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2026-03-18 23:55:00

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March 18, 2026

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Cody Good

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• Zack Aboulazm

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The following content is sponsored by National Public Utilities Council

U.S. States Winning and Losing Data Center Market Share

Key Takeaways

• Texas (+142%) is expected to have the largest increase of data center market share, while Nebraska (-75%) loses the most by 2028.
• Virginia (-35%) is the largest data center market in the world and is expected to lose over a third of its relative market share despite absolute growth by 2028.
• The rest of the U.S. (+21%) will gain market share while select legacy markets like California (-50%) and Oregon (-67%) lose.

Demand for new data centers is soaring across the United States. By 2028, the projected growth of total U.S. load capacity for data centers is about 150 GW.

That’s nearly double the 80 GW capacity from 2025 and the equivalent of 75 Hoover Dams worth of power demand.

In response, new growth is shifting to places where power is cheaper, faster to secure, and easier to expand.

This graphic, in partnership with the National Public Utilities Council, shows which U.S. states may win or lose data center market share by 2028. It uses data from Bloom Energy’s 2026 Data Center Power Report.

Redrawing the Data Center Market Map

Power availability, or lack of it, is redrawing the traditional map of U.S. data centers.

The table below shows the expected change in U.S. data center market share among the top markets in 2025 to 2028:

U.S. State	Expected Change (%)
Texas	142
Georgia	75
Rest of U.S.	21
Arizona	0
Ohio	-17
Illinois	-25
Virginia	-35
California	-50
Iowa	-60
Oregon	-67
Nebraska	-75

Here, market share means each state’s slice of the overall U.S. market. Expected change is how much that slice will increase or decrease over time.

Everything is Bigger in Texas

By 2028, Texas has the largest expected growth of any U.S. state with an increase of 142%. This is an addition of over 40 GW, or about 30% of the total projected U.S. capacity of 150 GW.

This means that in two years the Lone Star State will grow the most and control the most in terms of U.S. market share.

Following Texas is Georgia (+75%) with the second-largest gain while the rest of the U.S. will grow by 21% overall.

The geographic shift in growth suggests that developers are moving future growth away from legacy markets towards the Southeast.

Legacy Markets: Falling from Grace

Unlike the Southeast, many legacy markets are losing market share. The largest expected loss is Nebraska (-75%), followed by Oregon (-67%), then Iowa (-60%).

Most notable declines may be in California (-50%) and Virginia (-35%), two states tied closely to data centers.

California is home to Silicon Valley, the HQ hub for many of the tech companies driving the data center market forward, like Apple, Meta, and Google.

Virginia is currently the largest data center market in the world and home to 35% of the world’s known hyperscale data centers.

Despite growth in absolute terms, market share decline is expected in both states. This indicates developers are turning to new regions with fewer grid constraints for future expansion.

Questions about powering gigawatt-scale data centers? Contact NPUC

Related Topics: #technology #texas #electricity #ai #california #Virginia #data centers #Georgia

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2026-03-18 22:35:32

Mapped: Life Expectancy by 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.

Life expectancy varies widely across the U.S., with clear regional patterns emerging in the latest data.

States in the Northeast and on the West Coast tend to have higher life expectancies, while many in the South and Appalachia rank lower.

This map shows these differences using data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, based on 2022 life tables published in December 2025, the latest publicly available state-level figures as of March 2026.

The CDC’s report uses period life tables, which estimate how long a hypothetical group would live if it experienced the death rates observed in 2022 at every age. In other words, the measure captures current mortality conditions in each state, not a forecast for babies born there today.

Where Americans Live the Longest, and the Shortest

Among the 50 states and D.C., Hawaii had the highest life expectancy at birth in 2022 at 80.0 years. Massachusetts followed at 79.8, with New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut close behind.

The data table below shows the life expectancy of every U.S. state and D.C.:

On the other end of the ranking, West Virginia came in last at 72.2 years, behind Mississippi at 72.6 and Kentucky at 73.6.

The broad pattern is regional: the Northeast and West Coast have higher life expectancies, while many Southern and Appalachian states cluster at the bottom.

Why the National Average Misses the State Divide

While the national average is 77.5 years, only 21 states cleared that mark. Illinois and Virginia matched it exactly, and the remaining 28 states came in below it.

The CDC also found that females had higher life expectancy than males in every state and D.C., but the size of that gender gap varied widely. States on the lower end of life expectancy tended to have larger divides, while higher-ranked states had smaller gaps.

For example, New Mexico (ninth-lowest life expectancy at 74.5) recorded the largest female-male gap at 6.9 years, while Utah (ninth-highest at 79 years) had the smallest at 3.6 years.

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2026-03-18 20:06:07

Mapped: The World’s Biggest Energy Sources by Country

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Despite rapid growth in renewables, much of the world still relies on a small group of traditional energy sources. In many countries, oil, coal, or natural gas continues to supply the largest share of energy used across transportation, industry, and electricity generation.

This map shows the largest primary energy source in 112 countries using data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Primary energy refers to energy in its raw form before it is converted into electricity or refined fuels.

The global picture highlights how different regions depend on different fuels. Oil dominates in many economies, coal still powers several of Asia’s largest countries, and traditional biomass remains central to energy use across parts of Africa.

Oil Leads in the Largest Number of Countries

Oil is the most common primary energy source globally, with 39 of the countries in the dataset relying on it more than any other fuel. It dominates across much of Europe, the Middle East, and large parts of Asia-Pacific.

In many economies, petroleum products remain essential for transportation and heavy industry. Even countries that produce natural gas, coal, or hydropower domestically often still rely on oil for a significant share of their overall energy supply.

Country	Largest source of energy
Albania	Oil
Algeria	Natural Gas
Angola	Biomass
Argentina	Natural Gas
Armenia	Natural Gas
Australia	Oil
Austria	Oil
Azerbaijan	Natural Gas
Bangladesh	Natural Gas
Belarus	Natural Gas
Belgium	Oil
Benin	Biomass
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Coal
Botswana	Coal
Brazil	Oil
Bulgaria	Oil
Burkina Faso	Biomass
Cameroon	Biomass
Canada	Natural Gas
Chad	Biomass
Chile	Oil
China	Coal
China Hong Kong SAR	Natural Gas
Colombia	Oil
Côte d’Ivoire	Biomass
Croatia	Oil
Cyprus	Oil
Czechia	Coal
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Biomass
Ecuador	Oil
Egypt	Natural Gas
Eritrea	Biomass
Estonia	Coal
Ethiopia	Biomass
Finland	Biomass
France	Nuclear
Gabon	Biomass
Georgia	Natural Gas
Germany	Oil
Ghana	Oil
Greece	Oil
Hungary	Oil
Iceland	Renewables/Geothermal
India	Coal
Indonesia	Coal
Iran	Natural Gas
Iraq	Oil
Israel	Natural Gas
Italy	Natural Gas
Japan	Oil
Kazakhstan	Coal
Kenya	Biomass
Kuwait	Natural Gas
Latvia	Biomass
Lithuania	Oil
Luxembourg	Oil
Madagascar	Biomass
Malaysia	Natural Gas
Malta	Natural Gas
Mexico	Natural Gas
Moldova	Natural Gas
Montenegro	Oil
Morocco	Oil
Mozambique	Biomass
Namibia	Oil
Netherlands	Oil
New Zealand	Oil
Niger	Biomass
North Macedonia	Oil
Norway	Hydro
Oman	Natural Gas
Pakistan	Biomass
Peru	Oil
Philippines	Coal
Poland	Oil
Portugal	Oil
Qatar	Natural Gas
Republic of the Congo	Biomass
Romania	Oil
Russian Federation	Natural Gas
Rwanda	Biomass
Saudi Arabia	Oil
Senegal	Oil
Serbia	Coal
Singapore	Oil
Slovakia	Nuclear
Slovenia	Oil
South Africa	Coal
South Korea	Oil
Spain	Oil
Sri Lanka	Biomass
Sudan	Biomass
Sweden	Nuclear
Switzerland	Oil
Taiwan	Coal
Tanzania	Biomass
Thailand	Oil
Togo	Biomass
Trinidad & Tobago	Natural Gas
Tunisia	Natural Gas
Türkiye	Oil
Turkmenistan	Natural Gas
Uganda	Biomass
Ukraine	Natural Gas
United Arab Emirates	Natural Gas
United Kingdom	Natural Gas
United States	Oil
Uzbekistan	Natural Gas
Venezuela	Natural Gas
Vietnam	Coal
Zambia	Biomass
Zimbabwe	Biomass

Major economies such as the United States, Japan, and Germany still rely primarily on oil despite growing investments in renewables and electrification.

Following oil, natural gas is the next most common primary energy source globally, with 29 countries relying on it the most.

Coal Remains Key in Major Asian Economies

Coal continues to dominate the energy mix in several of the world’s largest emerging economies. China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam all rely on coal as their biggest primary energy source.

One reason is simple: availability. Many of these countries have large domestic coal reserves and long-established mining and power infrastructure built around the fuel.

At the same time, coal remains one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions, making these economies central to the future trajectory of global energy transitions.

Biomass Leads in Many African Countries

Across much of Africa, biomass remains the largest primary energy source. This includes fuels such as firewood, charcoal, and agricultural waste.

In many rural areas, these fuels are still widely used for everyday needs like cooking and heating, particularly where access to electricity or modern fuels remains limited.

Outside of Africa, only three other countries in the dataset rely primarily on biomass for energy: Finland, Latvia, and Pakistan.

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2026-03-18 03:14:34

Ranked: The Companies Shipping the Most Humanoid Robots

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Global humanoid robot shipments surpassed 14,500 in 2025. By 2030, they could reach mass adoption.

By far, China dominated global sales last year, covering 90% of total sales. While early deployments are largely for research and industrial purposes, their applications could soon break into wider retail uses and household tasks.

Based on data from multiple sources via Rest of World, this graphic ranks the companies shipping the world’s humanoid robots as the industry expands.

The Top Companies by Humanoid Robot Sales in 2025

The table below ranks humanoid robot shipments by company in 2025, highlighting which firms are leading the early commercialization of this emerging technology.

Company	Units Sold 2025	Country
Unitree	5,500	China
AgiBot	5,168	China
UBTECH	1,000	China
Leju Robotics	500	China
Engine AI	400	China
Fourier Intelligence	300	China
Figure AI	150	U.S.
Agility Robotics	150	U.S.
Tesla	150	U.S.
Others	1,350	N/A

Unitree ranks first globally, with 5,500 units sold in 2025, up from around 1,500 a year earlier.

Moreover, Unitree’s models stand among the world’s most advanced and affordable. Its cheapest R1 model, for instance, costs just $5,900, while the company also sells robot dogs for $1,600.

Competitor AgiBot followed next seeing 5,168 units sold, with its lowest-cost model standing at $14,500. Overall, 21 new models were introduced in China in 2025, rising from three in 2022.

While Elon Musk projects humanoid robots will outnumber the human population by 2040, Tesla’s rollout has been markedly slower. In 2025, it shipped 150 of its Optimus models, with public sales forecasted to begin in 2027.

Similarly, other leading U.S. companies Figure AI and Agility Robotics each shipped about the same amount. Despite limited deliveries so far, Figure AI soared to a $39 billion valuation, jumping from $2.6 billion in 2024.

China’s Deep Supply Chains

China’s Yangtze River Delta contains the world’s most vertically integrated supply chain for humanoid robotics.

Not only are Unitree and AgiBot based in the region, it is home to several leading suppliers of robotics parts. DeepSeek and Alibiba—which launched an AI model designed for robotics—are also found in the cluster.

Additionally, the region’s role as a EV manufacturing hub serves as a key catalyst to production. Like autos, humanoids require thousands of precision components. In many cases, EV actuators and gears can be repurposed for humanoid robotics manufacturing.

Today, China controls about 26% of the global actuator market, compared with roughly 5% for the United States.

Along with this industrial base, humanoid robots depend heavily on critical minerals and rare earth elements, materials that China dominates, driving roughly 60% of global production. Together, these supply chain advantages give China a structural edge in scaling these emerging technologies.

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2026-03-17 22:25:00

Mapped: The World’s LNG Chokepoints

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Much like crude oil, LNG markets rely on safe passage through just a handful of narrow waterways. When passable, 54% of global LNG trade is shipped through these critical chokepoints to feed the world energy system every single day.

This visualization maps out the most important LNG chokepoints and their share of global LNG trade. The data is from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and is for the first half of 2025 in billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d).

What is Liquefied Natural Gas?

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas that has been supercooled down to about  -260° F / -162° C. When this happens, the gas condenses into a liquid, reducing its volume by roughly 600 times.

The massive reduction in volume enables local storage and global transport via tanker ships. It’s what allows countries with large reserves of natural gas, like the U.S. or Qatar, to sell to customers across the world.  Once ‘re-gasified’ on land, that energy goes towards electric power generation, chemical feedstocks, and residential heating.

The Strait of Hormuz: The Most Critical LNG Chokepoint

Located between Iran and Oman, the Strait of Hormuz is a narrow sea corridor connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. It is the single most critical LNG chokepoint in the world, relied upon for 21% (11.4 Bcf) of global LNG volume.

While some oil can bypass the Strait of Hormuz using pipelines, this is the only path for natural gas producers, like Qatar, to move product to market. When over one-fifth of global LNG trade is disrupted, market volatility is sure to follow.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Since 2023, Yemen-based Houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have stopped LNG flow entirely. The Bab el-Mandeb is the southern gateway of the Red Sea, connecting the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal and to European markets.

To avoid the LNG chokepoint, tankers must sail around the southern tip of Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, which accounts for 10% (5.7 Bcf/d) of global LNG trade. The reroute adds roughly two weeks of travel time and significantly higher fuel costs to every voyage.

Other LNG Chokepoints (or Lack of) Around the World

In addition to Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, several other chokepoints control global LNG flow. The Strait of Malacca in Asia, second only to Hormuz, sees 17% (9.2 Bcf/d) of global LNG trade. In Europe, The Danish Straits move about 1.6 Bcf/d while the Turkish Straits move 0.6 Bcf/d.

North American LNG exports to Europe face no chokepoint dependencies, moving freely across the Atlantic. Though shipments to Asia may pass through the Panama Canal, North America’s extensive pipeline network can reroute fuels if necessary.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about the global natural gas market, check out this graphic visualizing the countries with the largest proven natural gas reserves on Voronoi.

2026-03-17 20:06:08

Ranked: The Top Crude Oil Producers 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.

The U.S. produced more crude oil than any other country in 2025, by a wide margin.

But while America leads the ranking, the Middle East remains the world’s biggest production hub, with five countries in the global top 10.

This graphic shows crude oil production by country, using 2025 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The ranking highlights how oil production is spread across multiple continents, while still concentrated among a small group of leading producers.

America Leads Global Crude Oil Production

The U.S. was the world’s top crude oil producer in 2025, with more than 13.58 million barrels per day (mb/d), representing a 16% share of global production.

The country surpassed Russia in 2018 and in 2023 became the largest producer of crude oil of any country in history.

Here’s how the world’s top producers stack up, based on annualized data from Jan-Nov 2025:

Rank	Country	Annualized Average Crude Oil production (million barrels per day)
1	United States	13.577
2	Russia	9.867
3	Saudi Arabia	9.509
4	Canada	4.938
5	Iraq	4.394
6	China	4.337
7	Iran	4.192
8	United Arab Emirates	3.817
9	Brazil	3.745
10	Kuwait	2.575
11	Kazakhstan	2.065
12	Norway	1.846
13	Mexico	1.724
14	Nigeria	1.609
15	Libya	1.357
16	Qatar	1.311
17	Algeria	1.140
18	Angola	1.033
19	Oman	1.000
20	Venezuela	0.974
21	Argentina	0.788
22	Colombia	0.746
23	Guyana	0.733
24	United Kingdom	0.612
25	India	0.602
26	Indonesia	0.582
27	Azerbaijan	0.562
28	Malaysia	0.515
29	Egypt	0.509
30	Ecuador	0.439
31	Australia	0.245
32	Congo-Brazzaville	0.240
33	Gabon	0.238
34	Turkmenistan	0.191
35	Ghana	0.183
36	Bahrain	0.183
37	Vietnam	0.164
38	Thailand	0.160
39	Chad	0.127
40	Turkiye	0.125
41	South Sudan	0.112
42	Niger	0.101
43	Brunei	0.100
44	Senegal	0.100
45	Italy	0.084
46	Equatorial Guinea	0.078
47	Syria	0.073
48	Denmark	0.072
49	Cameroon	0.059
50	Pakistan	0.058
51	Cote d'Ivoire	0.054
52	Romania	0.052
53	Trinidad and Tobago	0.051
54	Peru	0.045
55	Germany	0.032
56	Papua New Guinea	0.032
57	Sudan	0.030
58	Uzbekistan	0.030
59	Belarus	0.026
60	Cuba	0.026
61	Tunisia	0.026
62	Hungary	0.023
63	Netherlands	0.021
64	Israel	0.020
65	Bolivia	0.018
66	Poland	0.016
67	Congo-Kinshasa	0.016
68	Yemen	0.015
69	Mongolia	0.014
70	Albania	0.012
71	Suriname	0.012
72	Serbia	0.012
73	France	0.010
74	Croatia	0.009
75	Austria	0.009
76	New Zealand	0.007
77	Burma	0.006
78	Kyrgyzstan	0.006
79	Guatemala	0.005
80	Japan	0.003
81	Bangladesh	0.003
82	Timor-Leste	0.002
83	Chile	0.002
84	Greece	0.001
85	Czechia	0.001
86	Bulgaria	0.001
87	Barbados	0.001
88	Belize	0.001
89	Lithuania	0.001
90	Philippines	0.001

Roughly a quarter of U.S. production comes from the Permian Basin, a sedimentary region spanning western Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

Beyond the Permian and other Texas deposits, the U.S. also has major oil reserves in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. In Alaska, oil revenues have supported the Alaska Permanent Fund since the 1970s, a state-owned sovereign wealth fund that pays dividends to residents.

The Middle East Remains the World’s Biggest Oil Hub

Five Middle Eastern countries ranked among the world’s top 10 crude oil producers in 2025: Saudi Arabia (9.51 mb/d), Iraq (4.39), Iran (4.19), the United Arab Emirates (3.82), and Kuwait (2.58).

All five sit along the Persian Gulf, giving the region an outsized role in global energy markets. That also means conflict or disruption around the Strait of Hormuz can have major consequences for global oil supply.

Since the 1960s, each of these countries has also been a core member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which coordinates among major oil producers on output and pricing strategy.

Other Major Oil Producers Outside OPEC

The U.S. is not a member of OPEC. Nor are Canada (4.94 mb/d) and China (4.34), both of which produced more than 4 million barrels per day in 2025 and ranked among the global top 10.

Meanwhile, two other major producers, Russia (9.87) and Brazil (3.74), are part of OPEC+, a looser coalition that works with OPEC members to manage production when interests align.

In recent years, tensions have occasionally emerged between OPEC’s core producers, led by Saudi Arabia, and OPEC+ partners such as Russia over how much oil to pump while trying to support prices.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The U.S. and China Consume 35% of the World’s Oil on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.