Competition entry >Information is Beautiful (first prize) December 2011 Everyone seems to be panicking about the financial problems in Europe, however few seem to be aware of how this mess came about. In this visualisation I have examined two very important conflicting factors, gross domestic product (GDP) and government debt. GDP is a measure of growth and is represented by a green upwards progression on the chart, while debt is shown in red draining downwards. Per capita figures are used to allow fair comparisons between countries to be made, while also providing amounts which are easier to comprehend and put into perspective. With these two factors pulling against each other the net result is shown in-between the two with debt displayed as a percentage of GDP. This visualisation makes it all to clear why Greece, Italy and Ireland have been in the headlines recently, as well as demonstrating the effects of the recession on the other countries. Click image above to enlarge or here for an iPad friendly >PDF