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Why countries get rich, poor or broke

Moneyon the Map

The economics of nations, shown on the map. One question per video, answered with real numbers.

Watch on YouTube See what's coming
~20 min episodes 4 languages Real data, maps and footage
Rising

Why Is Switzerland So Rich? (It's Not the Banks)

No sea, no oil, no colonies, and one of the highest incomes on Earth.

CH · Paradox
How we explain

Every video answers one question

Three ways in. Each one ends on a verdict you can repeat at dinner, and each figure is turned into something you can picture.

The deep dive

One country, told in order: the peak, the decisions, the shock, the crisis, and who made it worse.

Why Turkey's money keeps losing value

The paradox

Two places that started alike and ended apart. We follow the money until the split makes sense.

Why Norway found oil and didn't become Venezuela

The ranking

Several countries, three rules, cleared one at a time on a scoreboard until one is left.

Which country in Europe is closest to a debt crisis?
What you'll see

The map does the explaining

Frames from our own episodes. Every video opens by diving from the whole country into the city where the story starts.

A 3D map of central Santiago with the Central Bank of Chile lit in gold
The opening diveFrom the whole country down into the city, onto the building the story starts in.
A scoreboard of flag cards: Japan and the United States cleared, Italy stamped First in line
The scoreboardIn a ranking, every verdict lands on the board. You always know how many are left.
A bar chart of borrowing costs where Japan's bar arrives last
The revealThe number you'd expect waits behind a question mark, then lands.
A diagram of a trader and a producer exchanging a cut and coins
One mechanism at a timeWho gives what to whom, drawn once, so the rest of the story makes sense.
Bars showing Switzerland's exports: pharma 38 percent, machinery 16, watches 11
One subject in goldEvery chart has one thing that matters, and it is always the gold one.
Coming up on the map

The next countries

Pick one to light it on the map above. The questions people search for most, in the order we plan to answer them.

    Titles may change before release. Nothing here is investment advice.

    Languages

    One story, four languages

    Every episode is rewritten by a native editor, not run through a translator, and read by its own narrator.

    ENEnglish

    The economics of nations, shown on the map.

    DEDeutsch

    Die Wirtschaft der Nationen, auf der Karte erklärt.

    PLPolski

    Ekonomia państw pokazana na mapie.

    FRFrançais

    L'économie des nations, expliquée sur la carte.

    New country, new question

    Subscribe on YouTube, then tell us in the comments which economy we should put on the map next.

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