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2026-01-26 03:09:24

Charted: Are Younger Countries More Optimistic About AI?

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Does age influence optimism about artificial intelligence?

This visualization from Iswardi Ishak charts the relationship between the median age of a country’s population and public sentiment toward AI, based on 2025 data from Ipsos and the UN Population Division.

Respondents were asked whether they agreed with the statement: “Products and services using artificial intelligence make me excited.” The results highlight notable geographic and demographic divides.

Explore the Full Dataset

Here is the full ranking of AI optimism levels across 30 countries, alongside each nation’s median age:

Country	Optimism About AI (Ipsos, 2025)	Median Age (UN, 2025)
Indonesia	80%	30.4
Thailand	79%	40.6
Malaysia	77%	31.0
South Korea	69%	45.6
Türkiye	67%	33.5
Singapore	67%	36.2
Peru	66%	30.2
Mexico	65%	29.6
India	65%	28.8
South Africa	61%	28.7
Colombia	60%	32.5
Brazil	57%	34.8
Chile	53%	36.9
Poland	49%	42.5
Italy	49%	48.2
Japan	46%	49.8
Spain	45%	45.9
Germany	45%	45.5
Hungary	44%	43.9
Switzerland	44%	42.9
Argentina	43%	32.9
Ireland	41%	39.0
Australia	40%	38.3
France	40%	42.3
Netherlands	39%	41.5
United States	38%	38.5
Great Britain	37%	40.1
Sweden	34%	40.3
Belgium	32%	41.9
Canada	31%	40.6

Younger populations in countries like Indonesia (80% agree), Malaysia (75%), and India (67%) lead the global AI optimism chart. Meanwhile, older and more developed economies, particularly in the West, typically express far less excitement.

Younger Countries, Higher AI Optimism?

The correlation between youth and optimism is strong. Nations with median ages under 35, such as Mexico, Peru, and South Africa, all report optimism levels above 60%.

Indonesia tops the list, with 80% of respondents feeling excited about AI products and services. Interestingly, even countries like Türkiye and Colombia, with slightly older populations, maintain high excitement levels.

Asian Nations Buck the Trend

Despite their aging demographics, countries like Thailand (79%) and South Korea (69%) are among the most enthusiastic about AI. This defies the trend and may reflect a strong emphasis on tech-forward policy and innovation in these regions.

In contrast, Japan, which has the highest median age in the dataset, shows much lower excitement at just 46%.

The West’s Tepid AI Outlook

Western countries generally fall below the global average. Nations such as Canada (36%), Belgium (37%), and France (38%) have older populations and appear less enthused about AI’s promises.

This aligns with broader findings from organizations like Pew Research and the UNU’s MACAU Institute, which suggest a cautious, even skeptical, public attitude in many developed nations, fueled by fears over automation, privacy, and misinformation.

In some cases, neighboring countries with similar demographics show dramatically different attitudes. Argentina (43%), for instance, has a relatively young population but reports much lower optimism than other Latin American countries like Mexico (67%) and Peru (67%).

2026-01-25 23:37:17

The Largest U.S. Trading Partners in 2025

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U.S. bilateral trade reached $4.7 trillion between January and October 2025, in a volatile year for trade policy.

As the U.S.’s largest trading partner, the EU plays a central role in trade flows. While tariffs linked to Greenland were briefly threatened on eight EU countries before being withdrawn, trade dynamics vary across the bloc. The U.S. runs surpluses with countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium, while having deficits with Ireland and Germany.

This graphic shows America’s biggest trading partners in 2025 through October, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

A Closer Look at the Largest U.S. Trading Partners

Below, we show America’s top trading partners in a year of head-spinning trade policy:

Rank	Country/Region	Total Trade Jan-Oct 2025	Share of Total Trade
1	EU	$883.3B	18.8%
2	Mexico	$731.2B	15.6%
3	Canada	$606.7B	12.9%
4	China	$357.2B	7.6%
5	Taiwan	$201.1B	4.3%
6	Japan	$190.7B	4.1%
7	Vietnam	$170.5B	3.6%
8	South Korea	$162.1B	3.5%
9	Switzerland	$154.3B	3.3%
10	United Kingdom	$133.5B	2.8%
11	India	$126.4B	2.7%
--	Other countries	$977.2B	20.8%
--	Total Trade (Jan-Oct '25)	$4.69 trillion	100.0%

Trade with the EU stood at $883.3 billion, with Germany ($196.4 billion), Ireland ($140.8 billion), and the Netherlands ($108.7 billion) driving the most trade activity overall.

In August 2025, the U.S. and EU agreed to a framework that set a 15% tariff ceiling on most goods, while existing 50% U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum were left in place for all global trading partners.

Mexico follows, with $731.2 billion in cross-border trade in 2025. After the U.S. announced tariffs on Mexican imports in February 2025, subsequent negotiations led to delays and partial exemptions.

Ranking in third is Canada, with $606.7 billion in trade value.

Meanwhile, U.S-China trade totaled $357.2 billion, with the U.S. trade deficit with the country sitting at $175.4 billion as of the end of October. Over the period, U.S imports from China sank 26.7%, the largest across U.S. trading partners.

In stark contrast, U.S. imports surged 40.4% from Vietnam and 37.4% from Thailand amid shifting trade alignments. When it comes to India, America’s 11th-biggest trading partner, trade increased moderately to $126.4 billion compared to the previous time period.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the top import partner of each U.S. state.

2026-01-25 21:08:18

Visualizing the 8.2 Billion World Population by Country

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After reaching 1 billion people in 1804, the world’s population has expanded eightfold over roughly 200 years.

Since 2022, the global population has increased by more than 200 million despite widespread declines in birth rates. While the populations of China and Brazil have shrunk, India and Nigeria have been significant drivers of overall population growth.

This graphic shows the world population by country, based on data from the United Nations.

The World Population by Country in 2025

Below, we show the population of 204 countries and territories in 2025:

Rank	Country	Population in 2025 (M)
1	India	1,463.9
2	China	1,416.1
3	U.S.	347.3
4	Indonesia	285.7
5	Pakistan	255.2
6	Nigeria	237.5
7	Brazil	212.8
8	Bangladesh	175.7
9	Russia	144.0
10	Ethiopia	135.5
11	Mexico	132.0
12	Japan	123.1
13	Egypt	118.4
14	Philippines	116.8
15	DR Congo	112.8
16	Viet Nam	101.6
17	Iran	92.4
18	Türkiye	87.7
19	Germany	84.1
20	Thailand	71.6
21	Tanzania	70.6
22	UK	69.6
23	France	66.7
24	South Africa	64.8
25	Italy	59.2
26	Kenya	57.5
27	Myanmar	54.9
28	Colombia	53.4
29	South Korea	51.7
30	Sudan	51.7
31	Uganda	51.4
32	Spain	47.9
33	Algeria	47.4
34	Iraq	47.0
35	Argentina	45.9
36	Afghanistan	43.8
37	Yemen	41.8
38	Canada	40.1
39	Angola	39.0
40	Ukraine	39.0
41	Morocco	38.4
42	Poland	38.1
43	Uzbekistan	37.1
44	Malaysia	36.0
45	Mozambique	35.6
46	Ghana	35.1
47	Peru	34.6
48	Saudi Arabia	34.6
49	Côte d'Ivoire	32.7
50	Madagascar	32.7
51	Cameroon	29.9
52	Nepal	29.6
53	Venezuela	28.5
54	Niger	27.9
55	Australia	27.0
56	North Korea	26.6
57	Syria	25.6
58	Mali	25.2
59	Burkina Faso	24.1
60	Sri Lanka	23.2
61	Malawi	22.2
62	Zambia	21.9
63	Chad	21.0
64	Kazakhstan	20.8
65	Chile	19.9
66	Somalia	19.7
67	Romania	18.9
68	Senegal	18.9
69	Guatemala	18.7
70	Netherlands	18.4
71	Ecuador	18.3
72	Cambodia	17.9
73	Zimbabwe	17.0
74	Guinea	15.1
75	Benin	14.8
76	Rwanda	14.6
77	Burundi	14.4
78	Bolivia	12.6
79	Tunisia	12.4
80	South Sudan	12.2
81	Haiti	11.9
82	Belgium	11.8
83	Dominican Republic	11.5
84	Jordan	11.5
85	UAE	11.4
86	Honduras	11.0
87	Cuba	10.9
88	Papua New Guinea	10.8
89	Tajikistan	10.8
90	Sweden	10.7
91	Czechia	10.6
92	Azerbaijan	10.4
93	Portugal	10.4
94	Greece	9.9
95	Togo	9.7
96	Hungary	9.6
97	Israel	9.5
98	Austria	9.1
99	Belarus	9.0
100	Switzerland	9.0
101	Sierra Leone	8.8
102	Laos	7.9
103	Turkmenistan	7.6
104	Libya	7.5
105	China	7.4
106	Kyrgyzstan	7.3
107	Nicaragua	7.0
108	Paraguay	7.0
109	Bulgaria	6.7
110	Serbia	6.7
111	Congo	6.5
112	El Salvador	6.4
113	Denmark	6.0
114	Lebanon	5.9
115	Singapore	5.9
116	Liberia	5.7
117	Finland	5.6
118	Norway	5.6
119	State of Palestine	5.6
120	Central African Republic	5.5
121	Oman	5.5
122	Slovakia	5.5
123	Ireland	5.3
124	Mauritania	5.3
125	New Zealand	5.3
126	Costa Rica	5.2
127	Kuwait	5.0
128	Panama	4.6
129	Croatia	3.9
130	Georgia	3.8
131	Eritrea	3.6
132	Mongolia	3.5
133	Uruguay	3.4
134	Puerto Rico	3.2
135	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3.1
136	Namibia	3.1
137	Qatar	3.1
138	Armenia	3.0
139	Republic of Moldova	3.0
140	Albania	2.8
141	Gambia	2.8
142	Jamaica	2.8
143	Lithuania	2.8
144	Botswana	2.6
145	Gabon	2.6
146	Lesotho	2.4
147	Guinea-Bissau	2.3
148	Slovenia	2.1
149	Equatorial Guinea	1.9
150	Latvia	1.9
151	North Macedonia	1.8
152	Bahrain	1.6
153	Trinidad and Tobago	1.5
154	Cyprus	1.4
155	Timor-Leste	1.4
156	Estonia	1.3
157	Eswatini	1.3
158	Mauritius	1.3
159	Djibouti	1.2
160	Comoros	0.9
161	Fiji	0.9
162	Réunion	0.9
163	Bhutan	0.8
164	Guyana	0.8
165	Solomon Islands	0.8
166	Macao	0.7
167	Luxembourg	0.7
168	Malta	0.6
169	Montenegro	0.6
170	Suriname	0.6
171	Western Sahara	0.6
172	Brunei Darussalam	0.5
173	Cabo Verde	0.5
174	Maldives	0.5
175	Bahamas	0.4
176	Belize	0.4
177	Guadeloupe	0.4
178	Iceland	0.4
179	Barbados	0.3
180	French Guiana11	0.3
181	French Polynesia	0.3
182	Martinique	0.3
183	New Caledonia	0.3
184	Vanuatu	0.3
185	Curaçao	0.2
186	Guam	0.2
187	Saint Lucia	0.2
188	Samoa	0.2
189	Sao Tome and Principe	0.2
190	Antigua and Barbuda	0.1
191	Aruba	0.1
192	Dominica	0.1
193	Grenada	0.1
194	Kiribati	0.1
195	Micronesia	0.1
196	Saint Kitts and Nevis	0.1
197	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0.1
198	Seychelles	0.1
199	Tonga	0.1
200	Turks and Caicos Islands	0.1
201	United States Virgin Islands	0.1
202	San Marino	0.03
203	Sint Maarten	0.00
204	Tuvalu	0.00

India ranks as the world’s most populous country, with a population fast-approaching the 1.5 billion mark.

Between 2022 and 2025, India added roughly 53 million people, even as its fertility rate fell below the replacement level to 1.9 births per woman. Over the same period, life expectancy rose to more than 72 years, climbing roughly 10 years since 2000.

China, home to over 1.4 billion people, ranks second globally. Since 2022, its population has declined by almost 36 million, and India overtook China in 2023 as aging demographics and record-low fertility accelerated China’s population decline.

With 347 million people in 2025, the U.S. ranks third globally. However, Nigeria is projected to surpass it by 2050 as its population doubles given its younger demographic profile.

Looking over to Europe, Italy’s population has shrunk by over 1 million people in less than four years, while the population of Greece has declined by roughly 400,000. Both countries have among the highest median ages in the world, at 48 and 47 years, respectively.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on peak population by country.

2026-01-25 15:44:23

Charted: Approval of EU Leadership Among Residents

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 the European Union plays a central role in trade, regulation, and geopolitics, residents across member states do not view its leadership uniformly.

This chart shows how residents in EU member states rate the job performance of European Union leadership.

The data for this visualization comes from Gallup. Respondents were asked whether they approve or disapprove of the job performance of the leadership of the European Union.

Strong Support in Northern Europe

Northern European countries top the rankings for EU leadership approval. Denmark leads with 75% approval, followed closely by Finland and Lithuania at 74%, and Sweden at 73%. 

Country	Approve	Disapprove
Denmark	75%	21%
Finland	74%	21%
Lithuania	74%	18%
Sweden	73%	23%
Portugal	72%	18%
Ireland	71%	27%
Luxembourg	71%	27%
Germany	70%	29%
Malta	65%	32%
Poland	65%	27%
Netherlands	64%	30%
Austria	62%	37%
Belgium	62%	35%
Spain	60%	38%
Latvia	59%	21%
Croatia	56%	33%
Slovenia	52%	43%
Estonia	51%	38%
Italy	51%	48%
France	47%	50%
Romania	46%	36%
Bulgaria	44%	42%
Cyprus	44%	49%
Slovakia	44%	46%
Hungary	42%	48%
Czechia	40%	41%
Greece	34%	59%

Northern European countries tend to combine strong economic performance with high institutional trust, which often translates into more favorable views of EU governance.

Support above 70% also appears in Portugal, Ireland, and Luxembourg, reflecting broad confidence in the EU’s direction.

Western Europe Shows Solid but Mixed Views

Large Western European economies show generally positive but more divided opinions.

Germany reports 70% approval, placing it firmly in the upper tier, while the Netherlands and Belgium record approval in the low-to-mid 60% range.

France stands out as a notable exception, with approval at 47% and disapproval slightly higher at 50%, underscoring the country’s long-running domestic debates over EU authority and integration.

Lower Approval in Southern and Eastern Europe

Approval declines sharply in parts of Southern and Eastern Europe. Greece records the lowest approval at 34%, alongside the highest disapproval rate at 59%. Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria also show approval below 45%, reflecting tensions over EU policy, national sovereignty, and economic outcomes.

Despite regional differences, approval outweighs disapproval in most EU member states.

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2026-01-25 03:21:33

How Americans Have Viewed U.S. Military Interventions

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A new YouGov survey of U.S. adults finds deep partisan splits on support for major U.S. military interventions, including recent debates over Venezuela and strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

YouGov surveyed 1,097 U.S. adults from January 5–6, 2026. Respondents were asked whether, ‘given what you know now,’ U.S. military intervention in various conflicts was the right decision. Party affiliation reflects respondents’ most recent self-identification and is weighted to match estimated national party distribution.

Sharp Partisan Divides on Recent Conflicts

For the 2026 operation to remove President Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela, 70.4% of Republicans say it was the right decision, compared with just 7.4% of Democrats.

Similarly, on U.S. bombing of Iran nuclear sites, 74.2% of Republicans view it favorably versus 17.4% of Democrats.

Historical Interventions Show Consistent Patterns

Partisan gaps appear across longer-running or historic U.S. engagements.

For example, support for the Iraq War is higher among Republicans (40.3%) than Democrats (16.2%), and the same is true for Afghanistan and the Gulf War.

Even for major conflicts like Vietnam, Republicans remain more inclined to view intervention as justified than Democrats.

Meanwhile, Independents are generally skeptical of U.S. military interventions, showing low approval for most post–Cold War conflicts, with majority support only for World Wars I and II.

Broad Agreement on World War Interventions

Where clear national consensus exists—such as World War II—both parties are relatively supportive. Support among Republicans is 75.2% and Democrats 68.7%. Similarly, for World War I, Republicans show higher support but Democrats are not far behind.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Most Militarized Economies by 3 Metrics on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

2026-01-24 23:35:50

The U.S. Dominates NATO Defense Spending

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Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and renewed concerns about global security, NATO members have accelerated military investment after years of underfunding.

This visualization ranks NATO countries by their estimated defense spending in 2025, highlighting how military budgets vary widely across the alliance. While all members now meet NATO’s 2% of GDP guideline, the absolute dollar amounts reveal stark differences in scale and capacity.

The data for this visualization comes from the latest NATO report on spending. Germany’s figure reflects 2024 spending, the most recent data available.

NATO Countries Ranked by Estimated Spending in 2025

The United States remains the backbone of NATO’s military power, with an estimated $980 billion in defense spending. This represents roughly 62% of NATO’s total defense budget, far exceeding any other member.

Rank	Country	2025e Spending (USD, millions)
1	United States	980,000
2	Germany*	93,747
3	United Kingdom	90,508
4	France	66,531
5	Italy	48,800
6	Poland	44,314
7	Canada	43,886
8	Spain	35,670
9	Türkiye	32,573
10	Netherlands	28,107
11	Norway	16,490
12	Sweden	15,207
13	Denmark	14,303
14	Belgium	13,739
15	Romania	9,308
16	Finland	8,587
17	Greece	7,673
18	Czechia	7,223
19	Portugal	6,391
20	Hungary	4,807
21	Lithuania	3,607
22	Slovak Republic	3,094
23	Bulgaria	2,389
24	Croatia	2,006
25	Latvia	1,653
26	Slovenia	1,513
27	Estonia	1,504
28	Luxembourg	1,350
29	Albania	570
30	North Macedonia	358
31	Montenegro	174
—	NATO Total	1,587,999

*Germany spending data is from 2024.

While European allies have increased spending significantly, the U.S. still provides the bulk of the alliance’s capabilities, from advanced weapons systems to global force projection.

Europe’s Largest Military Spenders

Among European members, the United Kingdom ($90.5 billion), Germany ($93.7 billion), and France ($66.5 billion) lead the pack.

Germany’s rapid rise in defense spending marks a historic shift, as the country moves away from decades of military restraint. Poland also stands out, with spending of $44.3 billion, reflecting its frontline position and heightened security concerns in Eastern Europe.

Smaller Members, Shared Commitment

Smaller NATO members contribute far less in absolute terms, but many are now spending a significant share of national resources on defense. Countries such as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—each spending under $4 billion—have among the strongest commitments relative to GDP.

Outside Europe, Canada ($43.9 billion) and Türkiye ($32.6 billion) play key strategic roles within the alliance.

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