Graduation gifts for economics and social science graduates
Something for the first flat that is not a framed certificate. Data posters from £2.99, or a personalised poster of the world the year they started.
See the picks The personalised year posterGifts → Graduation gifts
Graduation gifts have a specific problem: the recipient is about to move somewhere small, and probably twice more after that. Anything bulky is a liability. Anything sentimental gets put in a box.
A poster survives the move, fits the first flat, and — if you pick the right one — says something about what they just spent three years doing.
How to choose
The strongest option is the year, not the subject. A personalised poster set to the year they started university marks the thing that actually happened, and it stays meaningful long after they have stopped caring about the reading list.
If you want it subject-specific, pick the chart closest to what they specialised in rather than the most generic one. An economics graduate who wrote a dissertation on trade would rather have the exports chart than a generic world map.
Buy the printable if they are moving abroad. £3.99, no shipping, and they can print it once they have an address that will hold still.
The picks
Prices shown are for the printed matte poster. Most designs are also sold as a printable download at £3.99 and a phone wallpaper pack at £2.99.
World GDP 2026
The world economy the year they graduated into it.
£12.99 printed
World’s Biggest Economies 2026
The top 5, 10 and 25 economies, broken out.
£12.99 printed
The World’s Biggest Research Powerhouses 2023
Research output by country — apt for anyone heading into a PhD.
£12.99 printed
Adam Smith Portrait
Adam Smith, for the ones who took the theory seriously.
£11.99 printed
The World’s Biggest High-tech Exporters 2024
High-technology exports, for the trade and innovation specialists.
£12.99 printed
The World’s Most Populous Countries
Population by country, for the geographers and demographers.
£12.99 printed
Printed, printable or wallpaper?
Every design here comes in three forms. The printed matte poster is made to order on 189 gsm paper and posted unframed. The printable download is £3.99, arrives instantly, and comes in four frame ratios with a printing guide — the right call if you have left it late or want to print large locally. The phone wallpaper pack is £2.99 for three designs, which makes it the only thing on this site that works as a genuine sub-£5 Secret Santa.
Questions
What is the best gift if they are moving abroad straight after?
The £3.99 printable download. There is nothing to ship, nothing to damage in transit, and they can print it at a size that suits wherever they land.
They are going on to a master’s — does that change anything?
Not much, though the research output chart tends to land better with people heading into academia than the pure economics ones.
Do the posters come framed?
No. They ship rolled and unframed, which keeps postage sensible and lets the recipient match their own frames. All sizes are standard, so shop-bought frames fit.
Where does the data come from?
Each poster names its source and year on the print itself — World Bank, UN, IMF, SIPRI or Our World in Data, depending on the dataset. Nothing here is invented or rounded for effect.
What size should I get?
These are dense graphics with a lot of small countries on them. If it is going to be the main thing on a wall, go large — at the smallest sizes the smaller countries get tight.
The year, not the subject
If you only take one suggestion from this page: set the personalised year poster to the year they started, not the year they finished.
The personalised year poster Browse the shop