Data Vis Dispatch, February 18: German election polls, corruption, and tariffs

The best of last week’s big and small data visualizations

Welcome back to the 181st edition of the Data Vis Dispatch! Every week, we publish a collection of the best small and large data visualizations we find, especially from news organizations — to celebrate data journalism, data visualization, simple charts, elaborate maps, and their creators.

Recurring topics this week include the upcoming German elections, Trump’s tariffs, and the freshly released Corruption Perceptions Index:

This Sunday, Germans go to the polls. News agencies such as Der Spiegel, Zeit Online, Berliner Morgenpost, NZZ, Politico and Tagesspiegel are providing live trackers. This is how the polls look right now:

Deutsche Welle: Quadrell: TV-Debatte mit Scholz, Merz, Habeck und Weidel [Chart description: Who would you vote for if the Bundestag elections were next Sunday? (comparison to 2021)], February 17
Berliner Morgenpost: Bundestagswahl 2025: Umfragen und am Wahlabend Ergebnisse live auf einer Karte [Federal election 2025: Polls and results live on a map on election night], February 17
Tagesspiegel: Die neuesten Sonntagsfragen zur Bundestagswahl 2025 im Trend [Chart description: Which governing coalitions would be possible?], February 18
The Economist: How will the German election be decided?, February 14

Voters care about inflation, as well as social and financial justice:

Zeit Online: Für AfD-Wähler fühlt sich alles viel teurer an [Chart description:The further to the right the dots, the higher the respondents’ estimate of the inflation rate], February 12
Zeit Online: Bekomme ich was raus? [Article description: Our interactive calculator shows whether you benefit from the tax plans of the parties with your income – but also where the programs may promise too much], February 13

Other visualizations concerning the German elections explore election system reforms and constituencies that have voted the same way since 1949 (?!):

Zeit Online: So hat Ihr Wahlkreis seit 1949 gewählt [Chart description: In these constituencies converted to today’s boundaries, the same party has always won the most second votes since 1949], February 12
Bloomberg: German Election Set to Shrink World’s Largest Parliament, February 18

That’s it for now on the German election! Get ready for lots more next week. Now, let’s dive into maps inspired by recent remarks from U.S. President Trump:

Bex Sander: “Chart of the week for @tortoisemedia.bsky.social inspired by the battle in the US over birthright citizenship, which made me wonder how prolific this right is. The answer: not very,” February 17 (Bluesky)
Bloomberg: NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ Fealty to Trump Threatens to Wreck Democrat Support, February 13
The New York Times: Who Controls the Gulf of Mexico?, February 13
Jason Forrest: “Map humor we can all get behind,” February 12

And there are more “maps related to Trump”: Following the Munich Security Conference and a call between Trump and Putin – where the two of them agreed to start negotiations to end the war – new maps of the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been released:

The Washington Post: Mapped: Russia’s and Ukraine’s competing visions for peace, February 14
The Guardian: US should not have made concessions to Russia over Ukraine, says German minister, February 13

The Trump administration’s decisions have led not just “Trump cards,” but also visualizations on tariffs and frozen funding for clean energy:

The New York Times: How Tariffs Work, February 12
Degrees and Data: U.S.-China tariffs could reshape global coal trade in 2025, February 11
The New York Times: Trump Is Freezing Money for Clean Energy. Red States Have the Most to Lose, February 11

But charting (green) energy continues to be of interest in other parts of the world:

La Nación: La otra Vaca Muerta [Chart title: Renewable generation sources by region], February 14
Neue Zürcher Zeitung: 60 Prozent des deutschen Stroms stammte vergangene Woche aus fossilen Quellen – Zahlen zur Energieversorgung, täglich aktualisiert [60 percent of German electricity came from fossil fuels last week – Energy supply figures, updated daily], February 17

You’d like more maps? Here are some we found beautiful, interesting, or both this past week, covering transportation, earthquakes, China’s port network, Black History month, and migrant communities:

Voilà: Francis Gagnon: “Wow, this tool on urban transit by the School of Cities is… perfect? All the right measures, and very well-designed visualizations […],” February 17 (Bluesky, Tool)
De Volkskrant: Al weken beeft Santorini, mythisch gebied van oerrampen. Dreigt zo’n ramp die alles verwoest nu ook? [For weeks, Santorini has been shaking, mythical area of primordial disasters. Is there a threat of such a disaster that destroys everything now?], February 12
Le Monde: Comment la Chine tisse un réseau portuaire mondial [How China is weaving a global port network
], February 15
The Straits Times: How distant disputes are unsettling minorities Down Under, February 15
Maps Mania: The Black History Month Map, February 15 (Black History Map)

Last week, Transparency International released its 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index. Here’s how different people have used the data to create visualizations:

Transparency International EU: “The 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index is OUT! And the results are alarming: the EU’s average score has fallen to 62. With the rule of law being eroded in multiple member states, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing country scores decline across the EU. How did your country do?,” February 11 (Bluesky, Report)
The European Correspondent: When animals beat humans, February 12
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Wie intransparente Parteispenden das Vertrauen in die Politik schwächen [Chart description: Corruption Perceptions Index 2024], February 11

Let’s continue with some money-related visualizations! They couldn’t be more diverse: From minimum wage in Spain to better pay in women’s sports, and cryptocurrency:

elDiario.es: El problema económico que destapan el salario mínimo y los impuestos: tienen que subir los sueldos medios [Chart description: Percentage of salaried employees in each 1,000 euro gross salary bracket in personal income tax returns], February 17
RJ Andrews: “with new Jan 2025 data, and by popular request, RICH MAN POOR MAN purchasing power re-visioned for eggs,” February 17 (Bluesky)
Bloomberg: As Billions of Dollars Pour Into Women’s Sports, Players Seek a Bigger Cut, February 1
Financial Times: Can Trump make bitcoin useful?, February 12

Finally, our beloved “visualizations that didn’t quite fit anywhere, but we liked too much to leave out” section. Today: children’s prank and a weekly life tracker:

YouGov: Is it “knock down ginger” or “knock a door run”?, February 12
dame: “i’ve been slowly working on a timeline of my life over the past 4 years that i’ve wanted to visualize as a page on my website, and today i stumbled upon this amazing example of something similar by @ginatrapani.org,” February 17 (Bluesky, Website)

What else we found interesting

FlowingData: Defense Against Dishonest Charts, February 14
The Wall Street Journal: The Trump Tracker:36 Notable Moves in 24 Days, February 12
VizChitra: “India’s first #dataviz community is here! @VizChitra brings together design & data lovers across the country — this is where numbers meet narratives & individuals become a community,” February 15 (Tweet)

Applications are open for…


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