While best known for its use in the five cent coin, nickel has far more strategic uses. Nickel can be alloyed with other metals to create truly extraordinary materials. In fact, more than half of all nickel consumed is used in stainless steel. China’s stainless steel consumption has increased 1625% in the last 10 years, and is now 40% of global totals. Chinese stainless steel is now the largest demand driver for nickel worldwide, and there’s still a lot more room for growth in the industry....

Almost everyone wants to be successful – and many see it as the basis of the American Dream, which promises that every person can achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. However, despite a drive for obtaining success in our culture, the meaning of success isn’t fixed. It can be different things to different people, and there is no possible way of defining success in a way that is representative of every individual person....

Since the COVID-19 crash, global equity markets have seen a strong recovery. The 100 biggest companies in the world were worth a record-breaking $31.7 trillion as of March 31 2021, up 48% year-over-year. As a point of comparison, the combined GDP of the U.S. and China was $35.7 trillion in 2020. In today’s graphic, we use PwC data to show the world’s biggest businesses by market capitalization, as well as the countries and sectors they are from....

Man has relied on copper since prehistoric times. It is a major industrial metal with many applications due to its high ductility, malleability, and electrical conductivity. Many new technologies critical to fighting climate change, like solar panels and wind turbines, rely on the red metal. But where does the copper we use come from? Using the U.S. Geological Survey’s data, the above infographic lists the world’s largest copper producing countries in 2021....

How does each country’s tax system compare to one another? This question is tricky to answer. Since countries’ populations and economies differ greatly, measuring total tax revenue is not the best way to compare international tax systems. Instead, using a tax-to-GDP ratio is one of the more useful ways to compare tax systems around the world. What is the Tax-to-GDP Ratio? The tax-to-GDP ratio compares a country’s tax revenue to the size of its economy, which in this case is measured by its GDP....

The Dollar is Slowly Losing its Status as the Primary Reserve Currency The dollar has been a stalwart of international trade over the majority of the last century. Around the time of the formation of the Eurozone, it reached its recent peak at 71.0% of official foreign exchange reserves. Since then, its composition of global reserves has more recently dropped to a more modest 62.9% in 2014. However, the dollar is slowly losing its status as the world’s undisputed reserve currency....

The Evolution of US Currency At times, America may not be the most popular nation in the world, but one thing is for sure: it is famous for its green. The greenback has been iconic since its inception. This infographic above misses a few key instances in US currency history – namely the birth of the Federal Reserve in 1913 and Nixon ending convertibility to gold in 1971. Both events were catalysts to massive money printing which leaves the USD with only a fraction of the purchasing power that it once had....

Invented in Britain at the height of the Industrial Revolution, steam trains gave the empire an unparalleled advantage in transporting goods and people. Soon it spread around the world as other nations scrambled to build their own railway networks to facilitate growth and commerce. But just as nations rushed to build more railways, they also tried to build faster trains. Japan’s Tōkaidō Shinkansen or “bullet train” in 1964 was the first high-speed rail system, achieving a speed above 124 mph or 200 km/h....

The Gold Series Part 3: The Eclipsing Demand of the East This infographic, part three in our 2014 Gold Series, covers the rise of Asian demand for the yellow metal. Lifted by a continued surge in Asian gold sales, consumer demand for gold reached an all-time high in 2013 at 3,893 tonnes. Amazingly, 54% of this demand came from two places: India and China. However, it is only recently that the East has dominated global demand for the yellow metal....

The Gold Series Part 1: The Most Sought After Metal on Earth This infographic, part one in our 2014 Gold Series, introduces the yellow metal and tells the story of how it became the most sought after metal on earth. Gold was one of the first metals discovered by ancient peoples and eventually gold grew to symbolize both wealth, royalty, and immortality. Gold began to be used as money by many cultures, but the Romans were the first to use it widespread....

Fast forward 60+ years, and the country now depends on foreign sources for 20 such materials, including ones essential for military and battery technologies. This puts the U.S. in a precarious position, depending largely on China and other foreign nations for the crucial materials such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth metals that can help build and secure a more sustainable future. America’s Energy Dependence Today’s visualization comes from Standard Lithium, and it outlines China’s dominance of the critical minerals needed for the new energy era....

Battery minerals are set to become the new oil, with lithium-ion battery supply chains becoming the new pipelines. China is currently leading this lithium-ion battery revolution—leaving the U.S. dependent on its economic rival. However, the harsh lessons of the 1970-80s oil crises have increased pressure on the U.S. to develop its own domestic energy supply chain and gain access to key battery metals. Introducing the New Energy Era Today’s infographic from Standard Lithium explores the current energy landscape and America’s position in the new energy era....

As billionaire wealth accumulates at a remarkable speed, we feature a snapshot of the world’s richest in 2022, based on data from the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List. Top 10 Richest People in the World Elon Musk, with a fortune of $266 billion, is the richest person on the planet. Despite supply chain bottlenecks, Tesla deliveries have increased 27% since the second quarter of 2021. Musk, who is also CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX, plans to send the largest rocket ever built into orbit in 2022....

Every day, the Information Age bombards us with massive amounts of data. Experts now estimate that there are 40 times more bytes of data in existence than there are stars in the whole observable universe. And like the universe, our datasphere is also rapidly expanding—and every few years, there is actually more new data created than in all prior years of human history combined. Searching for Signals On a practical level, this dense wall of impenetrable data creates a multitude of challenges for investors and decision makers alike:...

While Truss’s term is noteworthy for its briefness, she is not the only politician to have a whirlwind tour of Number 10 Downing Street. Of the 56 people who have held the PM position, eight have served less than a year: The next shortest term in the post-war period goes to Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who served just a hair under one year. Why So Short? There are a variety of reasons why leaders have served such short terms....

Many view retirement as a welcome reward following a successful career. The transition, however, is not always easy. An enjoyable retirement is often dictated by the amount of money people have set aside. Today’s infographic from Raconteur visualizes attitudes towards retirement around the world, comparing expectations and actualities for retirement income. Does reality meet their expectations? Income Expectations Vary by Country A global survey by asset manager Schroders—looking at 22,000 investors from 30 countries—highlights that retirement income often falls short of expectations....

From smartphones and electric vehicles to x-rays and guided-missiles, several modern technologies wouldn’t be what they are without rare earth metals. Also known as rare earth elements or simply “rare earths”, this group of 17 elements is critical to a number of wide-ranging industries. Although deposits of rare earth metals exist all over the world, the majority of both mining and refining occurs in China. The above graphic from CSIS China Power Project tracks China’s exports of rare earth metals in 2019, providing a glimpse of the country’s dominating presence in the global supply chain....

But for now, crude oil is still the undisputed heavyweight champion of the energy world. In 2018, we consumed more oil than any prior year in history – about 99.3 million barrels per day on a global basis. This number is projected to rise again in 2019 to 100.8 million barrels per day. The Most Oil Reserves by Country Given that oil will continue to be dominant in the energy mix for the short and medium term, which countries hold the most oil reserves?...

What is Stock Fraud? Bernie Madoff. Bre-X. Enron. These are names that send shivers down your spine. However, these instances of stock fraud and ponzi schemes also serve as a great lesson. It’s absolutely essential for investors to know the different types of stock fraud especially when dealing with smallcap companies and high-growth opportunities. This great summary by Timothy Sykes’ team goes through many of the types of stock fraud and breaks them down....

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 January 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?...