This pie chart categorizes elements by their natural occurrence: primordial (from stellar nucleosynthesis), from radioactive decay, or purely synthetic (man-made).

Most elements are primordial, forged in stars and supernovae before Earth formed. A small group exists only as radioactive decay products - francium, radon, astatine, and polonium are examples. Synthetic elements (technetium, promethium, and all transuranic elements) don't occur naturally; they're created in nuclear reactors or accelerators.