
Show HN: Who Arms the World? - moigonz
https://whoarmstheworld.com/
======
daenz
This infographic is intentionally misleading. The author is adjusting the
_radius_ of the circle based on the export numbers, not the _area._

For example, according to the rendered source code, America for 2018 has a
radius of 75.05, Germany has a radius of 9.12, for a ratio of 8.22. From the
data[0], America has a value of 10508, Germany has a value of 1277, for a
ratio of 8.22.

However, since this is the radius, the area of America's big red dot is 17671,
while the area of Germany's is 261, for a ratio of 67.7, or sqrt(8.22).

0
[http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/html/export_toplist.php](http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/html/export_toplist.php)

~~~
jacobolus
One of the problems with these circle charts is that most people aren’t very
good at visually comparing areas. So to give a psychologically accurate
impression you wouldn’t just want to scale the areas either (of course, most
people would expect the areas to be scaled, so doing something else is also
misleading).

Just a bar chart does a much better job of conveying the relative quantities
(of course, it throws away the geography part). I would recommend trying to
find some other way than these scaled-circles-on-a-map thingies if possible.

In any event, I think “intentionally misleading” is a leap. It seems likelier
that the creator is not an expert in data visualization and wasn’t thinking
carefully enough about how to make the plot.

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larnmar
This appears to be a terrible interface put on top of a very simple table.

Why am I scrolling around on my phone just to see the map? What are the
underlying numbers? What do they mean? Is the actual number I’m looking at the
area of the circle or the radius?

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nsxwolf
This isn't very interesting. This is just showing who makes the most weapons.
It would be more interesting to see where those weapons go.

~~~
giancarlostoro
This is what I was expecting honestly. I assume a good chunk to America,
another chunk to other countries with "2nd Ammendment" like rights, or at
least where it's legal to own guns for hunting.

Edit: Another interesting bit of information would show which guns by type,
company, how many they create and what have you.

~~~
vorpalhex
I believe this is more bombs and heavy weaponry than light arms.

~~~
giancarlostoro
Oh I see that now. Its not very obvious at first glance what is being
illustrated.

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willvarfar
Its excellent that attention is drawn to this, but its not really fulfilling
the potential.

Its not interactive like
[https://www.gapminder.org/tools/](https://www.gapminder.org/tools/) and it
doesn't show where the arms are going, and what percentage is brought and
which is aid etc.

What would be really impressive is an interactive timeline map with arrows
showing production/consumption of aid and arms. Who is giving aid, who is
giving weapons, and to whom?

I think that would be interesting to see because I think we all have some
suspicions and preconceived ideas in that direction.

ADDED: I have discovered that gapminder has several "Defense and Arms Trade"
dimensions.

This is the gapminder interactive timeline for the same data as the OP site is
showing?
[https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$state$time$value=1960;&mar...](https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$state$time$value=1960;&marker$size$which=arms_exports_us_inflation_adjusted&domainMin:null&domainMax:null&spaceRef:null;&color$which=_default&use=constant&spaceRef:null;;;&chart-
type=map)

For another example, here is arms exports vs imports. Those on the vertical
are producers, those on the horizontal are consumers (of foreign weaponry):
[https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$state$marker$axis_x$which=...](https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$state$marker$axis_x$which=arms_imports_us_inflation_adjusted&domainMin:null&domainMax:null&zoomedMin:null&zoomedMax:null&scaleType=linear&spaceRef:null;&axis_y$which=arms_exports_us_inflation_adjusted&domainMin:null&domainMax:null&zoomedMin:null&zoomedMax:null&spaceRef:null;;;&chart-
type=bubbles)

I'm sure people can come up with better visualizations?

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wyck
This is usless without showing what is being sold, by who, and to whom.

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gok
More like "who arms the world via exports." The vast majority of arms are
built for domestic consumption. There are only around $100 billion/year of
arms trade. The US alone spends more on more weapons for domestic use than all
global arms exports combined.

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gregimba
This doesn't really showcase how Arms flow for a variety of reasons including
the reality that a huge portion of small arms are sold outside of official
channels without being disclosed or tracked.

Do you think this sale got into the data set?
[https://www.npr.org/2019/02/21/696561255/heckler-koch-
fined-...](https://www.npr.org/2019/02/21/696561255/heckler-koch-
fined-4-2-million-over-assault-rifle-sales-in-mexico)

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_djo_
What data set is this based on? Are you calculating flows by monetary value
(favouring high-end systems) or by quantity (favouring small arms)?

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onepointsixC
This isn't very insightful nor is this well executed.

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300bps
The source of the data driving this visualization is
[https://sipri.org/databases/armstransfers](https://sipri.org/databases/armstransfers)
and that has a lot more detail that others have requested.

~~~
SiempreViernes
It feels like this was posted quite a bit before it was fully finished, as it
stands it is simply a ranked list with a map next to it. It doesn't really
help in visualising the dataset.

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samdung
I’m surprised a tiny city-nation-state like Singapore is on the list. They
don’t manufacture anything. Must be just a billing/money routing stop because
of its low tax jurisdiction.

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arayh
There appears to be a glitch / bug here. When the map first loads, it states
the data is for 2018 and lists 50 countries, but the 49th country is blank and
there are only 34 circles on the map. When you switch the year to anything
else and switch back to 2018, the list has been truncated to 34 countries.

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arminiusreturns
This is already flagged, but for those interested in a more substantial read,
I can't recommend "The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade" (v2)
enough. In reality the US, UK and Israel are the main arms exporters for the
world.

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syukronrm
I'm a partial colorblind person. I can't tell the difference between the red
and what-color-is-that when it comes to smaller scale.

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electriclove
Nice idea but needs more details.. which arms? which companies are the
producers? etc..

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aliswe
Nice, I thought Sweden would be higher on the list. In Sweden we're always
told that we're best and most in everything you know...

The blur slows my phone down though, and the scrolling of the map locks the
screen. Maybe it's only a map though? Nothing after? In which case the large
header is unnecessary.

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papreclip
Nice to know we are exporting _something_

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vpribish
What a worthless site! The UI is awkward, the data very shallow, the
visualization provides no insight or understanding. It all could have been a
static graph. Why did you even post this, moigonz?

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daenz
If seeing America profiting from weapons sales makes you unhappy or
uncomfortable, I would ask you: who would you rather see profiting instead?
Because somebody will. And "nobody should want to buy weapons" is not an
answer.

~~~
mrleinad
Who is profiting from selling weapons in Japan?

Nobody. Because the government doesn't allow civilians to buy them.

Pass that law in the states and you'll see a big drop in weapon sales.

Rinse and repeat in other countries.

~~~
daenz
>The gathered data shows the amount of arm exports

The data covers exports, not domestic civilian purchases.

~~~
mod
Plus it's not small arms, like guns.

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adamsea
Nice - simple, clear, and effective. One small piece of UI/UX feedback. Using
different colors for "selected" and "hover" (maybe gray?) for the list of
countries on the right might be good.

When you click on a country, and then move the mouse above/below that country,
the currently highlighted country is also black and imho its confusing.

