The 25 coolest charts we made in 2023

Throughout 2023, 538's visual journalists covered topics from how abortion access changed in the first full year after the Dobbs decision, to the faces of Congress after the historic ousting of the speaker of the House, to the absolute dominance of the National Football League over the other major sports leagues. A lot has changed over the last 12 months, but at least one thing's remained — our annual tradition of sharing some of our favorite, wackiest, most colorful and most creative charts and visualizations.

Without further ado, here are 25 of our favorite charts from 2023! Check out the stories associated with each chart listed at the bottom of this story, too!

Politics

Sports

Source Articles

Politics

1. Congress Today Is Older Than It's Ever Been
2. How House Republicans failed to elect a speaker
3. The Latest Updates On The 2024 Republican Presidential Primary
4. Which 2024 Republican Presidential Candidate Has The Most Endorsements?
5. Are We Headed For A Recession Or Not?
6. Over 100 Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws Passed In The Last Five Years — Half Of Them This Year
7. Biden's Cabinet Members Seem To Really Like Their Jobs
8. The Real Reason Presidential Candidates Form Exploratory Committees
9. In Red States, 'Gun Reform' Means Making It Easier To Buy And Carry Guns
10. A Texas Judge's Decision Could Reduce Abortion Access … Again
11. The GOP Is Trying To Tilt Montana's Senate Race In Its Favor. It Probably Won't Work.
12. Biden's Approval Rating Is Up. Will His Misplaced Classified Documents Bring It Down?
13. Over 66,000 People Couldn't Get An Abortion In Their Home State After Dobbs
14. How Biden Could Appoint More Judges Than Trump
15. If South Carolina Voted First In The Democratic Presidential Primary, Would Black Democrats Have A Stronger Voice?
16. Are Blue States Ready To Relax Their Bans On Later Abortions?
17. What Happens If North Carolina Bans Abortion? Or Ohio? Or Florida?
18. The Dobbs Divide

Sports

1. Why Valentina Shevchenko Is A Huge Favorite — And Jon Jones Isn't — At UFC 285
2. The Super Bowl Halftime Shows With The Most Star Power
3. The 5 Most Exciting Super Bowls Ever
4. Our New Live In-Game Win Probabilities Are Here For The NBA Playoffs
5. How Our NBA Predictions Work
6. How Massive The NFL Really Is, In 4 Charts
7. How Consistent Was Every Premier League Lineup This Season?