Misc
Missing Migrants: Visualizing Lost Lives Along the Mediterranean Sea
Missing Migrants: Lost Lives Along the Mediterranean Sea
Each year, thousands of migrants flee war-torn countries in search of asylum.
Even before the migrant crisis caused by the Russo-Ukrainian War, Europe has been the focal point in the past decade. Many refugees from conflicts in Africa and Asia, including those from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and have traveled to Europe along the Eastern Mediterranean migration route—a dangerous passage across the Aegean Sea that weaves along the coastlines of Greece and Turkey.
The journey to reach Europe is risky, and some of the migrants who attempt the crossing never make it. Using data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), this map by Elbie Bentley visualizes the reported deaths and disappearances along the Eastern Mediterranean from 2014 to 2021.
Inspired by Levi Westerveld’s Those Who Did Not Cross, each lost life is captured with its own dot, in an effort to humanize the data.
The 2015 European Crisis
1,863 deaths and disappearances were reported along the Eastern Mediterranean between the years of 2014 and 2021.
Almost half of those recordings came from 2015 during the European migrant crisis, when a record-breaking one million people sought asylum in the EU.
About 800,000 of the one million migrants traveled to Greece through Turkey, with many of the refugees escaping Syria’s civil war.
European Migrant Crisis by Year | Reported deaths and disappearances |
---|---|
2014 | 101 |
2015 | 804 |
2016 | 434 |
2017 | 62 |
2018 | 174 |
2019 | 71 |
2020 | 106 |
2021 | 111 |
In an attempt to control the situation, the EU and Turkey signed a migration deal in March 2016 that agreed to send back migrants who did not receive official permission to enter the EU.
Though the agreement drastically reduced the number of people traveling through Turkey to Greece, thousands still make the dangerous journey across the Aegean Sea each year. In 2021, 111 people were reported dead or missing along the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Dangerous Journey
According to the International Organization for Migration, the most common cause of death along the Eastern Mediterranean is drowning.
While the journey is only 5.4 nautical miles or less, transportation conditions to Greece are not always safe. Boats are sometimes forced into tumultuous waters, according to migrants who’ve experienced the journey firsthand.
And these boats are often severely underequipped and overcrowded—rubber dinghies designed to carry a dozen people are sometimes loaded with up to 60 passengers.
Safer means of transportation are available, but the costs are steep. According to Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, it could cost a family an average of €10,000 to travel by yacht.
Rescue Efforts for Migrants is Needed
Further complicating the dangerous journey is a lack of rescue resources.
According to a 2021 report by IOM, the EU does not currently have a dedicated search and rescue team. Instead, the onus is on individual states to patrol their own waters.
Until the crisis is better addressed or local conflicts begin to resolve, there will be an urgent need for increased rescue operations and a standardized migration protocol to help mitigate the number of migrant deaths and disappearances each year.

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.
Science
Visualizing the Relationship Between Cancer and Lifespan
New research links mutation rates and lifespan. We visualize the data supporting this new framework for understanding cancer.

A Newfound Link Between Cancer and Aging?
A new study in 2022 reveals a thought-provoking relationship between how long animals live and how quickly their genetic codes mutate.
Cancer is a product of time and mutations, and so researchers investigated its onset and impact within 16 unique mammals. A new perspective on DNA mutation broadens our understanding of aging and cancer development—and how we might be able to control it.
Mutations, Aging, and Cancer: A Primer
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells. It is not a pathogen that infects the body, but a normal body process gone wrong.
Cells divide and multiply in our bodies all the time. Sometimes, during DNA replication, tiny mistakes (called mutations) appear randomly within the genetic code. Our bodies have mechanisms to correct these errors, and for much of our youth we remain strong and healthy as a result of these corrective measures.
However, these protections weaken as we age. Developing cancer becomes more likely as mutations slip past our defenses and continue to multiply. The longer we live, the more mutations we carry, and the likelihood of them manifesting into cancer increases.
A Biological Conundrum
Since mutations can occur randomly, biologists expect larger lifeforms (those with more cells) to have greater chances of developing cancer than smaller lifeforms.
Strangely, no association exists.
It is one of biology’s biggest mysteries as to why massive creatures like whales or elephants rarely seem to experience cancer. This is called Peto’s Paradox. Even stranger: some smaller creatures, like the naked mole rat, are completely resistant to cancer.
This phenomenon motivates researchers to look into the genetics of naked mole rats and whales. And while we’ve discovered that special genetic bonuses (like extra tumor-suppressing genes) benefit these creatures, a pattern for cancer rates across all other species is still poorly understood.
Cancer May Be Closely Associated with Lifespan
Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute report the first study to look at how mutation rates compare with animal lifespans.
Mutation rates are simply the speed at which species beget mutations. Mammals with shorter lifespans have average mutation rates that are very fast. A mouse undergoes nearly 800 mutations in each of its four short years on Earth. Mammals with longer lifespans have average mutation rates that are much slower. In humans (average lifespan of roughly 84 years), it comes to fewer than 50 mutations per year.
The study also compares the number of mutations at time of death with other traits, like body mass and lifespan. For example, a giraffe has roughly 40,000 times more cells than a mouse. Or a human lives 90 times longer than a mouse. What surprised researchers was that the number of mutations at time of death differed only by a factor of three.
Such small differentiation suggests there may be a total number of mutations a species can collect before it dies. Since the mammals reached this number at different speeds, finding ways to control the rate of mutations may help stall cancer development, set back aging, and prolong life.
The Future of Cancer Research
The findings in this study ignite new questions for understanding cancer.
Confirming that mutation rate and lifespan are strongly correlated needs comparison to lifeforms beyond mammals, like fishes, birds, and even plants.
It will also be necessary to understand what factors control mutation rates. The answer to this likely lies within the complexities of DNA. Geneticists and oncologists are continuing to investigate genetic curiosities like tumor-suppressing genes and how they might impact mutation rates.
Aging is likely to be a confluence of many issues, like epigenetic changes or telomere shortening, but if mutations are involved then there may be hopes of slowing genetic damage—or even reversing it.
While just a first step, linking mutation rates to lifespan is a reframing of our understanding of cancer development, and it may open doors to new strategies and therapies for treating cancer or taming the number of health-related concerns that come with aging.
Misc
Visualizing Which Countries Drink the Most Beer
Which countries drink the most beer? China ranks number one due to its sheer size, and the Czech Republic comes out on top, per capita.

Visualizing Which Countries Drink the Most Beer
Humans have been drinking beer for thousands of years—and since it’s still one of the most popular beverages worldwide, it seems we haven’t gotten sick of it yet. The latest available data shows that beer consumption exceeded 177 million kiloliters around the world in 2020.
Beer consumption occurs all over the world, but the amount varies greatly depending on the location. So, which countries drink the most beer?
This graphic uses data from Kirin Holdings to compare global beer consumption by country. Kirin is a Japanese company that has been tracking beer consumption around the world since 1975.
Which Countries Drink the Most Beer?
When it comes to total beer consumption, China ranks number one.
In 2020, the country’s consumption reached 36 million kiloliters—that’s enough beer to fill more than 14,000 Olympic-sized pools. The country accounts for a whopping one-fifth of total beer consumption worldwide. Archaeological evidence also suggests that China has a beer producing history that goes back thousands of years.
Here’s a look at the top 25 countries for beer consumption, and their global market share:
Ranking 2020 | Country | Total Consumption (thousand kl) | Global Market Share |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇨🇳 China | 36,088 | 20.30% |
2 | 🇺🇸 United States of America | 24,105 | 13.60% |
3 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 13,847 | 7.80% |
4 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 8,646 | 4.90% |
5 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 8,287 | 4.70% |
6 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 7,746 | 4.40% |
7 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 4,416 | 2.50% |
8 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 4,088 | 2.30% |
9 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 3,845 | 2.20% |
10 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 3,815 | 2.10% |
11 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 3,633 | 2.00% |
12 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 3,284 | 1.90% |
13 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 2,246 | 1.30% |
14 | 🇫🇷 France | 1,984 | 1.10% |
15 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1,979 | 1.10% |
16 | 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | 1,946 | 1.10% |
17 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 1,936 | 1.10% |
18 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 1,886 | 1.10% |
19 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 1,881 | 1.10% |
20 | 🇷🇴 Romania | 1,828 | 1.00% |
21 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1,825 | 1.00% |
22 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 1,797 | 1.00% |
23 | 🇮🇳 India | 1,686 | 0.90% |
24 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 1,680 | 0.90% |
25 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 1,462 | 0.80% |
Rest of the World | 31,563 | 17.78% |
China is the most populous country in the world, accounting for about 18% of the global population. Of course, a large population doesn’t necessarily translate to high beer consumption at the individual level. For instance, India, which has the second highest population in the world, ranks 23rd on the list for beer consumption, and only accounts for 1% of what foamy liquid gets guzzled down each year.
The U.S. comes second on the list, with more than 24 million kiloliters of beer consumed throughout the country in 2020. Americans don’t just drink a lot of beer—they brew a lot of beer, too. The U.S. is the second-largest beer producer worldwide (after China).
Beer Consumption Per Capita
Things look a bit different when you look at beer consumption per capita, rather than total beer consumption. The Czech Republic comes in first when it comes to beer consumption per capita.
In 2020, the average Czech drank more than 181 liters of beer.
The Czech Republic is well-known for inexpensive beer. Some travel sites even claim that, in certain parts of the country, beer can be cheaper than bottled water.
International Beer Day
While consumption levels vary across the world, beer is an integral part of many countries’ cultures. In fact, the beverage is so popular, that it’s been given its own day. International Beer Day is celebrated on the first Friday of every August in over 200 cities across the globe.
Cheers, and happy sipping!
-
Markets4 weeks ago
The $100 Trillion Global Economy in One Chart
-
Demographics3 weeks ago
Ranked: The 20 Countries With the Fastest Declining Populations
-
Investor Education4 weeks ago
Countries with the Highest Default Risk in 2022
-
Energy2 weeks ago
Visualizing the World’s Largest Oil Producers
-
Personal Finance6 days ago
Mapped: The Salary You Need to Buy a Home in 50 U.S. Cities
-
Misc3 days ago
Visualizing Which Countries Drink the Most Beer
-
Agriculture2 weeks ago
Timeline: The Domestication of Animals
-
Energy3 days ago
Which Countries Produce the Most Natural Gas?