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2025-12-24 02:22:41

The Online Marketplaces Getting AI Traffic

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Online shopping is increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. From product discovery to price comparison, AI tools are now acting as intermediaries between consumers and digital storefronts.

This visualization shows which online marketplaces are receiving the most referral traffic from AI sources and how concentrated this traffic is among a handful of major players.

The data for this visualization comes from Similarweb. It tracks AI-generated referral traffic between July 2024 and June 2025, measuring both share of referrals and total visit volumes.

Amazon’s Outsized Lead

Across all platforms, AI tools drove an estimated 25.9 million referrals over the 12-month period.

Amazon stands far ahead of every other marketplace. The platform captured 46% of all AI-driven marketplace traffic, totaling roughly 11.9 million visits. This dominance reflects Amazon’s massive product catalog, strong brand recognition, and deep integration into search and recommendation ecosystems.

AI tools tend to surface comprehensive, reliable results, which favors platforms with Amazon’s scale.

Big-Box Retailers and Marketplaces Follow

Behind Amazon, Walmart secured 12% of AI referrals, or about 3.1 million visits. Etsy followed closely with 11%, reflecting strong AI interest in niche goods. eBay rounded out the top tier with 9% of referrals.

Traditional retailers like Target and Wayfair each captured around 6% of AI traffic.

Smaller Platforms

Beyond the top six marketplaces, AI traffic drops off sharply. Costco, Sam’s Club, Temu, and Zazzle each received between 1% and 2% of referrals, amounting to a few hundred thousand visits apiece. Collectively, all other marketplaces accounted for just 5% of AI-driven traffic.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Ranked: The Top Factors That Build AI Trust on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2025-12-23 23:44:22

Top Exporters of Christmas Decorations

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Christmas decorations are a global business, with supply chains that stretch across continents well before the holiday season begins. From ornaments and lights to artificial trees and festive displays, most of these products are manufactured and shipped months in advance.

This graphic highlights the world’s largest exporters of Christmas decorations in 2024. The data for this visualization comes from UN Comtrade via Statista.

China’s Overwhelming Lead

China is by far the world’s largest exporter of Christmas decorations. In 2024, it shipped $5.97 billion worth of festive goods globally. This figure is more than 20 times larger than that of the second-ranked exporter.

Rank	Country	Decorations Exports
1	China	$5.9B
2	Netherlands	$249M
3	India	$117M
4	Cambodia	$103M
5	Poland	$92M
6	Germany	$77M
7	U.S.	$60M
8	Mexico	$32M
9	France	$30M
10	Denmark	$30M

China’s dominance reflects its massive manufacturing base, cost efficiencies, and deep integration into global retail supply chains. For many countries, Christmas decorations are almost synonymous with Chinese production.

Europe’s Specialized Exporters

The Netherlands ranks second, exporting roughly $249 million in Christmas decorations. While small compared to China, the country acts as a key logistics and re-export hub within Europe.

Germany, Poland, France, and Denmark also appear among the top exporters. These countries often focus on higher-quality or niche products, including premium ornaments, lighting, and traditional designs that cater to European and North American markets.

Rising Asian and Regional Suppliers

Beyond China, several Asian countries play growing roles in this market. India exported $117 million worth of Christmas decorations in 2024, while Cambodia shipped about $103 million. These countries are increasingly attractive to manufacturers looking to diversify supply chains.

Mexico and the U.S. also appear in the top 10, reflecting regional production aimed at serving nearby markets more efficiently and reducing shipping times.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Biggest Importers in 2024 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2025-12-23 21:06:10

Chart: Countries Stockpiling the Most Gold Since 2000

Since the turn of the century, central banks have been steadily increasing their gold reserves, a trend that has sharply accelerated in the last few years. As global trust in traditional reserve currencies like the U.S. dollar is being tested by inflation, sanctions, and shifting alliances, many nations are turning to gold as a strategic store of value.

This chart by Aneesh Anand visualizes the net additions to official gold reserves from 2000 to 2024, using data from the World Gold Council, IMF, World Bank, and other central banking sources.

Who’s Stacking?

Here’s a closer look at the top countries stockpiling gold in the 21st century:

Russia leads all countries with a stunning increase of 1,948 tonnes of gold since 2000, narrowly edging out China’s 1,885 tonnes. Together, these two powers account for more than half of all gold stockpiled by central banks in the period.

Why Are Russia and China Hoarding Gold?

The dramatic increase in gold holdings by Russia and China is part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar. After facing Western sanctions, Russia has accelerated its dedollarization strategy, favoring gold to protect reserves from seizure or devaluation.

China’s motives are also strategic. Amid trade tensions with the U.S. and a growing desire to internationalize the yuan, Beijing has been quietly amassing gold, often through discreet central bank purchases and reported transfers from domestic mines.

Russia and China have even engaged in historic bilateral gold trade deals that bypass the U.S. financial system.

These moves align with a broader trend, where central banks now hold more gold than U.S. Treasuries, underscoring gold’s rising appeal in a geopolitically fragmented world.

Emerging Markets Follow Suit

While Russia and China dominate in volume, several emerging economies are also rapidly accumulating gold:

• India (+518 tonnes) has boosted reserves in response to currency volatility and inflation concerns.
• Türkiye (+501 tonnes) has leaned on gold amid economic turbulence and lira devaluation.
• Poland and Kazakhstan have each added hundreds of tonnes as part of diversified reserve strategies.

Meanwhile, Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar are increasing gold holdings as part of broader economic diversification under Vision 2030 and related national strategies.

Gold’s Enduring Allure

According to Discovery Alert, central banks are expected to remain net buyers of gold through 2025 and beyond. As inflationary fears, geopolitical fragmentation, and currency diversification needs persist, gold remains a neutral and enduring store of value, especially for nations seeking independence from Western financial systems.

2025-12-23 19:12:12

China Still Dominates Critical Mineral Refining in 2030

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The energy transition hinges on the availability of refined critical minerals. Where will they come from in the future?

This visualization shows the projected refining shares by 2030, based on data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and the International Energy Agency.

With one major exception, the data shows that one country will dominate future refining shares. China.

China to Dominate the Future of Critical Mineral Refining

By 2030, China will play a dominant role in lithium, rare earth elements (REEs), cobalt, and graphite, controlling nearly 60% of all critical mineral refining. Such concentrated processing capacity offers efficiencies that may lower costs but heightens geopolitical risk for downstream buyers.

It also leaves limited room for late-moving countries looking to gain share without major capital commitments.

Country	Nickel	Copper	Lithium	REE	Cobalt	Graphite (Synthetic)	Graphite (Natural)
China	6.24%	44.63%	60.86%	86.11%	71.42%	85.16%	70.50%
Indonesia	71.24%	—	—	—	—	—	6.30%
Russia	3.26%	—	—	—	—	—	—
DRC	—	7.96%	—	—	—	—	—
India	—	6.41%	—	—	—	3.06%	—
Chile	—	—	11.59%	—	—	—	—
Argentina	—	—	11.58%	—	—	—	—
United States	—	—	—	5.14%	—	2.79%	7.22%
Malaysia	—	—	—	2.27%	—	—	—
Finland	—	—	—	—	5.87%	—	0.69%
Canada	—	—	—	—	5.73%	—	4.47%
South Korea	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.56%
Australia	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.01%
Sweden	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.84%
Morocco	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.15%
Saudi Arabia	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.94%
Uganda	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.72%
Tanzania	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.58%
Other	19.27%	40.99%	15.98%	6.49%	16.97%	8.98%	—

Nickel’s Outlier: Indonesia Leads, China Trails

Nickel is the one mineral where China is not on top. Indonesia will command over 71.24% of refined nickel by leveraging its large ore reserves, expanding low-cost refineries, and enforcing a ban on raw ore exports.

China’s share is just 6.24%, with Russia at 3.26% and the rest of the world spread across “Other” at 19.27%. This shift positions Indonesia as a price-setting force in nickel used for stainless steel or EV batteries.

Copper Is More Fragmented; North America Plays Niche Roles

Copper refining is relatively diversified. China holds 44.63%, but “Other” countries make up 40.99%, indicating broader global refining capacity.

The U.S. appears notably in rare earths (REEs) at 5.14%, while Finland and Canada register meaningful shares in cobalt at 5.87% and 5.73%, respectively.

These footholds can strengthen regional EV supply chains, but they still pale in comparison to China’s scale.

Learn More on the Voronoi App 

If you enjoyed this graphic, make sure to check out this graphic that shows how global coal consumption is still rising.

2025-12-23 03:09:32

Ranked: Battery Manufacturing Investment by Country

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Battery manufacturing investment is surging as EVs expand to a fifth of car sales worldwide.

Additionally, energy storage for grids plays another key role in battery demand. Here, large grid batteries store excess energy and release it when the energy supply is low.

This graphic shows the global leaders in battery manufacturing investment, based on data from the Climate Policy Initiative and BNEF.

China’s Massive Battery Production Investment

Below, we show investment projections in the 2025/26 period with a comparison to the 2023/24 period, highlighting China’s dominance in the battery industry:

With 71% of the global share, China is forecast to pour nearly $131 billion into battery manufacturing in 2025 and 2026.

CATL, the world’s largest battery-maker, commands a significant share of the industry. Not only does it provide 30% of the batteries used in EVs globally, about a third of global grid energy-storage systems use CATL batteries.

Meanwhile, BYD also produces a notable share of batteries as part of the EV maker’s vertical integration strategy.

Europe ranks in second, supported by ambitious government policies. However, production costs are roughly 50% higher compared to China, making it challenging to compete. Moreover, the region’s largest domestic battery-maker, Northvolt, declared bankruptcy in March after missing production targets and losing key customers.

In the U.S., manufacturing investment was projected to reach over $18 billion, however these figures were prior to Trump’s subsidy cuts. So far in 2025, at least $700 million in battery manufacturing grants have been canceled, ultimately slowing national production.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the top countries for lithium-ion battery production by 2030.

2025-12-23 01:19:48

Mapped: Countries by Total Fertility Rate

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Fertility rates are dropping across the world.

Between 2019 and 2024, there were only 12 countries that saw fertility rates grow—meanwhile rates declined or stayed the same in 185 countries.

This map visualization by Idwardi Ishak uses data from the United Nations to show the total fertility rate for countries and other notable jurisdictions globally.

Total fertility rate is defined as the average number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she were to pass through her childbearing years conforming to the age-specific fertility rates of a given year.

Total Fertility Rate Data by Country

The below table shows the total fertility rate for each jurisdiction using data from 2019 and 2024, while also highlighting the five-year change between the years.

Rank	Country	Total Fertility Rate (2024)	TFR (2019)	5-Yr Change
1	Chad	6.03	6.41	-0.38
2	Somalia	6.01	6.56	-0.55
3	DR Congo	5.98	6.25	-0.27
4	Central African Republic	5.95	6.09	-0.14
5	Niger	5.94	6.54	-0.60
6	Mali	5.51	5.89	-0.38
7	Angola	5.05	5.44	-0.40
8	Burundi	4.79	5.27	-0.48
9	Afghanistan	4.76	5.24	-0.48
10	Mozambique	4.69	5.02	-0.33
11	Mauritania	4.63	4.98	-0.36
12	Mayotte	4.56	4.58	-0.02
13	Tanzania	4.54	4.87	-0.33
14	Yemen	4.50	4.60	-0.10
15	Benin	4.48	4.90	-0.42
16	Nigeria	4.38	4.86	-0.48
17	Sudan	4.26	4.62	-0.35
18	Cameroon	4.26	4.65	-0.39
19	Côte d’Ivoire	4.23	4.52	-0.29
20	Uganda	4.17	4.74	-0.58
21	Guinea	4.13	4.58	-0.45
22	Togo	4.12	4.45	-0.33
23	Equatorial Guinea	4.12	4.43	-0.31
24	Burkina Faso	4.11	4.68	-0.57
25	Republic of the Congo	4.11	4.38	-0.27
26	Zambia	4.04	4.42	-0.38
27	Madagascar	3.91	4.22	-0.31
28	Ethiopia	3.91	4.35	-0.44
29	Gambia	3.91	4.33	-0.42
30	Liberia	3.86	4.26	-0.39
31	Comoros	3.82	4.14	-0.32
32	Samoa	3.80	4.06	-0.26
33	South Sudan	3.79	4.26	-0.48
34	Senegal	3.77	4.10	-0.34
35	Guinea-Bissau	3.76	4.15	-0.40
36	Sierra Leone	3.70	4.19	-0.49
37	Eritrea	3.68	4.00	-0.32
38	Zimbabwe	3.67	3.75	-0.07
39	Rwanda	3.65	3.99	-0.34
40	São Tomé & Príncipe	3.60	3.90	-0.30
41	Gabon	3.59	3.88	-0.29
42	Malawi	3.59	3.95	-0.36
43	Vanuatu	3.57	3.79	-0.22
44	Pakistan	3.55	3.81	-0.26
45	Solomon Islands	3.51	3.80	-0.29
46	Uzbekistan	3.49	2.87	0.62
47	Ghana	3.34	3.59	-0.25
48	French Guiana	3.34	3.73	-0.39
49	Nauru	3.29	3.53	-0.24
50	Palestine	3.25	3.59	-0.34
51	Iraq	3.22	3.48	-0.26
52	Namibia	3.21	3.40	-0.19
53	Tuvalu	3.17	3.33	-0.16
54	Kenya	3.17	3.43	-0.27
55	Kiribati	3.12	3.29	-0.17
56	Tonga	3.10	3.27	-0.17
57	Papua New Guinea	3.07	3.32	-0.25
58	Tajikistan	3.04	3.28	-0.25
59	Kazakhstan	2.98	2.89	0.09
60	Marshall Islands	2.86	3.01	-0.15
61	Micronesia	2.83	2.98	-0.15
62	Israel	2.79	3.03	-0.25
63	Kyrgyzstan	2.78	3.33	-0.55
64	Guam	2.75	2.94	-0.19
65	Egypt	2.74	2.87	-0.14
66	Algeria	2.72	3.00	-0.28
67	Eswatini	2.72	2.93	-0.21
68	Botswana	2.70	2.91	-0.20
69	Syria	2.70	2.88	-0.18
70	Lesotho	2.66	2.92	-0.26
71	Turkmenistan	2.66	2.83	-0.17
72	Mongolia	2.63	3.01	-0.38
73	Timor-Leste	2.63	3.12	-0.49
74	Haiti	2.63	2.86	-0.24
75	Djibouti	2.62	2.80	-0.18
76	Jordan	2.60	2.86	-0.25
77	Cambodia	2.55	2.73	-0.18
78	Bolivia	2.52	2.69	-0.17
79	Oman	2.51	2.70	-0.19
80	Honduras	2.48	2.61	-0.14
81	Paraguay	2.42	2.53	-0.11
82	Laos	2.40	2.59	-0.19
83	Guyana	2.40	2.52	-0.13
84	Saudi Arabia	2.31	2.49	-0.18
85	Libya	2.30	2.54	-0.24
86	Guatemala	2.29	2.59	-0.31
87	Fiji	2.27	2.39	-0.12
88	American Samoa	2.27	2.40	-0.14
89	Suriname	2.23	2.35	-0.12
90	Lebanon	2.23	2.33	-0.10
91	Faroe Islands	2.22	2.40	-0.18
92	Dominican Republic	2.22	2.37	-0.14
93	Morocco	2.21	2.34	-0.13
94	Nicaragua	2.21	2.32	-0.12
95	South Africa	2.21	2.26	-0.06
96	Western Sahara	2.18	2.28	-0.10
97	Réunion	2.15	2.13	0.02
98	Bangladesh	2.14	2.18	-0.04
99	Indonesia	2.12	2.21	-0.09
100	Seychelles	2.11	2.26	-0.15
101	Panama	2.11	2.29	-0.18
102	Monaco	2.10	2.40	-0.30
103	Myanmar	2.10	2.21	-0.11
104	U.S. Virgin Islands	2.08	2.16	-0.08
105	Venezuela	2.08	2.13	-0.05
106	Belize	2.02	2.14	-0.12
107	Peru	1.97	2.09	-0.12
108	India	1.96	2.12	-0.16
109	Nepal	1.96	2.08	-0.12
110	Sri Lanka	1.95	2.02	-0.07
111	Greenland	1.93	2.01	-0.08
112	Vietnam	1.90	1.94	-0.05
113	Philippines	1.89	2.22	-0.32
114	Mexico	1.89	2.02	-0.13
115	Palau	1.88	1.98	-0.10
116	Tunisia	1.82	2.10	-0.28
117	Ecuador	1.81	2.04	-0.23
118	Bahrain	1.81	1.84	-0.04
119	Georgia	1.80	2.02	-0.22
120	Montenegro	1.80	1.81	-0.02
121	North Korea	1.78	1.83	-0.04
122	El Salvador	1.77	1.84	-0.07
123	Bulgaria	1.75	1.58	0.17
124	Brunei	1.73	1.82	-0.09
125	Moldova	1.73	1.78	-0.05
126	Qatar	1.72	1.73	-0.01
127	Armenia	1.72	1.60	0.12
128	Romania	1.71	1.71	0.00
129	Barbados	1.71	1.72	-0.01
130	Iran	1.68	1.77	-0.08
131	New Zealand	1.66	1.72	-0.06
132	Australia	1.64	1.67	-0.03
133	France	1.64	1.83	-0.19
134	Colombia	1.63	1.71	-0.08
135	United States	1.62	1.68	-0.06
136	Turkey	1.62	1.89	-0.27
137	Brazil	1.61	1.71	-0.09
138	Ireland	1.60	1.72	-0.12
139	Slovenia	1.58	1.61	-0.04
140	Slovakia	1.56	1.57	-0.00
141	Maldives	1.56	1.64	-0.08
142	United Kingdom	1.55	1.63	-0.08
143	Malaysia	1.54	1.78	-0.23
144	Liechtenstein	1.54	1.48	0.05
145	Trinidad & Tobago	1.54	1.58	-0.04
146	Denmark	1.52	1.70	-0.18
147	Kuwait	1.52	2.09	-0.57
148	Portugal	1.51	1.42	0.09
149	Argentina	1.50	1.88	-0.38
150	Serbia	1.50	1.51	-0.01
151	Bosnia & Herzegovina	1.49	1.51	-0.02
152	Hungary	1.49	1.53	-0.04
153	Croatia	1.47	1.47	0.00
154	North Macedonia	1.47	1.65	-0.18
155	Russia	1.46	1.50	-0.05
156	Czechia	1.46	1.75	-0.30
157	Bhutan	1.45	1.45	0.00
158	Germany	1.45	1.54	-0.09
159	Cuba	1.45	1.54	-0.10
160	Switzerland	1.44	1.48	-0.04
161	Netherlands	1.43	1.57	-0.14
162	Sweden	1.43	1.71	-0.28
163	Norway	1.41	1.53	-0.12
164	Luxembourg	1.40	1.34	0.06
165	Uruguay	1.40	1.57	-0.17
166	Belgium	1.38	1.61	-0.23
167	Cyprus	1.38	1.33	0.05
168	Estonia	1.36	1.66	-0.30
169	Jamaica	1.35	1.39	-0.04
170	Canada	1.34	1.48	-0.13
171	Latvia	1.34	1.61	-0.27
172	Albania	1.34	1.40	-0.06
173	Greece	1.34	1.34	-0.00
174	Austria	1.32	1.46	-0.14
175	Costa Rica	1.32	1.60	-0.28
176	Poland	1.30	1.44	-0.13
177	Finland	1.29	1.35	-0.06
178	Mauritius	1.23	1.35	-0.13
179	Spain	1.22	1.23	-0.01
180	Belarus	1.22	1.39	-0.17
181	Japan	1.22	1.32	-0.11
182	United Arab Emirates	1.21	1.25	-0.03
183	Lithuania	1.21	1.61	-0.40
184	Italy	1.21	1.26	-0.05
185	Thailand	1.20	1.29	-0.08
186	San Marino	1.16	1.10	0.06
187	Chile	1.14	1.43	-0.29
188	Malta	1.11	1.15	-0.04
189	Andorra	1.09	1.05	0.04
190	China	1.01	1.50	-0.48
191	Ukraine	0.99	1.22	-0.23
192	Singapore	0.95	0.94	0.01
193	Puerto Rico	0.94	0.98	-0.04
194	Taiwan	0.86	1.05	-0.18
195	South Korea	0.73	0.88	-0.15
196	Hong Kong (SAR)	0.73	1.06	-0.33
197	Macau (SAR)	0.68	0.94	-0.26
--	Global Average	2.25	2.40	-0.15

The eight highest ranking countries in terms of fertility are all found in Africa, with the top three being Chad (6.03), Somalia (6.01), and the DRC (5.98). Even so, these countries have seen meaningful five-year drops in their rates, averaging around a 0.4 decrease in births per woman.

At the bottom of the rankings, we have four Asian jurisdictions: Taiwan (0.86), South Korea (0.73), Hong Kong (0.73), and Macau (0.68).

Where Fertility is Falling the Fastest

Fertility is falling fastest in a mix of very different regions, highlighting how universal the shift has become.

Some of the sharpest declines since 2019 are in Africa, including Niger and Uganda, where fertility remains high but is dropping rapidly as urbanization and education expand.

East Asia continues to see steep declines from already low levels, with China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Macau pushing deeper into ultra-low fertility. Meanwhile, parts of the Middle East (such as Kuwait) and Eastern Europe (including Lithuania) have also seen rapid drops, driven by economic pressure, delayed family formation, and migration.

The Developed World: One Big Outlier

In the developed countries, almost all places are now well below the replacement rate threshold.

That said, Israel remains as the one big outlier. In 2024, the country had a fertility rate of 2.79 children per woman.

This is largely because having children is strongly supported both culturally and institutionally in Israel, across income and education levels. Further, high fertility is reinforced by generous family policies, widespread childcare support, and strong social norms, including large families among religious communities.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

What is the population growth forecast for the United States going forward? Find out in this visualization that shows both birth rates and net immigration.