Peter Fortunato, Editor
The metric itself may be flawed, but this graphic is not. From The Economist’s Graphic Detail, this is probably the most concise forecast of global economic growth you will find anywhere.
Not only do they employ the use of a choropleth of the world map, but they also use a histogram to plot every single country’s expected growth in 2020. The labeling of specific countries along with a table of the top five best- and worst-performing economies is a nice touch, too.
Every detail of this graph is neatly confined to a square, leading to the perfect balance of an efficient use of space while not confusing the reader with too much going on. Everything that appears on the graphic is something that is necessary if one wants to understand how economists believe how well the global economy will perform this year.
The only minor thing I would add to this graphic would an interactive aspect. For example, a viewer could have the ability to hover the cursor over a country, and the corresponding growth projection on the histogram would therefore be highlighted, and vice versa. Other than that, this graphic needs no improvement.
In my personal opinion, the thing that is most striking from the information communicated in this graphic is that the best-performing economy, Guyana, borders the worst-performing economy, Venezuela.
Data Perspectives 