Key Points:
There are more nuclear warheads in the world than there are number of billionaires and skyscrapers combined.
Introduction
Scarcity is often associated with luxury or exclusivity, but many of the world’s most influential and impactful things are rare simply because of the immense resources, coordination, or natural conditions required to create them.
This infographic ranks some of the rarest man-made, economic, military, and natural entities in the world, based on their total global quantities.
Power, Technology, and Global Infrastructure
At the top of the list are items that require vast technological capability and state-level resources:
- There are approximately 12,331 nuclear warheads worldwide, concentrated in the hands of just a few nations.
- Artificial satellites (12,149) now rival nuclear warheads in number, reflecting the rapid expansion of space-based technology.
- Data centers (11,035) form the backbone of the global digital economy, yet remain surprisingly scarce given the scale of internet usage.
Military and Urban Giants
Large-scale physical infrastructure is even rarer:
- The world operates 9,931 naval ships, this includes submarines and aircraft carriers as well.
- There are only 7,604 skyscrapers worldwide, despite their dominance in modern city skylines.
- There are 1,257 foreign military bases globally, with the United States operating the vast majority (around 877), while 18 other nations collectively have about 380, though exact figures vary by source and definition.
Wealth, Business, and Economic Rarity
Economic power is concentrated among an even smaller group:
- Only 5,522 public companies in the world are valued at $1 billion or more.
- The global population includes just 3,028 billionaires, making extreme personal wealth rarer than many forms of large infrastructure.
- Unicorn startups (1,649), private companies valued at $1 billion or more.
Culture, Nature, and Human Achievement
Some of the rarest things are neither technological nor economic:
- There are approximately 1,350 active volcanoes on Earth.
- 2,301 stadiums worldwide have a capacity of 10,000 or more spectators.
- World Heritage Sites (1,248) are among the rarest entries on the list, representing humanity’s most culturally and historically significant locations.
This comparison underscores a broader reality: instruments of military power are more numerous than many of the structures designed to benefit society at large. Whether measured in warheads, ships, or overseas bases, the scale of global military assets stands in stark contrast to the limited number of cultural landmarks and public institutions that serve humanity as a whole.
