Bird’s Eye View Tour Of France

Photographer Frank Mulliez travels around the world taking aerial photographs from a helicopter of the most beautiful landmarks across the globe. Here, Mulliez takes you on a tour of France’s gorgeous landscape.

All of Earth’s water into a sphere

This drawing shows the size of a sphere that would contain all of Earth’s water in comparison to the size of the Earth.  The sphere includes all the water in the oceans, seas, ice caps, lakes and rivers as well as groundwater, atmospheric water, and even the water in you, your dog, and your tomato plant.

Death Penalty Throughout The World

Human rights group Amnesty International believes that in 2011, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China and the United States carried out the most executions in the world.

Singapore: Miracle at the Center of the World

One of the globe’s smallest countries is also one of its richest cities.

The Future Belongs to the Flexible

In the emerging global order, the key to a country’s success will be courting multiple partners.

The real hunger games: How banks gamble on food prices – and the poor lose out

In the last decade, financiers have speculated billions of pounds in food, helping to make prices dearer and more volatile.

Sarajevo Remembers the 11,541

Sarajevo’s main street was empty of traffic on 6th April, save for 11,541 stationary red chairs.  Row after row of chairs lined the street – each one commemorating a man, woman or child killed in the longest siege of modern history.

Every World Press Photo Winner From 1980-2011

Every year since the World Press Association gathers in Amsterdam to pick a picture of the year.

The best and worst places to be a woman

Today is the the 101st International Women’s Day. Eighty-five per cent of countries have improved conditions for women over the past six years, according to the World Economic Forum, but in economic and political terms there is still a long way to go. The Independent on Sunday explores the best places to be a woman today.

Where Is All Of The World’s Oil?

It’s interesting seeing which countries have the most oil and knowing why countries go to war over this “liquid gold”.

Impressive Facts About India

India is on the way to becoming the world’s fastest growing country by 2014.

Ending world hunger is possible – so why hasn’t it been done?

Some 850 million people go to bed hungry. If the right decisions are made now, we can feed the world and address inequality.

Impressive Facts About China

The speed and size of economic development going in China right now has never happened before. China plays a critical role in the global economy from here out.

Japan, 11 months since the earthquake and tsunami

Ηow Japan has rebuilt in the 11 months since the earthquake and tsunami devastated the country. 

If the World Were Village of 100 People

If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

Global Transportation System

A stunning image by Felix Pharand-Deschenes at Globaia, and a video about the human influence on planet earth.

Germany has the economic strengths America once boasted

Germany with its manufacturing base and export prowess is the U.S. of yesteryear, an economic power unlike any of its European neighbors. It has thrived on principles America seems to have lost.

Failed doomsday predictions

The World Will NOT End On Dec. 21, 2012, as Mayan calendar predicts. Below you will find seven other dates when the world was supposed to end, but didn’t …

These Economies Will Dominate The World In 2050

“The World in 2050,” a new report by HSBC economist Karen Ward, forecasts the economic prowess of the 100 largest economies. Of interest in her report is where each happens to fall, and how income per capita will grow in a number of emerging markets.

Mapping Stereotypes

Bulgarian graphic designer and illustrator Yanko Tsvetkov has revealed maps, reproducing what he saw as stereotypes that different nations have about other countries.

Child Labor Is increasing Around The World

Child labor risks are rising around the world, including in supply-chain countries, according to a new report from Maplecroft.

Shanghai in 1990 and 2010

China’s economy has grown at a rate of about 10 percent a year for the last two decades. Over those 20 years, Shanghai, the country’s largest city, has experienced a remarkable transformation. 

Speeding Around The World in Under 5 minutes

17 Countries. 343 Days. 6237 Photographs. One incredible journey.

Staggering Facts About The Global Super Rich

The world economy may still be in the doldrums, but global wealth continues to grow, hitting an all-time high this year of $231 trillion, according to a new global wealth report from Credit Suisse.

The $200 Trillion World: Who Owns All the Wealth?

The wealth of the world — from all the global stock markets, insurance funds, and families — comes out to about $200 trillion, according to the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report on investors in developing nations. Who owns all that?

How the Potato Changed the World

Brought to Europe from the New World by Spanish explorers, the lowly potato gave rise to modern industrial agriculture.

Arabic is the fastest growing language on Twitter

According to a study by Paris-based agency Semiocast, out of approximately 180 million tweets posted on a daily basis in October 2011, 2.2 million of them were posted in Arabic.

2021: The New Europe

Welcome to Europe, 2021. Ten years have elapsed since the great crisis of 2010-11, which claimed the scalps of no fewer than 10 governments, including Spain and France. Some things have stayed the same, but a lot has changed.

20 predictions for the next 25 years

From the web to wildlife, the economy to nanotechnology, politics to sport, the Observer’s team of experts prophesy how the world will change – for good or bad – in the next quarter of a century.

India: The World’s Secret Silicon Valley

You might not know it, but a key cog in the global innovation machine is hiding in plain sight in the world’s largest democracy.

The Bright Side of the Global Economy: The Middle Class Is Growing

There is a middle class revolution happening in the largest economies in Central and South America, a counterbalance to the terrible news coming out of Europe.

The Rise of the Megacity

Jakarta, Lagos, and Sao Paolo, and other massive population centers are changing the way we think about cities.

The World at 7 Billion

This month, the 7 billionth person will be born on a planet already strapped for resources. To mark this extraordinary milestone, lets explore the most pressing population issues of the day, from the quest for sustainable energy sources to a look at what our biggest cities could look like in the decades to come.

Comparing India and China

How the Asian superpowers compare on various measures of development.

When will the 7 billionth human be born?

ON 31 October, a newborn baby somewhere in the world will become the 7 billionth member of the human race. Or so says the UN – alternatively, this date could be at least a year too early.

Richard Feynman on beauty and curiosity.

The quantum mechanics physicist Richard Feynman is talking about the beauty of science and of the natural world.

As Europe Ages, Its Economies Look Vulnerable

“Old Europe” is getting old, and fast. The share of seniors in the population of Western European countries is growing rapidly, due to a combination of increased longevity and low fertility rates. That fact is having two major effects on many economies within the European Union. Over the short term, many nations are struggling to pay for generous health coverage and pensions.

Who are the world’s biggest employers?

ONE of the biggest headaches for policymakers in many rich countries has been how to create jobs during a period of fiscal austerity and anaemic growth. The private sector has been slow to generate jobs, and government-spending cuts usually end up cutting jobs. And governments employ a lot of people: in our chart of the ten biggest global employers, below, seven are government-run.

Tiger vs. Dragon: A Demographic Comparison of India and China.

One of the biggest story lines of the 21st century is going to be the continued economic rise of China and India. According to the World Bank, both countries grew at a rate of 9.1% in 2009. Here’s a chart of their growth since the 1960s:

China’s billionaires double in number

China’s ultra-rich continue to multiply rapidly, with the number of dollar billionaires on the latest rich list doubling in just two years.