly has it changed since 1991, and where is the majority of the working poor population living today?

This graphic by Gilbert Fontana uses data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to show the regional breakdown of the world’s working poor, and how this demographic has changed in the last few decades.

From Asia to Africa

In 1991, about 808 million employed people were living in extreme poverty, or nearly 15% of the global population at the time.

As the graphic above shows, a majority of this population lived in Eastern Asia, most notably in China, which was the world’s most populous country until only very recently.

However, thanks to China’s economic reforms, and political reforms like the National “8-7” Poverty Reduction Plan, millions of people in the country were lifted out of poverty.

Today, Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the world’s highest concentration of working poor. Below, we’ll take a closer look at the region and zoom in on select countries.

Zooming in on Sub-Saharan Africa

As of 2021, 11 of the 49 countries that make up Sub-Saharan Africa had a working poverty rate that made up over half their population.

(Read more...)

Animated Chart: The Smartphone Effect on the Camera Market

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

Charting the Smartphone Effect on the Camera Market

The smartphone camera has come a long way since the early 2000s, and its impact on the overall camera market cannot be understated.

In fact, modern smartphones have become so sophisticated that the CEO of Sony’s semiconductor manufacturing company predicts that smartphone cameras will soon produce better quality images than DSLR cameras.

Whether smartphones will be able to completely replace standalone cameras is still a contentious debate topic, but one thing is clear—while smartphone sales have skyrocketed over the last decade, digital camera sales have plummeted.

This animation by James Eagle compares annual sales data for film cameras, digital cameras, and smartphones over the years to show just how much smartphones have impacted the camera market.

A (Brief) History of Standalone Cameras

Below, we’ve broken down the history of cameras into three overarching periods: early cameras, film cameras, and digital cameras.

Early Cameras

Cameras have been around for thousands of years, with descriptions of camera-like devices found in historical writings dating back as far as the 4th century:

  • 330 AD: Ancient Chinese texts describe a device known as a camera obscura. Similar to pinhole cameras, these didn’t produce actual photographs, but rather reflected light onto screens which could then be traced to produce a lasting image.
  • Early 1800s: It’s generally accepted that Joseph Nicéphore Niépce invented the first photographic camera in 1816. Using silver chloride, Niépce managed to develop an image that’s still around today.
  • 1840s: Early cameras produced negative (Read more...)

Mapped: The World’s Countries Compared by 20 Key Metrics

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

Mapped: The World’s Countries Compared by 20 Key Metrics

Which countries have the largest populations? What about the rural versus urban population divide? And which countries have the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP), military expenditures, or tech exports?

Instead of comparing countries by one metric, this animation and series of graphics by Anders Sundell uses 20 different categories of World Bank data to compare countries. The data was sourced in July 2022 and contains the latest available data for each country.

Below, we provide some context on eight of the 20 categories, and share some facts on the top ranking countries for each category.

Top 10 Countries Worldwide by GDP

this map compares countries by GDP

View the full-size map

With a GDP of nearly $23 trillion in 2021, the United States has the largest economic output of any country in the world. While China is currently second on the list, some projections have China’s nominal GDP surpassing America’s as early as 2030.

And even more evident on this map is the weight of economic power to Western countries and just a few Asian countries. Africa, South America, and the rest of Asia are tiny in contrast.

Top 10 Countries Worldwide by Population

this map compares countries by total population

View the full-size map

China ranks first as the world’s most populated country, with a population of 1.4 billion. China has been the world’s most populated country for more than 300 years, but this could change in the near future.

According to the UN’s latest population prospects, India’s population is (Read more...)

Visualizing The Smoking Population of Countries

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

smoking population breakdown of female vs male smokers worldwide

Visualizing The Smoking Population of Countries

According to Our World in Data, about one-in-four adults around the world smoke tobacco—at least on an occasional basis. And in many countries, a majority of these smokers are men.

But just how big is the smoking gender gap, and which places have the biggest divide between men and women when it comes to smoking? This graphic by Pablo Alvarez visualizes the smoking population breakdown across the globe.

About the Dataset

The dataset is compiled by Our World in Data and uses the latest available figures (2020) that’ve been pulled from the World Bank. The data includes men and women aged 15 and over, and focuses on the world’s top 50 most populous countries.

It’s also worth highlighting that, for the purposes of this study, a smoker is defined as someone who smokes any form of tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc.) and includes people who smoke on a daily, non-daily, and occasional basis.

The Breakdown of Men versus Women Smokers

According to the figures in the dataset, countries in Asia and Africa seem to have the biggest gender gap when it comes to smoking.

For instance, 71% of Indonesian men smoke, while only 4% of Indonesian women use tobacco. And in China, nearly half of men are smokers, while only 2% of women smoke.

Country% of women who smoke% of men who smoke
🇮🇩 Indonesia4%71%
🇲🇲 Myanmar20%68%
🇧🇩 Bangladesh17%52%
🇨🇳 China2%49%
🇳🇷 Nauru49%47%
🇳🇵Nepal13% (Read more...)

Mapping Out the Richest Billionaires in Each Country

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

Map of the richest billionaires in each country

Click to view a larger version of the graphic.

Mapping Out The Richest Billionaires in Each Country

While there are nearly 8 billion people in the world, just over 3,000 are billionaires as of November 2022. This tiny group of people is worth nearly $11.8 trillion—Equivalent to about 11.8% of global GDP.

Where do these billionaires live? This graphic by Truman Du uses data from Forbes to map out the richest billionaires around the world.

The Full List

As it turns out, billionaires are a lot more geographically concentrated than you might think.

In fact, of the 195 officially recognized countries around the world, only 76 are home to billionaires. And even within these countries, there’s vast disparities between the quantity of billionaires.

Here’s a breakdown of all the countries that have at least one billionaire. For countries with more than one, we’ve highlighted the billionaire with the highest net worth as of November 28, 2022:

Country/territoryNameNet worth ($B)Main source of wealth (sector)
🇩🇿 AlgeriaIssad Rebrab5.1food
🇦🇷 ArgentinaMarcos Galperin4.0e-commerce
🇦🇲 ArmeniaRuben Vardanyan1.3investment banking
🇦🇺 AustraliaGina Rinehart27.9mining
🇦🇹 AustriaGeorg Stumpf7.9real estate, construction
🇧🇩 BangladeshMuhammed Aziz Khan1.0power
🇧🇧 BarbadosRihanna1.4music, cosmetics
🇧🇪 BelgiumEric Wittouck9.0investments
🇧🇿 BelizeKenneth Dart4.0investments
🇧🇷 BrazilJorge Paulo Lemann15.6beer
🇧🇬 BulgariaGeorgi & Kiril Domuschiev1.9animal health, investments
🇨🇦 CanadaDavid Thomson53.2media
🇨🇱 ChileIris Fontbona19.6mining
🇨🇳 ChinaZhong Shanshan66.7beverages, pharmaceuticals
🇨🇴 ColombiaLuis Carlos (Read more...)

Mapped: A Snapshot of the Airbnb Landscape in Three Megacities

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

map of every airbnb listing in paris, london and new york

Visualizing the Airbnb Landscape in Three Megacities

Since its inception in 2008, Airbnb has grown into one of the most popular travel and short-term accommodation apps on the market.

In 2021 alone, there were more than 300 million bookings (for both accommodation and experiences) made through the app.

To visualize just how massive the Airbnb landscape has become in major cities, this graphic by Preyash Shah shows every single listing in New York, London, and Paris.

About the Data

To make this graphic, Shah used September 2022 data from insideairbnb.com, a website that pulls data directly from the Airbnb app. Once collected, the raw data was then cleaned to include active listings only fitting a few key parameters:

  • Any listing that did not have a review in 2022 was removed
  • The most expensive listings were individually checked to ensure the listing price matched the actual historical price and removed if there was a major discrepancy. This is due to inactive listings that are extremely marked up instead of de-listed

After scrubbing the data, each city’s immediate metro area was left with roughly 20,000 listings.

As the data shows, a majority of these listings were for entire apartments. Paris had the biggest share, with about 85% of listings for entire apartments rather than private or shared rooms.

This is especially interesting considering that Paris has extremely strict regulations around short-term rentals and Airbnb usage, one being that an Airbnb rental must be someone’s primary residence.

Airbnb’s Beginnings

Two co-founders (Read more...)

Mapped: A Snapshot of the Airbnb Landscape in Three Megacities

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

map of every airbnb listing in paris, london and new york

Visualizing the Airbnb Landscape in Three Megacities

Since its inception in 2008, Airbnb has grown into one of the most popular travel and short-term accommodation apps on the market.

In 2021 alone, there were more than 300 million bookings (for both accommodation and experiences) made through the app.

To visualize just how massive the Airbnb landscape has become in major cities, this graphic by Preyash Shah shows every single listing in New York, London, and Paris.

About the Data

To make this graphic, Shah used September 2022 data from insideairbnb.com, a website that pulls data directly from the Airbnb app. Once collected, the raw data was then cleaned to include active listings only fitting a few key parameters:

  • Any listing that did not have a review in 2022 was removed
  • The most expensive listings were individually checked to ensure the listing price matched the actual historical price and removed if there was a major discrepancy. This is due to inactive listings that are extremely marked up instead of de-listed

After scrubbing the data, each city’s immediate metro area was left with roughly 20,000 listings.

As the data shows, a majority of these listings were for entire apartments. Paris had the biggest share, with about 85% of listings for entire apartments rather than private or shared rooms.

This is especially interesting considering that Paris has extremely strict regulations around short-term rentals and Airbnb usage, one being that an Airbnb rental must be someone’s primary residence.

Airbnb’s Beginnings

Two co-founders (Read more...)

When Will Air Travel Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels?

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

when will air travel return to pre-pandemic levels?

When Will Air Travel Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels?

Many industries were hit hard by the global pandemic, but it can be argued that air travel suffered one of the most severe blows.

The aviation industry as a whole suffered an estimated $370 billion loss in global revenue because of COVID-19. And while air travel has been slowly recovering from the trough, flight passenger traffic has yet to fully bounce back.

Where is the industry at in 2022 compared to pre-COVID times, and when is air passenger travel expected to return to regular levels? This graphic by Julie R. Peasley uses data from IATA to show current and projected air passenger ridership.

Air Travel Traffic: 2021 and 2022

After an incredibly difficult 2020, the airline industry started to see significant improvements in travel frequency. But compared to pre-pandemic levels, there’s a lot of ground to cover.

In 2021, overall passenger numbers only reached 47% of 2019 levels. This influx was largely driven by domestic travel, with international passenger numbers only reaching 27% of pre-COVID levels.

Passenger numbers (% of 2019)20212022
International27%69%
Domestic61%93%
Africa46%76%
Asia Pacific40%68%
Caribbean44%72%
Central America72%96%
Europe40%86%
Middle East42%81%
North America56%94%
South America51%88%
Industry-wide47%83%

From a regional perspective, Central America experienced one of the fastest recoveries. In 2021, overall passenger numbers in the region had reached 72% of 2019 levels, and they are projected to (Read more...)

Mapped: Carbon Dioxide Emissions Around the World

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

Click to view this graphic in a higher-resolution.

mapping out global carbon emissions

Mapped: Carbon Dioxide Emissions Around the World

According to Our World in Data, the global population emits about 34 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) each year.

Where does all this CO₂ come from? This graphic by Adam Symington maps out carbon emissions around the world, using 2018 data from the European Commission that tracks tonnes of CO₂ per 0.1 degree grid (roughly 11 square kilometers).

This type of visualization allows us to clearly see not just population centers, but flight paths, shipping lanes, and high production areas. Let’s take a closer look at some of these concentrated (and brightly lit) regions on the map.

China, India, and the Indian Ocean

As the two most populated countries and economic forces, China and India are both significant emitters of CO₂. China in particular accounts for about 27% of global CO₂ emissions.

And looking at the oceans, we see how much shipping adds to emissions, with many shipping lanes east of China clearly outlined as well as the major Indian Ocean lane between the Strait of Malacca and the Suez Canal.

The United States and Central America

The United States is one of the world’s biggest carbon emitters. While other countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia technically have higher emissions per capita, their overall emissions are relatively low due to smaller populations.

Across the U.S., the most brightly lit areas are major population centers like the Boston-Washington corridor, the Bay Area, and (Read more...)