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2025-03-09 20:02:41

The World’s Most Walkable Cities

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

When living in a neighborhood where a grocery store, pharmacy, or clinic is just a short walk away, errands double as casual walks, bringing health, convenience, and a sense of connection to daily life.

Research shows that walkable communities encourage more physical activity, lower obesity rates, and reduced body mass index (BMI), while also boosting happiness by fostering more social connections.

This map visualizes the 20 most walkable cities in the world, and their average time to walk to key amenities in each city.

The cities are ranked by the average time to walk to key amenities and the share of residents within a 15 minute walk of key amenities. Key amenities include places like schools, hospitals, restaurants, and shops.

Figures comes from the study “A universal framework for inclusive 15-minute cities” by M. Bruno et al. and The Economist.

The study only includes cities with a population of 500,000 or more.

Which City is the Most Walkable?

Below, we show the 20 most walkable cities in the world, and the average time it takes citizens to walk to key amenities.

Rank	City	Country	Average time to walk to key amenities
1	Milan	Italy	6 mins 24 secs
2	Copenhagen	Denmark	6 mins 36 secs
3	Turin	Italy	7 mins 6 secs
4	Dublin	Ireland	7 mins 24 secs
5	Lyon	France	7 mins 24 secs
6	Munich	Germany	7 mins 30 secs
7	Paris	France	8 mins 0 secs
8	Marseille	France	8 mins 6 secs
9	Genoa	Italy	8 mins 6 secs
10	Edinburgh	Britain	8 mins 12 secs
11	Berlin	Germany	8 mins 12 secs
12	Vienna	Austria	8 mins 18 secs
13	St. Petersburg	Russia	8 mins 18 secs
14	Bilbao	Spain	8 mins 24 secs
15	Bordeaux	France	8 mins 30 secs
16	Minsk	Belarus	8 mins 36 secs
17	Stuttgart	Germany	9 mins 6 secs
18	Lille	France	9 mins 6 secs
19	Barcelona	Spain	9 mins 12 secs
20	Oslo	Norway	9 mins 30 secs

European cities are indisputably the most walking-friendly places in the world. Out of the top 50 most walkable cities in the world, 45 are located in Europe, scattered across countries like Italy, Spain, France, Norway, Germany, the UK and others.

Kyoto, Japan is the most walkable non-European city on the list, coming in at 28th.

Other non-European cities in the top 50 include: Taipei, Taiwan (35th), Kathmandu, Nepal (45th), Taichung, Taiwan (49th), and Tokyo, Japan (50th).

Many European cities were established long before the advent of cars, during eras when walking was the primary mode of transportation. This led to dense, compact city centers with narrow streets and close proximity between residential areas, shops, and public spaces.

European cities have also implemented clear policies and frameworks such as the Pan-European Master Plan for Walking, to prioritize walking through urban redesigns, national walking policies, and strategic initiatives.

In contrast, North American cities, typically known for being designed around the automobile, were absent from the top 50. Vancouver, Canada was the highest ranked North American city in the overall list at 53rd.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about how the world gets around, check out this graphic that visualizes the popularity of different transportation types in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

The post Mapped: The Most Walkable Cities in the World appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-03-09 06:37:18

Mapped: Which U.S. States Want to Scrap the Time Change

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

And so it’s that time again to spring forward.

It’s on this infamous weekend in March that we all sacrifice one hour of precious sleep in order to get a little more sunlight in our day.

But more and more, people around the world are saying that Daylight Saving Time is outdated and antiquated—and several state governments have acted on this sentiment.

This map by USAFacts highlights the two states that no longer observe the time change (Arizona and Hawaii are permanently on standard time), and the 20 that have passed legislation to switch to Daylight Saving Time permanently.

Locking in an Extra Hour of Evening?

Below is the data that shows which states have passed permanent legislation so far.

Interestingly, even with 20 states wanting permanent Daylight Saving Time throughout the year, it’s all basically moot.

That’s because states can’t legally adopt DST permanently unless the federal government acts first. And although a bill to do this has been introduced multiple times in Congress (“The Sunshine Protection Act”) since 2018, it has yet to be enacted.

So for now, you’ll have to swallow the tough pill of less sleep to get your evening light. But in the future, who knows?

Learn More on the Voronoi App

What does the sun’s schedule look like in London, Sydney, and New York under Daylight Saving Time? Check out this slideshow on Voronoi to see.

The post Mapped: Which U.S. States Want to Scrap the Time Change Permanently? appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-03-09 03:42:01

Mapped: The Countries Where the Most Women Work in 2025

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Where do women work the most, why is this an important measure to track, and what can it tell us about a country?

We map out relevant data to answer these questions, sourced from 2025 estimates made by the International Labour Organization.

It shows the share of working-age women (15–64) who are employed or looking for work in each country, also known as the labor force participation rate.

Ranked: Where Women Participate Most in the Workforce

As a general trend: women’s workforce participation spikes in either very poor countries, or very rich ones.

For example, the highest rates can be seen in North Korea and Madagascar (84–87%), and Iceland and the Netherlands (82–84%).

Per current World Bank classification, the former are low-income countries, and the latter are high-income countries.

Rank	Country	ISO Code	Women Workforce Participation Rate (%)
1	North Korea	PRK	87
2	Solomon Islands	SLB	84
3	Madagascar	MDG	84
4	Iceland	ISL	84
5	Netherlands	NLD	82
6	Sweden	SWE	82
7	Nigeria	NGA	82
8	Tanzania	TZA	82
9	Burundi	BDI	81
10	Estonia	EST	81
11	Switzerland	CHE	80
12	New Zealand	NZL	80
13	Finland	FIN	80
14	Cambodia	KHM	79
15	Denmark	DNK	79
16	Mozambique	MOZ	78
17	Norway	NOR	78
18	Uganda	UGA	78
19	Canada	CAN	78
20	Lithuania	LTU	78
21	Australia	AUS	77
22	Japan	JPN	77
23	Belarus	BLR	76
24	Germany	DEU	76
25	Kazakhstan	KAZ	76
26	Portugal	PRT	76
27	Benin	BEN	76
28	Cyprus	CYP	76
29	Bahamas	BHS	76
30	Eritrea	ERI	75
31	Vietnam	VNM	75
32	Bolivia	BOL	75
33	Latvia	LVA	74
34	Austria	AUT	74
35	Barbados	BRB	74
36	Angola	AGO	74
37	Malta	MLT	74
38	Hungary	HUN	74
39	UK	GBR	74
40	Ireland	IRL	74
41	Liberia	LBR	73
42	Slovenia	SVN	73
43	Moldova	MDA	73
44	Slovakia	SVK	73
45	Israel	ISR	73
46	Uruguay	URY	71
47	Singapore	SGP	71
48	France	FRA	71
49	Russia	RUS	71
50	Czechia	CZE	71
51	Luxembourg	LUX	71
52	Saint Lucia	LCA	71
53	Spain	ESP	71
54	Bulgaria	BGR	70
55	Peru	PER	70
56	China	CHN	69
57	Poland	POL	69
58	U.S.	USA	69
59	Armenia	ARM	69
60	Thailand	THA	68
61	Azerbaijan	AZE	68
62	Macao	MAC	68
63	Botswana	BWA	67
64	Congo	COG	67
65	Belgium	BEL	67
66	Taiwan	TWN	67
67	Jamaica	JAM	67
68	Croatia	HRV	67
69	Guam	GUM	67
70	Serbia	SRB	66
71	Central African Republic	CAF	66
72	Hong Kong	HKG	66
73	Channel Islands	CHI	65
74	Albania	ALB	65
75	Qatar	QAT	65
76	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	VCT	65
77	U.S. Virgin Islands	VIR	65
78	Laos	LAO	65
79	South Korea	KOR	64
80	Malawi	MWI	64
81	DRC	COD	63
82	Ghana	GHA	63
83	Paraguay	PRY	63
84	Kenya	KEN	63
85	Argentina	ARG	62
86	Greece	GRC	62
87	Haiti	HTI	62
88	Georgia	GEO	61
89	Chile	CHL	61
90	Timor-Leste	TLS	61
91	Brazil	BRA	61
92	Niger	NER	61
93	Zimbabwe	ZWE	61
94	Rwanda	RWA	60
95	Côte d'Ivoire	CIV	60
96	New Caledonia	NCL	60
97	Mali	MLI	60
98	Bhutan	BTN	59
99	Ethiopia	ETH	59
100	Trinidad & Tobago	TTO	59
101	Dominican Republic	DOM	59
102	Panama	PAN	59
103	Brunei Darussalam	BRN	58
104	Italy	ITA	58
105	South Africa	ZAF	58
106	Colombia	COL	58
107	Togo	TGO	57
108	Romania	ROU	57
109	Namibia	NAM	57
110	Mongolia	MNG	57
111	Kyrgyzstan	KGZ	57
112	Cameroon	CMR	57
113	Malaysia	MYS	57
114	UAE	ARE	56
115	Cabo Verde	CPV	56
116	Guinea-Bissau	GNB	56
117	Ecuador	ECU	56
118	Vanuatu	VUT	56
119	Indonesia	IDN	55
120	North Macedonia	MKD	54
121	Zambia	ZMB	54
122	Equatorial Guinea	GNQ	54
123	Montenegro	MNE	53
124	Nicaragua	NIC	53
125	Turkmenistan	TKM	53
126	French Polynesia	PYF	53
127	Bosnia & Herzegovina	BIH	53
128	Sierra Leone	SLE	52
129	Belize	BLZ	52
130	Mexico	MEX	52
131	Philippines	PHL	52
132	Papua New Guinea	PNG	51
133	Mauritius	MUS	51
134	El Salvador	SLV	51
135	Kuwait	KWT	51
136	Costa Rica	CRI	51
137	Lesotho	LSO	51
138	Suriname	SUR	51
139	Cuba	CUB	49
140	Chad	TCD	49
141	Eswatini	SWZ	48
142	Bangladesh	BGD	48
143	Gambia	GMB	47
144	Bahrain	BHR	45
145	Myanmar	MMR	45
146	Puerto Rico	PRI	45
147	Tonga	TON	44
148	Guyana	GUY	44
149	Comoros	COM	44
150	Uzbekistan	UZB	44
151	Maldives	MDV	43
152	Gabon	GAB	43
153	Guinea	GIN	43
154	Türkiye	TUR	42
155	Guatemala	GTM	42
156	Burkina Faso	BFA	42
157	Venezuela	VEN	42
158	Honduras	HND	41
159	Fiji	FJI	41
160	Senegal	SEN	38
161	Saudi Arabia	SAU	36
162	Sri Lanka	LKA	36
163	India	IND	35
164	Libya	LBY	35
165	Tajikistan	TJK	33
166	Western Sahara	ESH	33
167	Samoa	WSM	33
168	Oman	OMN	32
169	Tunisia	TUN	30
170	Nepal	NPL	30
171	Mauritania	MRT	27
172	Pakistan	PAK	26
173	Sao Tome and Principe	STP	23
174	Somalia	SOM	22
175	Morocco	MAR	21
176	Djibouti	DJI	20
177	Egypt	EGY	16
178	Algeria	DZA	15
179	Jordan	JOR	15
180	Iran	IRN	15
181	Syria	SYR	14
182	Iraq	IRQ	11
183	Afghanistan	AFG	5
184	Yemen	YEM	5
N/A	World	WRLD	55

Meanwhile, many middle income countries (India, Nepal) only have one-third of eligible working age women actively employed or looking for work.

This trend solidifies when looking at middle income countries where culturally, women are expected to place familial duties above outside professional or personal ones (Egypt, 16%).

Economic Development and Women Working

In low-income countries, women often work in subsistence agriculture, where labor is crucial for survival.

Then, in middle income countries, labor moves away from survival and towards industry. Here, societal norms may discourage women from working.

But coming around, in high-income countries, education, childcare services, and a services-based economy broaden opportunities for women to work.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Part of Europe’s higher women workforce participation rate is the effect it has on children being born, as the opportunity cost of not working rises. Check out creator Arcioman’s Mapped: When Does a Woman Have Her First Child to see correlations.

The post Mapped: The Countries Where the Most Women Work in 2025 appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-03-09 00:32:00

Published

24 hours ago

on

March 8, 2025

By

Alan Kennedy

Graphics & Design

• Alejandra Dander

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The following content is sponsored by Aluminum Association of Canada

Visualized: What Cutting Canadian Aluminum Would Cost the U.S.

Producing Canadian aluminum is energy-intensive. Creating a metric ton of this versatile material takes nearly 15,000 kilowatt hours–enough electricity to power a typical U.S. household for 16 months.

With the U.S. planning to place tariffs on metals coming from Canada and increase its efforts to start domestic production, we ask: what would the replacement of 2.7 million metric tons of Canadian aluminum mean for America’s energy consumption?

To answer this question, Visual Capitalist has partnered with the Aluminum Association of Canada to explore the potential cost of the U.S. abandoning aluminum imported from Canada.

A Critical Material

Aluminum’s versatility has made it essential in various industries. The U.S. consumes between 4 and 5 million metric tons annually, with a large portion sourced from Canada.

In 2024, the nation’s primary aluminum production totaled around 678,000 metric tons, the energy cost of which would have been around 10 million megawatt-hours—around the Hoover Dams’ annual electricity production.

However, the U.S. imported 2.7 million metric tons of Canadian aluminum in 2024. So, what would the energy needs be if the U.S. were to onshore all Canadian aluminum it imports?

If the U.S. were to onshore all 2.7 million metric tons of Canadian aluminum it imported in 2024, the energy requirement would skyrocket to over 40 million megawatt-hours of electricity. This is nearly four and a half times the annual electricity production of the Hoover Dam, enough to power 460 data centers or the entire state of Nevada for a year.

The Vital Place of Canadian Aluminum

Producing aluminum in Canada is simple for two vital reasons: infrastructure and energy.

Thanks to its world-class infrastructure and access to vast supplies of clean energy, Canada offers the U.S. a reliable, low-carbon source of aluminum.

Severing this relationship would not only mean massive financial and energy costs but also a significant setback in sustainability efforts, underlining the urgency of maintaining this partnership.

Related Topics: #canada #energy #aluminum #aluminium #tariffs #U.S. #aluminium association of canada #hoover dam

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The post Visualized: What Cutting Canadian Aluminum Would Cost the U.S. appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-03-08 22:25:00

Ranked: America’s Richest Self-Made Women in 2025

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In honor of International Women’s Day, we’ve compiled a ranking of the 12 richest self-made women in the U.S., according to Forbes as of February 2025. The ranking is included in the table below.

Construction, Fast Food, and Sports

At the top of the list, Diane Hendricks chairs ABC Supply, one of the largest wholesale distributors of roofing, siding, and windows in the United States. She co-founded the business with her late husband, Ken, in Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1982.

Since Ken’s passing in 2007, Hendricks has led the company’s expansion, spearheading its two largest acquisitions—Bradco in 2010 and L&W Supply in 2016.

In second place is Judy Love. She co-founded Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores with her late husband, Tom, in 1964. They launched with a leased gas station in Watonga, Oklahoma, using a $5,000 loan from Tom’s parents.

Our list also includes Peggy Cherng, co-founder and co-CEO of the Chinese fast-food chain Panda Express, and Marian Ilitch, co-founder of Little Caesars Pizza and owner of the Detroit Red Wings NHL team.

Narrowly Missed the top 12

Female billionaires who just missed the top 12 ranking include:

• Meg Whitman ($3.6B): Former CEO of eBay, Hewlett-Packard, and currently the U.S. ambassador to Kenya
• Oprah Winfrey ($3B): The long-time talk show host has made several media dealings and owns plenty of real estate
• Elaine Wynn ($2.1B): The largest single shareholder of Wynn Resorts

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed this post, check out The Richest Politicians in the U.S. on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

The post Ranked: America’s Richest Self-Made Women in 2025 appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-03-08 21:07:04

Mapped: Fertility Rates in North and South America in 2025

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In this map, we list the current fertility rate of each country in North and South America. Countries are also shaded by whether its fertility rate is above or below the population replacement rate (2.1).

Data for this graphic is from the UN World Population Prospects’ 2025 estimates and can be viewed in the table below. Only sovereign countries are included.

Country	ISO Code	Fertility Rate 2025
Chile	CHL	1.1
Costa Rica	CRI	1.3
Canada	CAN	1.3
Jamaica	JAM	1.3
Bahamas	BHS	1.4
St Lucia	LCA	1.4
Uruguay	URY	1.4
Cuba	CUB	1.5
Grenada	GRD	1.5
Dominica	DMA	1.5
Argentina	ARG	1.5
St Kitts & Nevis	KNA	1.5
Trinidad & Tobago	TTO	1.5
Antigua & Barbuda	ATG	1.6
Brazil	BRA	1.6
Colombia	COL	1.6
U.S.	USA	1.6
Barbados	BRB	1.7
St Vincent and the Grenadines	VCT	1.7
El Salvador	SLV	1.8
Ecuador	ECU	1.8
Mexico	MEX	1.9
Peru	PER	1.9
Belize	BLZ	2.0
Venezuela	VEN	2.1
Panama	PAN	2.1
Nicaragua	NIC	2.2
Dominican Republic	DOM	2.2
Suriname	SUR	2.2
Guatemala	GTM	2.3
Guyana	GUY	2.4
Paraguay	PRY	2.4
Honduras	HND	2.5
Bolivia	BOL	2.5
Haiti	HTI	2.6

The Lowdown on Fertility Rates

The fertility rate measures the average number of children a woman in a specific area will have over the course of her lifetime.

In fact, 2.1 is a key threshold. At this level, the area’s population remains self-sustaining Above it, populations grow. Below it, populations decline.

As seen from the map, most of the Americas, including its largest countries, the U.S., Brazil, Canada, and Mexico, are all below the 2.1 threshold.

So, How Are the U.S., Canada, and Mexico Still Growing?

There’s a time factor involved with the effects of fertility rates. Population decline usually occurs after a lag, usually three decades of below-replacement fertility rates.

This can be seen in Europe, whose population peaked in 2021, after persistently low rates since the 1970s.

Unlike Europe, the U.S. fertility rate has only consistently stayed below 2.1 since the mid 2000s.

However, Canada and Mexico have had below-replacement rates for decades. In their case (and with the U.S.) immigration becomes critical for sustaining population growth.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Wondering what this same map looks like for Europe? Check out: Mapped: European Fertility Rates by Country in 2025 for a quick overview.

The post Mapped: Fertility Rates in North and South America appeared first on Visual Capitalist.