Statista

As NATO celebrates its 76th anniversary, the military alliance finds itself more united and better funded than in recent years, driven by growing geopolitical tensions and shifting global dynamics. The goal of 2 percent of GDP in military spending that NATO set for itself in 2014 was not reached by many European members for years. However, major gains were made recently, especially in 2024, as fears of new conflicts persisted and concerns grew over the future of U.S. global military leadership under re-elected President Donald Trump. By June last year, 23 out of 31 NATO countries with armed forces were projected to hit the spending target—up from just 10 out of 30 the year before. Sweden and Finland, NATO’s two newest members, joined the alliance in 2023 and 2024 respectively, and both exceeded the 2 percent threshold upon entry.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariff increases for countries around the world. Estimates by the rating agency Fitch highlight how these hikes could drastically raise the average effective tariff rate on all U.S. imports from 2.5 percent in 2024 to 22 percent in 2025. This would put it at roughly the same level as in 1910. In 1934, the United States passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, a law that gave the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt the authority to reduce tariffs through bilateral trade agreements without requiring congressional approval for each individual change. At that time, the goal had been to combat the Great Depression, promote international trade and ease the protectionism of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff (1930). This led to a significant fall in the average effective interest rate on U.S. imports, which has remained in single figures since 1947. Trump announced new tariffs for trading partners around the world on Wednesday. Imports from the European Union will be subject to surcharges of 20 percent, and those from China will be subject to a tariff of as much as 34 percent. He cited 10 percent as a "minimum rate" for other countries. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the new tariffs are a "severe blow to the global economy," during a visit to the Uzbek city of Samarkand. She expressed "deep regret" for the decision.

In a similar vein to the United States, the United Kingdom has introduced an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) for visa-exempt visitors. From April 2, travelers from the EU will need to apply for an ETA before entering the UK. The system, which is similar to the U.S. ESTA, aims to enhance border security and streamline arrivals. As travel requirements become more stringent, not only in the UK but also the EU and the U.S., the following chart considers whether such requirements are front of mind for people making travel plans. Data from a Statista Consumer Insights survey conducted in 2024 shows that while most travelers do not tend to adjust their travel plans based on travel requirements and government regulations, it varies by country. In India, a third of respondents said that they alter their travel plans based on regulations - the highest figure among the surveyed countries. By contrast, Japan reported the lowest figure, with just 7 percent of respondents saying the same. The UK placed in the middle, with 20 percent of travelers reconsidering their journeys due to travel requirements, slightly more than Germany (16 percent) and France (14 percent).

Elon Musk (53) has once again been named the world’s richest man in 2025 with an estimated fortune of $342 billion, according to Forbes’ 39th annual billionaires list, released Tuesday. Musk has co-founded multiple companies, from the electric car manufacturer Tesla to the rocket maker SpaceX and also owns X (formerly Twitter). He most recently made headlines as a temporary government employee under returning President Donald Trump, carrying out controversial deep cuts to government spending and staff - a role he will leave in late May, he said last week. Next in line come Mark Zuckerberg (40) and Jeff Bezos (61), the founder of tech giants Facebook and Amazon, who has racked up some $215-216 billion worth of wealth each. While Zuckerberg continues on as Meta's CEO, Bezos stepped down from this role at Amazon in 2021 to become an executive chairman. Larry Ellison (80) of Oracle, Bernard Arnault (76) of LVMH and Warren Buffett (94) of Berkshire Hathaway and Larry Page (52) of Google complete the top eight roundup of most wealthy people in the world. The chart is based on Forbes' calculations using net worths based on stock prices and exchange rates from March 7, 2025.

As the world is bracing for more tariff announcements on April 2, a day dubbed "Liberation Day" by President Donald Trump, Americans are increasingly wary about the effects that new tariffs will have on the average American. According to a recent survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of The Economist, 61 percent of U.S. adults think that raising tariffs would hurt the average American, while only 14 percent of respondents think that it would have a positive effect on them. That's because Americans - still wary about inflation after three years of rising prices - broadly expect tariffs to further increase prices and thus inflict further financial pain on already inflation-stricken U.S. households. While it's no surprise that Democrats overwhelmingly oppose the Trump administration's tariff plans, it is interesting to see that even Republicans are more likely to expect average Americans to suffer from new tariffs. 36 percent of Republican respondents expect Trump's trade policies to hurt the average American, while one 28 percent expect tariffs to help Average Joe.

The United States was home to 30 percent of the world’s billionaires in 2024 and 40 percent of total billionaire wealth. This is according to The Wealth Report 2025 by Knight Frank, based on Forbes’ annual wealth list. Of all sectors, finance and investment have produced the highest number of billionaires on Forbes’ 2024 roundup, accounting for 427 of the mega wealthy. In terms of total wealth, tech is the biggest generator, accounting for some $2.6 trillion across 342 billionaires. However, this is changing, with new industries shaping the next generation of billionaires. As the following chart shows, manufacturing produced the highest number of new billionaires over the past decade. Since 2014, the sector has produced 509 billionaires in total, half of whom are in China. The field of tech has created the second highest number at 443 billionaires - again, with China taking the lead. The profile of billionaires is evolving too. In 2024, the average billionaire age was 65.7, with men representing 87 percent of the total. By contrast, 82 percent of new billionaires were male, and of those under 30, nearly 47 percent were female. Knight Frank forecasts that not only will the share of female billionaires grow in the future, but also that the average billionaire will become younger, as older generations pass on their wealth. The concentration of billionaires will also become more global, reflecting a connected economy.

People in Latin America and South Africa are especially sensible to the problem of poverty in their societies. In a survey by Statista Consumer Insights, between half and two thirds of respondents picked the problem when choosing major domestic issues from a list 20 as part of the survey. This places poverty in the top 3 biggest issues identified in the countries by participants. Interestingly, several European countries also regard poverty as a major issue at home. In France, 45 percent of respondents named it among major issues, while that number was 42 percent in Italy, 44 percent in Finland and 40 percent in both Spain and the Netherlands. This still placed poverty among the top 6 most named issues in these nations. In Asia, emerging economies regarded the topic very differently. In India, 38 percent named it among the most important issues (rank 3), while in China, it was ranked 11th at just 12 percent - the lowest in the survey. In the United States, 37 percent said that poverty was among the most important issues in the country - rank 5.

Looking for a dose of positivity? Explore our Good News format, showcasing data with uplifting impacts. 

The number one reason to “cancel” a brand – or at least boycott or protest them - is the mistreatment of animals. Animal cruelty was named as the (joint) top reasons why consumers would give up on a brand in three out of four countries included in a special survey by Statista Consumer Insights. 43 percent of the more than 3,000 U.S. respondents said they would give companies mistreating animals the boot, ahead of racism and human rights violations at 42 and 40 percent, respectively. UK and German respondents saw things similarly, with the exception that Germans considered the mistreatment of animals and human rights abuses as similarly damning and also rated environmental concerns higher than their English-language counterparts. Japanese respondents, on the other hand, were most concerned about products harmful to health, inapproriate advertising and corruption within a company. 13 percent of U.S. respondents said they had boycotted a brand before over practices seen as unethical. 21 percent said they had spoken with their friends about their concerns around a brand, while 25 percent said they had posted about these concerns on social media. While 86 percent of Americans in the survey named a reason they found good enough to boycott or otherwise attack a brand over their business practices, 49 percent said that they had actually never done so before.

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