Another example of packing a lot of information into one graphic:
The information packed into this graphic is but a snapshot in time. It would be interesting to see a time-series presentation showing how the various geographic parts of the world economy shrink and grow as the world goes through a major cycle of recession and expansion. I have seen time-series plots of how individual nations experience a recession followed by recovery, but not one that presents many nations and geographic regions simultaneously as this static figure shows.
Just as maps provide fascinating ways to show information, charts and graphs can provide a lot of information in a tight, well-designed format. Interesting to study, and limited only by the imagination of the designer and the usefulness of the product.
A Cup of Brouhaha 