To help right the ship, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act — also known as the CARES Act — was passed by U.S. lawmakers last week with little fanfare. The act became the largest economic stimulus bill in modern history, more than doubling the stimulus act passed in 2009 during the Financial Crisis. Today’s Sankey diagram is a visual representation of where the $2 trillion will be spent....

This recent tragedy is devastating, and unfortunately, it’s not the first time this dangerous chemical compound has caused widespread damage. Today’s graphic outlines the biggest accidental ammonium nitrate explosions over the last 20 years. A Brief Explanation of Ammonium Nitrate Before getting into the details, first thing’s first—what is ammonium nitrate? Ammonium nitrate is formed when ammonia gas is combined with liquid nitric acid. The chemical compound is widely used in agriculture as a fertilizer, but it’s also used in mining explosives....

The Drug War’s Impact on the American Economy America’s and the world’s appetite for drugs is insatiable. Billions upon billions of dollars have been spent on both the consumption of illicit drugs and fighting the war on drugs. At first glance as an investor, you probably don’t think this affects you (that is, if you don’t use or sell drugs). But a closer look will reveal the enormous economic impact that the war on drugs has on America....

The Energy Markets in Flux: Looking Back on 2014 Last year, so much changed in the energy market that it takes a bit of extra time to digest it all. The oil price crashed, but as we showed in last week’s Chart of the Week, even that was not able to stop the glut that is currently being experienced in the United States. Geopolitical events involving Ukraine and the Middle East prominently affected energy as well....

Deal Flow: The Technologies Receiving the Most Investment from VCs Angel investors and venture capitalists put up with a lack of liquidity in there investments for a good reason. The ability to fund private, early-stage ventures allows these investors to get a pulse on industry trends before they fully materialize in front of the general public. If they play their cards right, it allows this group to get in on an Uber or an Airbnb years before anyone even knows it exists to receive a lucrative return....

Trends in Global Trade for 2015 Mobile e-commerce and payment solutions have been in the trough of disillusionment for awhile now, at least within the context of technology hype. However, in the above infographic which covers global trade trends going into 2015, it is becoming clear that such solutions are finally coming into their own. Currently mobile commerce sales are worth $133 billion, but by 2018 this will quadruple to $626 billion....

Pop the champagne, because 2016 is soon to be history. And with that, we are proud to wrap up the year with 16 of the best infographics, charts, and data visualizations that we posted over the course of 2016. Just like in last year’s edition, some of the posts below were handpicked by our staff, while others received notably high amounts of shares, views, and comments from our audience. If you’re new to Visual Capitalist, this countdown is one of the best ways to get acquainted with what we do....

Rental markets are heating up all over the continent, but there are specific cities that are feeling the brunt of this phenomenon. In places like San Francisco, Brooklyn, San Jose, Seattle, Vancouver, and Denver, city councils are starting to move into panic mode as regular citizens like teachers and nurses are voicing concerns about not being able to afford housing. Simultaneously, many communities are rightfully concerned about the “brain drain” of their young people, who are moving for greener pastures (i....

With a few notable exceptions, the world is rapidly aging. Today’s infographic, which was shared by Bill Gates on Reddit, shows this incredible explosion in age and how different countries contrast with one another on this demographic metric. While aging populations in Europe, North America, and Asia stand out on this type of visualization, it’s also important to look at the negative space. In both South America and Africa, populations are still quite young, with Africa getting younger and younger....

Iron ore comprised roughly 93% of the 2.7 billion tonnes of metals mined in 2021. It is used primarily (98%) to make steel, with the remaining 2% becoming magnets, auto parts, and catalysts. Using data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the above infographic lists the world’s largest iron ore producers in 2021. Pilbara and Carajás Iron Ore Iron is the fourth most abundant element on the planet after oxygen, silicon, and aluminum, constituting about 5% of the Earth’s crust....

Global Firepower has released their ranking of combat tank fleet sizes for 2023, which we’ve visualized in this infographic. The ranking includes main battle tanks, like the U.S. M1A2 Abrams or the German Leopard 2, but also more lightly-armed medium and light tanks, like Thailand’s Stingray. The numbers do not include armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles. Russia Numbering 12,556 tanks, the Russian Federation has the largest fleet in their arsenal by far, from the workhorse T-72 series to the ultra-advanced T-14 Armata....

Beer consumption occurs all over the world, but the amount varies greatly depending on the location. So, which countries drink the most beer? This graphic uses data from Kirin Holdings to compare global beer consumption by country. Kirin is a Japanese company that has been tracking beer consumption around the world since 1975. Which Countries Drink the Most Beer? When it comes to total beer consumption, China ranks number one....

It started with the explosive hacks that rocked companies like Sony, JP Morgan, Target, and other well-known brands. More recently, it was the release of thousands of hacked emails from the DNC and John Podesta, along with the allegations of Russian hacking, that has led the news cycle. As a result, it is not surprising that much of today’s narrative on cybercrime is centered around the devastating potential of external threats to countries or businesses....

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 September 2021 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?...

Of course, the money required to address these concerns must come from somewhere—and that’s where the EU’s budget comes in. Each member state contributes revenue, but it’s been argued that not everyone is pulling their weight. Today’s chart is based on budget data from the European Commission, and ranks the member states who contributed the most, and least, to the 2018 EU budget. Specifically, we’ve charted the net contributions—measured as the country’s total contribution less expenditures—on an absolute and per capita basis....

The report includes data from nearly 1,000 surveyed leaders, across various organizations and regions. In this year’s report, respondents were asked which global risks have gotten worse since the start of the pandemic. Here’s what they said. Social Threats According to respondents, the erosion of social cohesion is the global risk that has intensified the most since the start of the global pandemic. The WEF defines this as the loss of social capital or social stability....

Awareness around mental health disorders is increasing, as are the number of people who suffer from them—a figure exacerbated by the pandemic. Although these factors are grim, they are actually catalysts for psychedelic stocks. The Societal Cost Today, greater emphasis is put towards combating mental health. In part because its societal cost is increasingly difficult to ignore. And the solutions to them may take on various forms. For instance, alternative medication....

It’s said that even the first electrum coins in Lydia were regularly faked, and coming across counterfeit coins in Ancient Rome was a daily occurrence. Roman Emperors, like other rulers, also famously did their own counterfeiting, debasing the metal in coins and trying to pass them off as having higher value. The problem of funny money remained an issue for society even thousands of years later. For example, at the start of the U....

In times past, that media ecosystem would include various mass media outlets, from newspapers to cable TV networks. Today, the internet and social media platforms have greatly expanded the scope and reach of communication within society. Of course, journalism plays a key role within that ecosystem. High quality journalism and the unprecedented transparency of social media keeps power structures in check—and sometimes, these forces can drive genuine societal change. Reporters bring us news from the front lines of conflict, and uncover hard truths through investigative journalism....

Every year it feels like the gaming industry sees the same stories—record sales, unfathomable market reach, and questions of how much higher the market can go. We’re already far past the point of gaming being the biggest earning media sector, with an estimated $165 billion revenue generated in 2020. But as our graphic above helps illustrate, it’s important to break down shifting growth within the market. Research from Pelham Smithers shows that while the tidal wave of gaming has only continued to swell, the driving factors have shifted over the course of gaming history....