They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Which must mean that data visualization is worth an indeterminate amount of numbers… right? Regardless, it’s time we had a round-up of some of the most visually stunning complex data sets out there. Here are fifteen of my faves!

1. Weather around the world

Ventusky is a meteorological data viz that shows you what the weather is like across the globe. As you can see, it’s a constant state of mild precipitation in the UK.

Click through to check out the animated version.

2. The size of all known objects in our universe

This impressive example by Nikon showcases the relative size of objects arranged on a single scale, ranging from the miniscule to the mammoth.

3. Wimbledon 2016 winners and losers

This score table instantly displays who beat who in this year’s Wimbledon tennis championships. Go Muzza!

4. Twitter reaction to goals during Euro 2016

Here, Twitter uses its own data to gauge excitement caused by goals during this year’s Euros.

It shows who scored, when, and the subsequent reaction online. You can filter by teams, rounds or players.

5. Britain’s diet in data

A fascinating insight into the changing diets of Britain, compiled by the Open Data Institute, using data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

6. Gay marriage state by state

From the New York Times, this visual shows the changing legislation regarding same-sex marriages across the United States.

7. The daily routines of famous creatives

Discover how some of the greatest minds spent their days.

From Maya Angelou to Charles Dickens, this colourful table provides an insight their daily routines.

Considering colour blindness in UX design (with five examples)

8. Wind flowing over the US

This mesmerising map shows the tracery of wind that’s flowing over the United States. Using data from the National Digital Forecast Database, it is able to show a live portrait.

Click through to watch.

9. Where do creatives cluster?

This series of visuals from NESTA depicts the distribution of creative workers throughout the UK, including those who work in ‘creative occupations’ defined by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

10. Most frequently requested skills in job adverts

NESTA again gives us an interesting look at the most sought-after skills for work, broken down into digital tech, creative, and other industries.

11. Two centuries of US immigration

A time-lapse visual showing the amount of immigration to the US over a period of two hundred years.

The animation from Metrocosm also highlights the top three countries for migration over time.

12. Country to country migration from 2010 to 2015

Another migration visual, this time showing net migration during the past five years.

13. Food hygiene in London-based businesses

Ever wonder how clean restaurant kitchens really are? This handy breakdown of food hygiene in London lists businesses by borough and rating.

One of Visual.ly specialisms is creating data visualisations and you’ll find more examples on their website.

14. Historical images of New York City mapped

A fascinating insight into old New York, this interactive map by the New York Public Library lets you view photographs relating to exact locations.

15. The lasting legacy of Miles Davis

Not all data visualisations have to be so serious…. this quirky example from Polygraph conveniently lists all the Wikipedia pages that mention Miles Davis. Because, why not?

17 visualisation tools to make your data beautiful