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2026-03-24 12:46:13

Mapped: Minimum Wages Across Europe

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Europe’s minimum wages vary dramatically from country to country.

This map uses data from Eurostat to show monthly minimum pay across the continent, revealing a stark divide between Western and Eastern Europe, along with a surprising group of wealthy countries that operate without a statutory national minimum wage.

The East-West Split in Europe’s Minimum Wages

Luxembourg has Europe’s highest monthly minimum wage at €2,704, while Ukraine sits at just €164.

That means a minimum wage worker in Luxembourg earns more than 16 times as much per month as one in Ukraine.

Rank	Country	Country	Monthly minimum wage (€)
1	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	2,704
2	Ireland	Ireland	2,282
3	United Kingdom	United Kingdom	2,279
4	Netherlands	Netherlands	2,246
5	Germany	Germany	2,161
6	Belgium	Belgium	2,112
7	France	France	1,802
10	Spain	Spain	1,381
11	Slovenia	Slovenia	1,278
12	Poland	Poland	1,100
13	Lithuania	Lithuania	1,038
14	Greece	Greece	1,027
15	Portugal	Portugal	1,015
16	Cyprus	Cyprus	1,000
17	Croatia	Croatia	970
18	Malta	Malta	961
19	Estonia	Estonia	886
20	Czechia	Czechia	841
21	Slovakia	Slovakia	816
22	Romania	Romania	797
23	Latvia	Latvia	740
24	Hungary	Hungary	727
25	Montenegro	Montenegro	670
26	Serbia	Serbia	618
27	North Macedonia	North Macedonia	584
28	Türkiye	Türkiye	558
29	Bulgaria	Bulgaria	551
30	Albania	Albania	408
31	Moldova	Moldova	279
32	Ukraine	Ukraine	164
--	Austria	Austria	NA
--	Italy	Italy	NA
--	Switzerland	Switzerland	NA
--	Denmark	Denmark	NA
--	Finland	Finland	NA
--	Iceland	Iceland	NA
--	Norway	Norway	NA
--	Sweden	Sweden	NA

People in Ireland are paid the second-highest in Europe, at €2,282. The island has become the de-facto hub for U.S. firms in Europe, and is home to many large tech companies, which means average salaries are likely to be much more.

The UK followed at €2,279, a figure calculated from the statutory hourly minimum wage from the Gov.uk website for a 37.5 hour work-week, which is typical in the country. The UK was the first European country to introduce a minimum wage, in 1909.

There’s a clear split between the eastern and western sides of Europe, with only two countries in Eastern Europe—Poland and Slovenia—seeing monthly minimum wages above €1,000.

Countries Without a Legal Minimum Wage

Some countries don’t have statutory minimum wages inscribed into law, but they do exist. In Nordic countries — Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland — wages are set by collective agreements instead.

Switzerland also doesn’t have a statutory minimum wage, but salary floors are set by states or sectors. In Geneva, one of the most well-paid areas, minimum wage would amount to €4,667 per a 40-hour work week.

In Austria, a €1,700 benchmark has been set via agreements. Italy’s minimum wage is also set by sectoral agreements but it differs widely depending on sector and skill level.

Interestingly, countries without statutory minimum wages are also some of the world’s happiest and richest.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about minimum wages, check out this graphic which ranks salaries across U.S. states.

2026-03-24 01:16:45

Ranked: Countries With the Most Patents per Capita

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Monaco has over 300,000 patents per 100,000 people—more than 12 times higher than the next country.

This striking gap highlights how patent activity is often concentrated in small financial hubs rather than large industrial economies.

This chart ranks countries by active patents per 100,000 people, based on 2024 data from the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Active Patents by Country Per Person

Check out the data here:

Rank	Country	Active Patents per 100,000 People
1	Monaco	307,237
2	Luxembourg	24,318
3	Ireland	3,752
4	Switzerland	3,015
5	South Korea	2,536
6	Iceland	2,418
7	Denmark	1,847
8	Finland	1,734
9	Japan	1,691
10	Belgium	1,591
11	Austria	1,469
12	Sweden	1,445
13	The Netherlands	1,377
14	Malta	1,312
15	Germany	1,140
16	France	1,107
17	United Kingdom	1,099
18	United States	1,051
19	Norway	995
20	Hong Kong	977
21	Slovenia	873
22	Singapore	839
23	Macao	814
24	Portugal	788
25	Estonia	780
26	Italy	650
27	Australia	612
28	Latvia	558
29	Czechia	464
30	New Zealand	457
31	Spain	451
32	Lithuania	434
33	Israel	418
34	China	404
35	Slovakia	390
36	Hungary	374
37	Croatia	349
38	North Macedonia	302
39	Poland	296
40	Bulgaria	207
41	Russia	169
42	South Africa	165
43	Romania	144
44	Serbia	141
45	Malaysia	112
46	Chile	108
47	Türkiye	105
48	Mexico	86
49	Sao Tome and Principe	64
50	Trinidad and Tobago	59
51	Andorra	59
52	Ukraine	56
53	Brazil	53
54	Iran	50
55	Mongolia	47
56	Panama	47
57	United Arab Emirates	44
58	Zambia	42
59	Saudi Arabia	40
60	Bahrain	37
61	Thailand	34
62	Uruguay	33
63	Argentina	29
64	Costa Rica	28
65	Viet Nam	23
66	Georgia	23
67	Barbados	22
68	Qatar	18
69	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	18
70	Colombia	17
71	Jamaica	16
72	India	16
73	Algeria	15
74	Belarus	15
75	El Salvador	14
76	Kazakhstan	14
77	Namibia	14
78	Peru	13
79	Philippines	13
80	Morocco	13
81	Iraq	11
82	Dominican Republic	10
83	Moldova	10
84	Ghana	10
85	Oman	8
86	Sri Lanka	5
87	Egypt	5
88	Honduras	4
89	Azerbaijan	4
90	Cuba	4
91	Paraguay	4
92	Uzbekistan	3
93	Syria	3
94	Kyrgyzstan	3
95	Zimbabwe	2
96	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2
97	Kuwait	2
98	Bangladesh	1
99	Guatemala	1
100	Ecuador	1
101	Pakistan	1
102	Cyprus	1
103	Madagascar	1
104	Bhutan	1
105	Venezuela	1
106	Armenia	1
107	Greece	0
108	Ethiopia	0
109	Uganda	0
110	Myanmar	0

Monaco and Luxembourg stand far above the rest, but their rankings are likely shaped by their role as legal hubs for intellectual property rather than where innovation physically takes place.

This pattern continues with Ireland and Switzerland, which also rank highly due to favorable tax and regulatory environments for holding patents.

Among major industrial economies, South Korea stands out with 2,536 patents per 100,000 people, outperforming Japan, the U.S., and China. Home to global tech giants like Samsung and LG, the country has built a strong ecosystem for innovation.

Across Europe, several smaller economies also rank highly. Nordic countries in particular combine modest populations with strong research and development investment, with Iceland reaching 2,418 patents per 100,000 people.

By contrast, the U.S. records 1,051 patents per 100,000 people, placing it behind much of Western Europe on this metric.

China’s reputation as the maker of cheap goods and toys has evolved significantly in recent years, and today it is known as a technology leader. The country leads in raw numbers with 5.6 million active patents but when adjusting for population, it sits behind 34 other countries at just 404 patents per 100,000 people.

Innovation Isn’t Always Registered Where It Is Made

Patent data often reflects where intellectual property is registered rather than where innovation actually occurs.

Multinational companies frequently shift patents across borders to benefit from tax advantages, royalty structures, or legal protections.

As a result, countries with favorable IP regimes can appear disproportionately strong in per-capita rankings, even if much of the underlying innovation originates elsewhere.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about patents, check out this graphic which ranks the countries with the most AI patents.

2026-03-23 22:12:26

Mapped: The Cities Where the World’s Billionaires Were Born

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

New York stands out as the world’s leading billionaire birthplace, but it’s far from the only global hub shaping extreme wealth. Across Asia, cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Mumbai also rank among the top origins of the world’s richest individuals.

This world map highlights the cities around the world where at least 10 billionaires have been born, utilizing a 2026 PlayersTime analysis of the Forbes Real-Time List of Billionaires.

The map spans the most common cities of birth of 1,680 billionaires, revealing interesting regional and continental trends in geographic distribution.

New York: The Birthplace of Success

New York is known as the home of more billionaires than any other city on Earth, but its reputation as the global hub of success starts early.

Among the analyzed billionaires, 69 came from the Big Apple, more than any other city worldwide and more than the total from the next five U.S. cities combined.

The following table showcases in which cities most billionaires have been born.

City	Number of Billionaires Born
New York	69
Hong Kong	57
Singapore	30
Mumbai	28
Moscow	25
Milan	16
Los Angeles	16
Rio de Janeiro	15
Chicago	15
San Francisco	13
Montreal	13
Toronto	12
Philadelphia	12
Hangzhou	12
Taipei	11
Stockholm	11
Istanbul	11
Boston	11
Ingelheim am Rhein	10
Athens	10

As the largest city in the U.S., New York has been a global center for lucrative industries such as finance, entrepreneurship, and the arts for decades. The city thus occupies a singular role within global entrepreneurship and generational wealth alike.

The wealthiest native New Yorker is Larry Ellison, the chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle Corporation and the sixth-richest person in the world owing to his nearly $200 billion net worth. Ellison was born in the Bronx in 1944, although he was raised by adoptive parents in Chicago’s South Shore.

The Other Leading Billionaire Birthplaces

Following New York, the next three cities from which the most billionaires come are all located in Asia: Hong Kong (57), Singapore (30), and Mumbai (28). Many of the billionaires from these metropolises built their fortunes in either the U.S., China, or India.

While Chinese and Indian megacities may be expected, Taiwan’s capital city Taipei (11) is also well-represented as a billionaire birthplace, with the same number of billionaires within the sample size as Boston and Stockholm.

The seventh-wealthiest individual within the Forbes list, Jensen Huang, is a Taipei native. Huang was born in the Taiwanese capital in 1963 and at age 30 founded Nvidia, the world’s largest company by market capitalization today. He remains president and CEO of the technology company and has a net worth of over $150 billion.

A Strange European Outlier

Most of the best-represented cities around the world are logical economic centers, from Moscow (25) to Chicago (15). While no African cities appeared to be the birthplace of over 10 billionaires, Brazil’s former capital of Rio de Janeiro (15) did provide the sole South American entry.

One more surprising city was Ingelheim am Rhein (10), located in southwestern Germany. Unlike major metropolises like Los Angeles (13) or Istanbul (11), Ingelheim is a small town of fewer than 40,000 inhabitants.

The explanation behind the high number of billionaires born in this town comes from the history of Boehringer Ingelheim, the world’s largest privately-held pharmaceutical company, which was founded in Ingelheim in 1885 and continues to be headquartered there.

As some of Germany’s richest citizens, many members of the Boehringer family were born in the town, allowing Ingelheim to punch far above its weight as a billionaire birthplace.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Buffett Most Well-Liked U.S. Billionaire on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2026-03-23 20:06:06

Mapped: Top Marginal Income Tax Rates by State in 2026

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In the U.S., where you live can significantly affect how much you pay in state income taxes—especially for top earners.

In 2026, the gap is stark. California leads with a 13.3% top marginal rate, while nine states levy no income tax at all.

Using data from the Tax Foundation, this map shows how top marginal income tax rates vary across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

As remote work gives Americans more flexibility in where they live, differences in state tax policy are playing a growing role in relocation and financial planning decisions.

Ranked: The Top Marginal Income Tax Rates by State in 2026

The table below ranks all 50 states and Washington, D.C. by their top marginal income tax rates for single filers in 2026. Rates reflect the highest bracket applied to income at the state level.

Generally, coastal states and the Northeast dominate the high-tax end, while Sun Belt and Mountain West states cluster at the low—or no-tax—end of the spectrum.

Only a handful of states impose rates above 10%, but they include some of the most populous, including California and New York.

These states tend to have larger budgets and more progressive tax structures, placing a heavier burden on top earners. Additionally, California is proposing a 5% billionaire wealth tax, which could affect about 200 individuals across America’s most populous state.

Meanwhile, a sizable share of states cluster in the middle, where top rates hover between 4% and 9%. This middle ground reflects a balancing act in generating revenue without straying too far from national norms.

States With No Income Tax

At the other extreme, nine states have eliminated income taxes altogether, betting on consumption taxes, property taxes, and economic growth to fill the gap.

Today, these states are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. It’s worth noting that while Washington does not tax salaries on high earners, a 7% tax applies to capital gains up to $1 million, rising to 9.9% beyond this threshold.

Mississippi lawmakers, meanwhile, plan to eliminate income taxes by 2040 if certain economic conditions are met. Several others, like South Carolina and Georgia, are also moving in this direction.

Taken together, the map highlights more than just tax rates, it points to a strategic divide in how states raise revenue. Some lean on high earners, while others forgo income taxes altogether to attract growth.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on gross vs. net income taxes across Europe.

2026-03-23 02:11:10

Ranked: Which Countries Shut Down the Most Nuclear Power?

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Nuclear is on the brink of a golden era but, globally, 136,823 megawatts of nuclear power has been shut down across 250 plants.

Electrification, the build up of domestic manufacturing, and artificial intelligence has led to increased energy demand. Politicians and AI leaders have turned to nuclear, considered limitless low-carbon energy, as a solution.

However, sentiment on the energy source is mixed thanks to radioactive waste, large-scale disasters, and its association with nuclear weapons.

This graphic, based on data from Global Energy Monitor, visualizes shutdown nuclear power capacity by country from 1957 to 2025 and includes the number of shuttered sites.

The Countries That Have Shut Down the Most Nuclear Power

The data includes capacity retired at the end of its lifespan and mothballed earlier. Dive into it below:

Rank	Country/Area	Units	Capacity (MW)
1	Japan	44	35,284
2	Germany	36	27,862
3	United States	47	23,311
4	United Kingdom	36	9,163
5	France	15	6,087
6	Russia	16	5,879
7	Taiwan	6	5,144
8	Sweden	7	4,268
9	Ukraine	4	3,800
10	Lithuania	2	2,600
11	Canada	6	2,268
12	Belgium	3	2,123
13	Bulgaria	4	1,760
14	Italy	4	1,472
15	South Korea	2	1,290
16	Spain	3	1,116
17	Slovakia	3	1,023
18	India	4	640
19	Philippines	1	621
20	Armenia	1	408
21	Switzerland	2	397
22	Pakistan	1	100
23	Kazakhstan	1	90
24	Netherlands	1	60
25	Argentina	1	29
26	Puerto Rico	1	18
27	Panama	1	10

Japan, where the devastating Fukushima disaster occurred, shut down the most capacity at 35,284 megawatts over 44 facilities. The country temporarily suspended most of its nuclear plants after the 2011 accident, and only some have been brought back online.

Nuclear power made up 29.5% of Germany’s electricity supply at its peak, but it has since closed all of its reactors, totaling 36 units and 27,862 megawatts. The decision to do so was made in the wake of Fukushima but the last reactor went offline just last year.

The U.S. comes in third place for the number of megawatts ceased, at 23,311, but has actually shut down the highest number of facilities.

Nuclear power in Ukraine has garnered its fair share of attention as Russia’s invasion threatened the stability of its Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe with a capacity of 6,000 megawatts. Russia seized the plant in 2022 and remains in control.

Ukraine has shut down just four plants, totaling 3,800 megawatts. Global Energy Monitor’s data doesn’t specify the names of plants, but the former Soviet Union member is home to the Chernobyl facility that melted down in 1986. The plant had a normal operating capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

Notably, China has not shut down any nuclear projects. The country is pursuing an ambitious target to have 150 gigawatts (or 150,000 megawatts) of nuclear energy capacity by 2035 as it looks to diversify its energy sources.

Nuclear is Being Brought Back Online

Despite decades of reactor closures, nuclear power is gaining renewed attention as global electricity demand rises. Growth in AI, electrification, and manufacturing is prompting countries to reconsider nuclear as a dependable, low-carbon energy source.

In some cases, previously retired facilities are even being brought back online. The Three Mile Island site in the U.S., known for the 1979 partial meltdown, is now set to help power Microsoft data centers.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about global energy systems, check out this graphic which charts where energy transition spending by country.

2026-03-22 22:41:11

Ranked: The Most Trusted Made-in Labels in the World

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Country-of-origin labels still shape how people judge product quality, but trust varies widely depending on where something is made.

This chart ranks the world’s most trusted “Made in” labels based on a March 2025 survey of 20,000 respondents across 10 countries by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions. While Germany takes the top spot, the broader pattern is just as telling: European labels dominate the upper tier, the U.S. lands in the middle, and several major manufacturing hubs rank far lower than expected.

One of the more surprising results is Taiwan, which scores relatively modestly despite its central role in global semiconductor production.

Europe Dominates the Most Trusted Labels

With two-thirds (66%) of survey respondents including “Made in Germany” in their answer, Europe’s largest economy topped the survey leaderboard. Long known for high-quality cars and industrial products, Germany’s lead reflects the country’s well-respected exports.

The following table lists the percentage of respondents who included a given country-of-origin label among their top two most trusted.

Made In Label	Trust Score (%)
Made in Germany	66
Made in Switzerland	64
Made in Japan	63
Made in France	57
Made in Italy	57
Made in UK	57
Made in USA	55
Made in EU	55
Made in Taiwan	33
Made in China	31
Made in Mexico	28
Made in India	27

Beyond Germany, Europe performs quite well, with Switzerland (64%) as runner-up and equally high performance of 57% among the three other major Western European economies of France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

Interestingly, the 27-member EU scores slightly lower than its three major member states at 55%, reflecting perhaps people’s mistrust of other, less dominant EU member-country exports. Nonetheless, the EU has maintained strict rules of origin for goods across the bloc, seeking to protect key national economic sectors in member states.

Why the U.S. Outranks China on Trust

The U.S. and China show a clear divide in how “Made in” labels are perceived.

With just 31%, “Made in China” falls in the bottom quarter of the survey, indicating that fewer than a third of respondents placed this label among their most trusted. In contrast, the U.S. scores 55%, equivalent to the EU bloc-wide score.

Part of this gap may be attributed to survey methodology; after all, survey respondents came from the U.S., UK, Japan, India, Mexico, South Africa, and the EU, but notably not from China.

Taiwan’s Surprising Position in the Rankings

Despite being a global powerhouse in semiconductor manufacturing, Taiwan ranks in the middle of the pack on trust.

Only 33% of respondents selected “Made in Taiwan” among their most trusted labels, putting it well behind countries like Japan and Germany. The result highlights a gap between Taiwan’s importance in high-tech supply chains and how its products are perceived more broadly by consumers.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Exports to Canada, Mexico, and China Support Over 4 Million U.S. Jobs on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.