Information is Beautiful

A stacked bar chart showing the growth of anthropogenic mass (human-made objects) compared to natural biomass from 1900 to 2040 (projected). The chart shows anthropogenic mass, broken down into categories like Concrete, Aggregates, Bricks, Asphalt, Metals, and Plastics, steadily increasing over time. Natural biomass, divided into Trees and Shrubs, Crops, Livestock, and Humans, is shown with relatively stable or slightly decreasing totals. The year 2020 is marked as the point where anthropogenic mass is projected to exceed natural biomass, with a note stating "Total anthropogenic mass exceeds all global living biomass." The chart is titled "ACCUMULATION OF ANTHROPOGENIC MASS".

The amount of human made 'stuff' now exceeds natural 'stuff'

(by @VisualCap)
www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-...

The photo shows a drawing of a family tree on a napkin. Starting from a great great grandparent at the top and going down six levels, one can use it to explore the connections and relationship e.g. to aunts, cousins or even a third cousin twice removed

Wait, who is my third cousin twice removed? Oh

Map showing dominant religions across African countries. Islam (green) dominates North Africa and parts of West Africa, Christianity (blue) prevails in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, Traditional Religions (purple) are dominant in Madagascar, and Tanzania (yellow) has no dominant religion.

Africa's most dominant religions

A cartoon illustration of a simplified human body showing internal organs, and body parts sized by nerve endings. The figure has an enlarged head with exaggerated lips, a brain, stomach, intestines, and heart visible. The body is drawn in a minimalist style with pink and gray colors, labeled "Body By..." at the top.

An illustration showing estimated insurance payouts for different body parts, with monetary values labeled on a simplified human figure. Brain ($75,000), ears ($20,000), eyes ($200,000 each), heart ($37,000), kidneys (red), arms ($25,000), hands ($20,000), legs ($75,000), and feet ($1,500) are marked. Source cited as "various AD&D policies, averages."

A diagram showing calorie usage by different body parts during rest, with percentages labeled on a simplified human figure. Brain uses 19% (240 calories/day), heart 7%, arms 10%, kidneys 10%, and legs 15%. Source cited as "Wikipedia, resting human."

A minimal human figure diagram titled "google hits" showing internal organs in white, red, and navy blue colors. The figure features an enlarged eye, anatomical heart, and other organs in a simple outline style. Source cited as "Google" by Information Is Beautiful.

Body by... a data homunculus

source: Information is Beautiful book by David McCandless geni.us/IIB-IIB

Kinda amazing how we can model this. The tectonic movement of the world's continents from 1,000 million years ago until today

(by @nytimes)
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/s...

A world map infographic comparing annual per capita consumption of coffee versus tea, with countries shaded brown where coffee is consumed more and teal where tea is consumed more. Large swaths of the globe including most of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the UK are shown preferring tea, while North America, most of South America, much of Europe including Scandinavia, and Australia are shaded for coffee. The split shows clear regional trends: coffee dominates in the Americas, Northern and Central Europe, and Australia, while tea dominates in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The map is titled “COFFEE VS TEA What’s consumed more in cups per year,” with a key identifying coffee in brown and tea in teal, and cites Statista as the source. At the bottom is the logo for The World in Maps.

Ways to divide the world pt 17 of 185

A map of the contiguous United States with transparent overlays of the outlines of Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and the Bahamas. Canada's outline is shown in pink and covers the northernmost states. Mexico's outline is in green and covers the southwestern states. Cuba's outline is in blue and is positioned over Florida. The Bahamas' outline is in yellow and is located to the east of Florida. An inset map shows a small portion of Russia and Canada overlaid on the Aleutian Islands.

The nearest other country...

(by @amazingmap)

Logo for "Smart Tic" showing a white hand icon on a blue gradient background. Below explains it's the compulsion to check your phone during brief social pauses, with an example of reaching for your phone when alone at a dinner table. Credit line reads "information is beautiful • intermental"

Logo showing a white hourglass icon on an orange gradient background. Titled "Contentstipation" - describes the mental burden of accumulated unread content saved for later on apps like Instapaper and Pocket. Credit: information is beautiful • intermental

Logo with white geometric network pattern on green background. Titled "Smarting" - defines an obsessive tendency to connect multiple household devices to create an ultimate smart home ecosystem. Credit: information is beautiful • intermental

Do any of these sound familiar?? You may have developed a tech-induced mental or behaviour disorder. Here’s our list of 30+ we’ve theorised might exist. See if you agree :)
www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizatio...

A map of the United Kingdom displaying the most common local names for the prank of knocking on someone's door and running away. The map is divided into regions, each colored according to the most frequent answer in that area, as indicated by the legend. The legend includes terms like "Chap door run," "Chappie," "Knick knock," "Knock a door run," "Knock nine doors," and "Knock down ginger." For each region, the top three most common answers are listed with their corresponding percentages. The map shows a clear geographical variation in the preferred name for this prank across the UK.

A very British graphic

(by Reddit user: u/mattsmithetc)

A circle placed on a world map using the Mercator projection shows how distorting this way of depicting the world has become. The circle is highly distended forming a large tear-shaped with undue size and prominence given to the northern portion.

Another reasons to tut at the Mercator Map projection - how a circle with a radius of 5,000km, centred on Paris, looks according the Mercator map

Slope chart illustrating reductions in PM 2.5 levels in various Chinese cities from 2013 to 2017, showing significant improvements in air quality. The data highlights a percentage decrease in pollution levels, with some cities achieving over 50% reduction. The chart compares pollution levels in cities like Xingtai, Beijing, and Shanghai against international benchmarks such as Delhi and Cairo, emphasizing China's progress towards cleaner air as noted by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.

China is winning its war on air pollution – particularly in the over-populated mega cities.

via Beautiful News
informationisbeautiful.net/beautifulnews/

Map showing potential wind power capacity across US states in terawatt hours. Texas leads with 5,552 TWh, followed by Great Plains states like Kansas and Nebraska (3,000+ TWh each). The total US potential is 32,780 TWh versus current usage of 4,223 TWh. Coastal states have offshore potential while tropical states show minimal capacity. Source: National Renewable Energy Lab (2012).

The USA is ripe for wind power!

Full story: informationisbeautiful.net/visualizatio...

Timeline titled "How Long Do Animals Live?". It displays various animals along a horizontal axis marked with years from 0 to 150, indicating their average lifespans. Insects are shown with a very short lifespan. Small mammals like rats and mice live around 3 years. Other animals shown with increasing lifespans include hares, toads, foxes, squirrels, eels, blackbirds (around 10 years), chickens, canaries, dogs, cats, woodpeckers, wolves, sheep, lions, reindeer, elk, crocodiles, ravens, herons, gulls, doves, ostriches, carp, horses, dromedary camels (around 30 years), hippopotamuses, cranes (around 40 years), owls, bears (around 50 years), swans, parrot geese, rhinoceroses (around 50 years), elephants (around 60 years), pearl mussels, whales (around 70 years), and giant tortoises with the longest lifespan, exceeding 150 years. The animals are represented by silhouettes, and a legend indicates the color-coding for different animal classes: red for mammals, black for birds, blue for other vertebrates, and yellow for invertebrates.

Classic isotype infographic from the 1940s

(note: some data is now considered inaccurate. So here's an updated 'modern' version from Encyclopedia Brittanica. infographic.tv/data-visuali...)

A diagram plots human experience of space & time in the physical world. It shows a rectangular area between two axis. One is time, the other space. Both range from very small to very large. Inside of that area is a much smaller rectangle. It is about 1/16 of the size and labelled “Human Experience"

This made us think

A map of Europe showing the mean age of women at the birth of their first child, categorized by color from yellow (age 25) to purple (age 33). Examples include: Moldova with the youngest average age at 25.1, and Monaco with the highest at 32.5. Other notable countries: Spain at 31.6, Italy at 31.7, Germany at 29.9, and Finland at 29.9. The map includes small flags and labeled figures for precision. Data for the UK is from 2018, and other countries are from 2021 or 2022.

Some interesting variations here...
(by reddit user theworldmaps)

Infographic "THE NEW MUSIC ECONOMY: HOW THE INDUSTRY HAS EVOLVED" shows Audio Format from Physical CDs to Digital Downloads/Streaming to Streaming; Music Discovery from MTV/Radio/DJs/Blogs to Blogs/YouTube/Playlists to Algorithmic/TikTok/Streamers; Distribution from Major Label-Controlled to Digital Aggregators to DIY/Licensing; Rights/IP from Label-Owned to 360/Co-own to Artist-Owned/Publishing; Catalog Value from Hits/Singles to Album/Back-Catalog Streaming to Long-Tail/Acquisitions; Merchandise from Tour Merch to Online/Bundles to Private Label/Collabs/Drops; Video Format from High-Budget to DIY/Lyric/Visualizer to Short-Form; Live Music from Local/Regional to National/Festival to Global/Mega; Fan Interaction from Fan Clubs/Mailing Lists to Social Media to Direct Monetization; Collectibles from Tour CDs to Vinyl/Box Sets to Digital/Vinyl/Memorabilia; Career Trajectory from Major Label to Indie/Digital to Artist-Entrepreneur/Own Brand; Revenue Model from CD/Download to Touring/Merch/Streaming to Diversified; Music Creation from Big Studio/Label to Home/DIY to Remote/Home; Gatekeeping/Access from Execs/DJs/Bookers to Digital Curators/Playlists to Algorithms/Virality; Marketing/Promotion from TV/Radio/Print to Social/Influencer/Pop-Ups to Algorithms/Meme/Podcasts/Streamers.

Signs of the Times. The New Music Economy.

(by Instagram user @thebag)
www.instagram.com/thebag/p/DHW...

A map of the United States titled "What do you call people from each U.S. state?" shows each state colored according to the suffix of its demonym. The colors represent three suffixes: a red dot for "(a)n", a light blue dot for "ian", and a purple dot for "ite". The majority of states, including Texas, California, and New York, are colored red for the "(a)n" suffix (e.g., Texan, Californian, New Yorker). States like Florida, Alabama, and Georgia are also red. A smaller number of states, such as Washington, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, are light blue for the "ian" suffix (e.g., Washingtonian, Michiganian, Pennsylvanian). A few states, including Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Utah, are colored purple for the "ite" suffix (e.g., Wisconsinite, Wyomingite, Utahn/Utahnite). The map also includes Alaska and Hawaii, which are colored red and light blue, respectively. The source is listed as U.S. GPO and Wikipedia.

What do you call the people from various US states?

by instagram user: @the.world.in.maps
www.instagram.com/p/DLFWYnOotCN/

A map of Europe color-coded to show when Christmas is celebrated in different countries. Blue represents countries where Christmas is celebrated on December 24th, light blue on December 25th, and red on January 7th. Some countries are marked with 50/50, indicating that both December 24th and 25th are celebrated.

Christmas Day is not celebrated on the 25th December across a lot of Europe

A pie chart titled with its legend "Sky", "Sunny side of pyramid", and "Shady side of pyramid". The majority of the circle, a large blue segment, represents "Sky". A smaller, bright yellow segment represents the "Sunny side of pyramid", and an even smaller, darker yellow segment represents the "Shady side of pyramid", creating a visual impression of a pyramid base within a circular sky.

Pyramid pie

(creator: unknown)

A series of six heatmap-style graphics showing changes in pollution levels across Paris over time, with each square map labeled by year: 2007, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2024. The earlier maps in 2007 and 2010 are dominated by dense red and orange colors concentrated in the city center, with landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame labeled, indicating heavy pollution. Over the years the intensity of red areas fades, especially in 2015 and 2017 where the pollution begins to spread less densely, and by 2020 the colors shift more toward yellow and green, showing significant reductions in pollution. The 2024 map is the cleanest, with the majority of the area in yellow and green tones and only major road arteries showing thin red lines, demonstrating far less air pollution. Each map includes a “2 miles” scale marker, and the visual progression highlights how bike lanes and car restrictions introduced in Paris contributed to decreasing air pollution levels throughout the city.

Pollution levels in Paris after they introduced bike lanes and car restrictions

Red = EU limits for Nitrogen Dioxide pollution

Original graphics by Atelier Parisien d'Urbanisme
www.apur.org

An infographic titled '10 Diseases We've Nearly Controlled or Eradicated' organized in four sections. At the top, 'on our way' shows leprosy (cases decreased by 15% from 2009 to 2018), malaria (over half the countries on Earth are now malaria-free), and rubella. The 'progress!' section includes onchocerciasis (described as 'elephantiasis' - a tropical disease spread by mosquitoes), rabies, lymphatic filariasis, and yaws (with a note that India eliminated this childhood disease in 2016). The 'nearly...' section lists African trypanosomiasis ('sleeping sickness' spread by the tsetse fly), polio, and guinea worm disease (described as a terrible affliction spread by contaminated drinking water). Finally, 'eradicated' shows only smallpox. Purple circles of varying sizes represent each disease, with size indicating global impact. Source: World Health Organisation, Our World in Data, via beautifulnews

So far, we've managed to eradicate just one human disease: smallpox. But we’re getting closer to banishing a few others. Preventing suffering. Saving lives. Reducing the burden on healthcare systems.

informationisbeautiful.net/beautifulnew...

Infographic shows several primary psychological defense mechanisms with simple icons and brief descriptions for each, including anger, acting out, denial, dissociation, grandiosity, projection, reaction-formation, and suppression.

How your mind defends itself against psychological & emotional pain. Which are your go-to’s?

See the full expanded image 
geni.us/IIB-Defences2

A colorful map titled “Stereotypes of European countries according to ChatGPT” shows Europe with each country labeled by a single stereotype word or phrase, using humor and clichés. For instance, Iceland is marked “ELVES,” Norway “VIKINGS,” Sweden “MOOSE,” Finland “DEPRESSING,” Germany simply “GERMANY,” France “SURRENDER,” Spain “PARTYING,” Italy “SOCCER,” Romania “DRACULA,” and Russia “RUSSIA.” Other labels include “COAL MINES” for Poland, “DEATH METAL” for Russia’s southwestern neighbor, “BAD FOOD” for the UK, “WAFFLES” for Belgium, and “DRINKING” for Ireland. The design uses bold, all-caps text over pastel-colored countries and features “The World in Maps” branding in the upper right corner. The tone is playful and tongue-in-cheek, reflecting exaggerated or humorous associations rather than actual characteristics.

Stereotypes of European countries, according to ChatGPT
(a very strange mix)

Thanksgiving flow chart: Responsible adult? No (kid): appetite/manners. Yes: War zone? No (cool): Grandma (pecan pie), friend (food-snob dish/beer), self (turkey/gravy). Yes (war zone): Sullen drunk (fancy turkey), hate Dems (box wine), hate change (vegan loaf), hate each other (marshmallow yams/laser). Not responsible adult (college foodie): slimy salad. College family: Mom's dish. Irresponsible adult: hidden vodka/potato buds. Wing debate: Mom's dish.

What to bring for Thanksgiving dinner :)

A dense heatmap titled “Vaccines reduced measles cases across US states” showing reported measles cases per 100,000 people in all 50 US states from 1929 to 2022 with color-coded cells on a log scale from dark blue (high incidence, over 1,000 cases per 100,000) through green to pale yellow (low incidence, near zero), with white cells indicating missing data, with three key vertical lines marking major interventions: 1963 for the development of the first measles vaccine by John Enders, 1971 for the development of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine by Maurice Hilleman, and 1980 when vaccination became mandatory for kindergarten entry, showing a clear decline in measles incidence after these milestones with dark blue and green densities fading to mostly pale yellow after the 1980s, indicating near elimination of cases across states.

Just the measles vaccine doing its thing...
ourworldindata.org/measles-vacc...

by @OurWorldInData

A hand-drawn, black-and-white historical timeline illustration titled “LOOKING TO THE PAST” spans from 4500 BCE to the start of the Common Era, with a horizontal time scale along the top and slanted diagonal lines indicating different cultural and geographic threads such as Egypt, Israel, Greece, Rome, and the Aryans. The timeline includes labeled figures and texts like Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Homer, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zoroaster, Buddha, Laotze, Confucius, and Jesus, along with cultural markers like the Rig Veda, Book of the Dead, Great Wall, and the Bible. Architectural motifs like columns, arches, and temple fragments visually anchor Greece, Rome, Israel, and Egypt. The design uses dashed and dotted lines to connect figures, events, and texts, creating a web of cultural development converging toward the Common Era.

Cool vintage timeline of historical empires

(via reddit)

Pie chart titled "AMERICA'S $29T ECONOMY BY STATE". The chart is segmented by US regions (New England, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, Plains, Southeast, Southwest, Rocky Mountain, and Far West) and further divided to show the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of each state within those regions. Each state segment is labeled with its name and GDP in trillions or billions of dollars. California has the largest economy at $4.1T, followed by Texas at $2.7T and New York at $2.3T. Smaller states like Delaware ($104B) and Vermont ($41B) have proportionally smaller slices. An additional segment indicates "$160B Overseas Activity*". The source is listed as the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, with data as of Q3 2024.

Visualizing the USA's $29 trillion economy by state. California is now the 4th largest economy in the world, recently surpassing Japan.

www.voronoiapp.com/economy/Visu...

A nine-panel cartoon grid titled "CONFLICT IN LITERATURE" depicts different types of conflict, categorized into "CLASSICAL," "MODERN," and "POSTMODERN" literary periods. Under "CLASSICAL," panels show "MAN vs. NATURE" (a person with a pitchfork against a pack of wolves), "MAN vs. MAN" (two people in a sword fight), and "MAN vs. GOD" (a person pointing a stick at a giant hand from the sky). The "MODERN" column shows "MAN vs. SOCIETY" (a person standing alone against a crowd with protest signs), "MAN vs. SELF" (a person facing a mirror image of themselves), and "MAN vs. NO GOD" (a person pointing a stick at an empty sky). The "POSTMODERN" column depicts "MAN vs. TECHNOLOGY" (a person with a baseball bat facing an array of computer screens), "MAN vs. REALITY" (a person standing in a surreal landscape of melting colors and shapes), and "MAN vs. AUTHOR" (a person standing on an open book, looking up at a giant hand holding a pen). The artist's signature, Grant Snider, is at the bottom right.

Interesting. The evolution of conflict in literature / society

(by Instagram user: @grantdraws)
www.instagram.com/p/DBOlpAuRj9c/

This image is a detailed three-dimensional relief map of Europe, visualizing the continent's topography and elevation. The map uses a vibrant color palette and simulated height to represent the landforms. Lower elevations, such as the vast European Plain covering much of Eastern and Northern Europe, are shown in a light, smooth blue. As the elevation increases, the colors transition to deeper blues, greens, and finally to warm oranges and yellows for the highest mountain ranges. Prominent high-relief areas include the orange and yellow peaks of the Alps stretching across Central Europe, the mountainous regions of the Balkans and the Carpathians in Eastern Europe, the ridges along the Scandinavian Peninsula, and the rugged terrain of the British Isles. The map is highly textured, giving a tactile sense of the landscape. In the bottom right corner, a small legend or credit indicates the map was "made in rayshader" and the data is from "NOAA ETOPO1."

EU elevation map

(by @cstats)
www.instagram.com/p/DOrJw6DjKgl/

This graphic shows Australian government spending breakdown based on where personal tax was allocated during 2018-19 budget estimates, displaying gross debt levels of $533 billion this year compared to $501 billion last year with $16.3 billion in interest payments on gross debt this year, followed by a horizontal bar chart showing spending categories with welfare receiving the largest allocation at $846 billion including aged care at $346 billion, disability at $200 billion, families at $196 billion, unemployed at $60 billion and other welfare at $44 billion, while health received $420 billion, defence $203 billion, education $183 billion, general public services $105 billion, interest on government debt $92 billion, transport and communication $50 billion, fuel and energy $41 billion, industry assistance $32 billion, foreign affairs and economic aid $30 billion, housing and community $29 billion, public order and safety $28 billion, immigration $21 billion, recreation and culture $21 billion, and other purposes $89 billion, with the total tax assessed shown as $2190 at the bottom right, along with a note that figures include transfers to state and local governments except for GST and other economic affairs, with estimates and categories based on information from the Department of Treasury, and a reference to visit www.ato.gov.au/taxreceipt for more information.

Participatory tax return from Australia shows exactly where one's tax money goes...

(from Reddit user: u/heapsgoods)