Energy

The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements

Published

2 years ago

August 31, 2022

David Cole-Hamilton

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Carmen Ang

periodic table showing elements and whether or not they are scarce

Click to view a larger version of the graphic.

The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements

The building blocks for everything on Earth are made from 90 different naturally occurring elements.

This visualization made by the European Chemical Society (EuChemS), shows a periodic table of these 90 different elements, highlighting which ones are in abundance and which ones are in serious threat as of 2021.

On the graphic, the area of each element relates to its number of atoms on a logarithmic scale. The color-coding shows whether there’s enough of each element, or whether the element is becoming scarce, based on current consumption levels.

Element	Full Name	Status
Ac	Actinium	Plentiful supply
Ag	Silver	Serious threat
AI	Aluminum	Plentiful supply
Ar	Argon	Plentiful supply
As	Arsenic	Serious threat
At	Astatine	Plentiful supply
Au	Gold	Limited availability
B	Boron	Limited availability
Ba	Barium	Plentiful supply
Be	Beryllium	Plentiful supply
Bi	Bismuth	Limited availability
Br	Bromine	Plentiful supply
C	Carbon	Plentiful supply / serious threat
Ca	Calcium	Plentiful supply
Cd	Cadmium	Rising threat
Ce	Cerium	Plentiful supply
CI	Chlorine	Plentiful supply
Co	Cobalt	Rising threat
Cr	Chromium	Rising threat
Cs	Cesium	Plentiful supply
Cu	Copper	Rising threat
Dy	Dysprosium	Rising threat
Er	Erbium	Plentiful supply
Eu	Europium	Plentiful supply
F	Flourine	Plentiful supply
Fe	Iron	Plentiful supply
Fr	Francium	Plentiful supply
Ga	Gallium	Serious threat
Gd	Gadolinium	Plentiful supply
Ge	Germanium	Serious threat
H	Hydrogen	Plentiful supply
He	Helium	Serious threat
Hf	Hafnium	Serious threat
Hg	Mercury	Limited availability
Ho	Holmium	Plentiful supply
I	Iodine	Plentiful supply
In	Indium	Serious threat
Ir	Iridium	Rising threat
K	Potassium	Plentiful supply
Kr	Krypton	Plentiful supply
La	Lanthanum	Plentiful supply
Li	Lithium	Limited availability
Lu	Lutetium	Plentiful supply
Mg	Magnesium	Limited availability
Mn	Manganese	Limited availability
Mo	Molybdenum	Limited availability
N	Nitrogen	Plentiful supply
Na	Sodium	Plentiful supply
Nb	Niobium	Limited availability
Nd	Neodymium	Limited availability
Ne	Neon	Plentify supply
Ni	Nickel	Limited availability
O	Oxygen	Plentiful supply
Os	Osmium	Rising threat
P	Phosphorus	Limited availability
Pa	Protactinium	Plentiful supply
Pb	Lead	Limited availability
Pd	Palladium	Rising threat
Po	Polonium	Plentiful supply
Pr	Praseodymium	Plentiful supply
Pt	Platinum	Rising threat
Ra	Radium	Plentiful supply
Rb	Rubidium	Plentiful supply
Re	Rhenium	Plentiful supply
Rh	Rhodium	Rising threat
Rn	Radon	Plentify supply
Ru	Ruthenium	Rising threat
Sb	Antimony	Limited availability
Sc	Scandium	Limited availability
Se	Selenium	Limited availability
Si	Silicon	Plentiful supply
S	Sulfur	Plentiful supply
Sm	Samarium	Plentiful supply
Sn	Tin	Limited availability
Sr	Strontium	Serious threat
Ta	Tantalum	Serious threat
Tb	Terbium	Plentiful supply
Te	Tellurium	Serious threat
Ti	Titanium	Plentiful supply
TI	Thalium	Limited availability
Tm	Thulium	Plentiful supply
V	Vanadium	Limited availability
W	Tungsten	Limited availability
Xe	Xenon	Plentiful supply
Y	Yttrium	Serious threat
Yb	Ytterbium	Plentiful supply
Zn	Zinc	Serious threat
Zr	Zirconium	Limited availability
Th	Thorium	Plentiful supply
U	Uranium	Rising threat

While these elements don’t technically run out and instead transform (except for helium, which rises and escapes from Earth’s atmosphere), some are being used up exceptionally fast, to the point where they may soon become extremely scarce.

One element worth pointing out on the graphic is carbon, which is three different colors: green, red, and dark gray.

Green, because carbon is in abundance (to a fault) in the form of carbon dioxide
Red, because it will soon cause a number of cataphoric problems if consumption habits don’t change
Gray because carbon-based fuels often come from conflict countries

For more elements-related content, check out our channel dedicated to raw materials and the megatrends that drive them, VC Elements.

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.

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Energy

The World’s Biggest Nuclear Energy Producers

China has grown its nuclear capacity over the last decade, now ranking second on the list of top nuclear energy producers.

Published

2 days ago

April 17, 2024

Pallavi Rao

A cropped chart breaking down the biggest nuclear energy producers, by country, in 2022.

The World’s Biggest Nuclear Energy Producers

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

Scientists in South Korea recently broke a record in a nuclear fusion experiment. For 48 seconds, they sustained a temperature seven times that of the sun’s core.

But generating commercially viable energy from nuclear fusion still remains more science fiction than reality. Meanwhile, its more reliable sibling, nuclear fission, has been powering our world for many decades.

In this graphic, we visualized the top producers of nuclear energy by their share of the global total, measured in terawatt hours (TWh). Data for this was sourced from the Nuclear Energy Institute, last updated in August 2022.

Which Country Generates the Most Nuclear Energy?

Nuclear energy production in the U.S. is more than twice the amount produced by China (ranked second) and France (ranked third) put together. In total, the U.S. accounts for nearly 30% of global nuclear energy output.

However, nuclear power only accounts for one-fifth of America’s electricity supply. This is in contrast to France, which generates 60% of its electricity from nuclear plants.

Rank	Country	Nuclear Energy Produced (TWh)	% of Total
1	🇺🇸 U.S.	772	29%
2	🇨🇳 China	383	14%
3	🇫🇷 France	363	14%
4	🇷🇺 Russia	208	8%
5	🇰🇷 South Korea	150	6%
6	🇨🇦 Canada	87	3%
7	🇺🇦 Ukraine	81	3%
8	🇩🇪 Germany	65	2%
9	🇯🇵 Japan	61	2%
10	🇪🇸 Spain	54	2%
11	🇸🇪 Sweden	51	2%
12	🇧🇪 Belgium	48	2%
13	🇬🇧 UK	42	2%
14	🇮🇳 India	40	2%
15	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	29	1%
N/A	🌐 Other	219	8%
N/A	🌍 Total	2,653	100%

Another highlight is how China has rapidly grown its nuclear energy capabilities in the last decade. Between 2016 and 2021, for example, it increased its share of global nuclear energy output from less than 10% to more than 14%, overtaking France for second place.

On the opposite end, the UK’s share has slipped to 2% over the same time period.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has heavily relied on nuclear energy to power its grid. In March 2022, it lost access to its key Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station after Russian forces wrested control of the facility. With six 1,000 MW reactors, the plant is one of the largest in Europe. It is currently not producing any power, and has been the site of recent drone attacks.