Defence Spending

As troops and tanks and rumble around the Ukrainian–Russian border, I was left to wonder just how NATO has been doing with defence spending. So I took defence spending as a share of total GDP. In general, NATO countries have been spending less since the end of the Cold War. The Baltic states are a bit of an exception. I would guess that is based on their fears of their big Russian neighbour. A fear that, as Ukraine shows, is not entirely irrational. The United States, of course, has been spending a lot because of Afghanistan and Iraq. As for Russia, after the collapse of its economy in the late 1990s, it’s been spending more and more on the military.

Defence spending
Defence spending

The data comes from the World Bank.

Indoor Plumbing

Today’s post is a small interactive map—nothing fancy there—about indoor plumbing. As it turns out not every home in the United States has it. Of course, last weekend I ended up driving through those dark counties in western Pennsylvania. And I can believe it. And I can definitely say I saw a few outhouses.

Lack of indoor plumbing in western Pennsylvania
Lack of indoor plumbing in western Pennsylvania

Credit for the piece goes to Christopher Ingraham.

Baseball Nation

Baseball is back. And thankfully the New York Times has mapped out most of Major League Baseball’s fans. The glaring exception is, of course the omission of Canada/Ontario, home to the Toronto Blue Jays. The piece maps the data of Facebook likes down to the zip code and then offers details on a few border regions in particular.

Baseball nation, except Canada
Baseball nation, except Canada

And apparently back home, I am not the only person cheering for Boston.

I go for Boston, but most everyone else here is a Phillies phan
I go for Boston, but most everyone else here is a Phillies phan

Credit for the piece goes to Kevin Quealy, Josh Katz, David Leonhardt, and Tom Giratikanon.

Diving an Upside Down Ferry Wreck

To get a better understanding of the difficulties facing the divers working on the wreck of the Sewol, the Wall Street Journal published this illustration.

Wreck of the Sewol
Wreck of the Sewol

Credit for the piece goes to the Wall Street Journal’s graphics department.

Don’t Do This At Home…

In fact, don’t do this ever. Today’s bad chart comes from the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities. I saw it and could only shake my head and wonder why.

The Mayor's Office version
The Mayor’s Office version

Something more like this much more easily communicates the story.

My take on the data
My take on the data

Credit for the original piece goes to the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities.

The Interstates and US Highways of, well, the US

On a day when I am going to be travelling across the Midwest for a holiday on Monday (hint, that means no post), what better topic than Cameron Booth’s interstate map as a subway map? Well, how about his most recent project? In it he combines both interstates, e.g. I-76, and US highways, e.g. US-30 and US-202. In his own words, though, the result becomes so complex that it is more akin to a simplified road map than a subway map. Regardless, it’s still pretty impressive.

The northeast quadrant of the United States
The northeast quadrant of the United States

Credit for the piece goes to Cameron Booth.

There’s No Diversity in Baseball!

Well, okay, actually there is. But the cultural reference would have made even less sense if I omitted the negative. Anyway, in honour of the two baseball games I am seeing this week—last night’s and tonight’s Red Sox games—here comes this piece from Pew Research Center.

It’s a simple but fairly clear graphic. We are looking at the ethnic breakdown of baseball since 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier. My only qualm, as ever, with this stacked area chart is that while you can see the clear trend upward in white share, it is a bit more difficult to see the directions the other ethnicities are moving.

Diversity in baseball
Diversity in baseball

Credit for the piece goes to Pew Research Council.

Tax Day and Income Inequality

Tax Day for Americans seems like a great time to talk about income inequality. The article from which this chart comes talks about a recent book exploring the parallels of the 19th century’s inequality—as the article reminds us, the time of “Please, sir, may I have another?”—and the forecast for the 21st. Anyway, the graphic is a nice use of small multiples and highlights that despite the damage done to capital wealth by Great Depressions and two world wars, it is well on its way back to unequal levels.

Income inequality
Income inequality

Credit for the piece goes to the New York Times graphics department.

Allergens of DC

Good news and bad news, folks. The good news is that this chart does not apply to people living in Chicago, Philadelphia, or elsewhere. Unless—here’s the bad news—you live in Washington, D.C. In that case, well, prepare to die. You know, if you have allergies. The Washington Post has a nice graphic that outlines the arrival and peak seasons for different pollen allergens.

Allergens of DC
Allergens of DC

Credit for the piece goes to Bonnie Berkowitz and Patterson Clark.