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The Mammals That Sleep Most and Least

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How much sleep does a mammal actually need?

According to research by Savage & West, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the answer depends on far more than body size. Diet, habitat, metabolism, and even where an animal sleeps all help explain the wide variation in sleep duration across species.

Which Mammals Sleep the Most?

The table below ranks the mammals that sleep the most by hours per day:

The little brown bat sleeps 19.9 hours per day, closely followed by the big brown bat at 19.7 hours and the thick-tailed opossum at 19.4 hours.

At the other extreme, giraffes average just 1.9 hours, followed by horses at 2.9 hours and roe deer at 3.0 hours.

Why Do Some Mammals Sleep So Much?

The longest sleepers tend to be small mammals, including bats, opossums, armadillos, squirrels, and monkeys.

According to Savage & West’s analysis, smaller mammals generally have faster metabolisms and accumulate sleep pressure more quickly. Rather than sleeping in one long stretch, many divide their rest into numerous sleep bouts throughout the day, resulting in very high total sleep times.

Safety is another important factor. Mammals that sleep in protected locations, such as caves, burrows, or tree hollows, can remain asleep for longer because they face a lower risk of predation. As both Discover Magazine and the original PNAS study note, sheltered sleeping sites are consistently associated with longer sleep durations across mammals.

Why Grazers Sleep So Little

The shortest sleepers are dominated by large herbivores. Giraffes average 1.9 hours of sleep per day, followed by horses at 2.9 hours, donkeys at 3.1, African elephants at 3.3, sheep at 3.8, Asian elephants at 3.9, and cows at 4.0.

One explanation is simple: grass is not particularly energy-dense. Grazing mammals must spend much of the day eating to meet their caloric needs, leaving less time for sleep.

Remaining alert in open environments also helps reduce the risk of predation. As Futura Sciences explains, feeding requirements and exposure to predators together place practical limits on how long many herbivores can rest.

Sleep Is an Evolutionary Adaptation

Like strength, endurance, or migration, sleep has evolved to suit each species’ ecological niche. A tiger can sleep 15.8 hours each day, while an elephant remains active for most of its 24-hour cycle because its lifestyle demands it.

These differences highlight the diversity of mammalian evolution. Whether examining the world’s strongest animals or the species that undertake the longest land migrations, each adaptation reflects a distinct solution to surviving in the wild.

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Mapped: Which Countries Are Best for Women?

Where is the best place in the world to be a woman? According to the latest Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index, the answer remains Northern Europe, where Nordic countries occupy all five of the top positions.

Published by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the 2025/26 WPS Index ranks 181 countries using 13 indicators spanning women’s inclusion, justice, and security. The results form the basis for this 2026 ranking.

The World’s Best and Worst Countries for Women

The following table ranks countries based on the Women, Peace and Security Index.

Rank	Country	WPS Index Score
1	Denmark	0.939
2	Iceland	0.932
3	Norway	0.924
3	Sweden	0.924
5	Finland	0.921
6	Luxembourg	0.918
7	Belgium	0.912
8	Netherlands	0.905
9	Austria	0.898
9	New Zealand	0.898
11	Australia	0.896
11	Estonia	0.896
13	Ireland	0.891
14	Slovenia	0.889
15	Lithuania	0.887
16	Canada	0.885
17	Latvia	0.884
17	Singapore	0.884
19	Switzerland	0.877
20	United Arab Emirates	0.872
21	Germany	0.869
22	Japan	0.866
23	France	0.864
23	United Kingdom	0.864
25	Spain	0.862
26	Portugal	0.861
27	Poland	0.854
27	Taiwan	0.854
29	Serbia	0.844
30	Malta	0.841
31	United States	0.840
32	Czechia	0.832
32	Hungary	0.832
34	Costa Rica	0.824
35	Uruguay	0.822
36	Moldova	0.821
37	South Korea	0.815
38	Bulgaria	0.814
39	Italy	0.811
40	Seychelles	0.810
41	Hong Kong	0.809
42	Barbados	0.807
43	Romania	0.801
44	Mongolia	0.799
45	Georgia	0.798
46	Slovakia	0.797
47	Argentina	0.791
48	Croatia	0.788
49	Grenada	0.787
49	North Macedonia	0.787
51	Suriname	0.779
52	Cyprus	0.770
52	Guyana	0.770
54	Paraguay	0.768
55	Bahrain	0.765
56	Armenia	0.762
57	Thailand	0.761
58	Oman	0.755
59	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.753
60	Greece	0.752
61	Montenegro	0.743
62	Cabo Verde	0.741
63	Belarus	0.739
63	Chile	0.739
63	Palau	0.739
63	Saudi Arabia	0.739
67	Malaysia	0.738
68	Albania	0.731
68	Fiji	0.731
70	Kuwait	0.723
70	Qatar	0.723
72	Kazakhstan	0.722
73	Viet Nam	0.721
74	Turkmenistan	0.720
75	Russian Federation	0.718
76	Puerto Rico	0.707
77	Sri Lanka	0.706
78	Maldives	0.704
79	Jamaica	0.703
80	Bolivia	0.701
80	Peru	0.701
82	Kosovo	0.700
83	Lao PDR	0.698
84	Israel	0.697
84	Kyrgyzstan	0.697
86	Panama	0.696
87	El Salvador	0.691
88	Jordan	0.686
89	China	0.685
89	Samoa	0.685
89	Tajikistan	0.685
89	Tonga	0.685
89	Trinidad and Tobago	0.685
94	Gabon	0.679
94	Mauritius	0.679
96	Indonesia	0.678
97	Dominican Republic	0.675
98	Uzbekistan	0.674
99	Bhutan	0.673
100	Tunisia	0.671
101	Marshall Islands	0.670
102	Morocco	0.668
102	Timor-Leste	0.668
104	Belize	0.667
104	Cambodia	0.667
106	Türkiye	0.664
107	Nicaragua	0.659
108	Botswana	0.658
108	Solomon Islands	0.658
110	Senegal	0.657
111	Azerbaijan	0.653
112	Kiribati	0.652
113	Federated States of Micronesia	0.648
113	South Africa	0.648
115	Vanuatu	0.646
116	Ukraine	0.645
117	Ghana	0.639
118	Venezuela	0.638
119	Brazil	0.632
120	Nepal	0.631
121	Rwanda	0.624
121	Tanzania	0.624
123	Algeria	0.621
124	São Tomé and Príncipe	0.620
125	Egypt	0.617
126	Lesotho	0.614
127	Ecuador	0.612
128	Iran	0.608
128	Libya	0.608
128	Namibia	0.608
131	India	0.607
131	Philippines	0.607
133	Angola	0.601
133	Sierra Leone	0.601
135	Comoros	0.590
135	Zimbabwe	0.590
137	Côte d'Ivoire	0.589
138	Benin	0.587
138	Uganda	0.587
140	Congo	0.583
141	Lebanon	0.575
142	Zambia	0.566
143	Togo	0.562
144	Guatemala	0.561
144	Honduras	0.561
146	Djibouti	0.560
147	Mexico	0.558
148	Eswatini	0.556
149	Colombia	0.551
150	Malawi	0.549
151	Mozambique	0.548
152	Kenya	0.542
153	Gambia	0.528
154	Guinea	0.527
155	Bangladesh	0.526
156	Ethiopia	0.516
157	Liberia	0.512
158	Iraq	0.510
159	Guinea-Bissau	0.508
160	Burkina Faso	0.507
160	Papua New Guinea	0.507
162	Nigeria	0.495
163	Niger	0.492
164	Mali	0.478
165	Chad	0.476
166	Mauritania	0.475
167	Palestine	0.469
168	Madagascar	0.466
169	Pakistan	0.462
170	Somalia	0.455
171	Cameroon	0.451
172	Myanmar	0.442
173	South Sudan	0.411
174	Burundi	0.407
175	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.405
176	Haiti	0.399
177	Sudan	0.397
178	Syrian Arab Republic	0.364
179	Central African Republic	0.362
180	Yemen	0.323
181	Afghanistan	0.279

The rankings reveal a sharp geographic divide. Northern Europe continues to set the global benchmark for women’s wellbeing, while countries affected by conflict and political instability cluster at the bottom.

Denmark ranks first with a score of 0.939, followed by Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and New Zealand round out the global top 10. Afghanistan ranks last, with a score less than one-third of Denmark’s.

Why Nordic Countries Continue to Lead

Nordic countries occupy all five of the top positions thanks to consistently strong performance across the index’s three dimensions: inclusion, justice, and security.

Women in these countries generally benefit from high levels of education, workforce participation, legal protection, financial inclusion, and political representation, alongside relatively low rates of violence. Strong public institutions and broad social safety nets also help support gender equality throughout life.

While no country scores a perfect 1.0, the Nordic region remains the global benchmark for women’s wellbeing.

Outside Northern Europe, Australia and New Zealand continue to perform strongly. Costa Rica and Uruguay also enter the top global quintile for the first time, reflecting sustained gains in women’s rights and wellbeing and making them notable standouts in Latin America.

Conflict Remains the Biggest Divider

At the opposite end of the rankings are Afghanistan, Yemen, the Central African Republic, Syria, Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, South Sudan, and Myanmar. Many of these countries have experienced years of armed conflict, political instability, or humanitarian crises that disproportionately affect women.

More than 70% of women living in the 12 lowest-ranked countries reside within 50 kilometers of armed conflict, exposing them to higher risks of displacement and gender-based violence. Countries with greater exposure to conflict also tend to score worse on access to justice and maternal health.

This aligns with broader research showing that violence against women rises during periods of instability, while fragile institutions often struggle to provide legal protections and support services. According to the World Health Organization, violence against women remains one of the world’s most widespread human rights violations.

Women’s Wellbeing Reflects Broader Society

The WPS Index measures more than gender equality alone. By combining indicators across security, economic inclusion, healthcare, legal rights, and political participation, it provides a broader snapshot of how supportive countries are for women to live, work, and thrive.

Countries that rank highly typically combine economic opportunity, strong legal protections, accessible healthcare, and low levels of violence. Nations facing prolonged instability, by contrast, often struggle across several dimensions at once.

The rankings therefore offer a broader view of social resilience and institutional strength, not just women’s outcomes in isolation.

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To explore more global demographic and workforce trends, check out This Map Shows Where Women Work on the Voronoi app.

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Ranked: Countries With the Least Fresh Water Per Person

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Fresh water is one of the world’s most unevenly distributed yet vital natural resources.

Although only about 1% of the world’s fresh water is readily available for human use, some countries have large river systems, lakes, and rainfall patterns that provide abundant renewable supplies. Others must rely on limited groundwater, desalination, or imported food and goods to reduce pressure on scarce local resources.

This visualization ranks the countries with the least renewable internal freshwater resources per person in 2022, the latest available data as of July 2026. The data comes from the World Bank via Our World in Data and is measured in cubic feet of renewable internal freshwater resources per capita.

Kuwait Has the World’s Lowest Domestic Freshwater Availability

With virtually no freshwater resources, Kuwait ranks first among countries with the least renewable internal freshwater resources per person. The country has no rivers or lakes, leaving it dependent on desalinated seawater to meet its drinking water needs.

Rank	Country	Cubic Feet of Freshwater Per Person	Cubic Meters of Freshwater Per Person	Region
1	Kuwait	0	0	Middle East
2	Bahrain	93	3	Middle East
3	Egypt	314	9	Africa
4	UAE	526	15	Middle East
5	Qatar	744	21	Middle East
6	Yemen	1,940	55	Middle East
7	Maldives	2,021	57	Asia
8	Jordan	2,140	61	Middle East
9	Saudi Arabia	2,634	75	Middle East
10	Sudan	2,860	81	Africa
11	Mauritania	2,897	82	Africa
12	Malta	3,358	95	Europe
13	Libya	3,422	97	Africa
14	Singapore	3,759	106	Asia
15	Niger	4,883	138	Africa
16	Turkmenistan	6,862	194	Asia
17	Pakistan	7,970	226	Asia
18	Algeria	8,734	247	Africa
19	Djibouti	9,317	264	Africa
20	Barbados	10,007	283	Americas
--	Global Average	190,699	5,400

Nearby, Bahrain ranks second with just 93 cubic feet of fresh water per person. Egypt, the first African nation in the ranking, follows in third place with 314 cubic feet per person, despite the Nile River flowing through it.

The gap between these countries and the global average of 190,700 cubic feet per person is massive—more than 2,000 times Bahrain’s level.

The Middle East Dominates the Ranking

The Middle East accounts for seven of the 20 countries with the least fresh water per person. These are Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Yemen, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

Several are among the driest countries in the world, with limited rainfall and few permanent surface water sources.

This helps explain why desalination and water management are central to the region’s infrastructure. For many Middle Eastern countries, water security depends largely on technology, imports, and conservation.

Freshwater Scarcity Extends Beyond the Middle East

Africa also has seven countries in the top 20, matching the Middle East’s total. Egypt, Sudan, Mauritania, Libya, Niger, Algeria, and Djibouti all appear on the list.

The Asian countries with the least fresh water per capita are the Maldives, Singapore, Turkmenistan, and Pakistan. Despite ranking 16th, Turkmenistan has the world’s highest per-capita water use, driven by its cotton industry and extensive irrigation withdrawals from the Amu Darya River.

Singapore, with just 3,800 cubic feet of fresh water per person, is another notable case because of its limited land area and few natural water resources relative to its population of more than six million.

Small island nations can also face significant freshwater constraints. Malta, the only European nation in the ranking, ranks 12th with 3,400 cubic feet per capita, while Barbados, the only representative from the Americas, rounds out the top 20 with 10,000 cubic feet per person.

Most Countries on the List Are Far Below the Global Average

Among the 20 countries shown, 15 have less than 5,000 cubic feet of renewable internal fresh water per person, placing them at a tiny fraction of the global average.

Inadequate freshwater access not only threatens public health but can also constrain economic development by limiting agriculture and contributing to geopolitical tensions over water resources.

These figures highlight that water scarcity is not just about total national supply. Population size, geography, and climate all shape how much renewable fresh water is available per person, with scarcity likely to worsen in the future.

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How Americans Spend Every Hour of the Day

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What are most Americans doing right now?

Based on the latest American Time Use Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this visualization tracks the share of Americans engaged in each major activity during every hour of a typical day, from sleeping and working to eating, shopping, and leisure.

America’s Day Is More Varied Than You Think

Although work is the most common daytime activity, it never accounts for even one-third of the population. Around 2 p.m., millions of Americans are instead in school, retired, caring for family members, running errands, or working different schedules.

Sleep also follows a gradual rhythm rather than ending abruptly. Around 96% of Americans are engaged in personal care activities at 3 a.m., but by 8 a.m. that share has fallen to 33% as the country slowly wakes up.

The survey records each respondent’s primary activity throughout the day, allowing researchers to estimate how Americans transition between work, meals, errands, family responsibilities, and leisure over a typical 24-hour period.

Leisure Becomes America’s Biggest Evening Activity

As the workday winds down, leisure steadily becomes the country’s most common waking activity. By 8 p.m., 52% of Americans are engaged in leisure or sports, while the share working has fallen to just 6%.

Household activities and eating also rise through the evening as people cook, have dinner, and relax after work.

Some everyday activities account for relatively small shares of the population at any given time. Shopping never exceeds 8%, while eating and drinking peaks at just over 15%, reflecting how brief these activities are compared with work or leisure.

Putting America’s Day in Perspective

Americans tend to wake up and wind down at broadly similar times, but the middle of the day is much more diverse. Rather than following one national schedule, people balance work, education, caregiving, household responsibilities, and leisure across millions of different daily routines.

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To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’s hardest-working countries.

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Ranked: America’s Most Dangerous Cities for Driving

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This graphic ranks America’s most dangerous cities for driving based on a combination of traffic safety indicators, highlighting where motorists face the greatest risks.

The data for this visualization comes from ConsumerAffairs, using fatal crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

The rankings combine multiple indicators related to risky driving, including fatal crashes involving speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, and other dangerous behaviors.

Memphis Tops the List

Memphis, Tennessee, ranks as the most dangerous city for driving with a score of 82 out of 100, well ahead of every other city in the ranking.

According to the analysis, the city’s rate of fatal crashes linked to risky driving is roughly four times the national average.

Knoxville, Tennessee, follows in second place, while Waterbury, Connecticut, rounds out the top three.

Together, these cities illustrate how traffic safety challenges extend beyond the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.

The South Leads the Rankings

Southern cities are heavily represented throughout the list, accounting for 11 of the 20 highest-ranked locations. Tennessee alone places three cities in the top 20: Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas each have multiple cities represented.

While the ranking does not identify specific causes, factors such as driving behavior, infrastructure, enforcement, and local traffic patterns may contribute to elevated traffic risks.

DUI Deaths Remain a Serious Issue

Waterbury, Connecticut, stands out for recording the nation’s highest rate of DUI-related traffic deaths per capita.

Although Waterbury ranks third overall, its DUI fatality rate highlights how the factors contributing to traffic risks can vary significantly across cities.

Other highly ranked cities, including Aurora, Tucson, and Kansas City, also score poorly across multiple categories of risky driving.

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If you enjoyed this article, check out this graphic on America’s most dangerous cities, according to citizens.

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Ranked: The Highest-Grossing Directors Ever

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From wizards to dinosaurs to Homeric epics, the film industry is a multibillion-dollar business. Directors serve as the visionaries who keep audiences coming back for more.

This graphic uses January 2026 data from Statista to rank the 20 highest-grossing film directors in history based on the cumulative box office gross of their filmographies.

Each director’s top-grossing film has been included for reference, although 2026 releases such as Disclosure Day and The Odyssey have been excluded as they do not yet have final box-office figures.

The King of the Box Office

Across 37 films, Steven Spielberg’s work has grossed more than $10.7 billion worldwide, making him the most commercially successful director in history.

Spielberg made his directorial debut at 17 years old with Firelight (1964), which he later referred to as one of the worst films ever made. The director found greater success with later movies such as the shark thriller Jaws (1975), the sci-fi family film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and the war epic Saving Private Ryan (1998).

The table below ranks the 20 highest-grossing film directors based on their lifetime box-office gross.

Spielberg’s greatest year of success arguably came in 1993, when the director helmed two of the most famous films ever made. The first was Jurassic Park, a sci-fi dinosaur film that became the highest-grossing film in history upon its release.

Jurassic Park remains Spielberg’s most commercially successful film, having grossed more than $1 billion.

Spielberg paired box-office clout with critical success by also directing Schindler’s List. The epic historical film went on to earn seven Academy Awards and is considered one of the greatest films ever made.

Ocean Liners, Terminators, and Pandora

James Cameron ranks second with $9.8 billion in lifetime box-office receipts. Three of the four highest-grossing films in history are his creations.

Cameron has directed only 10 feature films as of 2026, yet his movies are among the most successful in history. They include the romantic tragedy Titanic (1997), along with entries in the popular Terminator and Alien franchises.

The massively successful Avatar series has accounted for all of Cameron’s directorial output in the 21st century. Set on the fictional planet of Pandora, every instalment released so far has become one of the highest-grossing films in history.

The Secret Sauce of Franchises

Spielberg had Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, while Cameron has Avatar. Nearly all of the most successful directors in film history achieved their biggest box-office results through franchise films or adaptations.

The Russo brothers ($6.8 billion), for example, became commercial juggernauts through their films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while peers like Peter Jackson ($6.6 billion) and Michael Bay ($6.5 billion) found success with franchises such as The Lord of the Rings and Transformers, respectively.

Even auteur and critical darling Christopher Nolan ($6.1 billion) achieved his greatest commercial success with The Dark Knight Rises, the 2012 conclusion to his acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy of Batman films (2005–2012). Nolan’s The Odyssey is projected to become one of the most successful films of 2026.

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Learn how these directors have faced animated challengers on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

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Europe has already recorded a severe start to the 2026 wildfire season.

The graphic above , created by The European Correspondent using data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), tracks annual burned area across European countries since 2006.

Where Burned Area Is Highest

Spain and Portugal have recorded some of Europe’s largest cumulative burned areas over the past two decades. Italy, Greece, Türkiye, and several Balkan countries have also experienced major fire years.

The table below compares each country’s latest burned area with its long-term annual average.

Country	Annual Avg. Burned Area (ha)	2025 Burned Area (ha)	% vs. Avg.	Status vs. avg
Austria	89	431	+384.0%	Above
Belgium	213	668	+213.5%	Above
Bulgaria	12,311	32,752	+166.0%	Above
Croatia	13,765	3,380	-75.4%	Below
Cyprus	1,815	13,527	+645.4%	Above
Czech Republic	83	0	-100.0%	Below
Denmark	73	255	+251.3%	Above
Estonia	29	0	-100.0%	Below
Finland	187	407	+117.2%	Above
France	13,588	36,951	+171.9%	Above
Germany	672	5,475	+714.9%	Above
Greece	50,318	47,819	-5.0%	Below
Hungary	737	666	-9.6%	Below
Ireland	3,139	4,355	+38.7%	Above
Italy	55,799	84,348	+51.2%	Above
Latvia	168	30	-82.1%	Below
Lithuania	31	0	-100.0%	Below
Luxembourg	0	0	N/A	N/A
Malta	3	0	-100.0%	Below
Netherlands	98	170	+74.2%	Above
Poland	368	295	-19.7%	Below
Portugal	96,360	278,917	+189.5%	Above
Romania	22,889	129,443	+465.5%	Above
Slovakia	27	362	+1,230.4%	Above
Slovenia	328	143	-56.4%	Below
Spain	79,570	393,079	+394.0%	Above
Sweden	2,182	1,079	-50.5%	Below

Total area and percentage change tell different stories. Mediterranean countries tend to rank highly by hectares burned, while countries with smaller historical baselines can post much larger percentage increases.

Major Fires Hit France and Spain

France battled large fires near Bordeaux that forced tens of thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate. Spain also introduced emergency measures as fires spread during successive heatwaves.

France requested assistance through the European Union’s shared firefighting resources, and its burned area had surpassed the previous year’s total by mid-July.

The chart also shows unusually large burned areas in Ukraine since 2022, where military activity has added another source of fire damage.

Why Wildfire Conditions Are Worsening

Hotter temperatures, prolonged drought, changing land use, and fuel accumulation can all make fires easier to ignite and harder to contain.

Analysis from Reuters and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre notes that earlier heatwaves are lengthening the fire season across parts of southern Europe.

The financial impact can also be substantial. Wildfires are part of a broader rise in costly climate-driven natural disasters, while the world’s most expensive wildfire disasters show how quickly property, suppression, and recovery costs can escalate.

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To learn more about the global impact of wildfires, check out How Much CO2 Do Wildfires Contribute Globally? on the Voronoi app.

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The rhythm of American life changes significantly when the workweek ends.

Weekends and holidays bring more time for rest, recreation, chores, and social connections. At the same time, work and education occupy a much smaller share of the day.

This visualization shows how Americans aged 15 and older redistribute their time between weekdays and non-workdays. The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey.

Work Gives Way to Free Time

Work accounts for the largest shift in Americans’ schedules. Time spent working and on work-related activities falls from 4.26 hours per weekday to 1.11 hours on weekends and holidays, a decline of 3.15 hours, or 189 minutes.

Educational activities also decrease, falling from 0.55 hours to 0.18 hours per day.

Meanwhile, leisure and sports increase from 4.60 hours on weekdays to 6.48 hours on weekends and holidays. That represents an additional 1.88 hours, or nearly 113 minutes.

Television Absorbs Much of the Gain

Television captures the largest share of Americans’ additional leisure time. Average viewing rises from 2.33 hours on weekdays to 3.27 hours on weekends and holidays, an increase of roughly 56 minutes.

Television represents about half of total leisure time on both types of days. This suggests that Americans spend their additional free time much as they do during the workweek, only for longer.

Socializing and communicating also more than doubles, rising from 0.44 hours to 0.92 hours per day. This adds nearly 29 minutes and highlights the weekend’s role in supporting social life.

By comparison, reading changes very little, increasing by only about one minute per day.

More Sleep and More Time at Home

Personal care activities rise from 9.53 hours on weekdays to 10.44 hours on weekends and holidays. Nearly all of this increase comes from sleep, which climbs from 8.76 hours to 9.68 hours.

Household activities also increase from 1.88 hours to 2.26 hours, adding about 23 minutes.

Housework, laundry, maintenance, and other domestic tasks receive more attention, showing that weekends are not devoted entirely to rest.

Organizational, civic, and religious activities also rise, while time spent caring for household members declines slightly.

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If you enjoyed today’s post, check out What Medical Care Do Americans Skip Most Due to Cost? on Voronoi.

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Mapped: Where America Produces Natural Gas

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U.S. gross natural gas withdrawals reached 47.7 trillion cubic feet in 2025, with a small group of states accounting for most of the total. Much of this output comes from prolific shale formations such as the Permian, Marcellus, Haynesville, and Eagle Ford.

This map shows 2025 gross natural gas withdrawals by state and producing area using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, with the latest available 2024 figures used for five states.

Gross withdrawals measure total well-stream production before processing, making them different from marketed or dry natural gas output.

Texas Produced Over a Quarter of U.S. Natural Gas

Texas led the country with 13,603 Bcf of gross withdrawals in 2025, equal to 28.5% of the national total. Pennsylvania followed at 7,676 Bcf, or 16.1%, meaning the two states together accounted for nearly 45% of U.S. withdrawals.

Their output is driven by some of North America’s most productive shale formations, including the Permian Basin in Texas and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.

The table below ranks every state and producing area with at least 10 Bcf of gross withdrawals. States below that threshold, which together account for roughly 0.1% of the national total, are not shown:

New Mexico and Louisiana ranked third and fourth, producing 4,151 Bcf and 3,817 Bcf, respectively. Combined with Texas and Pennsylvania, the four states generated 61.3% of U.S. gross natural gas withdrawals in 2025.

Appalachia Forms America’s Second Major Gas Hub

Beyond Texas, the Appalachian Basin has become the country’s other major gas-producing hub.

Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio together produced 13,377 Bcf in 2025, equal to 28% of the U.S. total, largely from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.

Alaska ranked just behind West Virginia despite having no pipeline connection to the Lower 48, underscoring the scale of its resource base.

This production base helps explain the country’s leading position in global gas markets. See how U.S. dry natural gas production ranks against other major producing countries.

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If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Natural Gas Withdrawals Across U.S. States (2023) on Voronoi.

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Mapped: Home Prices vs. Incomes Around the World

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Housing affordability has become a defining economic issue across much of the world, but the relationship between home prices and incomes differs more than many people realize.

Using data from the UN Habitat World Cities Report 2026, this map compares median home prices with annual household incomes across more than 180 countries, revealing where buying a home is relatively attainable—and where it remains far out of reach.

The World’s Most Affordable Housing Markets

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the lowest home price-to-income ratios in the dataset at 3.0. The U.S. ranks seventh-lowest at 4.5, below Canada (9.4), Australia (7.5), and the UK (8.3).

The ratio shows how many years of median household income would be needed to match the median home price. A lower figure indicates greater affordability, though the measure does not account for mortgage rates or other homeownership costs.

Rank	Country	Home Price-to-Income Ratio
1	Saudi Arabia	3.0
2	UAE	3.0
3	South Africa	3.4
4	North Korea	3.5
5	Oman	3.6
6	Nauru	4.0
7	U.S.	4.5
8	Tuvalu	5.0
9	Namibia	5.2
10	Timor-Leste	5.2
11	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	5.2
12	Qatar	5.3
13	Bhutan	5.5
14	Belize	5.5
15	Solomon Islands	5.5
16	Palau	5.5
17	Tonga	5.5
18	State of Palestine	5.6
19	Laos	5.7
20	Dominica	5.7
21	Nicaragua	5.8
22	Vanuatu	5.8
23	Grenada	5.9
24	Fiji	6.0
25	Papua New Guinea	6.0
26	Samoa	6.0
27	Trinidad and Tobago	6.1
28	Mauritius	6.2
29	Réunion	6.2
30	Jamaica	6.2
31	Saint Lucia	6.2
32	Mayotte	6.5
33	Saint Helena	6.5
34	Belgium	6.5
35	Kiribati	6.5
36	Seychelles	6.6
37	Denmark	6.6
38	Paraguay	6.7
39	Micronesia	6.7
40	Cabo Verde	6.8
41	Cyprus	6.8
42	Iceland	7.0
43	Saint Kitts and Nevis	7.0
44	Marshall Islands	7.0
45	Libya	7.2
46	Eswatini	7.2
47	Maldives	7.2
48	Netherlands	7.2
49	Barbados	7.2
50	Ireland	7.3
51	Lesotho	7.4
52	Jordan	7.4
53	Australia	7.5
54	Comoros	7.6
55	Djibouti	7.8
56	Finland	7.8
57	Spain	7.8
58	Côte d'Ivoire	8.0
59	Senegal	8.0
60	Myanmar	8.0
61	Benin	8.1
62	Togo	8.1
63	Malaysia	8.1
64	Iraq	8.1
65	Latvia	8.1
66	Norway	8.1
67	Rwanda	8.2
68	Gabon	8.2
69	Sao Tome and Principe	8.2
70	Madagascar	8.3
71	Cameroon	8.3
72	Congo	8.3
73	Gambia	8.3
74	UK	8.3
75	Zambia	8.4
76	Mexico	8.4
77	San Marino	8.5
78	Western Sahara	8.6
79	Burkina Faso	8.6
80	Mauritania	8.6
81	Bahrain	8.6
82	Malawi	8.8
83	Mali	8.9
84	Bahamas	8.9
85	Honduras	8.9
86	Sierra Leone	9.0
87	New Zealand	9.0
88	Eritrea	9.1
89	Sudan	9.2
90	Guinea-Bissau	9.2
91	Liberia	9.2
92	India	9.2
93	Bulgaria	9.2
94	Canada	9.4
95	Burundi	9.5
96	Andorra	9.5
97	Liechtenstein	9.5
98	Costa Rica	9.5
99	Bermuda	9.5
100	South Sudan	9.6
101	Niger	9.6
102	Italy	9.7
103	Switzerland	9.7
104	Guinea	9.8
105	Sweden	9.9
106	Somalia	10.2
107	Equatorial Guinea	10.2
108	Panama	10.2
109	Japan	10.3
110	Austria	10.3
111	Chad	10.4
112	Bolivia	10.5
113	Democratic Republic of the Congo	10.6
114	Germany	10.7
115	Kazakhstan	10.9
116	Romania	10.9
117	Central African Republic	11.1
118	Ecuador	11.1
119	Angola	11.2
120	Bosnia and Herzegovina	11.4
121	Kuwait	11.5
122	Greece	11.5
123	Luxembourg	11.5
124	Estonia	11.8
125	France	11.8
126	Tunisia	11.9
127	Guatemala	11.9
128	Egypt	12.0
129	Moldova	12.1
130	Malta	12.1
131	Slovenia	12.1
132	Ukraine	12.2
133	Bangladesh	12.6
134	Türkiye	12.6
135	Portugal	12.6
136	Lithuania	12.7
137	Montenegro	13.1
138	Slovakia	13.2
139	Croatia	13.2
140	Georgia	13.3
141	Poland	13.3
142	North Macedonia	13.3
143	Uruguay	13.7
144	Belarus	13.8
145	Pakistan	13.9
146	Afghanistan	14.1
147	Israel	14.1
148	Morocco	14.2
149	Kyrgyzstan	14.3
150	Azerbaijan	14.5
151	Hungary	14.6
152	Czechia	14.9
153	Uzbekistan	15.3
154	Singapore	15.5
155	Chile	15.6
156	Albania	15.7
157	Dominican Republic	15.8
158	Serbia	15.9
159	Kenya	16.0
160	Algeria	16.0
161	Armenia	17.2
162	Colombia	17.5
163	Mongolia	17.6
164	Lebanon	18.3
165	Brazil	18.3
166	Indonesia	18.5
167	Venezuela	18.9
168	Peru	19.0
169	Argentina	22.7
170	Vietnam	23.5
171	Thailand	24.0
172	Monaco	25.0
173	Iran	25.1
174	South Korea	26.0
175	Nigeria	28.2
176	Philippines	30.1
177	Cambodia	32.5
178	Nepal	32.8
179	China	34.6
180	Sri Lanka	40.8
181	Syrian Arab Republic	86.7
--	World Average	11.2

In Gulf countries, relatively high incomes and government-backed housing initiatives help keep homeownership within reach for many citizens.

In the U.S., rising mortgage rates and constrained housing supply have weakened affordability in recent years. Even so, home values remain relatively low compared with household incomes on an international basis.

Around three billion people worldwide remain underserved by the housing market as home prices continue to outpace incomes in many countries.

Where Buying a Home Is Most Difficult

At the other end of the ranking, Syria records the world’s highest home price-to-income ratio at 86.7, followed by Sri Lanka (40.8) and China (34.6). South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines also rank among the world’s least affordable housing markets.

Although China’s housing market has cooled in recent years, home prices remain high relative to household incomes after decades of rapid appreciation fueled by urbanization and investment demand.

Several European countries also post relatively high ratios. Portugal (12.6), France (11.8), Luxembourg (11.5), and Germany (10.7) all rank well above the U.S. (4.5), reflecting affordability pressures across many advanced economies despite generally higher incomes.

Why Housing Affordability Is a Global Challenge

The data shows that housing affordability depends less on a country’s overall wealth than on how closely home prices track local incomes.

Even wealthy economies can become difficult places to buy a home when prices rise faster than wages, while some emerging markets remain comparatively affordable despite lower incomes.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on home price-to-income ratios by state.