Weighted World Maps
From Worldmapper "The world as you've never seen before".
I think the use of "Weighted Maps" to visualize a Nation's contribution/ share on the global total is very compelling. Below there are examples on the topics: Wealth, Population, Emission and Internet.
Wealth distribution
Distribution of worldwide wealth.
This wealth map shows which territories have the greatest wealth when Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is compared using currency exchange rates. This indicates international purchasing power - what someone’s money would be worth if they wanted to spend it in another territory.
Wealth, as reflected by GDP per person, is highest in Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland. It is lowest in Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
World Population
Distribution of the world's population today. (help).
...and 500 years ago:
In Spring 2000 world population estimates reached 6 billion.
The distribution of the earth's population is shown in this map.
India, China and Japan appear large on the map because they have large populations. Panama, Namibia and Guinea-Bissau have small populations and are barely visible.
Population is very weakly related to land area. However, Sudan which is geographically the largest country in Africa, has a smaller population than Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa and Tanzania.
At the time of Spanish conquest in South America, and when Christopher Columbus was exploring Central and South America, the combined population of Mexico and Peru was greater than the total of all other American countries.
The regions with the largest populations remained Southern Asia and Eastern Asia. Together these contained more than half of the world's population.
Worldwide population in the year 1500 was 450 million
(population growth for the last 2000 years)
.
Emission of Greenhouse Gases
Contributors of the greenhouse gas emissions...
...and those that decreased emission of carbon dioxide:
Greenhouse gases trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere, causing it to warm up. The greenhouse gases shown here are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases account for 98% of the greenhouse effect. Other greenhouse gases, not shown here, are various fluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride.
The territories that emit the most greenhouse gases are the United States, China, the Russian Federation and Japan. (highest emission per capita in Qatar: equivalent to 86 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Qatar has significant oil and gas reserves, and in 2002 was populated by 600,000 people)
Between 1980 and 2000, roughly 58 territories decreased their annual carbon dioxide emissions. Together these territories reduced annual emissions by 1.9 billion tonnes; carbon emission increases from other territories were 3.5 times greater than this decrease.
Almost half of the decrease was in territories formerly in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, followed by Germany at 15%, Poland at 8%, and France at 6%. Decline in industrial production and factory closure contributed to some decreases.
Internet Users
Global changes in terms of contribution of internet users from 1990 (total of 3 million) to 2002 (600 million).
...and 12 years later:
In 1990 the Internet had existed for only 7 years; just 3 million people had access to it worldwide. 73% of these people were living in the United States, 15% were in Western Europe.
Internet users in 1990 were recorded in just a few other territories. Outside Western Europe and the United States, most users lived in Canada, followed by Australia, then Japan, the Republic of Korea and Israel. In 1990 there was practically no access elsewhere.
Switzerland is home to the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) where the World Wide Web was developed. In 1990, 5.8 people per thousand in Switzerland used the Internet
During the 12 years from 1990 to 2002, people using the Internet increased in number by 224 times. By 2002 there were 631 million Internet users worldwide.
The distribution of Internet users worldwide has changed remarkably over just a dozen years. In 1990 Internet users were mainly found in the United States, Western Europe, Australia, Japan and Taiwan. By 2002 people living in Asia Pacific, Southern Asia, South America, China and Eastern Europe were notable Internet users. A not insignificant number of Internet users are also shown to be in Northern Africa, Southeastern Africa and the Middle East.