Culture

culture

news image

Culture / 14 hours ago

The long road to independence: How Balkan states carved out their futures

From the crumbling of empires to modern-day politics, the countries of the Balkan Peninsula each followed distinct paths to statehood, and the map above captures a slice of that story, showing when these nations formally gained independence. Some declared sovereignty in the late 19th century, others only just broke away in the 2000s.

news image

Culture / 1 day ago

Faith and power: How religion still shapes the Middle East

From the Mediterranean coast to the Persian Gulf, the Middle East is a patchwork of belief, a living mosaic of faiths that have coexisted, overlapped, and at times collided for centuries. The sea of green across the map above represents Sunni Muslims, the largest branch of Islam, stretching from Egypt and Saudi Arabia through to Turkey and Jordan.

news image

Culture / 2 days ago

Europe’s grading systems reveal as much about culture as they do about scores

Across Europe, the marks on one's report card say far more than "good" or "bad" — they’re steeped in national traditions, educational philosophies and the challenges of translating achievement across borders. From numeric scales of 0–20 in France to 1–5 in Austria, and 12-point systems in Ukraine, the continent’s grading landscape is vast and varied.

news image

Culture / 3 days ago

Japanese, Italian, and Chinese lead as Australia’s top school languages

From Tokyo to Milan, classrooms across Australia reflect the country’s global connections. A newly-released infographic reveals that in several states and territories, the top three languages taught in schools are as diverse as the country itself, led by Japanese, Chinese, Italian, German and Spanish. For example, in Queensland the top trio includes Japanese, German and Chinese, while in Western Australia it’s Italian, Indonesian and Japanese. In Victoria, Italian leads the way, with Indonesian and French close behind. These patterns underscore how the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority language courses mesh with migration, trade and community language trends.

news image

Culture / 6 days ago

Spanish dominates South America, but its linguistic map tells a richer story

Across South America, it’s the colour orange on the language map that stands out most. Spanish is the official language in most countries of the continent, with green marking the territory of Portuguese, namely Brazil. From Argentina to Venezuela, Spanish is the dominant official language. Brazil remains the notable exception, with Portuguese as its sole official language.

news image

Culture / 6 days ago

EU smokers paying up to 91% tax on cigarettes

In the European Commission’s latest figures and independent compilations, smokers across the European Union are forking out more in taxes than for the tobacco product itself. One visual breakdown shows that in countries like Ireland, France and the Netherlands, the tax portion of a 20-cigarette pack reaches as high as 90 % of its retail price.

news image

Culture / 1 week ago

Tracking faith on the Arabian Peninsula: A 5th-century religious landscape with modern resonance

In the vast deserts, rocky mountains, and lush oases of the Arabian Peninsula, life in the early 5th century was marked by spiritual diversity. Religion back then was a mix of many beliefs and traditions living side by side. A map from around 400 CE illustrates the region's remarkable diversity. Across the peninsula, people practised everything from traditional tribal polytheism, worshipping many gods tied to nature and tribe, to newer monotheistic faiths like Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Hanifism, which focused on the belief in one God.

news image

Culture / 2 weeks ago

5 Global South countries leading the world in paternity leave days

For decades, maternity leave has dominated conversations about family policy. But today, a quiet revolution is taking place, especially across the Global South. Countries once overlooked in global labour rankings are now setting bold new standards for paternity leave, offering fathers time to bond with their newborns and share caregiving responsibilities from day one.

news image

Culture / 3 weeks ago

What countries celebrate on their National Days

National days are more than holidays as they reflect how nations define their own identity. A new world map breaks down the reasons countries celebrate their national days, whether it’s independence, revolution, unification, the founding of government, or even a saint’s feast. Red marks countries that commemorate independence (the largest category). Orange shows nations that mark the formation of government. Yellow indicates unification moments, green reflects revolution, blue for saint days, purple for discovery, and pink for other reasons or when the reasoning doesn’t fit neatly into those categories. The striped pattern indicates where no data is available.

news image

Culture / 3 weeks ago

Did your country ever host a 'Human Zoo'?

Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several European countries hosted what were known as “human zoos.” These were public exhibitions where people from colonised regions — particularly Africa, Asia, and the Pacific — were displayed for entertainment under the guise of education or anthropology.

partner with us