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Ranked: The World’s 50 Most Powerful Militaries

2026-01-15 23:22:14

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app.

Ranked by the Global Firepower Index, this chart shows the world’s most powerful militaries and what drives military strength.

Use This Visualization

Ranked: The World’s 50 Most Powerful Militaries

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.

Key Takeaways

  • The U.S., Russia, and China rank as the world’s most powerful militaries, reflecting their scale, resources, and global reach.

The recent U.S. operation against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro demonstrated that military power is not only about troop numbers or superior combat technology.

With the successful extraction of Maduro and his wife from a military compound in just 2.5 hours, the extremely effective operation showed how far training, intelligence, and logistics go towards driving military power.

This infographic ranks the world’s most powerful militaries in 2025. The data for this visualization comes from the Global Firepower Index, which assesses 145 countries.

The World’s Top Military Powers

The index evaluates more than 60 factors, including active military manpower, land, air and naval assets, logistics, natural resources, and geographic considerations. Importantly, a lower Military Power Index score indicates greater overall strength.

Rank Country Military Power Index Active Military Manpower
1 🇺🇸 United States 0.07 1,328,000
2 🇷🇺 Russia 0.08 1,320,000
3 🇨🇳 China 0.08 2,035,000
4 🇮🇳 India 0.12 1,455,550
5 🇰🇷 South Korea 0.17 600,000
6 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 0.18 184,860
7 🇯🇵 Japan 0.18 247,150
8 🇫🇷 France 0.19 200,000
9 🇹🇷 Turkiye 0.19 355,200
10 🇮🇹 Italy 0.22 165,500
11 🇧🇷 Brazil 0.24 360,000
12 🇵🇰 Pakistan 0.25 654,000
13 🇮🇩 Indonesia 0.26 400,000
14 🇩🇪 Germany 0.26 181,600
15 🇮🇱 Israel 0.27 170,000
16 🇮🇷 Iran 0.3 610,000
17 🇪🇸 Spain 0.32 133,282
18 🇦🇺 Australia 0.33 57,350
19 🇪🇬 Egypt 0.34 440,000
20 🇩🇿 Algeria 0.36 325,000
21 🇺🇦 Ukraine 0.38 900,000
22 🇵🇱 Poland 0.38 202,100
23 🇹🇼 Taiwan 0.4 215,000
24 🇻🇳 Vietnam 0.4 600,000
25 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 0.42 257,000
26 🇹🇭 Thailand 0.45 360,850
27 🇸🇪 Sweden 0.48 24,400
28 🇨🇦 Canada 0.52 68,000
29 🇸🇬 Singapore 0.53 51,000
30 🇬🇷 Greece 0.53 142,700
31 🇳🇬 Nigeria 0.58 230,000
32 🇲🇽 Mexico 0.6 412,000
33 🇦🇷 Argentina 0.6 108,000
34 🇰🇵 North Korea 0.6 1,320,000
35 🇧🇩 Bangladesh 0.61 163,000
36 🇳🇱 Netherlands 0.64 41,380
37 🇲🇲 Myanmar 0.67 150,000
38 🇳🇴 Norway 0.68 23,250
39 🇵🇹 Portugal 0.69 24,000
40 🇿🇦 South Africa 0.69 71,235
41 🇵🇭 Philippines 0.7 150,000
42 🇲🇾 Malaysia 0.74 113,000
43 🇮🇶 Iraq 0.77 193,000
44 🇨🇭 Switzerland 0.79 101,584
45 🇩🇰 Denmark 0.81 20,000
46 🇨🇴 Colombia 0.84 293,200
47 🇨🇱 Chile 0.84 80,000
48 🇫🇮 Finland 0.84 24,000
49 🇵🇪 Peru 0.86 120,000
50 🇻🇪 Venezuela 0.89 109,000

The United States ranks first, with the lowest Military Power Index score and more than 1.3 million active-duty personnel. Its position reflects unmatched global reach, advanced technology, and extensive logistical capabilities.

Russia and China follow closely behind. China stands out for having the largest active military manpower among the top three, with just over 2 million personnel, while Russia combines large troop numbers with extensive land and strategic capabilities.

Manpower Isn’t Everything

While troop numbers matter, they do not tell the full story. Countries like Japan, the United Kingdom, and France rank among the top 10 despite having far smaller active forces than some lower-ranked nations.

Japan ranks highly due to its advanced naval and air forces, including one of the world’s most capable destroyer fleets, modern fighter jets, and strong missile defense systems.

Despite a smaller army, the UK maintains strong air and naval assets and benefits from deep integration with NATO operations. Meanwhile, France ranks among the top militaries thanks to its nuclear arsenal, blue-water navy, and proven ability to conduct overseas operations independently.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Ranked: Countries With the Highest Cost of Violence on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Mapped: Global Inflation Forecasts by Country in 2026

2026-01-15 21:03:26

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Map showing the 2026 inflation forecast by country worldwide.

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The Global Inflation Forecast, by Country 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.

Key Takeaways

  • Global inflation is projected to ease from 4.2% in 2025 to 3.7% in 2026.
  • The IMF expects U.S. inflation to follow a similar path, falling from 2.7% to reach 2.4% this year.

In 2026, U.S. inflation is projected to decline to 2.4%, ultimately remaining above the Fed’s target. Many European and Asian countries, meanwhile, are expected to see sub-2% increases in prices. Countries facing instability, like Venezuela and Sudan, will brace for significantly higher price pressures.

This graphic shows the 2026 inflation forecast for global economies, based on data from the International Monetary Fund.

Ranked: The 2026 Inflation Forecast

Below, we show inflation projections for 2026 across 190 economies:

Rank Country Inflation Rate Forecast 2026 (%) Region
1 🇻🇪 Venezuela 682.1 South America
2 🇸🇩 Sudan 54.6 Africa
3 🇮🇷 Iran 41.6 Middle East
4 🇲🇲 Myanmar 28.0 Asia
5 🇧🇮 Burundi 26.3 Africa
6 🇭🇹 Haiti 26.2 North America
7 🇹🇷 Türkiye 24.7 Asia
8 🇲🇼 Malawi 24.1 Africa
9 🇳🇬 Nigeria 22.0 Africa
10 🇾🇪 Yemen 18.5 Middle East
11 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe 18.2 Africa
12 🇦🇷 Argentina 16.4 South America
13 🇦🇴 Angola 16.3 Africa
14 🇸🇸 South Sudan 15.8 Africa
15 🇪🇬 Egypt 11.8 Africa
16 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 11.2 Asia
17 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 10.5 Africa
18 🇬🇭 Ghana 9.9 Africa
19 🇸🇷 Suriname 9.6 South America
20 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 9.4 Africa
21 🇿🇲 Zambia 9.2 Africa
22 🇧🇩 Bangladesh 8.7 Asia
23 🇲🇳 Mongolia 8.1 Asia
24 🇱🇷 Liberia 7.7 Africa
25 🇺🇦 Ukraine 7.6 Europe
26 🇧🇾 Belarus 7.5 Europe
27 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 7.3 Asia
28 🇲🇬 Madagascar 7.2 Africa
29 🇨🇩 DR Congo 7.1 Africa
30 🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe 7.0 Africa
31 🇰🇬 Kyrgyz Republic 6.9 Asia
32 🇷🇴 Romania 6.7 Europe
33 🇹🇳 Tunisia 6.1 Africa
34 🇵🇰 Pakistan 6.0 Asia
35 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands 5.9 Oceania
36 🇱🇦 Lao P.D.R. 5.5 Asia
37 🇲🇩 Moldova 5.5 Europe
38 🇲🇿 Mozambique 5.4 Africa
39 🇰🇪 Kenya 5.2 Africa
40 🇷🇺 Russian Federation 5.2 Asia
41 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan 5.0 Asia
42 🇯🇲 Jamaica 5.0 North America
43 🇬🇲 Gambia
 4.9 Africa
44 🇱🇸 Lesotho 4.8 Africa
45 🇧🇼 Botswana 4.7 Africa
46 🇷🇼 Rwanda 4.7 Africa
47 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea 4.6 Oceania
48 🇹🇬 Togo 4.5 Africa
49 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 4.5 Asia
50 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 4.5 Asia
51 🇳🇷 Nauru 4.5 Oceania
52 🇺🇾 Uruguay 4.5 South America
53 🇬🇾 Guyana 4.4 South America
54 🇺🇬 Uganda 4.3 Africa
55 🇪🇪 Estonia 4.3 Europe
56 🇳🇵 Nepal 4.2 Asia
57 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 4.2 North America
58 🇭🇳 Honduras 4.2 North America
59 🇸🇿 Eswatini 4.0 Africa
60 🇮🇳 India 4.0 Asia
61 🇷🇸 Serbia 4.0 Europe
62 🇧🇷 Brazil 4.0 South America
63 🇩🇿 Algeria 3.9 Africa
64 🇿🇦 South Africa 3.7 Africa
65 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands 3.7 Oceania
66 🇵🇾 Paraguay 3.7 South America
67 🇹🇩 Chad 3.6 Africa
68 🇲🇺 Mauritius 3.6 Africa
69 🇳🇦 Namibia 3.6 Africa
70 🇲🇷 Mauritania 3.5 Africa
71 🇸🇴 Somalia 3.5 Africa
72 🇹🇿 Tanzania 3.5 Africa
73 🇭🇺 Hungary 3.5 Europe
74 🇰🇮 Kiribati 3.5 Oceania
75 🇨🇴 Colombia 3.5 South America
76 🇧🇹 Bhutan 3.4 Asia
77 🇬🇪 Georgia 3.4 Asia
78 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 3.4 Europe
79 🇫🇲 Micronesia 3.4 Oceania
80 🇨🇲 Cameroon 3.3 Africa
81 🇨🇫 Central African Republic 3.3 Africa
82 🇸🇰 Slovak Republic 3.3 Europe
83 🇬🇹 Guatemala 3.3 North America
84 🇲🇽 Mexico 3.3 North America
85 🇨🇬 Congo 3.2 Africa
86 🇳🇪 Niger 3.2 Africa
87 🇻🇳 Vietnam 3.2 Asia
88 🇼🇸 Samoa 3.2 Oceania
89 🇮🇸 Iceland 3.1 Europe
90 🇱🇹 Lithuania 3.1 Europe
91 🇨🇱 Chile 3.1 South America
92 🇬🇳 Guinea 3.0 Africa
93 🇲🇰 North Macedonia 3.0 Europe
94 🇦🇺 Australia 3.0 Oceania
95 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea 2.9 Africa
96 🇮🇩 Indonesia 2.9 Asia
97 🇵🇼 Palau 2.9 Oceania
98 🇦🇲 Armenia 2.8 Asia
99 🇦🇱 Albania 2.8 Europe
100 🇭🇷 Croatia 2.8 Europe
101 🇵🇱 Poland 2.8 Europe
102 🇪🇨 Ecuador 2.8 South America
103 🇽🇰 Kosovo 2.7 Europe
104 🇳🇮 Nicaragua 2.7 North America
105 🇵🇭 Philippines 2.6 Asia
106 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2.6 Europe
107 🇱🇻 Latvia 2.6 Europe
108 🇯🇴 Jordan 2.6 Middle East
109 🇶🇦 Qatar 2.6 Middle East
110 🇬🇦 Gabon 2.5 Africa
111 🇲🇻 Maldives 2.5 Asia
112 🇬🇷 Greece 2.5 Europe
113 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 2.5 Europe
114 🇮🇶 Iraq 2.5 Middle East
115 🇧🇧 Barbados 2.5 North America
116 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 2.4 Africa
117 🇳🇱 Netherlands 2.4 Europe
118 🇳🇴 Norway 2.4 Europe
119 🇸🇮 Slovenia 2.4 Europe
120 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda 2.4 North America
121 🇺🇸 United States 2.4 North America
122 🇦🇹 Austria 2.3 Europe
123 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 2.3 Europe
124 🇲🇪 Montenegro 2.3 Europe
125 🇩🇲 Dominica 2.3 North America
126 🇹🇻 Tuvalu 2.3 Oceania
127 🇲🇾 Malaysia 2.2 Asia
128 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 2.2 Europe
129 🇮🇱 Israel 2.2 Middle East
130 🇰🇼 Kuwait 2.2 Middle East
131 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 2.2 North America
132 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago 2.2 North America
133 🇹🇴 Tonga 2.2 Oceania
134 🇻🇺 Vanuatu 2.2 Oceania
135 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR 2.1 Asia
136 🇯🇵 Japan 2.1 Asia
137 🇩🇰 Denmark 2.1 Europe
138 🇵🇹 Portugal 2.1 Europe
139 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2.1 North America
140 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2.1 North America
141 🇳🇿 New Zealand 2.1 Oceania
142 🇦🇼 Aruba 2.1 South America
143 🇧🇯 Benin 2 Africa
144 🇨🇻 Cabo Verde 2.0 Africa
145 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau 2.0 Africa
146 🇲🇱 Mali 2.0 Africa
147 🇸🇳 Senegal 2.0 Africa
148 🇮🇹 Italy 2.0 Europe
149 🇲🇹 Malta 2.0 Europe
150 🇸🇲 San Marino 2.0 Europe
151 🇪🇸 Spain 2.0 Europe
152 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 2.0 Middle East
153 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates 2.0 Middle East
154 🇨🇦 Canada 2.0 North America
155 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 2.0 North America
156 🇵🇦 Panama 2.0 North America
157 🇰🇲 Comoros 1.9 Africa
158 🇫🇮 Finland 1.9 Europe
159 🇧🇿 Belize 1.9 North America
160 🇵🇪 Peru 1.9 South America
161 🇲🇦 Morocco 1.8 Africa
162 🇰🇭 Cambodia 1.8 Asia
163 🇰🇷 South Korea 1.8 Asia
164 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste 1.8 Asia
165 🇦🇩 Andorra 1.8 Europe
166 🇩🇪 Germany 1.8 Europe
167 🇮🇪 Ireland 1.7 Europe
168 🇱🇾 Libya 1.6 Africa
169 🇹🇼 Taiwan 1.6 Asia
170 🇸🇪 Sweden 1.6 Europe
171 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire 1.5 Africa
172 🇫🇷 France 1.5 Europe
173 🇴🇲 Oman 1.5 Middle East
174 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia 1.5 North America
175 🇩🇯 Djibouti 1.4 Africa
176 🇸🇬 Singapore 1.3 Asia
177 🇧🇪 Belgium 1.3 Europe
178 🇨🇾 Cyprus 1.3 Europe
179 🇲🇴 Macao SAR 1.2 Asia
180 🇸🇨 Seychelles 1.1 Africa
181 🇬🇩 Grenada 1.1 North America
182 🇫🇯 Fiji 1.1 Oceania
183 🇧🇸 Bahamas
 1.0 North America
184 🇸🇻 El Salvador 1.0 North America
185 🇧🇭 Bahrain 0.8 Middle East
186 🇨🇳 China 0.7 Asia
187 🇹🇭 Thailand 0.7 Asia
188 🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam 0.6 Asia
189 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 0.6 Europe
190 🇨🇭 Switzerland 0.6 Europe

Venezuela continues to face the highest inflation worldwide by a huge margin, with inflation set to increase 682.1% in 2026. (Note these forecasts were released before President Nicolas Maduro’s capture and U.S. plans to take over Venezuelan oil production).

Moreover, conflict-ridden countries including Sudan, Iran, and Myanmar, face inflation rates exceeding 25%.

In the U.S., inflation is expected to trend lower, though several risks could influence the outlook. While tariff front-loading muted inflationary effects in 2025, pass-through effects could meaningfully affect consumer prices in 2026.

Meanwhile, several economies, from Italy and Spain to Senegal and Saudi Arabia are expected to see inflation reach a 2% target.

In contrast, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are projected to see the lowest inflation globally, at 0.6%. For Switzerland, a strong Swiss franc has led import prices to drop, mirroring a trend seen in the past two years.

Additionally, consumer prices in Thailand and China are set to rise just 0.7% amid deflationary pressures.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on interest rate projections across advanced economies.

Charted: The Rise of Major Currencies Against the U.S. Dollar in 2025

2026-01-15 02:22:04

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Bar chart showing the performance of major currencies against the U.S. dollar in 2025.

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Chart: The Rise of Major Currencies Against the U.S. Dollar in 2025

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.

Key Takeaways

  • The Swedish krona gained 20.2% against the U.S. dollar in 2025, marking its biggest year of appreciation in decades.
  • Many major currencies appreciated against the dollar last year given steep policy uncertainty and increasing central bank reserve diversification.

Donald Trump’s trade war was a major driver of U.S. dollar weakness in 2025, pushing trade policy uncertainty to historic levels.

At the same time, U.S. dollars held in foreign central bank reserves fell to 20-year lows. Given these dynamics, several major currencies, from the Swedish krona to the Brazilian real saw double-digit gains against the U.S. dollar amid lower global demand.

This graphic shows the appreciation of major currencies against the greenback in 2025, based on data from Bloomberg via The Bulwark.

The Performance of Major Currencies Against the U.S. Dollar

Below, we show how numerous currencies strengthened against the U.S. dollar in 2025:

Currency Appreciation in 2025
🇸🇪 Swedish Krona 20.2%
🇲🇽 Mexican Peso 15.6%
🇨🇭 Swiss Franc 14.5%
🇿🇦 South African Rand 13.8%
🇪🇺 Euro 13.5%
🇩🇰 Danish Krone 13.3%
🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone 12.9%
🇧🇷 Brazilian Real 12.8%
🇦🇺 Australian Dollar 7.8%
🇬🇧 British Pound 7.7%
🇸🇬 Singapore Dollar 6.2%
🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar 4.8%
🇹🇼 Taiwanese Dollar 4.4%
🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar 2.8%
🇰🇷 South Korean Won 2.2%
🇯🇵 Japanese Yen 0.3%

With 20.2% gains, the Swedish krona saw its strongest performance against the dollar in decades.

The U.S. dollar weakened on softer economic data and policy expectations, and investors rebalanced into currencies like the krona amid relatively stronger Swedish growth prospects and economic fundamentals.

The Mexican peso had the second highest gains, strengthening 15.6% in 2025. This marked the best year since 1994, defying expectations given U.S. trade tensions. Among the factors underpinning the peso’s rise are resilient growth and macroeconomic stability.

Meanwhile, the South African rand rose 13.8% and the Brazilian real appreciated 12.8%.

Across Asian countries, the Singapore dollar increased 6.1%, serving as a “quasi safe haven” across the region. The global financial hub is known for its institutional strength and significant current account surplus, further supporting demand.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the top 50 countries by central bank reserves.

Breaking Down America’s $13 Trillion ETF Market

2026-01-15 00:48:00

Published

24 hours ago

on

The following content is sponsored by Terzo
Proportional bubble chart showing AUM by asset class in the U.S. ETF market, using data from VettaFi.

Breaking Down America’s $13 Trillion ETF Market

Key Takeaways

  • ETFs have become a cornerstone of U.S. investing, with the market totaling $13.4 trillion in assets.
  • Equities dominate the ETF market, with roughly $10.5 trillion—nearly 80% of total ETF assets.
  • Bond ETFs hold a distant but significant $2.2 trillion, while hundreds of billions more are allocated to commodities, currencies, real estate, and other specialized strategies.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become one of the most popular investment vehicles in the United States. They have given investors low-cost, diversified access to nearly every corner of global markets.

This visualization, created in partnership with Terzo, breaks down America’s $13.4 trillion ETF market by asset class. It offers a clear view of how capital is distributed across equities, bonds, and other investment categories—and how that allocation shapes portfolio risk and returns.

What Is an ETF?

An ETF is an investment fund that trades on stock exchanges, much like an individual stock. Most ETFs are designed to track an index, sector, commodity, or asset class. This allows investors to gain broad exposure without having to pick individual securities.

Compared to mutual funds, ETFs typically offer lower fees, greater transparency, and the flexibility to trade intraday. This has fueled their rapid adoption among both retail and institutional investors.

ETF Assets by Class

Equities dominate the ETF landscape by a wide margin. U.S. equity ETFs hold roughly $10.5 trillion in assets under management (AUM), accounting for nearly 80% of all ETF assets. Bond ETFs follow with just over $2.2 trillion, reflecting growing demand for fixed income exposure in a more liquid and accessible format.

Asset Class Assets Under Management (AUM)
Equities $10.5T
Bonds $2.2T
Commodities $318B
Currencies $160B
Real Estate $77B
Other* $102B
Total $13.4T

Beyond stocks and bonds, ETFs have expanded into a wide range of asset classes. Commodity ETFs manage about $318 billion AUM, while currency ETFs hold roughly $160 billion. Real estate ETFs account for $77 billion AUM, and a collection of other specialized strategies, including alternatives and niche exposures, add another $102 billion.

Understanding the Financial Landscape

Understanding the broader financial landscape is essential, but real advantage comes from knowing what’s happening inside your own business. Great insights start with great data, and by transforming company contracts into actionable intelligence, you can make decisions based on reality, not assumptions.

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Mapped: Venezuela’s Abundant Natural Resources

2026-01-14 23:12:00

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Map graphic highlighting Venezuela’s natural resources. Oil, natural gas, and various key minerals.

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Not Just Oil: Venezuela’s Natural Resources Mapped

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.

Key Takeaways

  • Venezuela’s natural resources include the world’s largest proven oil reserves, totaling roughly 303 billion barrels.
  • Gold, natural gas, and other minerals are reportedly abundant, but underdeveloped, ranking among the world’s top deposits.

Oil is the largest of Venezuela’s natural resource reserves, which has dominated recent news, but the country’s resource base extends far beyond crude. 

This visualization highlights the often overlooked scale of resources across oil, natural gas, gold, iron, bauxite, diamonds, and coal. 

The data for this graphic comes from several sources:

Venezuela’s Abundant Natural Resources

A resource is a naturally occurring material that could be economically extracted now or in the future, while a reserve is the portion of an identified resource that can be economically and legally extracted today.

The data table below shows Venezuela’s resources and reserves for various energy fuels and minerals, along with each ones respective international ranking.

Resource Estimated Reserves / Resources* Units World Rank
Crude Oil 303,221 Million Barrels (MMBbls) #1
Bauxite 99.35* Mega tonnes (Mt) -
Diamond 1.02* Billion Carats -
Gold 2,343 tonnes (t) -
Natural Gas 5511 Billion Cubic Meters (bcm) #8
Iron 5.958 Giga tonnes (Gt) #8
Coal 3 Giga tonnes (Gt) #27

Bauxite and diamond totals are identified resources published by the Venezuelan government providing a snapshot of the geological potential. These have not been independently verified, so they shouldn’t be treated as confirmed reserves.

Gold’s totals are also not of proven underground gold reserves, but rather are based on an asset-level analysis of 24 gold-bearing mines in Venezuela shared by CSIS.

The Orinoco Oil Belt and Mining Arc

Nearly all of Venezuela’s estimated resource potential is concentrated along the Orinoco river. To the north, the Orinoco Oil Belt hosts Venezuela’s world-leading 303 billion barrels of extra-heavy crude oil reserves.

South of the river, is the Orinoco Mining Arc sitting atop the ancient Guiana Shield, a 1.7 billion-year-old craton.

The Venezuelan government’s mineral catalog and CSIS report world-leading deposits of gold, iron, bauxite, and most notably diamonds.

Government estimates indicate Venezuela surpasses Russia as the country with the largest reserves of diamonds in the world.

Massive Reserves, Minor Production

Despite the vast resource richness, Venezuela has endured years of humanitarian and economic crisis brought on by international sanctions, mismanagement, and electoral fraud.

The political environment has severely limited production across all resources with failing infrastructure and limited foreign investment.

Geopolitical and Economic Implications for Venezuela

With the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro, the vast heavy crude and mineral endowment becomes a geopolitical lever under U.S. control.

Redirecting heavy-crude barrels toward Gulf Coast refineries may pressure Canadian heavy-oil producers while delivering a setback to Chinese access to Venezuelan supply.

Broadly, Maduro’s capture signals a shift toward raw power politics, where geology still matters, but governance and international alignment may increasingly decide who benefits.

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.

Mapped: Average Weekly Grocery Bill Cost, by U.S. State

2026-01-14 21:04:03

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Map showing the average weekly grocery bill by state in 2025.

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Mapped: Each State’s Average Weekly Grocery Bill

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.

Key Takeaways

  • Hawaiian households spent 33% more on groceries than the U.S. average in 2025, footing the highest grocery bills across the country.
  • Overall, average spending at the supermarket climbed 6.3% nationally as of July 8, 2025.

Costs at the grocery store keep marching higher, but some states are feeling the strain more than others.

Nationwide, ground beef prices jumped 15% in 2025, while orange juice spiked 21%. Moreover, the price for a carton of eggs hit a record-high of $8.15 in March, however prices have dropped meaningfully since then.

This graphic shows the average grocery bill by state in 2025, based on data from GOBankingRates.

Hawaii Leads the U.S. in Average Weekly Grocery Bills

Below, we show the average weekly grocery cost for a median-income household in each state, based on analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics price indexes. Data is as of July 8, 2025.

State Average Weekly Grocery Costs 2025 Annual Cost Increase
Hawaii $157 9.6%
Alaska $152 8.8%
California $127 3.4%
Washington $126 8.8%
Vermont $124 6.3%
Florida $122 6.0%
Oregon $122 5.0%
Maryland $122 4.2%
Montana $122 9.5%
Idaho $122 7.0%
New York $121 6.3%
South Dakota $120 12.6%
Nevada $120 5.8%
Massachusetts $120 4.4%
Colorado $119 8.1%
New Jersey $119 4.5%
Arizona $119 7.6%
Wyoming $119 7.8%
Connecticut $118 5.0%
Minnesota $117 4.7%
Maine $117 4.9%
Delaware $117 3.7%
Kentucky $116 6.0%
Ohio $116 6.9%
Wisconsin $116 7.9%
Rhode Island $115 3.1%
South Carolina $115 5.7%
Michigan $115 6.9%
Nebraska $115 5.8%
Virginia $115 5.4%
New Hampshire $115 5.0%
Illinois $115 6.6%
Utah $114 6.6%
Indiana $114 6.9%
New Mexico $114 7.8%
North Carolina $114 5.4%
Georgia $114 6.6%
Alabama $114 6.6%
Pennsylvania $113 4.2%
North Dakota $113 8.6%
West Virginia $113 3.7%
Louisiana $113 6.8%
Tennessee $113 5.7%
Missouri $113 6.9%
Kansas $112 8.0%
Mississippi $112 5.7%
Texas $112 5.8%
Oklahoma $111 6.5%
Iowa $111 5.2%
Arkansas $111 6.0%
U.S. Average $118 6.3%

In Hawaii, households spend $157 per week on groceries, up 9.6% from the prior year.

Not only is this among the fastest annual increases across states, grocery bills are 33% higher than the national average. Dairy, bread, and poultry are among the items that cost substantially more than the mainland given the state’s reliance on imports.

Alaska follows, with prices increasing 8.8% annually. Within the state, prices can vary dramatically, particularly for rural communities that are not accessible by road. While a bag of chips can cost $6.79 in Anchorage, it climbs to $10.49 in Unalakleet.

As we can see, California prices rank third-highest nationally, up 3.4% compared to July 2024. Higher wages, rent, utilities, and distribution costs all contribute to elevated prices.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are several Southern states. Residents in Arkansas spend the least on groceries, at about 6% lower than the U.S. average. Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, and Kansas also rank near the bottom due to comparatively lower costs of living.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the U.S. cities with the highest grocery costs.