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- Health
- Gulf Insider
73% Of Indonesian Men Smoke...
In 2025, smoking remains a persistent public health concern, with sharp disparities visible not only across countries but also between genders. The World Health Organization estimates that tobacco use causes over 8 million premature deaths each year. Of these, more than 7 million are due to direct tobacco use, while around 1.3 million non-smokers die from exposure to second-hand smoke. The graphic below, via Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu, highlights the male and female smoking rates in ten major countries. The data is based on projections compiled by Statista. The most striking contrast is seen in Indonesia, where nearly three-quarters (72.8%) of men are smokers, while just 1.8% of women partake. This gender gap is also present in China (44.4% vs. 1.4%) and India (10.9% vs. 0.9%), reflecting cultural norms and targeted marketing practices. In contrast, countries like France and Germany show much narrower disparities. France stands out with almost equal smoking rates among men (35.2%) and women (34.0%), suggesting a more gender-neutral culture around tobacco use. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Japan fall in the mid-range, with moderate gender gaps and relatively lower overall smoking prevalence compared to Asian and European counterparts. In Russia, 31.4% of men and 5.7% of women smoke, while in Brazil, smoking rates are lower, with 14.1% of men and 8.1% of women who smoke. Raw tobacco production is a huge industry. In 2022 alone, around 5.8 million tons of tobacco were produced worldwide, roughly a third of which was in China.
Gulf Insider
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Insider
These Are The Most Accident-Prone Cars In America
There are many factors that play a role in how frequently a model is involved in accidents, including driver demographics, size, and even color. In this infographic, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu ranks America's most accident prone car models using data compiled by Insurify. Data and Discussion The car models with the highest accident rates in 2024 are listed in the table below. Note that this is a slightly longer top 50 list. Rank Make Model Accident Rate(2024) 1 🇰🇷 Kia Soul EV 15.1% 2 🇯🇵 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 12.6% 3 🇺🇸 Chevrolet Bolt EUV 11.8% 4 🇺🇸 Jeep WranglerUnlimited 11.7% 5 🇩🇪 Volkswagen ID.4 11.7% 6 🇺🇸 Jeep Wrangler / YJ 11.6% 7 🇰🇷 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid 11.4% 8 🇺🇸 Chevrolet Bolt EV 11.4% 9 🇺🇸 RAM 2500 11.2% 10 🇺🇸 Chrysler Voyager 11.2% 11 🇺🇸 Chevrolet Volt 11.1% 12 🇩🇪 Volkswagen EOS 11.1% 13 🇺🇸 RAM 3500 11.1% 14 🇯🇵 Toyota Prius Prime 11.0% 15 🇰🇷 Kia EV6 10.8% 16 🇯🇵 Lexus CT 10.6% 17 🇩🇪 Volkswagen Beetle 10.6% 18 🇰🇷 Kia Telluride 10.5% 19 🇺🇸 Jeep Gladiator 10.5% 20 🇯🇵 Lexus RC 10.4% 21 🇰🇷 Kia Carnival 10.4% 22 🇯🇵 Infiniti QX60 10.4% 23 🇰🇷 Kia Stinger 10.4% 24 🇯🇵 Subaru WRX 10.4% 25 🇯🇵 Mazda CX-5 10.3% 26 🇩🇪 BMW i3 10.3% 27 🇺🇸 RAM 1500 10.3% 28 🇯🇵 Nissan TITAN XD 10.3% 29 🇺🇸 Jeep Wrangler / TJ 10.2% 30 🇺🇸 RAM 1500 Classic 10.2% 31 🇯🇵 Mazda 3 10.2% 32 🇯🇵 Subaru Impreza 10.1% 33 🇩🇪 Volkswagen GTI 10.1% 34 🇺🇸 Jeep Wrangler 10.1% 35 🇺🇸 Chevrolet EquinoxLimited 10.0% 36 🇩🇪 Audi S4 10.0% 36 🇯🇵 Scion FR-S 10.0% 38 🇩🇪 Volkswagen Atlas 10.0% 39 🇺🇸 Buick Encore GX 9.9% 40 🇺🇸 Ford Bronco 9.9% 41 🇯🇵 Toyota Prius V 9.9% 42 🇺🇸 Ford MustangMach-E 9.9% 43 🇯🇵 Honda Insight 9.8% 44 🇰🇷 Hyundai Ioniq 5 9.8% 45 🇯🇵 Toyota FJ Cruiser 9.8% 46 🇩🇪 Audi A3 9.8% 47 🇰🇷 Hyundai Palisade 9.7% 48 🇺🇸 Tesla Model X 9.7% 49 🇸🇪 Volvo XC40 9.7% 50 🇯🇵 Honda Passport 9.7% Most major automakers have at least one model on the list, but several premium brands—such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Cadillac—are absent. While we can't come to a conclusion based on this dataset, it is interesting to note that there are several EV models at the top of the ranking. This includes the Kia Soul EV (#1), the Chevrolet Bolt EUV (#3), Bolt EV (#8) and Volt (#11), the Volkswagen ID.4 (#5), and the Kia EV6 (#15). A likely reason for this could be the way electric motors deliver instant torque, which may surprise drivers who are used to the more gradual power curve of gasoline engines. Here's something else to consider: research from 2024 found that EVs were 4% more likely to have an at-fault insurance claim compared to gasoline cars.
Gulf Insider
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Insider
These Are The Most Reliable Used-Car Brands In 2025
In today's environment, buying a new car has become a stretch for many households – fueling demand in the used-car market. But not all used vehicles are created equal, and reliability plays a major role in long-term ownership costs. For buyers looking to avoid expensive repairs down the road, brand reputation is more important than ever. In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu ranked the best used-car brands of 2025, using data from Consumer Reports. To come up with these reliability scores, Consumer Reports asked its members to report how many problems they've had with their vehicles over the past 12 months. This analysis focused only on cars from the 2015 to 2020 model year, with a sample size of over 150,000 vehicles. From this data we can see that Japanese brands are generally the most reliable when buying used, with the lowest ranked Japanese brand being Subaru, in ninth place. Toyota and its luxury arm, Lexus, hold the top two spots, while Honda and Acura come in fourth and fifth. Brands like Lexus and Toyota have a history of conservative redesigns, incrementally improving their entire product line rather than introducing many all-new systems. Our data consistently shows over time that cars from those brands are reliable when new, and they continue to be reliable as they age. Steven Elek, Senior Automotive Data Analyst at Consumer Reports Consumer Reports has released its latest list of top used-car picks, all of which offer good reliability, safety, and value across various price points. These selections are based on comprehensive road tests and owner satisfaction surveys.
Gulf Insider
31-03-2025
- Gulf Insider
These Are The Cheapest And Most Expensive Countries To Visit In 2025
For budget-conscious travelers, some destinations offer incredible experiences at a fraction of the cost, while others can drain your wallet faster than expected. To help inspire your next vacation, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu ranked the 15 cheapest and 15 most expensive countries to visit in 2025, based on data compiled by Hellosafe (prices converted to USD). The average daily travel budgets shown in this graphic are calculated based on the following: Accommodation costs: Hotel or Airbnb-type reservations Hotel or Airbnb-type reservations Food expenses: Based on local CPI indices and restaurant costs Based on local CPI indices and restaurant costs Transport costs within the country: Covers domestic flights, train, bus, etc. Covers domestic flights, train, bus, etc. Expenditures on tourist activities Note that these average budgets do not include the cost of transportation to the destination country. Many of the world's most budget-friendly destinations are found in Asia and Africa, where lower costs for food, accommodation, and transport make travel more affordable. There are a few challenges to be mindful of when picking these destinations. For starters, infrastructure and public services may not be as developed, meaning extra planning for accommodations and transport is required. Another factor is health precautions, as some destinations may require vaccinations or extra care with food and water. In tropical locations like Ghana, Rwanda, and India, travelers should be cautious about mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria or dengue fever. Among the most expensive travel destinations are several small island nations where high costs are driven by limited resources and imported goods. Barbados, which tops the list at $330 per day, has a well-developed tourism industry that caters to high-end travelers with luxury resorts, fine dining, and exclusive beachside experiences. Other pricey destinations that aren't islands include Switzerland and the U.S., with the latter being the third most visited country after France and Spain.
Gulf Insider
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Insider
The World's Best-Selling Cars In 2024
In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu ranks the world's best-selling cars from 2024 using data compiled by Statista. With Tesla sales sputtering in the early days of 2025, it's possible that the once untouchable EV maker could start to fall down the rankings. We can see in this graphic that Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by sales, has two models close behind the Model Y. To stay competitive, Tesla recently revealed its long-awaited Model Y refresh codenamed 'Juniper'. With a fresh exterior design and new interior, Juniper could also help Tesla stay on pace with China's fast-growing BYD. Coming in at #9 is the BYD Song, a series of compact crossover SUVs sold in gasoline, plug-in hybrid, and pure EV configurations. The model is exported to European markets as the BYD Seal U, and in Southeast Asian and Oceania as the BYD Sealion 6. While the bulk of BYD's sales come from its home market, China, the brand is making impressive progress in other countries. In Australia, the Sealion 6 became the country's top-selling plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in 2024. As of March 5, 2025, BYD shares (ADR) are up 34% YTD, while Tesla shares have fallen by -31%. Despite the drop, Tesla remains the world's most valuable automaker with a valuation of $898B, down from its December 2024 peak of $1.4T. If you enjoyed this post, check out A Regional Breakdown of Automaker Sales on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist. Also read: The Porsche 911 Is the Best-Selling Car in the Tiny Principality of Andorra
