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Simon Kuestenmacher

@simongerman600.bsky.social

13K followers 440 following 2.3K posts

German #geographer and #demographer in #Melbourne. I love and share #maps and #data that explain how the #world works.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 1h

Which other flag resembles their country’s national cuisine?

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 7h

The largest 25 countries in Europe in 2000 and 2025. Russia still the biggest but shrank by two million people.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 16h

If you’ve only ever visited the city after the wall came down, this map of East Berlin in 1985 will look very weird to you.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 19h

Lovely map of French castles by Jean-Claude Golvin. Which one to visit first?

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 22h

Nothing but the roads of Canada. HT @EarthArtAus

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 1d

Alcohol death rates in Europe. Apparently very low in cultures where drunkenness is frowned upon and where alcohol is only consumed in company of others and served alongside meals. Spain and Italy for example. Source: buff.ly/3wDQcRz

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 1d

I like the idea of visiting all countries that fall within “your” 10% slice of the world. See how your fellow 10% live.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 1d

I love this idea! I want to see more countries’ dark mode flags.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 1d

What?! The four best-selling whiskeys are Indian?

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 1d

By now most folks know that the most commonly map projection (Mercator) distorts the size of landmasses. The further away from the equator, the larger a country appears on the map. HT @geoallday

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 2d

Ok, that’s the legal drinking age across the world as visualized by @xruiztru but what’s the actual time you first drank in your country? I think it’s probably around two years below legal drinking age?

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 2d

How many people did your continent grow by in 2024?

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 2d

Based on the first map, where would you expect major cities to be at? The second map shows that your guess was spot on!

HT @undertheraedar

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 2d

How expensive should university education be and who should pay for it? The map is taken from this excellent video discussing the future of university education: buff.ly/gjiYZGl

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 2d

Now that AI is absorbing entry-level roles and graduate job postings are shrinking, the traditional path into professional life is under threat:

How can you climb a career ladder where the first rung is missing?!

The graduates of 2025 face an uncertain future as many jobs on the first few rungs of their career ladder are disappearing.

buff.ly

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 2d

Hopefully your city isn’t listed in this “worst air quality” ranking.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 2d

What currency did countries use before they adopted the Euro? HT @Maps_interlude (give ‘em a follow)

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 3d

Productivity forecasts in the UK have been much too optimistic for a while. Will AI be any different? I want to see data (not narrative) on the AI productivity surge.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 3d

Before looking at this chart have a guess at what share of the population in your European country are migrants. So, how close was your guess?

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 3d

Good on you for spending less time online my dear young people!

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 3d

Daytime and nighttime population in England and Wales. You see the employment centers pop out clearly. Source: buff.ly/eSqwqsP

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 4d

How Judaism transformed into the Lutheran Church. Took a bit...

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 4d

Flag math is my favourite type of math.

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 4d

Unemployment across the EU declined steadily over the last decade and a half. Economic boom? More like running out of workers as the continent ages. Generous social security also might keep unemployment low. Source: buff.ly/NpI5g7C

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 4d

Population density across Russia visualized by @mbattaglia07.

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