Data Vis Dispatch, September 24
Welcome back to the 161st 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 Chinese strategies in the Indo-Pacific, German local elections, and chickadees.
We begin this Dispatch from the United Kingdom, where coal-fired power generation has come to an end, young women are surpassing young men in income, and underinvestment in housing and infrastructure is emerging as a critical issue.



Let's shift our focus to China, specifically Chinese strategies to expand its influence over island nations like Sri Lanka and the Solomon Islands, as well as its control over its own population by banning independent AI platforms:

![Le Monde:<strong><a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2024/09/22/iles-salomon-l-avant-poste-de-la-nouvelle-guerre-du-pacifique_6327808_3210.html"> Iles Salomon : l’avant-poste de la nouvelle guerre du Pacifique</a></strong> [<em>Map title: Solomon Islands' strategic position in the Indo-Pacific Ocean attracts interest</em>], September 22](https://datawrapper.de/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,width=1420,f=auto,fit=cover/https://kirby.datawrapper.de/media/pages/blog/data-vis-dispatch-september-24-2024/74df544130-1740123228/image17-5.png)

In Germany, the news is buzzing after recent state elections in Brandenburg, and so are the visualizations. Again, the far-right AfD party saw significant voter gains, while the center-left SPD is barely holding on:
![Berliner Morgenpost: <strong><a href="https://interaktiv.morgenpost.de/landtagswahl-brandenburg-2024-umfragen-ergebnisse-karte/">So hat Brandenburg bei der Landtagswahl gestimmt</a></strong> [<em>How Brandenburg voted in the state elections</em>], September 19](https://datawrapper.de/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,width=1420,f=auto,fit=cover/https://kirby.datawrapper.de/media/pages/blog/data-vis-dispatch-september-24-2024/6a270e88ba-1740123228/image5-3.png)
![Die Tageszeitung: <strong><a href="https://taz.de/Waehlerwanderung-in-Brandenburg/!6038036/">Weitgehend braunes Hochwasser</a></strong> [<em>Map title: Constituency results</em>], September 23](https://datawrapper.de/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,width=1420,f=auto,fit=cover/https://kirby.datawrapper.de/media/pages/blog/data-vis-dispatch-september-24-2024/9287634a2d-1740123228/image4-3.png)
Detailed analyses mapped party strongholds to constituencies and analyzed demographic voting patterns:
![Zeit Online: <strong><a href="https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2024-09/landtagswahl-brandenburg-2024-wahlergebnisse-live">Alle Ergebnisse der Landtagswahl in Brandenburg</a></strong> [<em>Chart title: Party strongholds in Brandenburg</em>], September 22](https://datawrapper.de/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,width=1420,f=auto,fit=cover/https://kirby.datawrapper.de/media/pages/blog/data-vis-dispatch-september-24-2024/4a58e83b46-1740123228/image1-2.png)
![Der Spiegel: <strong><a href="https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/wahl-in-brandenburg-spd-und-afd-in-der-datenanalyse-a-804d37a9-bd51-4e8b-8053-f5bbd34a0a61">Hier konnte die SPD punkten. Und hier die AfD</a></strong> [<em>Chart description: Population growth 2012–2022 versus AfD party-list votes by constituency</em>], September 23](https://datawrapper.de/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,width=1420,f=auto,fit=cover/https://kirby.datawrapper.de/media/pages/blog/data-vis-dispatch-september-24-2024/0eaa6eac74-1740123228/image13-3.png)
In Hungary, the government continues to present migration as an important issue, even when reality doesn't back them up. In the U.S., the focus was on the personal wealth of the candidates:
![Átlátszó: <strong><a href="https://atlatszo.hu/adat/2024/09/20/nyolc-eve-tart-a-migracios-valsaghelyzet-pedig-alig-vannak-illegalisan-bevandorlok/">Nyolc éve tart a „migrációs válsághelyzet”, pedig alig vannak illegálisan bevándorlók</a></strong> [<em>Chart title: Weekly trends in illegal migration since 2016</em>], September 20](https://datawrapper.de/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,width=1420,f=auto,fit=cover/https://kirby.datawrapper.de/media/pages/blog/data-vis-dispatch-september-24-2024/641803b6b6-1740123228/image14-3.png)

We continue with a kind of analysis that's been playing an important role in international politics (and literature!) —speech analysis:

![Folha de S.Paulo: <strong><a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2024/09/confira-desempenho-de-cada-candidato-no-debate-a-partir-de-nova-ferramenta-da-folha.shtml">Confira desempenho de cada candidato no debate a partir de nova ferramenta da Folha</a></strong> [<em>Check out each candidate's debate performance using Folha's new tool</em>], September 20](https://datawrapper.de/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,width=1420,f=auto,fit=cover/https://kirby.datawrapper.de/media/pages/blog/data-vis-dispatch-september-24-2024/9d4245bbc8-1740123228/image15-3.png)

From tragic tales of love to U.S. Fed rate cuts — there couldn’t be a smoother transition. With the recent drop in interest rates, U.S. loans and mortgages are expected to decrease, with hopes that inflation stays in check too. Plus, a look at interest rates outside the U.S.:



There are floods happening all over the world right now:

![Zeit Online: <strong><a href="https://www.zeit.de/wissen/umwelt/2024-09/hochwasser-europa-schaeden-tote-ueberschwemmung-folgen?wt_zmc=sm.int.zonaudev.twitter.ref.zeitde.redpost.link.sf&utm_referrer=twitter&utm_source=twitter_zonaudev_int&utm_campaign=ref&utm_medium=sm&utm_content=zeitde_redpost+_link_sf">Warum man die Flut mit Zahlen kaum beschreiben kann</a></strong> [<em>Chart description: Residents of flooded areas in Europe</em>], September 18](https://datawrapper.de/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,width=1420,f=auto,fit=cover/https://kirby.datawrapper.de/media/pages/blog/data-vis-dispatch-september-24-2024/8239360ce5-1740123228/image30-2.png)
This week we came across two small multiple column charts dealing with the spread of disease. In one, special mosquitoes have been deliberately released in Malaysia to prevent the transmission of dengue fever to humans. In the other, there is concern that drug-resistant bacteria and viruses are on the rise:
![图懂天下: <strong><a href="https://newsgraphy.my/malaysia-dengue-cases/">全国累计病例再破10万起!从数据揭示骨痛热症趋势</a></strong> [<em>Chart title: Comparison of dengue cases in Selangor, Malaysia, before and after the release of Wolbachia Aedes mosquitoes</em>], September 17](https://datawrapper.de/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,width=1420,f=auto,fit=cover/https://kirby.datawrapper.de/media/pages/blog/data-vis-dispatch-september-24-2024/970be889eb-1740123228/image8-3.png)

Work is an important part of life — we may even find love there:


Two maps to end this dispatch, on Russian drone flight paths in Ukraine and the hybrid zone of the chickadees:


What else we found interesting



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