The big hitters of 2011

The Economist most popular print edition articles of the year

They present an interactive "tree map" of top stories from the 2011 print edition, in which the size of each box represents relative popularity (measured in page views).


The failing economies of America and Europe stand out here, a grim reflection of the prevailing tale of 2011. Deposed leaders also feature: Silvio Berlusconi wins top spot; the death of Osama Bin Laden also proved popular. Colonel Qaddafi's capture just failed make the cut, however. In fact, our extensive coverage of the Arab spring is absent from the list. This year, it seems, readers were more interested in economic collapse than in the fall of dictators. In the long-run, the latter will hopefully prove to have been the more important theme of 2011.

1. 1."The man who screwed an entire country"Silvio Berlusconi's recordJun 9th
2. 2."Asia's lonely hearts"The decline of Asian marriageAug 20th
3. 3."Is this really the end?"The euro zoneNov 26th
4. 4."Shame on them"America's debtJul 7th
5. 5."Osama Bin Laden"ObituaryMay 5th
6. 6."Be afraid"The world economyOct 1st
7. 7."On the edge"Italy and the euroNov 24th
8. 9."What's wrong with America's economy?"Angst in the USApr 28th
9. 8."Time for a double dip"America's economyAug 6th
10. 10."Europe's rescue plan"Economic crisisOct 29th

Source: The Economist