Map Analytics

2022-08-31 10:05:12 Can Africa replace Russian gas?

No, rather than yes: Africa's total gas production (257 billion cubic meters per year) is only slightly higher than Russia's total gas exports (241 billion).

At the same time, the lag is almost three times in total production (257 bcm/y versus 701 bcm/y), and two and a half times in the volume of exports (96 bcm/y versus 241 bcm). Open / Comment

2022-08-30 17:05:13 Which countries owe China the most

African countries, above all Djibouti (this country owes China 43% of its gross national income), Angola (41%) and the Republic of the Congo (29%). In the top five are also the beloved Maldives (owes China 38% of their GNI) and the only representative of Asia - Laos (30%)

Overall, the map perfectly illustrates the extent of China's soft power, which is quite impressive. And it is clear where China's interests lie in the international arena (especially outside its immediate neighbors) - in Africa, especially in its southern part, while the northern part will still gravitate more towards Europe

By the way, pay attention to Belarus, which owes China a very tangible sum of more than 5% of its GNI Open / Comment

2022-08-30 10:05:11 Which is more important: the rights of the citizen or the interests of the state?

According to survey, the oldest generation (60+) still considers the interests of the state more important than the rights of the citizen, while young people, on the contrary, prefer human rights

An important clarification to the graph: it is not a very good graph, and it does not show the percentage of people of a given age that chose a certain option, but the percentage of all respondents in this age group who chose this option. For example, 19% of those who prioritize rights are between the ages of 18 and 30. Among those who prioritize the interests of the state, only 13% are in this age group

Nevertheless, the numbers are interesting and show how priorities and values across generations are changing Open / Comment

2022-08-29 16:05:10 Price per liter of 95 gasoline in Europe

The most expensive gasoline costs residents of Finland and Denmark: 2.12 euros per liter! More than 2 euros gasoline is also in the Netherlands and Greece

Petrol is cheapest in Hungary, a liter of gasoline 95 gasoline here in August at an average cost of 1.29 euros - less than 80 rubles at current exchange rate, not so much expensive than here. Relatively inexpensive gasoline is also in Malta, Poland and the Balkans Open / Comment

2022-08-29 10:05:09 European aluminum production declines due to energy crisis

Aluminum production is electricity-intensive, and the energy crisis caused by rising gas prices in Europe could not help but affect the industry: a record drop of 14% in May 2022 compared to last year's figures

You have to admit that many industries were affected by the energy crisis: there is the nitrogen fertilizer industry (where gas is the main raw material) and other areas of the economy. So, yes, gas storages are being filled up, but such decline in production will inevitably hit the economy - by the way not only in the EU, but also in other countries, including ours - both in terms of reduced income and tax revenues, and increased unemployment, and higher prices. And whether there will be winners in this gas war - a big, big question Open / Comment

2022-08-28 10:05:07 Main lithium producers in the world

Australia produces the most lithium in the world right now: 55 thousand tons per year. Australia also has the second largest lithium reserve: 5.7 million tons (note: Australia produces only a little less than 1% of its reserves per year!)

Chile comes second (26 thousand tons/year, with 9.2 million tons of reserves, the biggest in the world), and China is third with 14 thousand tons mined with 1.5 million tons of reserves (note: here too, production is only about 1% of the total). Although Brazil and (suddenly) Portugal each produce 1.5% of their reserves per year

If you think about it, it seems that at the current growth rate of lithium consumption (for the same batteries in electric cars, which may one day have to replace all conventional cars in the name of the "green" agenda) - its reserves will not last long. Well, the cost of electric cars and green energy (which must be stored due to its irregularity) is clearly not going to fall. Open / Comment

2022-08-27 10:05:09 Which cities in the world have the most skyscrapers?

The world capital of skyscrapers - for a long time, not New York (it takes only fourth place with 92 buildings over two hundred meters) and not even Dubai (in second place with 107 skyscrapers), and the Chinese Shenzhen: there are now 120 buildings over 200 meters high! And in the top eight, by the way, there are two more Chinese cities + Hong Kong (in third place). Open / Comment

2022-08-26 10:05:09 Drought conditions now affect 2/3 of the United States

The abnormally hot and dry weather is now not only in Europe, as we've heard a lot about, but also in China and in the United States - about two-thirds of that country is now in drought, and about 20% is experiencing an extreme severe drought

And this pattern has been going on for two years now, since mid-2020 - and that's also an extra penny in the world food security risk pile Open / Comment

2022-08-25 14:05:06 People are tired of news about Ukraine

Interest in events in Ukraine is not only in our country: frequency of queries for Ukraine in Google News has decreased almost to the levels which were before February 24 - about 30 times compared with the peak at the end of February. After a sharp peak there was a decline, and by June interest was already at the current (very low) stationary level Open / Comment

2022-08-25 10:05:12 Countries providing the most assistance to Ukraine

As of early August, the list of leaders did not change compared to late April: Estonia, Latvia and Poland, which spent 0.83, 0.8 and 0.49 percent of their GDP on aid to Ukraine, respectively

Interestingly enough, three months earlier the same figures for the same countries were 0.79, 0.73 and 0.44 percent. In other words, 10 times more was spent on aid in the first two months of the "special operation" than in the next three and a half.

Yes, the figures for some other countries have grown many times over (even for the U.S.: from 0.05% to 0.22%), but at some level they almost stop growing (which is also logical: no one wants to kill their economy) and the flow of aid begins to dry up - probably, if the current trends persist, we will see a decrease in other countries and overall figures in a while, too Open / Comment