Swivel Featured Graphs

Income Tax Rates in OECD Countries

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:25:45 -0700

Individual income tax rates in most industrial countries have fallen in recent decades. This graph shows the percent change in individual income tax rates in OECD countries between 1980 and 2007. The average tax rate for OECD countries fell from 68 percent in 1980 to 42 percent in 2007. Data uploaded by micpohling. [Submitted by micpohling]

Hazard-Related Deaths

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:30:58 -0700

Each year, hundreds of people die from environment-related hazards. This graph shows the distribution of deaths for 11 hazard categories as a percent of the total 19.958 deaths due to these hazards from 1970 to 2004. Heat/drought is responsible for 19.7% of deaths, followed by severe weather (18.9%) which includes lightning, wind, and rain. Read more. [Submitted by Natalie]

Alcohol Consumption in Europe

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:39:08 -0700

Many people think that the United Kingdom and Germany can drink everyone else under the table. But those countries have nothing on Luxembourg, where people drink the equivalent of 15 liters of pure alcohol per person per year. This graph shows the top ten European countries by alcohol consumption per capita per year. Data uploaded by grjenkin. [Submitted by grjenkin]

Average Salaries of Stanford Graduates

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:00:17 -0700

It's a well known fact that students who earn a Masters degree in their field tend to make more than those with a Bachelors. But how much more? This graph shows the average salaries of Stanford graduates who received their BS/BA or MS/MA by career industry. In high-tech careers, people with a Masters degree earn about $18k more than those with a Bachelors. [Submitted by Natalie]

California Population Growth

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:58:00 -0700

How many people live in California? This graph shows the population of California (in millions) since 1950. In 2007, there were 37 million people according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Data uploaded by zajae7. [Submitted by zajae7]

What's Taboo in America?

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:39:30 -0700

92% of Americans say that extramarital affairs are morally wrong (which isn't going to help Governor Sanford at the polls). According to a recent Gallup poll, respondents were asked: "Regardless of whether or not you think it should be legal, for each one, please tell me whether you personally believe that in general it is morally acceptable or or morally wrong. How about…" This graph shows the percentage of people who think each is issue is morally wrong. [Submitted by Natalie]

Fastest Growing Metropolitan Areas

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:42:59 -0700

This graph shows the ten fastest growing metropolitan areas by percent change in population from 2004 to 2004. In that time frame, the population of the area between Las Vegas and Paradise in Nevada grew 20%. Other metros on the rise include: Naples to Marco Island in Florida; Cape Coral to Fort Myers in Florida; and Riverside to San Bernadino to Ontario in California. Data uploaded by the Center for Environment and Population. [Submitted by Center for Environment and Population]

MySpace Layoffs in Countries Where Facebook Rules

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:18:45 -0700

Yesterday, social networking site, MySpace, announced they will be laying off a majority of their international staff. This graph shows the number of unique visitors to MySpace in countries where the company will be cutting back. Overall, these 9 countries account for about 15% of MySpace's global unique visitors. Read More [Submitted by Natalie]

Cutting Back on Technology Costs

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:03:23 -0700

This chart shows where people have chosen to cut back when it comes to personal technology costs in the past twelve months. Despite cutbacks on technology services like cell phones and cable TV, more Americans are signing up for broadband Internet. Actually, people are spending more in monthly bills for high-speed connections. [Submitted by Natalie]

California Expenditures

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:42:48 -0700

In 2008-09 California is projected to spend $1.35 billion, while the state will only bring in $1.15 billion in revenue. This graph shows California's total expenditures (in millions) by year. Data uploaded by sports memorabilia. [Submitted by Natalie]

World Banana Production

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:28:02 -0700

The Bluth's aren't the only one with a banana stand. This graph shows banana yield by country in 2007. India, China, and the Philippines are the world's leaders in banana production. Data uploaded by mixedman. [Submitted by mixedman]

More Building Quotes: Economic Recovery?

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:52:02 -0700

Here is a great example of how businesses can use public information to inform decisions. PrestonMB of MetalBuilding.com observes, "We have been steadily working on... building traffic, refining our quote system, promoting services, etc. It is hard to judge if the recent surge in building quote requests is directly related to our own efforts or if this just signals the beginning of an economic recovery." [Submitted by PrestonMB]

A Closer Look at Swine Flu Numbers

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:24:22 -0700

How much have various countries been impacted by the swine flu? In his blog post, seancarmody, answers this question: "Of course populous countries like the US have had a high number of infections, but this also means that hidden in the smaller numbers are some fairly significant infection rates in countries with smaller national populations." This graph shows the top 20 swine-flu afflicted countries ranked by lab-confirmed infections per million population (as at 15 June 2009). [Submitted by seancarmody]

Change in Home Prices

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:18:02 -0700

It isn't news that the United States is in a bit of a slump, but how are individual states faring in terms of GDP, jobs, and home prices? (Click links for graphs.) This graph shows the change in home prices in the ten best-faring states. Read more. [Submitted by Natalie]

Deaths Double from Rx Drugs

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:28:54 -0700

Unintentional deaths from prescription drugs now exceed deaths from cocaine, heroine, and even gunshot wounds. This graph shows the number of unintentional deaths per year involving prescription opioids. According to a recent government report, between 2001 and 2005, a total of 32,153 people died from prescription drug overdoses. [Submitted by Natalie]

Health and How Much You Make

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:39:18 -0700

Can income have an effect on your health? This graph shows the percent of people high above, above, and below the poverty line who reported having "fair or poor" health. About 20% of people with an income below the poverty line reported having fair health, while 5% of those high above the poverty line were in the same health condition. Data uploaded by LauraQuinn. [Submitted by LauraQuinn]

Meth Lab Busts in 2009

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:40:01 -0700

More than 12.3 million Americans (approximately 5.2 percent of the population) have tried methamphetamine, and 1.5 million are regular users. This graph shows the number of meth lab busts in the top ten states during the first quarter of 2009. This year, Missouri has had the most meth lab busts and dump site discoveries. Data uploaded by Meth Lab Homes. [Submitted by Meth Lab Homes]

Hospitals Aren't Snitching on Doctors

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:28:09 -0700

The National Practitioner Data Bank, is a database designed to protect patients from physicians with medical incompetence. Despite predictions of 5,000 reports on doctors annually, only an average of 650 reports are entered in the system each year. This graph shows the number of reports filed each year since 1990. In over 17 years, only 11,221 reports have been filed. Read more. [Submitted by Natalie]

Americans in Favor of Judge Sotomayor

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:10:56 -0700

The polls are out, and results show that Americans are generally supportive of President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. This graph shows the percent of people by opinion on whether the Senate should vote Sotomayor into the Supreme Court. Read more. [Submitted by Natalie]

Global Business Forecast

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:52:25 -0700

Blue skies and sunshine aren't in the forecast for global business conditions, which will take a downturn for the first time since 1996. This graph shows the total score (10 is the highest) for each country in 2004-08 and the forecast for 2009-13. Read more. [Submitted by Natalie]

Searching for Health Insurance

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:39:32 -0700

The data visualized depicts the five U.S. cities that searched for the term "health insurance," over the last 12 months, according to data from Google Insights. —jschiff. [Submitted by jschiff]

More Americans Obtaining Passports

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:58:30 -0700

The number of U.S. passports issued per year has more than doubled since 2004. This graph shows the number of passports (in millions) issued per year since 1996. According to the U.S. Passport Service Guide, 9/11 had an impact on the number of passports processed in 2002, but the effect did not last long. Data uploaded by fastpassport. [Submitted by fastpassport]

Following the Crowd?

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:11:34 -0700

Diners at the Mei Zhou Dong Po restaurants in Beijing were given different information about the restaurant's dishes. Some were given only the standard menu. Others were given the menu plus a placard identifying the five most popular menu items and a third group was given the menu plus a list of five sample dishes. This graph shows the results of the menu's affect on their orders. Data uploaded by Duke Research. [Submitted by Natalie]

Change in Oil Prices

Sun, 31 May 2009 07:45:26 -0700

Oil prices are going up, driven by expectations of an economic recovery; they reached $66.31 a barrel on Friday, May 29. This graph shows the percent change in oil prices since 1990. USA Today reports that despite the recent jumps, prices at the pump probably won't rocket like last summer. Data uploaded by neilkelty. [Submitted by neilkelty]

Poverty and Social Spending in Venezuela

Mon, 11 May 2009 12:11:24 -0700

Does social spending have an effect on poverty? This graph shows the relative values for social spending and poverty levels in Venezuela. Last October, Hugo Chavez announced that about 48% of the national budget for 2009 would go towards social investment, including food programs, health, and education. Data uploaded by tkaiser. [Submitted by tkaiser]