Trusted by more than 23,000 companies
As of August 18, 2024, Nvidia ranked as the leading semiconductor company in terms of market capitalization at 3.06 trillion U.S. dollars, followed by the likes of TSMC, Broadcom, Samsung, and ASML. This mix of companies reflects the broad and complex nature of the semiconductor industry, with firms featuring from across all parts of the chip ecosystem.
The global semiconductor industry is dominated by companies from North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan rank as some of the biggest markets for semiconductor equipment spending. One of the world’s leading chip-making machine manufacturers, and the only company in the world producing extreme ultraviolet lithography, or EUV, machines, is ASML based in Europe.
The European Union (EU) has set a goal for Europe to produce at least 20 percent of the world’s semiconductors by value by 2030. Semiconductor revenue in Europe is lower than in other regions, although Europe does have key strengths which could help it to achieve the ambitious targets. An example is in the production of chips for the automotive industry, with firms such as NXP Semiconductors (Netherlands) and Infineon (Germany) specializing in this field.
In the second quarter of 2024, Alibaba's total revenue approached 243.24 billion yuan. The company's business segments include core commerce, cloud computing, digital media entertainment, innovation initiatives and others.
In the 2023 financial year, Sony sold nearly 21 million units of its PlayStation 5. This marked an increase of about 1.7 million units from the previous financial year. It was also the highest number of PlayStation 5 annual sales reported since the console’s release. Sony's current-generation console, the PlayStation 5, was released during the holiday season in 2020 when it sold some 4.5 million units during that quarter. The PlayStation 5 ranked as the best-selling current-generation console in 2023.
Sony’s PlayStation brand has been a significant player in the video game industry since its inception. Sony released the first PlayStation in 1994 and has released four more versions since then. The PlayStation 2 holds the record as the highest-selling console of all time, with over 158 million units sold. The popularity of Sony’s PlayStation lineup is visible in that all their previous generation home consoles are among the top-10 best-selling consoles of all time. In 2022, PlayStation dominated the global game console market with an impressive share of 87.8 percent — having been surpassed drastically by Xbox in 2023. This market domination also translated to high annual sales revenue, as Sony’s game and network services generated nearly 26 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in FY 2022 and has been the company’s largest business segment since 2014.
Sony’s commitment to innovation is evident in its support for new technologies. The PlayStation 4 was the first console from a mainstream game console company to support virtual reality. Sony released PlayStation VR 2 in early 2023, and its popularity quickly became clear when it accounted for around 32 percent of all extended reality (XR) headsets sold globally in the first quarter of 2023.
In 2023, the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California welcomed more than 17 million visitors in total. This shows an increase of 2.2 percent compared to the previous year. The number of visitors to the park peaked in 2019.
After two days of tough competition on the Glasgow Green on August 16 and 17, 2024, Inveraray and District were crowned the Grade 1 winners of the 2024 World Pipe Band Championships. This was the third time for the band - which has been competing in Grade 1 since 2010 - to claim the top spot at the Worlds with a final score of 34 points. Field Marshal Montgomery, one of the most successful pipe bands in most recent history, came in second place with 56 points in total.
Winners at the world piping championships are determined by the performance in two events. The first one is the March, Strathspey and Reel event (MSR), consisting of three pre-arranged tunes (a march, a strathspey, and a reel) which are played as a set. The second one is a medley, which consists of a selection of music arranged by the band and which lasts five to seven minutes in total. The band must prepare two MSR and two medley sets, and then play one on each day of competition. The final selection of which of the respective two sets is being played is determined by a draw on the line before entering the competition arena. Performances are ranked and bands get points based on their placement within the competition. The band with the lowest score wins.
In addition to winning World Pipe Band Championships, Inverary also laid claim the end-of-season Champion of Champions title. Inverary were crowned the 2024 Champion of Champions as best pipe band and best drum corps among Grade 1 bands, with a total of 21 and 19 championship points, respectively.
As of the second quarter of 2024, hamburgers, french fries, and grilled cheese sandwiches were the most popular American dishes in the United States. An average of around 84 percent of respondents had a positive opinion of each of the three dishes.
In 2023, South Korea's nominal gross domestic product (GDP) reached approximately 2,401 trillion South Korean won, while North Korea's amounted to about 40.2 trillion South Korean won. Consequently, South Korea's nominal GDP was approximately 60 times larger than that of North Korea during that year. Moreover, North Korea's GDP growth has been notably minimal when compared to that of South Korea.
North Korea's economic development
North Korea's economy is centered around its capital city and military, with particular emphasis on the expansion of its nuclear capabilities in recent decades. Roughly 98 percent of foreign trade has been with China in the past decade, from whom North Korea imports large volume of mechanical and electronic goods. Food shortages, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, are a reoccurring issue for North Korea, as poor harvests, international sanctions, and a downturn in inter-Korean trade have created sourcing problems - the full extent of this issue remains unknown, but it is estimated that almost half the population is undernourished.
Kaesong Industrial Complex
The Kaesong Industrial Complex project began in 2000 and was a crucial part of South Korea's efforts to improve relations with North Korea. It aimed to foster cooperation between the two Koreas and promote stability in the region. The industrial park, located in Kaesong, North Korea, was intended to provide a platform for small and medium-sized South Korean companies. South Korea would provide the necessary capital and infrastructure, while North Korean workers would be tasked with manufacturing products, aiming to stimulate economic growth on both sides of the border. Unfortunately, the complex was affected by tensions between the two Koreas and shut down in 2016. It has not been reopened since.
Neither Berlin or financial center Frankfurt boasted the highest number of Bitcoin ATMs in Germany. Düsseldorf - located in the Western industrial region of the Ruhr - had roughly 22 ATMs in August 2024. These dispensers are different from traditional cash machines in that they do not connect to a bank account but connect users to a Bitcoin wallet or exchange. This way, they can convert physical money into digital currency. Germany was ranked as one of the leading countries worldwide in terms of Bitcoin ATMs.
From August 12 to 18 in 2024, Universal Music recorded the highest market share among Swedish record labels, at over 43 percent for album charts. Sony Music came second, with a market share of nearly 21 percent. Warner Music ranked third. The Swedish record label Playground Music Scand had the lowest market shares during this period.
Based on the total sales of songs released in Sweden in 2019, Sony, Universal Music, and Warner Music also ranked highest. Here, Sony/ATV was the largest Swedish music publisher that year, reaching a market share of nearly 24 percent. Universal Music Publishing was the second biggest music company in the country.
The value of the recorded music industry in Sweden increased in recent years. As of 2019, companies generated revenues of over 1.5 billion Swedish kronor. 10 years earlier, it was about half as high. Music streaming services by far accounted for the largest share of music sales in 2019, growing by over one billion Swedish kronor in the period from 2009 to 2019.
Nigeria is the African country with the largest population, counting over 230 million people. As of 2024, the largest city in Nigeria was Lagos, which is also the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of population size. The city counts more than nine million inhabitants, whereas Kano, the second most populous city, registers around 3.6 million inhabitants. Lagos is the main financial, cultural, and educational center in the country.
The metropolitan area of Lagos is also among the largest urban agglomerations in the world. Besides Lagos, another most populated citiy in Africa is Cairo, in Egypt. However, Africa’s urban population is booming in other relatively smaller cities. For instance, the population of Bujumbura, in Burundi, could grow by 123 percent between 2020 and 2035, making it the fastest growing city in Africa and likely in the world. Similarly, Zinder, in Niger, could reach over one million inhabitants by 2035, the second fastest growing city.
More than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. In the next decades, this will increase, especially in Africa and Asia. In 2020, over 80 percent of the population in Northern America was living in urban areas, the highest share in the world. In Africa, the degree of urbanization was about 40 percent, the lowest among all continents. Meeting the needs of a fast-growing population can be a challenge, especially in low-income countries. Therefore, there will be a growing necessity to implement policies to sustainably improve people’s lives in rural and urban areas.
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