Last year, the UN revised these estimates, but the numbers it came up with were still well above 10 billion. These regular projections from the UN have been the status quo—until now. Plenty of signs have pointed to there being a population plateau, but recent research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), published in The Lancet, suggests that the number of people on this planet may actually start to shrink well before the year 2100....

The New Visual Capitalist. We launched Visual Capitalist in 2011 with the idea of using visuals to create content for investors with a focus on natural resources. Now it is time to expand that vision. We have redesigned the website and user experience with the goal of producing and curating great visual content in all the areas that impact you as an investor. You can now use Visual Capitalist daily to discover unique, insightful, and relevant visual content....

What is the “Internet of Things?” According to some estimates, by next year, there will be twice as many devices connected to the Internet than there are people in the world! By the end of the decade, that number may hit 50 billion and The Internet of Things (IoT) market is estimated to be valued at $7.1 trillion. The following major companies are shaping the IoT space and are worth looking at for exposure to this important trend....

In fact, more than 80% of investors aged 40+ are interested in aligning their investment portfolios with their personal values, which is only around 10 percentage points less than the younger demographic (aged 25-39). However, while overall intent to invest in the greater good is consistent across the board, the top concerns among investors vary, depending on age. Here’s a look at the top issues that investors want addressed in their portfolios, by age group:...

But did you know there’s a way to get even more out of Visual Capitalist, all while helping support the work we do? New to VC+ in December 2020 VC+ is our members program that gives you exclusive access to extra visual content and insightful special features. It also gets you access to The Trendline, our new members-only graphic newsletter. So, what is getting sent to VC+ members in the coming weeks?...

But did you know there’s a way to get even more out of Visual Capitalist, all while helping support the work we do? New to VC+ in November 2020 VC+ is our members program that gives you exclusive access to extra visual content and insightful special features. It also gets you access to The Trendline, our new members-only graphic newsletter. So, what is getting sent to VC+ members in the coming weeks?...

And when it comes to money and economic power, our research has concluded that Baby Boomers, those between the ages of 57-75, have more influence than Millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z combined. These findings may seem intuitive, but what exactly contributes to economic power? To find out, let’s take a closer look at the GPI’s underlying variables. The Building Blocks of Economic Power Our starting point was to define the age ranges of each generation: Using these ranges as a framework, we then calculated our four underlying variables of economic power....

Banking is no different. After a decade of expansion, the industry is showing many signs of a late-cycle economy. On top of this, a staggering 60% of banks are destroying value. Today’s infographic from McKinsey & Company explores the steps banks can immediately take to succeed in the next economic cycle. How is Value Created? In the banking sector, three main factors contribute to value creation: The location of the bank The scale of its operations The effectiveness of its business model...

This year Christmas will be a little different. There’s uncertainty on whether family and friends will be able to gather over the holidays, and your annual work Christmas party may be virtual instead. That’s why this year, the act of giving is more important than ever. We’ve pulled together 6 reasons why our new book Signals is the perfect gift to inspire and encourage, and why your loved ones deserve Signals under the tree....

Mapping Affordability in the Epicenter of Canada’s Housing Bubble At the epicenter of Canada’s housing bubble, which is now rated as the most overvalued in the world, is the west coast city of Vancouver. It’s there that low interest rates and foreign buying have fueled the average detached home price to a record of C$1.47 million, a 20% increase from the previous year. While there are many measures of unaffordability, the government and federal agencies frequently use one such measure called the Shelter-cost to Income Ratio....

But, as all billionaires know, there is always risk present in the market – and even though a catastrophic geopolitical or financial event is very unlikely, it is important to be prepared for anything. How Billionaires Protect Their Wealth Today’s animation comes to us from Sprott Physical Bullion Trusts, and it shows the worries that are keeping billionaires up at night, and how they are positioning themselves to preserve wealth in any market environment....

These early-age accomplishments of some of the richest people in the world are highlighted as marvels. The early achievements of hoodie-wearing CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg or Evan Spiegel—who became billionaires at ages 23 and 25, respectively—come to mind. But there’s also the case to be made for the late bloomer. According to the Census Bureau, a 35-year-old is three times more likely to found a successful start-up than someone aged 22....

Chart: The Profile of a House With Negative Wealth 14% of all U.S. Households Have More Debts Than Assets The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays. According to the New York Federal Reserve, 14% of the U.S. population lives in households that have “negative” wealth. In other words, these are households that have more debts piled up than assets, which puts their net worth in minus territory....

The economic situation, on the other hand, is unlikely to improve anytime soon. Falling revenues combined with costly pandemic relief measures have increased global debt by $20 trillion since the third quarter of 2019. By the end of 2020, economists expect global debt to reach $277 trillion, or 365% of world GDP. Today’s chart uses data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) to provide an overview of where debt, relative to GDP, has increased the most....

The continued pressure on the oil sector is wreaking havoc on the Canadian dollar. This morning, the Loonie continued its freefall by losing another -1.1% , bringing the current exchange-rate to US$0.69. It’s the first time the Canadian dollar has traded below US$0.70 in 13 years, but the damage could be even worse. David Doyle, a top forecaster for Macquarie Capital Markets, lowered his projection for 2016 to have the loonie finish at US$0....

As long as the data adds up to economic expansion on a worldwide level, it’s easy to keep the status quo rolling. Companies can shift resources to the growing segments, and investors can put capital where it can go to work. At the end of the day, growth cures everything – it’s only when it dries up that things get hairy. Breaking Down Global Growth in 2019 Today’s chart uses data from Standard Chartered and the IMF to break down where economic growth is happening in 2019 using purchasing power parity (PPP) terms....

Of course, the path from A to B was anything but linear with a financial crisis, housing bubbles in major cities, and now COVID-19, which is drastically altering market dynamics. How has the housing market evolved, on a city-by-city basis? Two Decades of Housing Prices The interactive visual below – created by Avison Young Global, using data from Zillow – is a comprehensive look at U.S. home price data over the past two decades....

A mere 40 years ago, China’s economy was in an entirely different situation, making up less than 1% of global exports and still in the infancy stages of building its economy. The above animated chart from the UNCTAD showcases China’s rise to global trade dominance over time. Timeline: The Rise to Power The China of the mid-20th century looks remarkably different when compared to the modern-day nation. Prior to the 1980s, China was going through a period of social upheaval, poverty, and dictatorship under Mao Zedong....

Company Snapshot: Western Copper and Gold Western Copper and Gold (TSX: WRN, NYSE MKT: WRN), is focused on advancing the Casino Project, one of the world’s largest copper, gold, silver and molybdenum deposits, located in Yukon, Canada. The 100%-owned porphyry deposit is expected to come online for mining just as the world experiences a copper supply crunch. The Casino Project has 4.5 billion lbs of copper in reserves and 5.4 billion lbs in inferred resources....

This map, shared by Reddit user /ratkatavobratka, provides a historical snapshot of Europe in 1444—a time when European society was made up mostly of independent territories that were governed by landowners rather than a centralized authority. Below, we’ll take a closer look at some key regions on the map, and what was happening in these areas at the time. Some Context: Why 1444? Before we dive into the analysis, first thing’s first—what’s so special about the year 1444?...