Leadership

Global Economic Situation Visualized, Still Depressing

By Jessica Stillman

Updated on: June 8, 2009 / 7:59 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

The Find: Looking to get a handle on exactly which areas have been hardest hit by the financial crisis and which (few) have escaped relatively unscathed? This handy interactive map is for you.
The Source: Moody's Economy.com Dismal Scientist web site.

The Takeaway: The good folks at Moody's certainly know their economics, but by the looks of this map they're not lacking in design skills either. Handily coded with countries whose economies are in recession in red, those at risk in yellow and those expanding in green, with a quick summary of each country's status just a click away, the map is both fun to play with and a good overview on exactly who is weathering the storm and who looks to be sinking in rough waters. The site's Global Outlook report fills in the details and is available as both an article and in podcast form with a free trial subscription.

Laying out the numbers this way may be illuminating, but with most of the world in red it can also be depressing. But take heart, says economist Ruth Stroppiana, who explains that the global economic picture is not as bleak as it may first appear:

Among the major economies, China is currently on the most stable footing and looks set to be the first to recover. While Asia's giant growth locomotive came close to derailment late last year amid factory closures and surging unemployment, the Chinese government's massive fiscal stimulus, one of the world's largest, has helped put its economy back on track...

A number of Asian countries -- with the notable exception of Japan -- have either reached or are approaching the bottom of their current cycle. The U.S. will follow Asia out of the recessionary abyss in the closing months of the year.

(Image of Playmobil's of the world by fdecomite, CC 2.0)