Empowering people with data

Nov 15, 2024 | Technology & Telecommunications

Leading tech companies worldwide 2024, by market cap

As of November 15, 2024, Apple was the leading tech company by market capitalization globally at 3.6 trillion U.S. dollars. For the first time, Nvidia surpassed the three trillion U.S. dollar mark earlier in 2024.

Since its foundation in a Californian garage in 1976, Apple expanded massively and became one of the most valuable companies in the world. The company started its origins in the PC industry with the Macintosh, but soon entered other segments of the consumer electronics market. Today, the iPhone is the most profitable Apple product, although Mac, iPad, wearables, and services also contribute to its high revenues. Aiming at innovation, Apple invests every year in research and development, with its latest hardware product, an AR headset, released in 2024.

Apple’s biggest rival in the consumer electronics industry is the South Korean tech giant Samsung. Founded in 1938 as a trading company, it developed in several sectors, including electronics and insurance, recording revenues in excess of 200 billion U.S. dollars over recent years. Despite Samsung being active in several markets across multiple divisions, it is today best known for its consumer tech products. Smartphones, tablets, and TVs are among the most popular. Samsung sits as the leading smartphone vendor, holding a market share of over 20 percent through 2022.

Nov 15, 2024 | Food & Nutrition

Ranking of the most valuable food brands worldwide 2024

With a brand value of over 20.7 billion U.S. dollars, Nestlé was by far the most valuable food brand in the world in 2024. Yili, a Chinese dairy brand, was valued at about 11.6 billion U.S. dollars, putting the brand in third place. 

Danone was considered the fifth most valuable food brand in 2024, with a brand value of over eight billion U.S. dollars. In 2023, the French multinational Danone S.A. generated an estimated 27.6 billion U.S. dollars in net sales, a slight increase compared to the previous year. About 41 percent of those net sales were earned in the United States, China and France, making these countries Danone’s key markets.

The world’s most valuable beer brand is Corona, which was worth about 19 billion U.S. dollars. The brand is most known for its pale lager Corona Extra. Corona took the first spot from Budweiser. Budweiser is an American-style lager with an alcohol content of five percent, created by Anheuser-Busch. Heineken and Modelo are the third and fourth most valuable brands respectively.

Nov 18, 2024 | Mobile Gaming

Nintendo mobile gaming revenue worldwide 2024, by title

Nintendo generated more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars lifetime revenue from mobile games as of November 2024, with Fire Emblem Heroes ranking first with 879 million U.S. dollars in IAP spending as of the measured period. Second-ranked Mario Kart Tour saw 267 million U.S. dollars in lifetime player spend. Despite being a prolific gaming company with many strong first-party title releases for its gaming consoles, Nintendo has not managed to translate its success to mobile. Dragalia Lost, which was launched in 2018 as a new mobile-exclusive IP, shut down in November 2022.

Nov 20, 2024 | Elections

U.S. early voting in presidential election 2024, by vote state

During the weeks leading up to the presidential election, early voting began in almost all states, with almost 90 million early ballots being cast nationally. Over nine million mail-in and early in-person votes were cast in the state of Texas and California, roughly a quarter of the total mail-in and early in-person votes cast nationally.

Nov 18, 2024 | Financial Services

Monthly Fed funds effective rate in the U.S. 1954-2024

The U.S. federal funds effective rate underwent a dramatic reduction in early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate plummeted from 1.58 percent in February 2020 to 0.65 percent in March, and further decreased to 0.05 percent in April. This sharp reduction, accompanied by the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program, was implemented to stabilize the economy during the global health crisis. After maintaining historically low rates for nearly two years, the Federal Reserve began a series of rate hikes in early 2022, with the rate moving from 0.33 percent in April 2022 to 5.33 percent in August 2023. The rate remained unchanged for over a year, before the Federal Reserve initiated its first rate cut in nearly three years in September 2024, bringing the rate to 5.13 percent, signaling a potential shift in monetary policy.

The U.S. federal funds effective rate determines the interest rate paid by depository institutions, such as banks and credit unions, that lend reserve balances to other depository institutions overnight. Changing the effective rate in times of crisis is a common way to stimulate the economy, as it has a significant impact on the whole economy, such as economic growth, employment, and inflation.

The adjustment of interest rates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was a coordinated global effort. In early 2020, central banks worldwide implemented aggressive monetary easing policies to combat the economic crisis. The U.S. Federal Reserve's dramatic reduction of its federal funds rate - from 1.58 percent in February 2020 to 0.05 percent by April - mirrored similar actions taken by central banks globally. While these low rates remained in place throughout 2021, mounting inflationary pressures led to a synchronized tightening cycle beginning in 2022, with central banks pushing rates to multi-year highs. By mid-2024, as inflation moderated across major economies, central banks began implementing their first rate cuts in several years, with the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of England, and European Central Bank all easing monetary policy.

Nov 18, 2024 | Apps

Monthly active users of leading messaging apps in China 2024

China’s telecommunications market houses a variety of domestic messaging apps such as WeChat, QQ, and Momo that cater to its diverse population of smartphone users. As of September 2024, Tencent’s WeChat remained the most popular messaging app with over one billion monthly active users in the country. 

Instant messaging was the most popular app category in China with a massive user base. When it comes to app usage time, video apps have attracted more attention from Chinese mobile users than any other app category. Apart from the well-established video-sharing platforms such as Youku, Tencent Video, and iQIYI, various short video apps - especially Douyin and Kuaishou (Kwai) - have been gaining traction rapidly in the app market. At the same time, online payment apps like Alipay and e-commerce apps such as Taobao and Pinduoduo have trailed closely behind in terms of monthly active user numbers.

China has one of the most engaged app user markets in the world, this is reflected in the high app installations, daily usage numbers, and consumer spending. However, data privacy awareness has been growing among Chinese consumers. An annual online survey found that a significant amount of users doubted the data privacy and security policies of internet companies. Besides, checking app permissions and partial granting personal data access on smartphones have become more common. It is important for app developers and publishers to avoid undesirable user permissions in order to gain the initial trust of Chinese users.

Nov 18, 2024 | India

Total population of India 2029

The statistic shows the total population of India from 2019 to 2029. In 2023, the estimated total population in India amounted to approximately 1.43 billion people.

Total population in India

India currently has the second-largest population in the world and is projected to overtake top-ranking China within forty years. Its residents comprise more than one-seventh of the entire world’s population, and despite a slowly decreasing fertility rate (which still exceeds the replacement rate and keeps the median age of the population relatively low), an increasing life expectancy adds to an expanding population. In comparison with other countries whose populations are decreasing, such as Japan, India has a relatively small share of aged population, which indicates the probability of lower death rates and higher retention of the existing population.

With a land mass of less than half that of the United States and a population almost four times greater, India has recognized potential problems of its growing population. Government attempts to implement family planning programs have achieved varying degrees of success. Initiatives such as sterilization programs in the 1970s have been blamed for creating general antipathy to family planning, but the combined efforts of various family planning and contraception programs have helped halve fertility rates since the 1960s. The population growth rate has correspondingly shrunk as well, but has not yet reached less than one percent growth per year.

As home to thousands of ethnic groups, hundreds of languages, and numerous religions, a cohesive and broadly-supported effort to reduce population growth is difficult to create. Despite that, India is one country to watch in coming years. It is also a growing economic power; among other measures, its GDP per capita was expected to triple between 2003 and 2013 and was listed as the third-ranked country for its share of the global gross domestic product.

Nov 20, 2024 | Poverty

Percentage of indigenous people living in poverty in Latin American countries 2023

As of 2023, the region's average share of the indigenous population living under the poverty line was 42.3 percent. The most recent data for Colombia positions the country with 63.5 percent of the population, the highest in Latin America. 

Nov 18, 2024 | Soccer

All-time top goalscorers of the Portuguese men's football team 2024

As of November 18, 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo was the all-time leading goalscorer for the Portuguese men's football team. With 135 goals to his name, Ronaldo rests at the top of the leaderboard, having scored more than 2.5 times the number of goals registered by second placed Pauleta and third placed Eusébio. 

Few athletes can claim to rival Cristiano Ronaldo's football career. Having already won numerous trophies in England, Spain, and Italy, the Portuguese forward is the highest paid soccer player worldwide following his signing by Saudi Arabian football club Al-Nassr. Although Al-Nassr does not compete in the UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo's legacy as the player with the most goals in the tournament will continue.

As of September 2024, the Portuguese men's national soccer team were in eighth position globally according to FIFA's ranking. In 2024, A Seleção Portuguesa boasted several players with a net worth above 50 million euros in their line-up, with the most valuable player being Rafael Leão. Leão, who plays at club level for the Serie A side AC Milan, was also amongst the most expensive players at the FIFA World Cup held in Qatar in 2022.

Nov 13, 2024 | Elections

Voting intention in the Irish general election 2016-2024

Fine Gael had the support of 25 percent of Irish adults, according to a survey conducted in November 2024, the most of any single party. After leading the polls between 2021 and 2023, support for Sinn Féin has fallen behind Fine Gael, with 19 percent of people intending to vote for them in September 2024.