Tag Archives: United States

Wealth Comparison for the Years 1500 and 2015

wealth year 1500

wealth year 2015Comparing the levels of wealth per person for the years 1500 and 2015, as shown in these two maps, it is interesting to see how economic power has shifted from some nations to others.

Back in the 1500s, economic power was held by a majority of European nations leaded by Italy. China ranked number 23, India 53, and Japan 61. North America’s wealth was negligible compared to Europe’s, but the African region enjoyed more wealth than they do today.

A forecast for the year 2015 places Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore at the top in GDP per capita. Some European nations are still wealthy, such is the case of Malta, Luxembourg, Norway, and Ireland, but Italy is not in the lead anymore. Japan’s wealth per capita has increased, and so has the United States’, but the wealth of African countries has become the lowest worldwide.

Source: Global Finance: Wealth Distribution and Income Inequality by Country

 

The Most Devastating Tornadoes in the U.S. Since 1950

killer tornadoes since1950 usIn lieu of the killer tornado that hit Oklahoma city on May 20, 2013, Slate published a map of the most devastating tornadoes to hit the United States since 1950.

As seen in the map, the southwest is the region with the highest frequency of devastating tornadoes.

Source: Slate: Map of the Week: All Killer Tornadoes Since 1950

 

Gasoline Spending by State in the U.S.

gas guzzlers mint finalMint.com tracked how much its users spend on gasoline in one month, and how many times they visit the pump in the same period across the United States.

On average, Americans spend $177 on gas in single month, making an average of 6 visits to the pump, and spending an average of $32 in each transaction.

San Jose (California) stands out as the city where Mint users spend the most on gas, an average of $216 in a single month. Other cities where Mint users spend a lot on gas include Birmingham (Alabama), Jacksonville (Florida), Phoenix (Arizona), and Charlotte (North Carolina) to name a few. In contrast, in cities like New York, Brooklyn (New York), and Washington D.C., which have a good public transportation system, the gas bill is between $102 and $112 per month.

Source: Mint: Gas Guzzlers

 

Crude Oil Exports and Imports by Country

crude net balance by countryVast quantities of crude oil are exported and imported each year. Some countries are net exporters (their oil exports are larger than their oil imports), and some are net importers (their oil imports are larger than their exports).

In this visualization by Data Driven Consulting, we can see that the United States was the largest net importer of crude oil in 2009. Other net importer countries include China, India, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Belgium, Italy, UK, Spain, Singapore, and Australia.

Among the net exporters of crude oil we find Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Norway, Venezuela, Mexico, and Canada.

For the full-size interactive dashboard, visit: Tableau Public: Exporters and Importers

 

North Korean Missiles

maximum range of north korean missiles

North Korea possesses a variety of missiles with different range capabilities. On one hand, there is the Scud-V with a range of less than 1,000 Km. that will easily reach South Korea, on the other there is the Taepodong-3 with a range of 10,000 Km. that could potentially reach the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe.

In terms of balance in the conflict zone, North Korea outnumbers South Korea and the US forces combined in number of troops, tanks, aircraft and navy vessels.

Source: News Agency Ria Novosti

Suggested reading: The Brookings Institution: North Korea and Nuclear-Armed Missiles:  Calming the Hyperbole

 

Gun Shops in America

more gun shops thank grocery storesAccording to Statista.com, gun shops in the United States outnumber supermarkets, fast food restaurants, and coffee shops.

With a total of 51,438 outlets as of 2012, the number of gun shops in the U.S. is larger than the number of stores of Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Subway combined (a total of 50,439 stores).

 

Terrorist Attacks in the U.S. Since 1970

The Guardian has published this interactive map pinpointing the location of terrorist attacks in the United States since 1970.

A total of 2,455 incidents have occurred between 1970 and 2011. Most of the attacks have happened in the Northeast, and the largest number of casualties is also concentrated in that region (large-size circles).

Source: The Guardian: Data Blog – Four decades of US terror attacks listed and detailed

 

Number of Nuclear Tests Since 1945

North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on February, 2013. Two nuclear test preceded this one, the first in 2006, and the second in 2009.

However, the nation that has performed the largest number of nuclear tests since 1945 is the United States, a total of 1,032. In the same period, the USSR/Russia performed a total of 715 nuclear tests, and France performed a total of 210 nuclear tests.

Source: Statista: North Korea Conducts Third Nuclear Test

 

 

Total Carbon Emissions by Country

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that seeks the reduction of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming by setting emission reduction targets for industrialized nations. The Kyoto Protocol was signed on December 11, 1997 in Kyoto (Japan) by 191 countries. The United Stated signed the treaty, but later it did not ratify it.

This visualization by The Guardian shows total carbon emissions by country between 1997 and 2007, ten years since the protocol was signed.

The United States is the country that has produced the largest amount of carbon emissions (64,166 million tonnes) in the period 1997-2007 followed by China, Russia, Japan, India, and Germany.

Asia and Oceania combined are the regions with the highest carbon emissions produced in the same period (96,306 million tonnes). Asia and Oceania are followed by North America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico) with carbon emissions of the order of 74,867 million tonnes, and Europe with carbon emissions at 50,370 million tonnes as of 2007.

 

Internet Connectivity in the United States

As part of the PBS series America Revealed, this aerial visualization shows the patterns of internet distribution in the United States. We can see that the regions with highest levels of internet connectivity include the Northeast, and parts of the South and Midwest, followed by the Pacific West.

For additional interesting aerial visualizations, such as the distribution of the unemployed, electricity network routes, public transportation paths, U.S. imports and exports of beef patterns, the distribution of the population in towns and cities, etc., visit: The Roosevelt’s – Aerial Data Visualisation Reveals Life In The United States.