Maps

Mapped: The World’s Record Heat Waves

Published

2 weeks ago

May 3, 2025

Statista

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Bruno Venditti

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Mapped: The World’s Record Heat Waves

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

From South Asia to North America, extreme heat waves are becoming more frequent, intense, and widespread.

In April 2024, temperatures hit 44°C in Jaipur, India, and a scorching 50°C in Shaheed Benazirabad, Pakistan, as a severe heat wave swept across South Asia. Experts now warn that these conditions are fast becoming the new normal in many parts of the world.

According to NASA, there is “unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate.” Supporting this, the Copernicus Earth Observation Program confirmed that July 22, 2024, was the hottest global average daily temperature on record—17.16°C since tracking began in 1940.

This Statista map highlights a selection of national and continental heat records set over the past six years.

Heat Waves Around the World

At the national level, countries around the world have shattered heat records in just the last six years. For example, Cambodia and Myanmar set new highs in April 2024, with 42.8°C and 48.2°C respectively. In 2022, Australia and Uruguay matched their national records at 50.7°C and 44.0°C, while the UK broke the 40°C barrier for the first time ever.

In 2021, one of the hottest years globally, Canada registered a staggering 49.6°C, marking the third-highest national temperature in the world during this period—remarkable for a country known for its cold climate. That same summer, Italy reported 48.8°C in Syracuse, a European record later confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization.

Country	Temp (°C)	Temp (°F)	Year
🇲🇽 Mexico	51.9	125.4	2024
🇦🇺 Australia	50.7	123.3	2022
🇹🇷 Turkey	49.5	121.1	2023
🇨🇦 Canada	49.6	121.3	2021
🇲🇱 Mali	48.5	119.3	2024
🇮🇹 Italy	48.8	119.8	2021
🇲🇲 Myanmar	48.2	118.8	2024
🇪🇸 Spain	47.6	117.7	2021
🇫🇷 France	46.0	114.8	2019
🇻🇳 Vietnam	44.2	111.6	2023
🇧🇷 Brazil	44.8	112.6	2023
🇺🇾 Uruguay	44.0	111.2	2022
🇰🇭 Cambodia	42.8	109.0	2024
🇯🇵 Japan	41.1	106.0	2020
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	40.3	104.5	2022
🇦🇶 Antarctica	18.3	64.9	2020

Even Antarctica felt the heat: in 2020, the Esperanza Base recorded temperatures above 18°C during the austral summer. And Europe has seen repeated summer heatwaves break long-standing records, from France (46°C in 2019) to Germany (42.6°C) and Belgium (41.8°C).

Despite the growing list of extremes, the highest temperature ever officially recorded remains 56.7°C in California’s Death Valley, set back in 1913.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed this graphic, make sure to check this chart to see how heat waves in U.S. cities have nearly tripled since the 1960s.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

Related Topics:temperature climate change extreme temperatures global warming Heat wave climate heat

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Maps

Mapped: The Size of Each Country’s Shadow Economy

From illicit trade to informal business transactions, the global shadow economy makes up a staggering 11.3% of GDP.

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2025

Dorothy Neufeld

Map showing the size of each country's shadow economy as a share of GDP in 2023.

Mapped: The Size of the World’s Shadow Economies

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

Globally, the shadow economy is estimated to equal 11.8% of GDP.
The underground economy is valued at more than half of GDP in Sierra Leone, Niger, and Nepal.
Meanwhile, America’s shadow economy accounts for 5% of GDP, valued at an estimated $1.4 trillion.

The global shadow economy generates trillions in revenue each year, driven by criminal activity and other unreported transactions.

In low income countries, shadow activity makes up a larger slice of GDP, standing at an estimated 42.4% share. In comparison, this drops to 5.9% of GDP in rich countries, with the UAE seeing the smallest share overall.

This graphic shows the size of each country’s shadow economy, based on analysis from the Ernst & Young Global Shadow Economy Report 2025.

Defining the Shadow Economy

To start, the shadow economy includes unreported or untaxed activity, making it difficult for authorities to monitor.

This includes illegal enterprises, drug trafficking, street vendors, or cash transactions made off the books. While measuring the informal economy is hard to quantify, it has shrunk from 17.7% of world GDP in 2000 to 11.8% in 2023.

Breaking Down the Shadow Economy by Country

Here are countries with the largest shadow economies as a share of GDP:

Rank	Country	Shadow Economy % of GDP in 2023	Shadow Economy Value	GDP 2023
1	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	64.5	$4.1B	$6.4B
2	🇳🇪 Niger	56.3	$9.5B	$16.8B
3	🇳🇵 Nepal	51.0	$20.9B	$40.9B
4	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	50.2	$80.2B	$159.8B
5	🇧🇮 Burundi	49.2	$2.1B	$4.2B
6	🇲🇱 Mali	46.8	$9.5B	$20.2B
7	🇹🇿 Tanzania	44.7	$35.4B	$79.1B
8	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	43.8	$8.9B	$20.3B
9	🇨🇩 DRC	42.1	$28.2B	$66.9B
10	🇲🇿 Mozambique	39.8	$8.4B	$21.0B
11	🇰🇪 Kenya	38.4	$41.8B	$108.8B
12	🇲🇲 Myanmar	37.9	$24.4B	$64.5B
13	🇿🇲 Zambia	35.6	$10.0B	$28.2B
14	🇵🇰 Pakistan	35.0	$118.1B	$337.5B
15	🇸🇩 Sudan	34.9	$13.3B	$38.1B
16	🇨🇲 Cameroon	33.3	$16.4B	$49.3B
17	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	33.2	$4.0B	$11.9B
18	🇧🇯 Benin	32.9	$6.5B	$19.7B
19	🇨🇬 Congo	32.6	$4.6B	$14.2B
20	🇧🇴 Bolivia	32.1	$14.6B	$45.5B
21	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	31.4	$9.6B	$30.7B
22	🇺🇬 Uganda	31.1	$15.2B	$48.8B
23	🇱🇸 Lesotho	30.9	$0.6B	$2.1B
24	🇲🇼 Malawi	30.9	$3.9B	$12.7B
25	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	30.7	$5.5B	$17.8B
26	🇦🇴 Angola	30.2	$25.6B	$84.8B
27	🇳🇬 Nigeria	30.0	$109.1B	$363.8B
28	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	29.0	$126.8B	$437.4B
29	🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire	28.8	$22.7B	$78.9B
30	🇹🇬 Togo	28.1	$2.6B	$9.2B
31	🇦🇱 Albania	27.8	$6.5B	$23.5B
32	🇵🇪 Peru	27.1	$72.5B	$267.6B
33	🇲🇦 Morocco	27.0	$39.0B	$144.4B
34	🇬🇭 Ghana	26.8	$20.5B	$76.4B
35	🇭🇳 Honduras	26.7	$9.2B	$34.4B
36	🇪🇨 Ecuador	26.5	$31.5B	$118.8B
37	🇰🇭 Cambodia	26.4	$11.2B	$42.3B
38	🇿🇦 South Africa	26.3	$100.1B	$380.7B
39	🇮🇳 India	26.1	$931.1B	$3,567.6B
40	🇻🇳 Vietnam	25.1	$107.9B	$429.7B
41	🇮🇶 Iraq	24.8	$62.2B	$250.8B
42	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	24.4	$24.8B	$101.6B
43	🇬🇹 Guatemala	24.3	$25.4B	$104.5B
44	🇩🇿 Algeria	24.2	$59.9B	$247.6B
45	🇹🇭 Thailand	24.0	$123.6B	$515.0B
46	🇮🇩 Indonesia	23.8	$326.3B	$1,371.2B
47	🇬🇦 Gabon	23.1	$4.5B	$19.4B
48	🇮🇷 Iran	22.5	$91.0B	$404.6B
49	🇬🇪 Georgia	22.1	$6.8B	$30.8B
50	🇪🇬 Egypt	21.2	$84.0B	$396.0B
51	🇹🇳 Tunisia	21.2	$10.3B	$48.5B
52	🇨🇴 Colombia	20.9	$76.0B	$363.5B
53	🇵🇾 Paraguay	20.9	$9.0B	$43.0B
54	🇵🇭 Philippines	20.7	$90.5B	$437.1B
55	🇧🇷 Brazil	20.6	$447.8B	$2,173.7B
56	🇨🇳 China	20.3	$3,612.3B	$17,794.8B
57	🇱🇰 SriLanka	20.1	$17.0B	$84.4B
58	🇸🇻 El Salvador	19.9	$6.8B	$34.0B
59	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	19.7	$11.9B	$60.6B
60	🇱🇧 Lebanon	19.6	N/A	N/A
61	🇺🇦 Ukraine	19.3	$34.5B	$178.8B
62	🇦🇲 Armenia	18.9	$4.6B	$24.1B
63	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	18.6	$5.1B	$27.5B
64	🇧🇾 Belarus	18.3	$13.2B	$71.9B
65	🇯🇴 Jordan	18.3	$9.3B	$51.0B
66	🇲🇽 Mexico	17.9	$320.2B	$1,789.1B
67	🇦🇷 Argentina	17.8	$115.0B	$646.1B
68	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	17.7	$12.8B	$72.4B
69	🇷🇸 Serbia	17.2	$14.0B	$81.3B
70	🇧🇼 Botswana	17.0	$3.3B	$19.4B
71	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	16.9	$2.7B	$15.8B
72	🇱🇾 Libya	16.3	$7.4B	$45.1B
73	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	16.2	$19.7B	$121.4B
74	🇹🇷 Türkiye	16.1	$180.0B	$1,118.3B
75	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	13.8	$11.9B	$86.5B
76	🇲🇪 Montenegro	13.6	$1.0B	$7.5B
77	🇺🇾 Uruguay	13.5	$10.4B	$77.2B
78	🇷🇴 Romania	13.1	$46.0B	$350.8B
79	🇷🇺 Russia	13.1	$264.8B	$2,021.4B
80	🇲🇾 Malaysia	12.3	$49.2B	$399.7B
81	🇵🇦 Panama	12.1	$10.1B	$83.3B
82	🇬🇷 Greece	12.0	$29.2B	$243.5B
83	🇨🇱 Chile	11.9	$39.9B	$335.5B
84	🇬🇾 Guyana	11.8	$2.0B	$17.2B
85	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	11.2	$29.4B	$262.6B
86	🇲🇺 Mauritius	10.6	$1.5B	$14.6B
87	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	10.5	$10.8B	$102.4B
88	🇵🇷 Puerto Rico	10.3	$12.1B	$117.9B
89	🇵🇱 Poland	9.7	$78.5B	$809.2B
90	🇭🇷 Croatia	9.3	$7.8B	$84.4B
91	🇱🇻 Latvia	9.3	$3.9B	$42.2B
92	🇵🇹 Portugal	9.3	$26.9B	$289.1B
93	🇭🇺 Hungary	9.2	$19.5B	$212.4B
94	🇸🇰 Slovak Republic	8.9	$11.8B	$132.9B
95	🇳🇿 New Zealand	8.2	$20.7B	$252.2B
96	🇸🇮 Slovenia	8.0	$5.5B	$69.1B
97	🇮🇹 Italy	7.8	$179.5B	$2,300.9B
98	🇮🇸 Iceland	7.6	$2.4B	$31.3B
99	🇰🇷 Korea	7.6	$130.2B	$1,712.8B
100	🇲🇹 Malta	7.5	$1.7B	$22.3B
101	🇪🇸 Spain	7.5	$121.5B	$1,620.1B
102	🇪🇪 Estonia	7.4	$3.1B	$41.3B
103	🇱🇹 Lithuania	7.4	$5.9B	$79.8B
104	🇩🇪 Germany	6.8	$307.7B	$4,525.7B
105	🇫🇷 France	6.7	$204.5B	$3,051.8B
106	🇯🇵 Japan	6.7	$281.7B	$4,204.5B
107	🇸🇪 Sweden	6.7	$39.2B	$585.0B
108	🇦🇹 Austria	6.6	$33.8B	$511.7B
109	🇧🇪 Belgium	6.6	$42.6B	$644.8B
110	🇫🇮 Finland	6.6	$19.5B	$295.5B
111	🇨🇿 Czechia	6.5	$22.3B	$343.2B
112	🇳🇴 Norway	6.4	$31.1B	$485.3B
113	🇴🇲 Oman	6.4	$7.0B	$108.8B
114	🇳🇱 Netherlands	6.3	$72.7B	$1,154.4B
115	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	6.1	$5.2B	$85.8B
116	🇩🇰 Denmark	5.9	$24.0B	$407.1B
117	🇦🇺 Australia	5.7	$98.5B	$1,728.1B
118	🇮🇱 Israel	5.5	$28.2B	$513.6B
119	🇧🇸 Bahamas	5.4	$0.8B	$14.3B
120	🇨🇾 Cyprus	5.3	$1.8B	$33.9B
121	🇬🇧 UK	5.3	$179.2B	$3,380.9B
122	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	5.2	$55.5B	$1,067.6B
123	🇮🇪 Ireland	5.1	$28.1B	$551.4B
124	🇨🇭 Switzerland	5.1	$45.1B	$884.9B
125	🇺🇸 United States	5.0	$1,386.0B	$27,720.7B
126	🇨🇦 Canada	4.5	$96.4B	$2,142.5B
127	🇰🇼 Kuwait	4.0	$6.5B	$163.7B
128	🇸🇬 Singapore	3.4	$17.0B	$501.4B
129	🇧🇭 Bahrain	2.5	$1.2B	$46.1B
130	🇶🇦 Qatar	2.2	$4.7B	$213.0B
131	🏳️ UAE	2.1	$10.8B	$514.1B

As we can see, Sierra Leone ranks first overall, with its shadow economy equaling 64.5% of GDP.

Like many other sub-Saharan African countries, the informal economy employs millions of workers, including subsistence farmers, street vendors, and small business owners. Underscoring this trend are limited opportunities in the formal sector along with bureaucratic red tape.

In particular, the DRC stands out in both the scale of its informal economy and prevalence of organized crime.

Meanwhile, Nepal ranks third overall, with shadow activity accounting for 51% of GDP. Notably, the agriculture sector employs a substantial share of informal workers. In fact, 85% of Nepal’s labor force participates in the informal economy, making it a vital source of livelihood for many.

In contrast, America’s underground economy comprises just 5% of GDP, yet its sheer size—valued at $1.4 trillion—makes it one of the world’s largest.