2015 Annual Wrap-Up: Money Maps of the World

“Above all else, show the data.”
– Edward R. Tufte

We began publishing “money maps” in the 2014 Annual Wrap Up. We were inspired by the ease with which disinformation was misleading great people. A fundamental grounding in the basic statistics of population, geography, natural resources, economy and military will inform you about the world around you. It will also help protect you from an enormous amount of misleading financial and geopolitical commentary. This includes commentary specifically designed to harvest your time and money.

Here are “money maps” for (14) nations in the G-20 would help you power up the “geo” in your geopolitical discussions. As more and more investment managers and companies begin to assess allocations between regions based on an area’s percentage of global GDP, grounding in vital statistics is essential in a world where we are “trading places.”

This year we have added additional data regarding investment in outer space. As more global trade flows through the orbit above us, building your intelligence with the statistics of outer space will continue to grow in value.

Recommendation:

Digest the Solari Report money maps. Then turn off your TV. Get a good world almanac and read a chapter a week until you are through. Then send us an e-mail about what you would like us to add to the money maps for the next annual wrap up!

 

Population Data (2015)

Australia Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Mexico Russia SAfrica UK US
Population (MM) 2 22.7 204.2 35.0 1,367.4 66.5 80.8 1,251.6 61.8 126.9 121.7 142.4 53.6 64.1 321.3
Urban Population 2 89.4% 85.7% 81.8% 55.6% 79.5% 75.3% 32.7% 69% 93.5% 79.2% 74% 64.8% 82.6% 81.6%
Median Age (years) 2 38.4 31.1 41.8 36.8 41.4 46.5 27.3 44.8 46.5 27.6 39.1 26.5 40.4 37.8
Billionaires ($USD) 9 27 54 39 213 47 103 90 39 24 16 88 7 53 536
Internet Users (MM) (2014)18 18.4 103.7 29.6 668.1 54.0 68.1 375.3 35.9 109.7 51.6 87.5 23.7 56.9 266.4
English Speaking 12 97% 4.9% 86% 1% 39% 64% 10% 34% 12% 6% 31% 98% 94%

 

Space Programs (2014)

Australia Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Mexico Russia SAfrica UK US
Satellites in Orbit (2015)17 6 9 27 132 19 25 35 12 56 3 131 2 39 534
Space Budget ($MM) 14 35 183 474 6,111 2,713 1,687 1,159 1,223 3,597 10 5,265 367 39,332
Space Program Founded 2015 1989 1993 1989 1972 1969 1988 2003 2010 1955 2010 2010 1958
Space Sector Personnel
(000)
300 32 7 250 250

 

Natural Resources (2014)

Australia Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Mexico Russia SAfrica UK US
Land Area (MM sq km) 1 7,740 8,514 9,970 9,597 552 357 3,287 301 378 1,958 17,076 1,221 242,900 9,629
Arable Land (%)2 6.2 8.5 4.3 11.6 33.5 33.2 47.9 22.6 11.2 12.9 7.1 9.9 24.9 16.2
Renewable Water Resources
(cu km, 2011) 2
492 8,233 2,902 2,840 211 154 1,911 191.3 430 457.2 4,508 51.4 147 3,069
Coastline (km) 2 25,760 7,491 202,080 14,500 4,853 2,389 7,000 7,600 29,751 9,330 37,653 2,798 12,429 19,924
Waterways (km)2 2,000 50,000 * 636 ** 110,000 8,501 7,467 14,500 2,400 1,770 2,900 102,000 n/a 3,200 41,009
Crude Oil (bbl, Jan, 2015) 2 1.1 B 15.3 B 172.5 B 24.6 B 84.0 MM 226.8 MM 5.6 B 544.5 MM 541.6 MM 9.8 B 80.0 B 15.0 MM 2.9 B 36.5 B
Natural Gas
(cu m, Jan, 2014) 2
1.219 T 388.7 B 1.88 T 3.3 T 9.6 B 116 B 1.4 T 59.4 B 20.9 B 483.5 B 47.8 T 15 B 241 B 8.734 T

 

Infrastructure

Australia Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Mexico Russia SAfrica UK US
Railways (km)2 38,445 28,538 46,552 86,000 29,640 41,981 63,974 20,255 27,182 17,166 87,157 20,192 16,454 224,792
Roadways (paved, km) 2 356,343 212,798 415,600 3,453,890 1,028,446 645,000 n/a 487,700 973,234 137,544 927,721 62,995 394,428 4,304,715
Pipelines (km, gas / oil) 2 30,931
/ 3,791
17,915
/ 9,553
n/a 48,511
/ 38,410
15,322
/ 8,023
27,022
/ 7,313
15,644
/ 20,032
20,223
/ 2,967
4,456
/ 278
2,102
/ 16,832
165,372
/ 94,518
1,387
/ 2,452
29,173
/ 10,605
1,984,321
/ 240,711
# of Mobile Phones
(Year Varies) 7
20MM 284 MM 28 MM 1,276 MM 72 MM 107 MM 1,003MM 88 MM 121 MM 101 MM 256 MM 59 MM 83 MM 327 MM
Smartphone
Penetration 16
65% 26% 56% 47% 42% 40% 19% 41% 25% 37% 36% 40% 62% 56%

 

Finance

Australia Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Mexico Russia SAfrica UK US
GDP (trillions, 2014 est.) 2 $1.1T $3.2T $1.5T $18.0T $2.5T $3.7T $7.4T 2.1T $4.7T $2.1T $3.5T $0.6T $2.5T $17.3T
GDP Per Capita (2014 est.) 2 $46,600 $16,200 $45,000 $13,200 $40,500 $46,200 $5,800 $35,100 $37,500 $18,000 $24,400 $13,100 $39,800 $54,400
Debt (% of GDP, 2014 est.) 2 42% 59% 95% 15% 96% 74% 58% 132% 232% 42% 13% 49% 89% 74%
Exports (2014 est.) 2 $240.8B $224.6B $478.4B $2.343T $584.5B $1.492T $329.6.2B $513.7B $699B $398.3B $497.8B $92.5B $480.8B $1.633T
Outstanding Equity (2014) 10 $1.2T $843B $2.0T $6.0T $2.0T $1.7T $1.5T n/a $4.3T $480B $385B $933B $3.1T $26.3T
Gold Reserves (tonnes, 2015) 3 79.9 67.2 3.0 1,054.1 2,435.4 3,384.2 557.7 2,451.8 765.2 122.7 1,208.2 125.2 310.3 8,133.5

 

Military

Australia Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Mexico Russia SAfrica UK US
US Military Personnel
Deployed (Sept, 2014)
13
178 139 37,704 11,697 48,828 9,074 1,142,288
Military (% of GDP, 2013) 15 1.8% 1.3% 1.0% 2.1% 2.2% 1.2% 2.4% 1.4% 1.0% 0.7% 4.5% 1.1% 2.0% 3.5%
Nuclear Warheads11 0 0 0 260 300 0 110-120 0 0 0 7,500 0 215 7,200 ***
# of Aircraft Carriers 4 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 10

Sources:

1 worldometers.info, 2 World Factbook, 3 The World Gold Council, 4 wikipedia.org, 5 satellitedebris.net, 6oecd-ilibrary.org, 7wikipedia.org, 8wikipedia.org, 9wikipedia.org, 10The World Bank 11icanw.org, 12wikipedia.org, 13wikipedia.org, 14OECD Library, 15The World Bank, 16wikipedia.org, 17Union of Concerned Scientists, 18Internet Live Stats

* Most in areas remote from industry and population.
** Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States.
*** (5) European nations host U.S. nuclear weapons on their soil as part of a NATO nuclear-sharing arrangement: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey.