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2026-02-08 01:24:40

Do People Trust the Media or Government More?

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Trust in institutions shapes how societies function—from whether people follow public health guidance to whether they believe election results. Yet confidence in governments and the media has diverged sharply across countries.

This visualization shows whether people trust the media or the government more, based on responses from nearly 34,000 people across dozens of countries. The data comes from the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer.

Respondents were asked whether they trust the government and the media to “do what is right.”

High Government Trust in the Middle East and Asia

Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, and Singapore show higher trust in government than in media.

Saudi Arabia tops the list, with an 89% government trust score compared to 66% for media—a 23-point gap.

Country	Government Trust Score	Media Trust Score	Media or Govt
Saudi Arabia	89	66	Govt
UAE	86	74	Govt
China	86	81	Govt
Singapore	76	60	Govt
India	75	65	Govt
Malaysia	72	65	Govt
Indonesia	68	76	Media
Sweden	59	46	Govt
Nigeria	59	70	Media
Thailand	57	67	Media
Netherlands	57	58	Media
Australia	53	45	Govt
Canada	52	51	Govt
South Korea	50	40	Govt
Kenya	47	70	Media
Argentina	47	44	Govt
Brazil	45	52	Media
Mexico	43	57	Media
Ireland	43	43	Equal
Germany	42	46	Media
Italy	41	49	Media
United States	39	44	Media
Japan	37	33	Govt
United Kingdom	36	39	Media
Spain	35	43	Media
Colombia	34	45	Media
South Africa	33	50	Media
France	30	40	Media

Media Trusted More in Many Western Democracies

In much of Europe and the Americas, trust tilts toward the media rather than the government.

Countries like France, Spain, the U.S., and the UK all show higher media trust scores, even though overall trust levels are relatively low.

France stands out at the bottom of the ranking, with just 30% trusting the government versus 40% trusting the media.

Large Trust Gaps Signal Institutional Tension

Kenya shows the largest pro-media gap, with media trusted by 70% compared to just 47% for government.

Conversely, Sweden, Japan, and South Korea lean more toward government trust, though with lower absolute scores than high-trust countries in Asia or the Middle East. Ireland is the lone country where trust in media and government is equal.

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If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Trump Trade Shake-Up: Which Countries Are Winning Vs. Losing? on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2026-02-07 23:21:31

Countries by the Share of Babies Born Outside of Marriage

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Across much of the world, long-standing norms around marriage and family formation are changing. In many countries, having children outside of marriage has become increasingly common, while in others it remains rare.

This visualization shows countries ranked by the share of children born outside of marriage using the latest available data from the OECD Family Database.

Latin America Leads by a Wide Margin

Colombia leads with 87% of children born outside marriage, followed by Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico—all above 70%.

In much of the region, cohabitation has long been socially accepted and legally recognized, reducing the importance of formal marriage. Historical inequality and lower access to legal institutions have also played a role in shaping these patterns over time.

Rank	Country	Children born outside marriage (%)
1	Colombia	87.0
2	Chile	78.1
3	Costa Rica	74.0
4	Mexico	73.7
5	Iceland	69.4
6	Norway	61.2
7	Bulgaria	59.7
8	Portugal	59.5
9	France	58.5
10	Sweden	57.5
11	Slovenia	56.5
12	Denmark	54.7
13	Estonia	53.8
14	Belgium	52.4
15	Spain	50.0
16	New Zealand	48.4
17	Finland	48.4
18	United Kingdom	47.6
19	Czech Republic	47.1
20	Netherlands	42.1
21	Slovak Republic	41.6
22	Italy	40.5
23	Austria	40.0
24	United States	40.0
25	Australia	39.9
26	Luxembourg	39.0
27	Ireland	38.4
28	Latvia	37.3
29	Romania	33.9
30	Germany	33.1
31	Canada	29.0
32	Poland	28.7
33	Switzerland	27.7
34	Lithuania	27.3
35	Croatia	26.1
36	Hungary	24.4
37	Cyprus	21.2
38	Greece	9.7
39	Israel	8.6
40	Korea	4.7
41	Türkiye	3.1
42	Japan	2.4
--	Dataset Average	42.3

Nordic Countries Redefine Family Norms

Several Nordic countries also report high shares of non-marital births, including Iceland (69%), Norway (61%), Sweden (58%), and Denmark (55%).

Unlike Latin America, these trends are closely tied to strong welfare states and legal protections for children regardless of parents’ marital status. Cohabiting couples often enjoy rights similar to married ones, making marriage a personal choice rather than an economic necessity.

Lower Rates Persist in Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean

At the other end of the spectrum are countries such as Japan (2.4%), Korea (4.7%), Türkiye (3.1%), Israel (8.6%), and Greece (9.7%). In these societies, marriage remains closely linked to childbearing due to cultural expectations, religious traditions, and legal frameworks.

Social stigma and limited support for single parents further discourage having children outside of marriage.

Anglo and Western European Countries Sit in the Middle

Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and much of Western Europe fall between these extremes. Around 40% of children in the U.S. are born outside marriage, a similar share to Austria and Italy.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World Has Passed Peak Child on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2026-02-07 21:07:53

Mapped: Health Insurance Costs by U.S. 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.

Health insurance costs are rising across the United States in 2026, as enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies expire and insurers raise premiums to keep up with higher healthcare costs.

This graphic shows the average health insurance cost on the ACA marketplace in 2026, based on data from ValuePenguin.

Vermont: Highest Average Health Insurance Cost in U.S.

In 2025, 56% of enrollees on the ACA marketplace chose Silver plans, which balance moderate premiums with moderate out-of-pocket costs.

Below, we show the average monthly Silver plan premiums for a 40-year-old. In 2026, the U.S. average monthly cost rose by 21% year-over-year to reach $752.

Vermont residents face the steepest monthly premiums, averaging $1,224 in 2026.

Going further, Vermonters spend 19.6% of their income on healthcare, more than double the U.S. average of 7.9%. Driving up premiums are higher hospital costs, years of underfunding, and a high volume of emergency room visits due to a lack of options.

Wyoming and West Virginia follow next in line, with average monthly premiums of $1,119 and $1,093, respectively. Both states also saw double-digit increases in annual premiums.

Overall, Arkansas premiums climbed 65% annually, the fastest rate in the country. Meanwhile, Alaska is the sole state to see premiums decline over the year.

At the lowest end of the spectrum is Maryland, with $480 in average premiums. Also ranking at the bottom are New Hampshire ($491), Virgina ($514), and Idaho ($537).

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on America’s most expensive drugs.

2026-02-07 02:37:17

Jobs Most Exposed to Generative AI, According to Microsoft

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.

As generative AI tools become more capable, an increasing number of tasks across various occupations are becoming subject to AI automation.

To better understand this shift, Microsoft Research analyzed the applicability of AI to real-world tasks by studying over 200,000 anonymized conversations with Microsoft Bing Copilot from January to September 2024.

This infographic ranks the 40 jobs most exposed to AI, based on Microsoft’s analysis of how frequently AI is used for job-related tasks, how successfully it completes them, and how applicable AI is to each role overall.

How Microsoft Measured AI Exposure

Microsoft assessed AI exposure using three indicators derived from Copilot usage:

• Coverage: How frequently tasks associated with a job appear in Copilot conversations
• Completion: How often Copilot successfully completes those tasks
• Overall AI Applicability Score: A combined measure of how suitable AI is for supporting or performing tasks in a given role

Importantly, a high applicability score does not necessarily imply that a job can be fully automated or displaced. Instead, it shows that a large share of the tasks within a job role can be assisted or successfully completed by generative AI.

Which Jobs Are Most Exposed to AI?

Jobs with high AI applicability scores tend to cover areas where generative AI already performs well, including language processing, research, summarization, and communication.

The table below ranks the 40 jobs most exposed to AI, based on Microsoft’s analysis:

For interpreters and translators, the coverage score of 0.98 shows that tasks related to these roles appear very frequently in Copilot conversations, while the high completion score of 0.88 indicates that AI can successfully handle many of them. As a result, these roles have the highest overall AI applicability score, at 0.49.

Historians and writing-related roles also appear near the top of the ranking. Similarly, AI chat systems already handle many of the tasks seen in customer-facing roles such as sales representatives, customer service agents, telemarketers, and concierges.

While creative and communication-based jobs dominate the top of the list, technical roles like data scientists, web developers, management analysts, and market research analysts also show moderate to high AI applicability.

Interestingly, across all 40 of the most-exposed jobs, the completion score averages 0.87—showing that AI (in this case, Copilot) is capable of successfully completing most tasks that are assigned to it in conversations.

AI Exposure Doesn’t Mean Job Elimination

Many of the most exposed jobs involve judgment, creativity, or human interaction, where AI functions as a complement rather than a substitute. In practice, generative AI is more likely to increase the productivity of each worker rather than eliminate entire roles.

That said, jobs with repetitive and standardized tasks may see faster transformation as AI tools become more ingrained in daily work.

By contrast, roles that require physical effort and on-the-spot human judgment, including machine operators, repair workers, and caregivers, remain far less exposed to AI, since these tasks are still difficult to automate.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you found this analysis useful, explore more insights on automation, labor markets, and technology on Voronoi, including How People Use Generative AI.

2026-02-07 00:12:25

Ranked: The World’s Biggest Risks Today vs. in 10 Years

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From U.S.–China tensions to conflict in the Middle East, geopolitical instability is rising.

These pressures are reshaping global risk priorities across both the short and long term. Not only are they straining trade, investment, and supply chains, they are rewriting national security strategies.

This graphic shows the leading global risks both now and in 10 years, based on the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026 which surveys more than 1,300 global experts and policymakers.

Ranked: The Top 10 Short-Term Risks

According to the report, here are most severe risks facing the global economy in the next two years.

Geoeconomic confrontation ranks as the top risk, jumping from ninth-spot last year.

Following next in line is misinformation and disinformation, which interconnects with risks including societal polarization and adverse outcomes of AI technologies. As AI agents become better at mimicking human behavior, they can increasingly be used to shape—or distort—public opinion.

Ranking in third is societal polarization, further threatening democratic stability. In the U.S., for instance, 11% of the population identified as far-right in 2025 while 9% were far-left. Additionally, several European countries showed even higher degrees of polarization.

The Biggest Global Risks in the Next Decade

As the table below shows, extreme weather events are the most severe risk over the next 10 years.

In 2025 alone, the U.S. saw 23 billion-dollar disasters, causing a combined $115 billion in damages. From droughts and wildfires to floods and heat waves, extreme weather displaced millions of people worldwide last year.

Overall, five of the top 10 long-term risks are environmental, including critical change to Earth systems and natural resource shortages.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’d biggest corporate polluters.

2026-02-06 02:31:07

Published

2 days ago

on

February 5, 2026

By

Ryan Bellefontaine

Article & Editing

• Niccolo Conte

Graphics & Design

• Amy Kuo

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

The World’s Strongest Hospital Brands in 2026

Key Takeaways

• Johns Hopkins Medicine ranks first on Brand Strength for the second year in a row.
• Canada’s University Health Network leads the Care category among the top 25.
• Germany’s Charité posts the top Research category score in the top 25 hospitals.

Brand value is not just a corporate concern. Health systems compete globally for talent, research funding, referrals, and patient trust. But which hospital leads on this metric?

This graphic ranks academic medical centers using Brand Finance’s 2026 Global Top 250 Hospitals report. Hospitals are scored using a Brand Strength Index built from a survey of 2,500 healthcare professionals and 30+ metrics across 500+ AMCs.

Who Tops the 2026 List

Here is a table showing the top 25 placements for this years Brand Strength Index.

Rank	Hospital	Country	Brand Strength Index	Care Score	Research Score
1	Johns Hopkins Medicine	United States	83.3	77.7	81.0
2	Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	United Kingdom	82.0	72.1	82.8
3	Stanford University Medical Center	United States	81.5	73.9	77.8
4	Mass General Brigham	United States	80.8	74.5	76.3
5	Mayo Clinic Health System	United States	80.6	74.8	75.3
6	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi	India	79.9	76.1	79.4
7	University Health Network	Canada	79.3	86.6	82.8
8	Cleveland Clinic	United States	79.2	72.7	74.3
9	Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	United Kingdom	78.5	70.6	83.0
10	Singapore General Hospital	Singapore	77.9	83.7	80.5
11	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	United States	77.8	72.7	80.0
12	King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center	Saudi Arabia	77.7	76.5	79.0
13	Tata Memorial Centre	India	77.0	78.4	80.6
14	National University Health System	Singapore	76.9	78.9	80.9
15	University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center	United States	76.8	72.6	71.6
16	MD Anderson Cancer Center	United States	76.8	73.5	79.0
17	University Hospital of Zurich	Switzerland	76.7	79.1	79.3
18	The University of Tokyo Hospital	Japan	75.6	72.2	87.1
19	Charité	Germany	75.5	77.4	88.5
20	Duke University Hospital	United States	75.2	69.6	74.7
21	Mount Sinai Health System	United States	75.2	70.7	68.9
22	Kyoto University Hospital	Japan	75.2	73.1	83.5
23	Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	74.7	76.6	65.2
24	Yale New Haven Health System	United States	74.2	69.7	67.8
25	Groote Schuur Hospital	South Africa	74.1	78.9	86.6

The 2026 top spot goes to Johns Hopkins Medicine, followed by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Stanford University Medical Center. 

In Brand Finance’s framework, these organizations pair strong clinical reputations with the visibility that comes from education, research output, and high impact specialties.

In the Care category, University Health Network stands out, posting the highest Care score in the top 25 at 86.6.

Meanwhile, in the research category, Charité leads the category with a Research score of 88.5, followed closely by The University of Tokyo Hospital at 87.1.

A Global Top 25 With North America Still Dominant

North America supplies 12 of the top 25, including 11 from the United States plus one from Canada. That depth extends beyond the top tier.

Still, the list is far from monolithic. The United Kingdom places two hospitals in the top 10, while Asia is represented by Singapore General Hospital at number 10 and Japan’s University of Tokyo Hospital at number 18.

Furthermore, several of the biggest year over year climbers are also outside the U.S.

Cambridge University Hospitals rises nine positions to number nine, and King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Saudi Arabia moves up to number 12.

Additionally, the Gulf’s presence is reinforced by Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi at number 23.

Why Brand Strength Matters in Healthcare

Peer recommendations guide healthcare professionals, so brand strength boosts trust, talent recruitment, and credibility with insurers and regulators.

Consequently, for hospital leaders, reputation is measurable, and global visibility is increasingly part of the competitive set.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on investment peaks by industry.

The data for this visualization was sourced from Global Top 250 Hospitals 2025 Report, a publication by one of our data partners, Brand Finance. Our data partnerships are commercial agreements that may or may not include compensation, and partners are not involved with our editorial or graphical processes in any capacity.

Related Topics: #hospitals #medical care #Brand Strength #John Hopkins #Medical Research

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