Statista

The World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO (WIPO) has released its 2026 Global Innovation Index (GII). Switzerland tops the rankings once again with a score of 66,7 out of 100. This is the 16th time the country has been named the world leader in innovation. The United States remains in third place, right behind Sweden. Overall, the top 10 rankings have remained unchanged from last year's edition of the index, with only minor shifts involving the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland. Published annually, the WIPO GII ranks 139 economies on their innovation ecosystems focusing on a long list of criteria such as human capital, institutions, technology and creative output as well as market and business sophistication, among others.

We're excited to see the conversation and insights which emerge from this one! Register here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dvHVCXwh 👈 to join Statista's Senior Data Journalist Kasia Davies in a discussion with Similarweb's Daniel Reid on the data behind the AI shopper journey. 📅 September 30 ⏰ 10am EST | 3pm GMT

In the wake of social media becoming the number 1 news source for Americans over the past few years, #AI tools are setting out to bring yet another shift in news consumption, particularly for younger audiences. According to Statista Consumer Insights, 17 percent of U.S. adults surveyed said they had used AI tools as a news source in the past four weeks. The share was highest among Gen Z respondents at 21 percent, followed closely by millennials at 19 percent. Older respondents were significantly more hesitant to get news from AI chatbots, which mirrors their generally slower adoption of tools like ChatGPT. Among Gen X respondents, it was 12 percent, while 9 percent of baby boomers reported getting news from AI tools. For publishers, these figures point to another change in how audiences encounter news. While AI tools still trail many other news sources in terms of reach – most importantly social media, video platforms and TV – they will likely establish themselves as an important route to information going forward. The challenge for news organizations is to adapt to that emerging habit while giving readers a reason to seek out the original reporting, context and opinion behind the quick answers they may receive from an AI chatbot.

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Observed every year on September 27, World Tourism Day highlights the social, cultural and economic importance of tourism around the world. To mark the occasion, we take a closer look at the performance of major travel portals Booking.com in the U.S. from brand awareness and popularity to usage, loyalty and buzz. The data shows how differently consumers perceive and engage with some of the best-known names in online travel. ✈️ Which travel platform do you turn to first when planning a trip?

#Trump’s approval ratings have been poor since shortly after the start of his second term. With the mid-term elections approaching, this could now prove to be a big hurdle for Republican candidates for the Senate and the House of Representatives. A closer look at the poll figures compiled by RealClearPolitics shows that there is not a single major issue on which the #President receives a positive net approval rating. In fact he is underwater across the board, with inflation standing out as the issue that Trump is deemed to have handled particularly badly. While Trump has repeatedly stated that “prices are way down” and that there is virtually “no inflation”, high prices and low affordability are still the biggest pain points for millions of Americans, who aren’t happy with their president simply denying that there is a problem. Other issues that Trump scores particularly badly on are the Iran war and the economy, which has yet to show signs of the boom that Trump promised during his Campaign.

The OECD - OCDE expects the U.S.economy to grow by 2.2 percent in 2026. Compared with other Western economies, this is not a bad result, but still below the global average of 2.9 percent. At the same time, Americans appear not to be overly enthusiastic about their countrys economic outlook as the latest Statista Consumer Insights update shows. Of the roughly 60.000 respondent from the United States just 36 percent evaluate the economic situation of their home country as positive. Compared with this, citizens of asian economies are significantly more optimistic, as a look at the #Statista chart reveals. This is true for China and India, but even more so of Saudi Arabia. However, there are many countries there where people take a more pessimistic view. The French, for example, seem to be experiencing what might be described as the economic blues.

Over the past few years, a lot of progress has been made in accepting and understanding mental health problems. Having long been seen as a sign of weakness, mental health issues in their many varieties and severities have become much less of a taboo. The pandemic, which left many people feeling isolated, powerless or overwhelmed, accelerated that trend, as it not only caused a spike in symptoms of anxiety or depression, but also brought more people to open up about their problems. According to Statista Consumer Insights, roughly 4 in 10 adults in countries like Australia, the U.S. and Canada reported that they had experienced mental health problems, such as stress, anxiety or depression, in the 12 months preceding the survey, making an open discourse about the issue all the more important. As our chart shows, the prevalence of self-reported mental health problems varies greatly across countries, suggesting that people in some countries, e.g. China or Japan, may be more hesitant to open up about mental health or simply less likely to identify certain problems as mental health issues. If you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious or depressed, please reach out to your family or friends, a mental health professional or contact a crisis line in your area. You are not alone, help is available.

The OECD has raised its forecast for the U.S. economy slightly, now predicting GDP to expand by 2.2 percent, up by 0.2 percentage points from its June estimate. At the same time, the economic outlook for the world as well as for the G20 countries went up by 0.1 percentage points. According to the organisation "stronger price pressures, weaker real income growth and higher interest rates will moderate near-term growth momentum in many economies, but robust AI-related activity and an assumed easing of energy prices in line with futures markets next year will help activity strengthen through 2027." However, the outlook for some economies is now significantly better than it was in June. This applies, for example, to India (+0.8 P.p.) and Germany (+0.4 P.p.).

Mental health is deeply personal, yet it is also one of the defining public health challenges of our time. For those affected, its consequences can touch every part of daily life, making seemingly simple tasks seem insurmountable. But the toll of mental health problems doesn’t stop there. Mental-health-related absences place a financial and operational strain on employers, while healthcare systems in many countries are chronically overstretched and understaffed, ill-equipped to deal with the growing prevalence of mental health issues. In a 30-country survey conducted by Ipsos in 2025, 45 percent of respondents identified mental health as one of the biggest health problems their country currently faces, ranking it above conditions such as cancer and heart disease, the two most common causes of death across 37 OECD countries in 2023. This growing recognition is closely linked to increasing openness around mental well-being: as stigma declines and awareness grows, mental health is becoming a central focus for health systems and policymakers. Statista’s Mental Health 2026 report examines global mental health, covering prevalence, economic impact, key pressures, the influence of digital life and access to care. It covers both mental disorders (clinically diagnosable conditions) and mental well-being: how people feel and function in everyday life. Designed for decision-makers in healthcare and insurance, life sciences, digital health and public policy, the report identifies the scale of the challenge and the opportunities to make mental health support more accessible, effective and sustainable.