Visual CapitalistModify

2026-03-06 02:18:17

Mapped: The World’s Oil Chokepoints

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.

Oil markets rely on a handful of narrow maritime passages to keep supply flowing. These oil supply chokepoints are critical arteries of the global energy system, moving tens of millions of barrels per day. This visualization maps the world’s most important oil transit chokepoints and their share of global maritime oil trade.

The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). It highlights the volume of crude and petroleum liquids that passed through key maritime chokepoints in the first half of 2025, measured in million barrels per day (mb/d), and their share of total world maritime oil trade.

In total, about 73 million barrels per day of oil moved through major maritime chokepoints, representing the majority of globally traded seaborne oil.

The Strait of Malacca: The Busiest Oil Corridor

The Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia and Indonesia, is the world’s busiest oil chokepoint. Roughly 23.2 million barrels per day flowed through this narrow channel in the first half of 2025, accounting for about 29.1% of global maritime oil trade.

The Strait of Malacca connects the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea, making it a crucial route for oil shipments to China, Japan, and South Korea. Its narrow width and heavy traffic make it vulnerable to congestion and geopolitical tension.

The Strait of Hormuz: A Critical Energy Artery

The Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran, handled about 20.9 million barrels per day in the first half of 2025—roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption. It connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea and is deep and wide enough to accommodate the world’s largest crude oil tankers.

Approximately 84% of crude oil moved through Hormuz is destined for Asian markets, including China, India, Japan, and South Korea. Because so much Gulf production depends on this route, any disruption can send shockwaves through global oil prices.

Other Key Chokepoints Across the Globe

Beyond Malacca and Hormuz, several other passages play important roles in global oil flows. The Suez Canal and SUMED Pipeline transported about 4.9 million barrels per day, linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Nearby, the Bab el-Mandeb carried roughly 4.2 million barrels per day, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

In Europe, the Danish Straits and Turkish Straits serve as key gateways for Russian and Caspian oil exports, moving about 4.9 million and 3.7 million barrels per day, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Panama Canal handled roughly 2.3 million barrels per day, while longer alternative routes such as the Cape of Good Hope carried about 9.1 million barrels per day as tankers traveled between the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out All of the World’s Oil Reserves by Country, in One Visualization on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2026-03-05 23:09:55

The Average Lifetime Credit Card Debt in Every U.S. State

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.

The average American accumulates nearly $400,000 in credit card debt over their lifetime.

But the total varies significantly depending on where people live. In some states, the typical lifetime total exceeds $450,000, while in others it sits closer to $320,000.

This map, based on data from JG Wentworth, shows which states accumulate the most and least credit card debt over a lifetime.

Which States Accumulate the Most Credit Card Debt?

Check out the data, which excludes any interest charges, below:

Alaska has the highest lifetime credit card debt at $484,620, 21.8% above the national average. The Arctic state typically ranks high in cost of living; its remoteness adds complexity to shipping in food and fuel, which elevates prices.

New Jerseyans and Connecticuters rack up $456,300 and $454,080 of credit card debt in their lifetimes, respectively, reflecting higher costs for rent, food, and utilities. Interestingly, New Jersey and Connecticut have good salaries compared with other states, suggesting higher income enables greater access to credit.

Average lifetime credit card debt exceeds $400,000 in 20 states.

Midwestern states Iowa and Wisconsin have the lowest levels of average credit card debt at $319,740 and $322,200, respectively.

Kentucky, where public school students must complete a financial literacy course before graduating, trails closely at $323,940.

Consumer Debt Has Risen in Recent Years

Consumer spending plays a crucial role in the U.S. economy; it accounted for nearly 70% of GDP in the third quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, over half (56%) of all credit card users have some kind of revolving credit card debt, which is where payments are deferred for periodic instalments, highlighting debt’s parallel role.

While consumer debt has risen alongside inflation, mortgages, vehicles, and student loans, household debt in the U.S. is much lower than in countries such as Switzerland, Australia, and its neighbor Canada.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about global debt, check out this graphic which breaks down countries with the highest household debt.

2026-03-05 21:02:33

The Entire Global Economy in 2026 in One Chart (GDP, PPP)

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.

The global economy is worth roughly $219 trillion in 2026 when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), which adjusts economic output for differences in cost of living.

This visualization shows the size of every country’s economy using PPP-adjusted GDP, making it easier to compare how national economies stack up around the world.

These projections for 2026 come from the International Monetary Fund.

How PPP Changes the Global Economic Rankings

When comparing economies using PPP, the global ranking looks very different from nominal GDP.

While the United States is the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP, when adjusting for PPP China has actually been the world’s dominant economy since 2014.

Today the Chinese economy is valued at $43.5 trillion, well ahead of the $31.8 trillion seen in the United States.

Rank	Country	GDP (PPP, billions of international dollars)
1	China	43,491.5
2	United States	31,821.3
3	India	19,143.4
4	Russia	7,340.8
5	Japan	6,923.3
6	Germany	6,323.5
7	Indonesia	5,358.3
8	Brazil	5,161.1
9	France	4,657.2
10	United Kingdom	4,592.1
11	Turkey	3,976.1
12	Italy	3,815.9
13	Mexico	3,552.7
14	South Korea	3,486.5
15	Spain	2,935.7
16	Saudi Arabia	2,845.7
17	Canada	2,814.5
18	Egypt	2,533.2
19	Nigeria	2,392.0
20	Poland	2,120.6
21	Taiwan	2,068.9
22	Australia	2,060.7
23	Vietnam	1,942.5
24	Iran	1,933.9
25	Thailand	1,917.3
26	Bangladesh	1,902.9
27	Pakistan	1,762.3
28	Philippines	1,590.5
29	Argentina	1,577.5
30	Malaysia	1,564.9
31	Netherlands	1,562.8
32	Colombia	1,238.4
33	South Africa	1,057.0
34	United Arab Emirates	1,000.0
35	Singapore	988.8
36	Kazakhstan	973.4
37	Romania	949.3
38	Belgium	925.7
39	Algeria	915.8
40	Switzerland	909.1
41	Ireland	836.7
42	Sweden	809.5
43	Chile	740.4
44	Iraq	739.1
45	Ukraine	730.8
46	Austria	705.0
47	Peru	682.8
48	Czech Republic	677.7
49	Norway	621.1
50	Hong Kong	618.1
51	Israel	600.5
52	Portugal	556.4
53	Ethiopia	530.8
54	Denmark	529.3
55	Uzbekistan	511.0
56	Greece	485.1
57	Hungary	478.5
58	Morocco	457.5
59	Kenya	430.3
60	Angola	417.2
61	Qatar	410.6
62	Finland	384.9
63	Dominican Republic	353.7
64	Belarus	319.5
65	Tanzania	317.9
66	Ecuador	315.9
67	Ghana	314.6
68	New Zealand	309.1
69	Guatemala	297.1
70	Côte d'Ivoire	289.1
71	Myanmar	286.4
72	Kuwait	285.9
73	Azerbaijan	282.2
74	Bulgaria	279.2
75	Slovak Republic	266.9
76	Oman	245.9
77	Venezuela	231.4
78	Serbia	225.6
79	Dem. Rep. of the Congo	225.5
80	Panama	211.0
81	Croatia	207.4
82	Uganda	205.3
83	Nepal	194.9
84	Tunisia	193.6
85	Cameroon	183.3
86	Costa Rica	178.0
87	Lithuania	173.1
88	Puerto Rico	166.3
89	Cambodia	160.0
90	Turkmenistan	159.0
91	Paraguay	145.1
92	Zimbabwe	144.9
93	Jordan	138.0
94	Sudan	135.9
95	Uruguay	135.1
96	Libya	132.8
97	Slovenia	128.1
98	Georgia	123.0
99	Bahrain	118.1
100	Luxembourg	108.6
101	Senegal	107.6
102	Zambia	105.9
103	Macao	97.0
104	Guyana	94.2
105	El Salvador	92.2
106	Honduras	90.9
107	Latvia	85.7
108	Guinea	84.4
109	Laos	83.0
110	Bosnia and Herzegovina	82.2
111	Armenia	79.5
112	Mongolia	78.4
113	Mali	78.3
114	Burkina Faso	77.6
115	Benin	76.5
116	Yemen	71.2
117	Estonia	69.6
118	Kyrgyzstan	68.7
119	Madagascar	68.1
120	Tajikistan	67.7
121	Nicaragua	66.6
122	Niger	66.3
123	Albania	66.3
124	Mozambique	65.4
125	Cyprus	64.4
126	Rwanda	63.5
127	Chad	63.1
128	Gabon	59.6
129	North Macedonia	56.1
130	Botswana	54.8
131	Trinidad and Tobago	53.1
132	Papua New Guinea	50.7
133	Moldova	48.5
134	Malta	46.9
135	Brunei Darussalam	45.3
136	Republic of Congo	44.2
137	Malawi	44.2
138	Mauritius	43.7
139	Mauritania	43.1
140	Namibia	39.8
141	Jamaica	39.6
142	Haiti	37.6
143	Togo	35.4
144	Sierra Leone	34.8
145	Equatorial Guinea	34.3
146	Kosovo	34.0
147	Somalia	33.9
148	Iceland	32.8
149	Montenegro	22.6
150	South Sudan	18.9
151	The Bahamas	18.0
152	Eswatini	16.7
153	Fiji	15.9
154	Maldives	15.8
155	Suriname	15.5
156	Bhutan	15.4
157	Burundi	15.2
158	Liberia	12.1
159	The Gambia	11.0
160	Djibouti	10.7
161	Liechtenstein	8.45
162	Central African Republic	7.94
163	Lesotho	7.59
164	Timor-Leste	7.30
165	Guinea-Bissau	7.08
166	Barbados	7.03
167	Cabo Verde	6.77
168	Andorra	6.67
169	Belize	6.50
170	Aruba	5.61
171	Saint Lucia	5.52
172	Seychelles	4.49
173	Comoros	3.87
174	Antigua and Barbuda	3.43
175	San Marino	2.94
176	Grenada	2.62
177	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2.47
178	Solomon Islands	2.27
179	Samoa	1.84
180	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1.83
181	São Tomé and Príncipe	1.65
182	Dominica	1.53
183	Vanuatu	1.12
184	Tonga	0.84
185	Kiribati	0.50
186	Micronesia, Fed. States of	0.47
187	Palau	0.35
188	Marshall Islands	0.30
189	Nauru	0.15
190	Tuvalu	0.06

China is far from alone in representing Asia among the world’s largest economies, however. Asian countries today contribute 49% of the global economy, solidifying the continent’s place as the new center of international trade and production.

India is the third-largest PPP-adjusted economy worldwide, at $19.1 trillion, while Japan ($6.9 trillion), Indonesia ($5.4 trillion), and South Korea ($3.5 trillion) all see multi-trillion-dollar boosts compared to their nominal GDP owing to cheaper costs of living.

At 4.7 billion people, Asia is the most populous continent worldwide, and many of its smaller developing economies, such as Vietnam and Thailand (both $1.9 trillion), are expected to continue to grow rapidly in the coming years, indicating the continent’s continued dominance going forward.

The European Gap

If there’s one region where the difference between nominal and PPP-adjusted GDP is felt, it’s Europe. By nominal standards, Germany is the largest economy on this continent, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Russia.

However, when adjusting for relative purchasing power Russia sees a massive boost, as a cheaper overall country, and soars to become Europe’s top economy at $7.3 trillion. By this metric, in fact, Russia is fourth worldwide behind only China, the U.S., and India.

France also surpasses the United Kingdom in this regard, but by and large the Eurozone economies fall behind Asian peers like Indonesia or Japan, which are able to acquire or produce goods at a more competitive rate.

The Boon of Emerging Markets

Outside of Eurasia, the story for emerging markets is much of the same. Brazil ($5.2 trillion) and Mexico ($3.6 trillion) each leapfrog Canada ($2.8 trillion) to become the second- and third-largest economies of the Americas, respectively.

Meanwhile, in Africa, home to a mere six percent of global GDP share, the three emerging-market economies of Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa are responsible for roughly $6 trillion in total PPP-adjusted economic output.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Global Cost of Living Index 2026 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2026-03-05 19:04:36

Global Energy Flows at Risk in the Strait of Hormuz

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.

Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil consumption and LNG trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it one of the most critical energy corridors on the planet.

The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman connects the Persian Gulf to global markets, serving as a vital route for oil and gas exports from major producers including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, and Qatar.

Tensions involving Iran have periodically raised concerns about disruptions to traffic through the strait, which could affect global energy markets.

This visualization highlights what moves through the Strait of Hormuz each day—from oil tankers and LNG carriers to the share of global energy consumption dependent on the route. Data comes from Lloyd’s List and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

How Much Oil Moves Through the Strait of Hormuz?

The table below summarizes the key energy flows that depend on the Strait of Hormuz.

Roughly 100 cargo-carrying vessels pass through the strait on an average day in 2026. Around 60–70% of these vessels are oil tankers and gas carriers, reflecting the region’s dominant role in global energy exports.

In fact, about 20% of global oil consumption moves through the Strait of Hormuz. In terms of maritime trade, the passage accounts for roughly 27% of all seaborne oil shipments worldwide.

LNG Trade Also Relies on the Strait

The Strait of Hormuz is not only critical for oil. Around 20% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade also travels through this corridor.

Major LNG exporters such as Qatar rely heavily on the strait to ship natural gas to global markets. As demand for LNG rises—especially in Asia and Europe—this shipping route becomes even more important for energy security.

Asia Is the Most Exposed Region

Asia is the region most dependent on energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The region’s heavy reliance reflects its large energy demand and limited domestic oil and gas resources. About 89% of crude oil and condensate passing through the strait is shipped to Asian markets.

Similarly, roughly 83% of LNG exports traveling through the corridor are destined for Asia. Major importers include China, India, Japan, and South Korea.

By contrast, the United States is far less reliant on the route. Only about 7% of U.S. crude imports come through the strait, and roughly 2% of U.S. petroleum liquids consumption depends on these flows.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out America’s Hottest Oil State? New Mexico on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2026-03-05 02:53:07

How Popular Chinese EVs Are in Different Countries

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.

While China dominates domestic EV production, its brands are increasingly visible in showrooms across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, but have minimal presence in the United States. This visualization shows the share of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) sold in selected countries that were made in China from 2018 to 2025.

The data for this graphic comes from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. The figures include battery electric vehicles only, excluding hybrids.

Mexico and Indonesia: Breakout Markets

Mexico has quickly become one of the strongest overseas markets for Chinese EVs. In 2025, 89.9% of all BEVs sold in Mexico were made in China, up sharply from 28.3% in 2023. In volume terms, Chinese-made EV sales surged from 3,145 units in 2023 to 53,742 in 2025.

% of BEVs Made in China	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
China	98.0%	95.2%	99.3%	100.0%	100.0%	99.9%	100.0%	100.0%
India	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	1.2%	2.3%	2.7%	2.9%
Japan	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	23.3%	11.3%	8.7%	12.5%	25.5%
Australia	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	67.7%	77.3%	82.5%	76.5%	79.5%
Austria	0.0%	0.4%	2.1%	13.4%	20.6%	21.8%	30.2%	22.4%
Belgium	0.0%	0.1%	4.6%	18.7%	23.1%	19.7%	23.5%	16.2%
Canada	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	1.6%	1.9%	20.4%	19.9%	0.8%
Denmark	0.0%	0.0%	5.4%	14.0%	20.4%	26.5%	23.7%	14.8%
Finland	0.0%	0.0%	1.0%	7.5%	16.1%	13.9%	24.2%	16.1%
France	0.0%	0.0%	2.6%	14.5%	26.1%	31.4%	16.3%	13.0%
Germany	0.0%	0.0%	1.2%	10.7%	19.5%	18.0%	18.8%	15.9%
Indonesia	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.3%	0.1%	3.2%	39.8%	61.6%
Ireland	0.0%	0.0%	0.8%	8.6%	11.8%	20.9%	29.4%	21.0%
Israel	77.3%	64.0%	54.6%	70.8%	72.3%	68.2%	76.9%	84.8%
Italy	0.0%	0.0%	0.8%	14.1%	17.0%	28.5%	36.7%	37.0%
Mexico	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	4.8%	28.3%	82.4%	89.9%
Netherlands	0.0%	1.6%	9.0%	14.7%	13.5%	17.9%	27.6%	17.4%
New Zealand	0.0%	0.1%	8.1%	62.4%	69.9%	63.9%	46.6%	70.5%
Norway	0.0%	0.0%	10.2%	23.0%	23.7%	19.2%	26.3%	19.1%
Portugal	0.0%	0.0%	0.3%	10.2%	18.3%	25.3%	38.7%	30.8%
South Korea	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	7.0%	13.5%	23.4%	30.9%
Spain	0.0%	0.0%	0.5%	14.0%	20.7%	29.6%	42.0%	35.9%
Sweden	0.0%	0.0%	6.4%	21.7%	22.3%	21.8%	27.1%	17.2%
Switzerland	0.0%	0.0%	3.1%	20.3%	21.6%	12.2%	20.1%	15.7%
UK	0.0%	1.7%	6.4%	12.2%	27.3%	25.0%	24.0%	26.0%
USA	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.5%	1.4%	0.8%	0.3%	0.5%

Indonesia shows a similar trajectory. Chinese BEVs accounted for just 3.2% of sales in 2023, but that figure jumped to 61.6% by 2025. Sales volumes climbed from 543 vehicles to 64,252 over the same period, underscoring how quickly Chinese brands have scaled in emerging markets.

Strong Footholds in Europe and Asia-Pacific

In the UK, Chinese-made BEVs represented 26.0% of total EV sales in 2025, totaling 129,069 vehicles. Several European markets—including Spain (35.9%), Portugal (30.8%), and Italy (37.0%)—also show meaningful penetration.

Australia stands out even more, with Chinese brands accounting for 79.5% of BEV sales in 2025. New Zealand (70.5%) and Israel (84.8%) also report high shares.

The U.S. Remains an Outlier

Despite China’s dominance in global EV manufacturing, the U.S. market remains largely closed to Chinese-made BEVs. In 2025, they accounted for just 0.5% of American EV sales, or 6,070 vehicles.

Rank	Country	2025 Sales
1	China	7,968,936
2	UK	129,069
3	Germany	87,650
4	Australia	82,147
5	South Korea	66,783
6	Indonesia	64,252
7	Mexico	53,742
8	Israel	48,250
9	France	46,493
10	Spain	40,009
11	Norway	35,562
12	Italy	35,348
13	Netherlands	30,958
14	Belgium	23,740
15	Japan	20,553
16	Denmark	19,707
17	Sweden	18,242
18	Portugal	17,180
19	Austria	14,496
20	Switzerland	8,923
21	USA	6,070
22	Ireland	5,351
23	India	5,332
24	New Zealand	5,226
25	Finland	4,589
26	Canada	792

Trade policy, tariffs, and geopolitical tensions have limited Chinese automakers’ access to the U.S. market.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Battery Manufacturing Investment by Country on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2026-03-05 00:55:19

Ranked: The Countries With the Most Supercomputers

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.

Supercomputers are used for everything from weather forecasting and high-powered simulations to artificial intelligence and defense.

The number of supercomputers a country has gives an indication of their technological and economic positioning, and how they prioritize frontier research.

This graphic ranks the countries with the most supercomputers, and the data comes from TOP500’s November 2025 list.

Which Countries Have the Most Supercomputers?

The U.S., the birthplace of supercomputers, dominates the list at 171. The figure is four times higher the number of supercomputers Japan has, which comes in second place at 43.

The data table below shows the number of supercomputers per country as of November 2025:

Country	Supercomputers
United States	171
Japan	43
Germany	40
China	40
France	23
Canada	19
Italy	18
South Korea	15
Taiwan	10
Brazil	10
Norway	9
United Kingdom	9
Sweden	8
Poland	8
Netherlands	7
Saudi Arabia	7
India	6
Singapore	5
United Arab Emirates	5
Russia	5
Australia	4
Finland	3
Switzerland	3
Israel	3
Czechia	3
Spain	3
Slovenia	2
Ireland	2
Austria	2
Kazakhstan	2
Thailand	2
Turkey	2
Iceland	1
Luxembourg	1
Slovakia	1
Denmark	1
Bulgaria	1
Hungary	1
Portugal	1
Belgium	1
Morocco	1
Argentina	1
Vietnam	1

China and Germany trail closely, tied in third and fourth place at 40 supercomputers.

The ranking is significantly top-heavy, as the top three countries have more supercomputers than all the other 43 countries combined. In total, 26 countries have five or fewer supercomputers each, while 11 have just one supercomputer.

It is not necessarily smaller countries that have fewer supercomputers. Singapore, for example, has the same number as Russia and India at five. The Singaporean government recently launched a supercomputing hub as it looks to become Southeast Asia’s AI leader.

Increasing AI-Driven Supercomputer Demand

Demand for supercomputers is increasing alongside AI, which requires massive computational power to be trained and run, which far surpass what regular computers are capable of.

There are different types of supercomputers but generally they can crunch vast and complex datasets at speed, far surpassing humanity’s capabilities. By outputting useful information, supercomputers are used to make decisions across health, climate, and material science, which is why they are tipped to hold the key to some of society’s greatest challenges.

Nordic countries actually share access to their supercomputers in efforts to “enable excellence” and contribute towards the UN’s sustainable Development Goals.

The Finland-based LUMI supercomputer, the ninth most powerful in the world, was set up specifically with this in mind; it is hosted by a consortium of 10 countries, including the Nordics and their neighbor Estonia, to share resources and increase researcher access to some of the world’s most powerful computers.

The EU-funded RAISE center was set to develop novel AI technologies that can run effectively on supercomputers, while the U.S. is ramping up partnerships with AI companies to stack its national labs with powerful compute clusters.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about supercomputers, check out this graphic on Voronoi which breaks down the largest computing clusters.