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infobeautiful.bsky.social
Information is Beautiful
@infobeautiful.bsky.social
7.1K followers 35 following 940 posts
Data visualizations & information graphics by David McCandless. Plus favourite finds & graphics from around the web. Making sense of the world - well, trying to - since 2009.

https://linktr.ee/infobeautiful
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infobeautiful.bsky.social
Pyramid pie

(creator: unknown)
A pie chart titled with its legend "Sky", "Sunny side of pyramid", and "Shady side of pyramid". The majority of the circle, a large blue segment, represents "Sky". A smaller, bright yellow segment represents the "Sunny side of pyramid", and an even smaller, darker yellow segment represents the "Shady side of pyramid", creating a visual impression of a pyramid base within a circular sky.
November 28, 2025 at 3:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Pollution levels in Paris after they introduced bike lanes and car restrictions

Red = EU limits for Nitrogen Dioxide pollution

Original graphics by Atelier Parisien d'Urbanisme
www.apur.org
A series of six heatmap-style graphics showing changes in pollution levels across Paris over time, with each square map labeled by year: 2007, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2024. The earlier maps in 2007 and 2010 are dominated by dense red and orange colors concentrated in the city center, with landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame labeled, indicating heavy pollution. Over the years the intensity of red areas fades, especially in 2015 and 2017 where the pollution begins to spread less densely, and by 2020 the colors shift more toward yellow and green, showing significant reductions in pollution. The 2024 map is the cleanest, with the majority of the area in yellow and green tones and only major road arteries showing thin red lines, demonstrating far less air pollution. Each map includes a “2 miles” scale marker, and the visual progression highlights how bike lanes and car restrictions introduced in Paris contributed to decreasing air pollution levels throughout the city.
November 28, 2025 at 12:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
So far, we've managed to eradicate just one human disease: smallpox. But we’re getting closer to banishing a few others. Preventing suffering. Saving lives. Reducing the burden on healthcare systems.

informationisbeautiful.net/beautifulnew...
An infographic titled '10 Diseases We've Nearly Controlled or Eradicated' organized in four sections. At the top, 'on our way' shows leprosy (cases decreased by 15% from 2009 to 2018), malaria (over half the countries on Earth are now malaria-free), and rubella. The 'progress!' section includes onchocerciasis (described as 'elephantiasis' - a tropical disease spread by mosquitoes), rabies, lymphatic filariasis, and yaws (with a note that India eliminated this childhood disease in 2016). The 'nearly...' section lists African trypanosomiasis ('sleeping sickness' spread by the tsetse fly), polio, and guinea worm disease (described as a terrible affliction spread by contaminated drinking water). Finally, 'eradicated' shows only smallpox. Purple circles of varying sizes represent each disease, with size indicating global impact. Source: World Health Organisation, Our World in Data, via beautifulnews
November 27, 2025 at 5:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
How your mind defends itself against psychological & emotional pain. Which are your go-to’s?

See the full expanded image 
geni.us/IIB-Defences2
Infographic shows several primary psychological defense mechanisms with simple icons and brief descriptions for each, including anger, acting out, denial, dissociation, grandiosity, projection, reaction-formation, and suppression.
November 27, 2025 at 3:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Stereotypes of European countries, according to ChatGPT
(a very strange mix)
A colorful map titled “Stereotypes of European countries according to ChatGPT” shows Europe with each country labeled by a single stereotype word or phrase, using humor and clichés. For instance, Iceland is marked “ELVES,” Norway “VIKINGS,” Sweden “MOOSE,” Finland “DEPRESSING,” Germany simply “GERMANY,” France “SURRENDER,” Spain “PARTYING,” Italy “SOCCER,” Romania “DRACULA,” and Russia “RUSSIA.” Other labels include “COAL MINES” for Poland, “DEATH METAL” for Russia’s southwestern neighbor, “BAD FOOD” for the UK, “WAFFLES” for Belgium, and “DRINKING” for Ireland. The design uses bold, all-caps text over pastel-colored countries and features “The World in Maps” branding in the upper right corner. The tone is playful and tongue-in-cheek, reflecting exaggerated or humorous associations rather than actual characteristics.
November 27, 2025 at 12:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
What to bring for Thanksgiving dinner :)
Thanksgiving flow chart: Responsible adult? No (kid): appetite/manners. Yes: War zone? No (cool): Grandma (pecan pie), friend (food-snob dish/beer), self (turkey/gravy). Yes (war zone): Sullen drunk (fancy turkey), hate Dems (box wine), hate change (vegan loaf), hate each other (marshmallow yams/laser). Not responsible adult (college foodie): slimy salad. College family: Mom's dish. Irresponsible adult: hidden vodka/potato buds. Wing debate: Mom's dish.
November 26, 2025 at 5:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Just the measles vaccine doing its thing...
ourworldindata.org/measles-vacc...

by @OurWorldInData
A dense heatmap titled “Vaccines reduced measles cases across US states” showing reported measles cases per 100,000 people in all 50 US states from 1929 to 2022 with color-coded cells on a log scale from dark blue (high incidence, over 1,000 cases per 100,000) through green to pale yellow (low incidence, near zero), with white cells indicating missing data, with three key vertical lines marking major interventions: 1963 for the development of the first measles vaccine by John Enders, 1971 for the development of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine by Maurice Hilleman, and 1980 when vaccination became mandatory for kindergarten entry, showing a clear decline in measles incidence after these milestones with dark blue and green densities fading to mostly pale yellow after the 1980s, indicating near elimination of cases across states.
November 26, 2025 at 3:25 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Cool vintage timeline of historical empires

(via reddit)
A hand-drawn, black-and-white historical timeline illustration titled “LOOKING TO THE PAST” spans from 4500 BCE to the start of the Common Era, with a horizontal time scale along the top and slanted diagonal lines indicating different cultural and geographic threads such as Egypt, Israel, Greece, Rome, and the Aryans. The timeline includes labeled figures and texts like Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Homer, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zoroaster, Buddha, Laotze, Confucius, and Jesus, along with cultural markers like the Rig Veda, Book of the Dead, Great Wall, and the Bible. Architectural motifs like columns, arches, and temple fragments visually anchor Greece, Rome, Israel, and Egypt. The design uses dashed and dotted lines to connect figures, events, and texts, creating a web of cultural development converging toward the Common Era.
November 26, 2025 at 12:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Visualizing the USA's $29 trillion economy by state. California is now the 4th largest economy in the world, recently surpassing Japan.

www.voronoiapp.com/economy/Visu...
Pie chart titled "AMERICA'S $29T ECONOMY BY STATE". The chart is segmented by US regions (New England, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, Plains, Southeast, Southwest, Rocky Mountain, and Far West) and further divided to show the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of each state within those regions. Each state segment is labeled with its name and GDP in trillions or billions of dollars. California has the largest economy at $4.1T, followed by Texas at $2.7T and New York at $2.3T. Smaller states like Delaware ($104B) and Vermont ($41B) have proportionally smaller slices. An additional segment indicates "$160B Overseas Activity*". The source is listed as the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, with data as of Q3 2024.
November 25, 2025 at 7:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Interesting. The evolution of conflict in literature / society

(by Instagram user: @grantdraws)
www.instagram.com/p/DBOlpAuRj9c/
A nine-panel cartoon grid titled "CONFLICT IN LITERATURE" depicts different types of conflict, categorized into "CLASSICAL," "MODERN," and "POSTMODERN" literary periods. Under "CLASSICAL," panels show "MAN vs. NATURE" (a person with a pitchfork against a pack of wolves), "MAN vs. MAN" (two people in a sword fight), and "MAN vs. GOD" (a person pointing a stick at a giant hand from the sky). The "MODERN" column shows "MAN vs. SOCIETY" (a person standing alone against a crowd with protest signs), "MAN vs. SELF" (a person facing a mirror image of themselves), and "MAN vs. NO GOD" (a person pointing a stick at an empty sky). The "POSTMODERN" column depicts "MAN vs. TECHNOLOGY" (a person with a baseball bat facing an array of computer screens), "MAN vs. REALITY" (a person standing in a surreal landscape of melting colors and shapes), and "MAN vs. AUTHOR" (a person standing on an open book, looking up at a giant hand holding a pen). The artist's signature, Grant Snider, is at the bottom right.
November 25, 2025 at 3:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
EU elevation map

(by @cstats)
www.instagram.com/p/DOrJw6DjKgl/
This image is a detailed three-dimensional relief map of Europe, visualizing the continent's topography and elevation. The map uses a vibrant color palette and simulated height to represent the landforms. Lower elevations, such as the vast European Plain covering much of Eastern and Northern Europe, are shown in a light, smooth blue. As the elevation increases, the colors transition to deeper blues, greens, and finally to warm oranges and yellows for the highest mountain ranges. Prominent high-relief areas include the orange and yellow peaks of the Alps stretching across Central Europe, the mountainous regions of the Balkans and the Carpathians in Eastern Europe, the ridges along the Scandinavian Peninsula, and the rugged terrain of the British Isles. The map is highly textured, giving a tactile sense of the landscape. In the bottom right corner, a small legend or credit indicates the map was "made in rayshader" and the data is from "NOAA ETOPO1."
November 25, 2025 at 12:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Participatory tax return from Australia shows exactly where one's tax money goes...

(from Reddit user: u/heapsgoods)
This graphic shows Australian government spending breakdown based on where personal tax was allocated during 2018-19 budget estimates, displaying gross debt levels of $533 billion this year compared to $501 billion last year with $16.3 billion in interest payments on gross debt this year, followed by a horizontal bar chart showing spending categories with welfare receiving the largest allocation at $846 billion including aged care at $346 billion, disability at $200 billion, families at $196 billion, unemployed at $60 billion and other welfare at $44 billion, while health received $420 billion, defence $203 billion, education $183 billion, general public services $105 billion, interest on government debt $92 billion, transport and communication $50 billion, fuel and energy $41 billion, industry assistance $32 billion, foreign affairs and economic aid $30 billion, housing and community $29 billion, public order and safety $28 billion, immigration $21 billion, recreation and culture $21 billion, and other purposes $89 billion, with the total tax assessed shown as $2190 at the bottom right, along with a note that figures include transfers to state and local governments except for GST and other economic affairs, with estimates and categories based on information from the Department of Treasury, and a reference to visit www.ato.gov.au/taxreceipt for more information.
November 25, 2025 at 1:55 AM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
How reliable is the US weather temperature forecast? Didn't know that about Florida.
A chloropleth map of the USA plots by colour the accuracy of the temperature forecast. Most westerly regions are 5-6 days accurate, easterly 3-4 while central regions are only accurate to 2 days out. South Florida is the most accurate with spot-on forecasts up to 7 days.
November 24, 2025 at 7:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/posts/alasda...

It's noted in the comments elswhere that it shows that elevation and wind direction play a big role.

by LinkedIn user: www.linkedin.com/in/alasdair-... (unsure about how to represent LinkedIn users as they don't use @)
This image is a detailed three-dimensional relief map of the United Kingdom, visualizing rainfall levels rather than elevation, though it uses a similar topographical style. The map shows the outline of Great Britain and part of Ireland (only Northern Ireland's northern coast is visible at the top right) with varying heights representing the amount of annual rainfall. The color palette is a gradient of greens and yellows, with taller, darker green peaks indicating higher rainfall and flatter, paler yellow areas indicating lower rainfall. The map vividly highlights the classic UK weather pattern: the highest rainfall occurs in the western and northern mountainous regions, particularly the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District in England, and the mountains of Wales, where dramatic, tall peaks dominate the landscape. In contrast, the Eastern side of England, especially the southeast, appears much flatter and paler, indicating it is the driest part of the country. The visual effect makes the rainfall data look like a highly textured landscape.
November 24, 2025 at 12:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Beautiful UK rainfall map

(elevation and wind direction play a big role)

(By Alasdair Rae @@undertheraedar)
www.linkedin.com/posts/alasda...
This image is a detailed three-dimensional relief map of the United Kingdom, visualizing rainfall levels rather than elevation, though it uses a similar topographical style. The map shows the outline of Great Britain and part of Ireland (only Northern Ireland's northern coast is visible at the top right) with varying heights representing the amount of annual rainfall. The color palette is a gradient of greens and yellows, with taller, darker green peaks indicating higher rainfall and flatter, paler yellow areas indicating lower rainfall. The map vividly highlights the classic UK weather pattern: the highest rainfall occurs in the western and northern mountainous regions, particularly the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District in England, and the mountains of Wales, where dramatic, tall peaks dominate the landscape. In contrast, the Eastern side of England, especially the southeast, appears much flatter and paler, indicating it is the driest part of the country. The visual effect makes the rainfall data look like a highly textured landscape.
November 24, 2025 at 12:45 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Some good UK deals on our beautiful books out there
📘 63% off Beautiful News- just £9! geni.us/BNEWS
📕 20% off Information is Beautiful geni.us/IIBbook
📙 25% off Knowledge is Beautiful geni.us/KIB25

Info bit.ly/IIB-Books
The cover images of three infographic books by David McCandless: Beautiful News, Knowledge is Beautiful and Information is Beautiful
November 23, 2025 at 12:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Hard agree
The Witcher series poster with three characters and episode ratings table for four seasons. Episode ratings range from 4.0 to 8.8 displayed in colored blocks. Episodehive logo and tagline 'View episode details at episodehive.com' at the bottom
November 21, 2025 at 7:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Do have flu, COVID, RSV or just a nasty cold? source: New York Times
Comparison chart of symptoms for Cold, Flu, Covid-19, and RSV. Shows frequency (rarely, sometimes, often) of 12 symptoms including cough, breathing difficulty, fatigue, fever, headaches, muscle pain, loss of taste/smell, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, vomiting, and wheezing. Source: CDC. Shows symptoms overlap but vary in frequency across illnesses.
November 21, 2025 at 5:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
WARNING! This image may trigger PINSecurity. From an analysis of 3.4m PIN codes leaked from several data breaches informationisbeautiful.net/visualizatio...
A heatmap reveals the most common 4 digit PIN numbers, visualised from the data leaked from several large data breaches. The horizontal axis plots the frequency of the first two digits, the vertical axis the second two digits. Clear (and somewhat predictable) patterns emerge from the dataset. A diagonal line of ‘heat’ from bottom left to top right reveals people choosing double digits (2323, 6868 etc). A strong horizontal line at the 19 point shows people using their birth year as a PIN code (1971, 1998 etc). And a large amount of heat in the bottom left shows how people commonly use their birthdate in a MM/DD or DD/MM format. The most common code in the set is 1234.
November 21, 2025 at 3:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Thanksgiving Week Calendar (by Matt Surelee)
www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...
A simple diagram amusingly plots some of the typical experiential highlights of the Thanksgiving week's calendar
November 20, 2025 at 7:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
Planets sliced in half. (Not sure how scientifically acccurate this is)

By TikTok user: @crispcut
www.tiktok.com/@crispcut/vi...
November 20, 2025 at 3:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
INTRODUCING: our new online store where you can buy high-quality art prints of our most popular infographics & visualisations
bit.ly/IIBStore
Homepage of Information is Beautiful (IIB) store showing sample data visualization prints, including a left-right comparison chart, a colorful circular diagram, and a word cloud of books. The page includes store navigation, environmental notes about sustainable printing practices, and a welcome message introducing David McCandless's work
November 20, 2025 at 1:55 AM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
How popular are America's 10 richest people?
A bar graph titled "How popular are the 10 richest Americans?" presents polling data from Reuters/Ipsos. The graph lists the ten richest Americans by net worth, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and others. For each individual, the graph displays four horizontal bars representing the percentages of U.S. adults with a favorable view, those who have never heard of them, those who did not answer, and those with an unfavorable view. The graph provides a visual comparison of public perception of these billionaires.
November 19, 2025 at 7:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
#Dataviz books everyone should read 📚 - a community sourced #charticle informationisbeautiful.net/visualizatio... Created in association with @‌DataVizSociety #iibwab
A screenshot of a scrolling array of books on data-visualisation divided into several categories: creative works, curated collections, how to and theory book. Over 169 titles.
November 19, 2025 at 5:55 PM
infobeautiful.bsky.social
China’s westernmost point is closer to Germany than to its easternmost point!

(by @amazingmap)
A satellite view of Earth centered on Asia, showing three labeled points: Fuyuan, HL (China) to the east, Akto, XJ (China) in the center, and Görlitz, SN (Germany) to the west. Lines with distance measurements in kilometers connect Akto to Fuyuan (4876km) and Akto to Görlitz (4624km). A large white arc spans across the globe connecting Fuyuan and Görlitz, passing near Akto, suggesting a great circle route.
November 18, 2025 at 3:55 PM