Show World: Animated Statistics

Wow! I've got a new favorite interactive data display website, and it's Show World. Check out this display of the size of the aging population -- click on it once to see the animation, or double-click to see it full-sized:



Or this one, showing the number of pigs raised per country:

Over half of the pigs raised in the world live in China!

A number of indicators are available, under People (including demographics, education, health), Planet (environment, energy, crops, minerals, animal husbandry), Business (economy, technology, transport, industry, and global brands -- want to know who has the most IKEA stores?), Politics (law & order, war & conflict, migration, government), and Living (food and dining, travel, sports, and media). There's even a secion called "Your Maps" with user-generated content.

What I really like is the further reading suggestion -- the topic displays, the animation resizes the countries to represent the actual and proportionate data, and when your attention is piqued, there's a resource available for you to follow up.

I really want this resource available on a county or neighborhood level. The challenge with data is to convince the user/reader/customer/citizen/public official to bite. Something that attracts the interest and overcomes the initial reluctance to see meaning in numbers. Once the hook is set, then they can become real fans of data-driven decision-making -- but they have to want to try it first.

This technology helps do that. And mixing the serious and the flippant helps engage people, in my opinion.

From their site: SHOW® is an online informational tool launched in May 2008 by Mapping Worlds. The website offers users a new way to look at the world by resizing countries on the map according to a series of global issues.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

(Hat tip: information aesthetics)