The world's 10 best places to live

Evaluating the world’s 'smartest' cities

A ranking of "smart cities" analyzes cities by economical and technological aspects as well as quality of life, inclusiveness, and care to the environment.

Check out America's happiest places to live

Where are the best overall places to live in the US? This list focused on finding the happiest towns in America, given the ongoing reconsideration of how people want to live and work in the post-pandemic world. The selection process involved...

Ranking America's healthiest and unhealthiest cities

Compiling data from the 180 most populated cities in the US, WalletHub evaluated which of those metros are the healthiest using 43 health indicators, from the average cost of a medical visit to total vaccination rates.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

A report on social well-being around the world

This extensive report provides quantitative evidence on social well-being trends for 36 countries. Data cover demography and family characteristics, employment and wealth, mobility and housing, health status, social expenditure, subjective...

The world's most peaceful countries

Global Peace Index presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to date on trends in peace, including the most and least peaceful countries in the world.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year

Analysts attribute Finland's joy factor to its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among factors. The results were based on answers from roughly 100,000 people in 140 countries and territories. Respondents were asked to rank their life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10. Finnish respondents gave an average life satisfaction score of 7.7; Afghans answered 1.4. The US, in 23rd place, reported an average score of 6.8.

How life ranks in South Korea

As South Korea developed over the last half of the 20th century, quality of life soared. The country now outperforms the world average when it comes to education, health, and civic engagement, according to the OECD’s Better Life Index. In this dashboard, you can see where South Korea ranks in terms of housing, jobs, income, and more, and compare it against other developed countries.

A list of the world's top 25 economies by GDP

Gross domestic product estimates the value of goods and services produced in a country, typically through the expenditure method, which adds up spending by consumers, investors and governments with the value of exports. The top five economies are the US, China, Germany, Japan and India.

View a map of countries with the safest and most dangerous drinking water

More than a quarter of the world's population lives in water-stressed countries, and a similar number use contaminated drinking water sources, which can lead to widespread disease, according to the World Health Organization. The Environmental Performance Index shows which countries have safe drinking water.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

How global conditions have improved over 200 years

In an era of 24-hour news, it can feel as if the world is on a perpetual downward spiral. This set of visualizations zoom out, and show how global living conditions have improved in recent centuries. The percentage of people living in extreme...

Ranking the 10 hottest places on Earth

Death Valley in California often gets the press for the hottest recorded air temperature in the world. What about the runners-up? This list compiles the rest of the Earth's hottest spots, from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Kebili in Tunisia.

The best countries for work-life balance, ranked

New Zealand is number one, with universal healthcare and 26 weeks of paid maternity leave.

See this ranking of the top 10 medical shows on television

The Hollywood Reporter created this 2025 ranking of 10 television shows from around the world that focus on medicine. Candidates included "Grey's Anatomy," "The Pitt," "New Amsterdam," "ER," and more. The publication warns that its ranking is a living document that may change with time—and that its explanations include show spoilers.

US cities where inflation is rising the most

WalletHub compared 22 major metropolitan areas to see how inflation has risen in the last year using the Consumer Price Index, which describes the average cost of a basket of goods. As of April 2024, Honolulu, Hawaii, clocked in with the greatest year-over-year change in prices, with inflation close to 5%. See the full list here.

The 10 best Eurovision performances

It's one thing to write a great song for Eurovision, but it's another to execute its performance on one of the world's biggest stages. This list runs through 10 of the most impressive, with memorable entries from a Finnish metal band, a Swedish crooner, and a German comedy troupe.

A list of the world's best pizzerias

Italy may be pizza's ancestral home, but it's not the only place where you can get a top-notch slice. This guide, compiled by a team of anonymous judges, ranks the 50 best pizzerias in the world, Italy, the US, and more, offering a bucket list for pizza-loving completists.

The best places to visit in 2024

Stargaze from moonscape deserts, or absorb high-design in a rising city. Peruse Conde Nast's annual look forward to travel destinations and dream up your next big trip.

The most expensive EU countries

Among countries in the European Union, Luxembourg has the highest prices (52% higher than the EU average). Romania seems like it's the cheapest option in the EU at 46% below the EU average. Want to see how other countries such as Italy, France and Germany rank? Explore this color-coded map to learn more.

Living wage calculator

Some people who work low-wage jobs don't make enough money to pay for the cost of basic needs (like housing or child care) in their area of the country. Curious to see whether or not you make what's considered a "living wage" for your city or state? To find out, plug your locale into this Living Wage Calculator.

A comprehensive state-by-state report of LGBTQ+ rights in America

The State Equality Index (SEI) is a comprehensive state-by-state report that provides a review of statewide laws and policies that affect LGBTQ+ people and their families. The SEI rates all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. in six areas of law. Each...

The fortunate factors that make life on Earth possible

The Earth is teeming with life while all the other exoplanets and planets aren't. A very specific set of aligned factors forms the habitability of our planet, and without just one of these fortunate factors, we might not be here. This piece lists...

The world’s top 10 hedge funds

The world’s top 10 hedge funds based on total assets under management include Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates and Citadel.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

The eight habits that could add up to 24 years to your life

A study presented at the American Society for Nutrition's annual meeting revealed that adopting eight healthy lifestyle habits in middle age can significantly increase life expectancy. The habits include being physically active, avoiding opioid...

Mapping Claude's relative usage worldwide, led by Israel, Singapore, and the US

According to Anthropic's AI Usage Index, the US leads in total users, but Israel and Singapore have higher adoption rates among their working populations. Excluding nations with insufficient numbers of conversations for analysis, Tanzania and Angola rank last in the index.

A collection of the world's best live animal cams

What are the animals up to? If you're too busy to get to the zoo today, you can take a quick glance at this site, which aggregates dozens of live feeds of animals from around the world. See elephants, bald eagles, and puppies all in one place—but...

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.