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2025-12-18 02:14:24

Countries With the Most Income Growth for Immigrants

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As immigrants settle into a new country, their earnings typically rise as they gain work experience and integrate into the labor market.

However, the pace of earnings growth for immigrants varies across developed economies. While some countries offer strong upward mobility, others show little wage progression or even wage declines over the first five years.

This graphic shows the change in immigrants’ average real annual earnings between their first and fifth year in the host-country labor market using data from the OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2025.

Where Immigrant Earnings Rise the Fastest

Across most OECD countries in the dataset, immigrant earnings grow significantly in the first five years. The table below ranks countries by the percentage increase in average real earnings for immigrants:

Country	Year One Earnings (USD)	Year Five Earnings (USD)	% Change
Germany	$17,004	$25,224	48%
Sweden	$15,936	$22,908	44%
U.S.	$27,375	$39,163	43%
Finland	$25,872	$36,804	42%
Italy	$14,892	$19,236	29%
Canada	$29,557	$37,618	27%
Spain	$14,304	$18,204	27%
Colombia	$2,904	$3,636	25%
Denmark	$37,932	$46,716	23%
Austria	$10,620	$12,816	21%
France	$18,936	$22,560	19%
Portugal	$9,300	$10,848	17%
Norway	$59,752	$67,877	14%
New Zealand	$48,120	$45,432	-6%
Netherlands	$26,592	$24,864	-6%

Germany leads the ranking, with a 48% increase in immigrant earnings from year one to year five of entry. Germany is the largest destination for immigrants in the European Union, and around 20% of its population is foreign-born.

In the United States, the world’s top destination country for immigrants, earnings rise from $27,375 in year one to $39,163 in year five, an increase of 43% or nearly $12,000.

On the other hand, the Netherlands and New Zealand buck the trend of growth in immigrant earnings. In both countries, immigrants on average earn slightly less after five years than they did in their first year, with income falling by 6%.

Overall, immigrants across the 15 OECD countries see their earnings rise by an average of 24% within five years.

The Immigrant–Native Earnings Gap

Based on data from 2000 to 2019, the OECD found that immigrants at entry earned 34% less than native-born workers of the same age and sex.

Almost two-thirds of this gap was due to the concentration of immigrants in lower-paying sectors and firms, and the gap narrowed significantly over time. By the fifth year, the gap decreased by 13 percentage points to 21%, and by the tenth year, the gap more than halved, but remained persistent.

Much of this convergence came from immigrants shifting into better-paying firms and sectors as they gained experience and credentials, and increased their number of working hours.

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If you enjoyed today’s post, see The Best Migration Destinations in 2025 on Voronoi.

2025-12-17 23:35:44

Housing Affordability in the U.S., by Income Level (2019 vs. 2025)

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Americans face a lack of affordable homes, even as for-sale inventory climbed 20% since 2024.

In the post-pandemic era, higher mortgage rates and a housing market boom have pushed many buyers out of the market. Today, households earning $75,000—a bracket often including professions liks teachers, nurses, and trades workers—can only afford 21% of listings, down from 49% in March 2019.

This graphic shows U.S. housing affordability by income level in 2025, based on data from the National Association of Realtors.

The State of Affordable Homes in 2025

For the analysis, affordability was determined using typical mortgage underwriting practices.

Specifically, it used a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, with 30% of income for financing, taxes, and insurance. It also includes mortgage insurance for down payments under 20%.

As we can see, households earning $50,000 could afford 28% of listings in 2019, but now it has shrunk to just 9%.

Households earning $50,000 represent a third of the U.S. population, with homes under around $170,000 in their price range. Similarly, the share of affordable homes for many other lower-income households has contracted by at least three-quarters.

Yet even higher income households have seen notable contractions. In 2019, a household earning $150,000 could afford 82% of new listings, but now it has fallen to 62%. Ultimately, about 480,000 fewer listings are accessible to this income tier in just six years, based on a maximum affordable price of $510,000.

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To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on North America’s least affordable housing markets in 2025.

2025-12-17 21:04:32

Visualizing the $117 Trillion World Economy in 2025

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America’s $30.6 trillion economy is greater than China, Germany, and Japan combined, with real GDP set to rise 2% this year.

In comparison, India’s economy is projected to grow 6.6%, among the fastest rates across the world’s largest economies. It is only surpassed by Ireland, as frontloading of exports is expected to expand GDP by a striking 9.1% in 2025.

This graphic shows the state of the world economy in 2025, based on projections from the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook.

Ranked: The Biggest Countries in the World Economy

Below, we rank the 50 largest economies globally, highlighting their historical growth trends:

Rank	Country	GDP 2025	Real GDP Growth	2000-2025 Cumulative Real GDP Growth	2000-2025 Average Annual Real GDP Growth
1	U.S.	$30.6T	2.0%	69.0%	2.1%
2	China	$19.4T	4.8%	585.7%	8.0%
3	Germany	$5.0T	0.2%	27.8%	1.0%
4	Japan	$4.3T	1.1%	16.6%	0.6%
5	India	$4.1T	6.6%	364.1%	6.4%
6	UK	$4.0T	1.3%	44.6%	1.5%
7	France	$3.4T	0.7%	35.0%	1.2%
8	Italy	$2.5T	0.5%	9.8%	0.4%
9	Russia	$2.5T	0.6%	107.3%	3.0%
10	Canada	$2.3T	1.2%	59.4%	1.9%
11	Brazil	$2.3T	2.4%	75.1%	2.3%
12	Spain	$1.9T	2.9%	50.6%	1.7%
13	Mexico	$1.9T	1.0%	44.4%	1.5%
14	South Korea	$1.9T	0.9%	131.3%	3.4%
15	Australia	$1.8T	1.8%	92.7%	2.7%
16	Türkiye	$1.6T	3.5%	228.3%	5.0%
17	Indonesia	$1.4T	4.9%	233.4%	4.9%
18	Netherlands	$1.3T	1.4%	43.9%	1.5%
19	Saudi Arabia	$1.3T	4.0%	154.1%	3.9%
20	Poland	$1.0T	3.2%	138.5%	3.6%
21	Switzerland	$1.0T	0.9%	54.9%	1.8%
22	Taiwan	$884B	3.7%	144.2%	3.7%
23	Belgium	$717B	1.1%	46.4%	1.6%
24	Ireland	$709B	9.1%	243.3%	5.2%
25	Argentina	$683B	4.5%	54.2%	1.9%
26	Sweden	$662B	0.7%	56.8%	1.8%
27	Israel	$611B	2.5%	132.1%	3.5%
28	Singapore	$574B	2.2%	196.8%	4.5%
29	UAE	$569B	4.8%	155.9%	3.9%
30	Austria	$566B	0.3%	36.0%	1.3%
31	Thailand	$559B	2.0%	116.2%	3.2%
32	Norway	$517B	1.2%	47.5%	1.6%
33	Philippines	$494B	5.4%	234.5%	5.0%
34	Vietnam	$485B	6.5%	372.0%	6.4%
35	Bangladesh	$475B	3.8%	318.5%	5.9%
36	Malaysia	$471B	4.5%	196.2%	4.5%
37	Denmark	$460B	1.8%	40.8%	1.4%
38	Colombia	$438B	2.5%	135.8%	3.5%
39	Hong Kong SAR	$428B	2.4%	92.2%	2.7%
40	South Africa	$426B	1.1%	67.2%	2.1%
41	Romania	$423B	1.0%	134.4%	3.5%
42	Pakistan	$410B	2.7%	158.7%	3.9%
43	Czechia	$383B	2.3%	77.0%	2.4%
44	Iran	$357B	0.6%	110.2%	3.1%
45	Egypt	$349B	4.3%	185.5%	4.3%
46	Chile	$347B	2.5%	125.5%	3.4%
47	Portugal	$338B	1.9%	26.3%	1.0%
48	Peru	$318B	2.9%	170.7%	4.2%
49	Finland	$315B	0.5%	30.4%	1.1%
50	Kazakhstan	$300B	5.9%	288.2%	5.6%

As we can see, the U.S. economy has grown nearly 70% in the past quarter-century, in inflation-adjusted terms. On an annual basis, the average growth rate was 2.1%, the third-fastest across the 10 largest economies today.

For perspective, India has grown at more than triple this rate over the last 25 years, helping grow its GDP to $4.1 trillion. By next year, it is forecast to surpass Japan as the fourth-biggest economy.

Germany, on the other hand, has seen notably sluggish growth for decades. In both 2023 and 2024, the economy contracted, while growth is expected to be just 0.2% this year. Along with weak productivity growth, its manufacturing sector has been in decline since 2018.

Similarly many European countries have averaged less than 2% growth over the last 25 years. Italy, the eighth-biggest economy, has averaged just 0.4% GDP growth, while in France, it has been just 1.2%.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the U.S. states with the fastest GDP growth since 1998.

2025-12-17 01:56:09

America’s Data Center Capacity Shortfall

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Hyperscalers like Google, Meta, and Amazon are set to spend a combined $325 billion on capital expenditures this year, mainly for data centers.

But this massive spending is being met with constraints in the physical world. This year, data center capacity faces about an 11 GW shortfall. Supply chain pressures, from limited land and grid capacity to ongoing chip shortages, remain headwinds to data center buildouts.

This graphic shows U.S. data center supply and demand through to 2028, based on estimates from Goldman Sachs.

U.S. Data Center Capacity Supply and Demand

Below, we show how data center supply faces a huge shortfall in the coming years:

For perspective, a large data center is estimated to need as much power as 400,000 electric vehicles annually.

As AI adoption grows, “inferencing” will see higher demand. This is when AI responds to a query, rather than training the models themselves.

When data centers are located closer to cities, it creates faster responses, but there is a shortage of land and electricity needed to support this. Moreover, data center vacancy rates are at all-time lows of 3%.

When it comes to power needs, natural-gas turbines face yearslong waits and long construction timelines. In turn, tech companies are looking to alternative—and sometimes more expensive sources—such as smaller natural-gas turbines that are more readily accessible.

Even so, the data center shortfall is forecast to be 9.3 GW in 2026, rising to 10 GW by 2028.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’s data centers.

2025-12-16 23:41:33

Visualizing $2.4 Trillion in Energy Transition Spending

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Energy transition spending is booming worldwide, as EVs and renewable power expand their market share.

While average global spending in renewable energy was $662 billion between 2022 and 2023, it grew to $807 billion in 2024. Not only that, 92% of new U.S. electricity additions will be powered by clean sources this year and next.

This graphic shows global energy transition investment in 2024, based on data from the Climate Policy Institute and IRENA.

Global Energy Transition Investment by Category

Below, we show investment across key categories in the energy transition, from wind energy and power grids to battery storage:

Overall, EVs and solar power were the two largest categories, driving 55% of the total last year.

China accounted for 49% global investment in battery EVs in 2024, supported by government policies. At the same time, nearly 1.8 million EV charging points were built, more than the rest of the world combined.

Meanwhile, investment in battery storage was the fastest-growing segment, rising 73% in 2024 versus the 2022-2023 average. What’s more, investment was 11 times higher than 2019-2020 levels given lower costs and efficiency improvements.

Investment in power grids also saw meaningful growth, rising 14% to reach $359 billion. Globally, spending is forecast to continue rising to support EVs and renewable energy generation.

In contrast, wind energy spending declined to $196 billion given permitting timelines and rising financing costs, particularly for offshore wind. As a result, many offshore wind projects were canceled in the U.S., and are expected to continue looking ahead.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on future solar power capacity by country.

2025-12-16 21:04:30

Mapped: Every State’s Share of U.S. GDP

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The U.S. economy now exceeds $30 trillion in size, but that output is far from evenly distributed across the country.

While large and economically diverse states like California dominate contributions to national GDP, many smaller states contribute less than 0.5% each.

This infographic maps the share of U.S. GDP by state based on data from Mark Zandi and Moody’s Analytics.

Breaking Down U.S. GDP by State

More than one-third of America’s GDP comes from the top four states—California, Texas, New York, and Florida. These are also the country’s most populous states, which directly impacts their economic size and output.

The table below shows every state’s share of U.S. GDP as of October 2025:

California stands far ahead of the rest of the country, generating 14.5% or more than $4 trillion of the national GDP. On its own, California would rank as the fifth-largest economy in the world, with real estate and finance as major drivers of economic output.

Texas follows at 9.4%, fueled by strong energy, technology, and business services sectors. New York ranks third at 7.9%, and Florida (5.8%) rounds out the top four, boosted by tourism, real estate, and strong population growth.

Besides mid-sized states like Illinois and Pennsylvania, most other states account for anywhere between 1 and 3% of U.S. GDP, while 22 states contribute less than 1%, including Vermont, Wyoming, and Alaska.

States At Risk of Recession

In the first 11 months of 2025, U.S. employers announced more than 1.1 million job cuts, marking the sixth time that layoffs have surpassed this threshold since 1993.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, notes that several states are already seeing slowdowns in economic activity based on indicators such as employment, income, industrial production, and retail sales.

According to Zandi, 23 of the 50 U.S. states are already in recession, and another 12 states, including large economies like California and New York, are “treading water” and at risk of entering recession. You can see recession risk by state mapped out here.

Despite these pressures, the U.S. economy grew by 3.8% in Q2 2025, rebounding from a 0.6% decline in the first quarter.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, explore more economic insights on Voronoi, including
Unemployment by State.