Our World in Data

A century of progress in access to primary education— The world has made major progress in expanding access to education. A century ago, most children did not have the option to go to school at all. Today, access to education is widely seen as a basic right that governments are expected to provide. And most governments succeed — according to statistics compiled by UNESCO, about 9 in 10 children of primary school age are enrolled. The chart shows how this expansion unfolded for boys and girls separately. Throughout most of the 20th century, enrollment rose steadily, but boys remained more likely to be in school than girls. It was only towards the end of the century that this gap began to close. Today, the gap is small: around 91% of boys and 89% of girls are enrolled in primary school. While the gap is small globally, it remains large and persistent in some countries. In Chad, in Central Africa, about 80% of boys are enrolled in primary school, compared with 67% of girls. This difference has shown little change in recent years. (This Data Insight was written by Esteban Ortiz-Ospina.) Explore enrollment gender gaps for all countries and across education levels: https://lnkd.in/gq5ci2cp Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our Data Insights directly in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/gd_4ubhw

Humanity’s history is a continuous battle between us and the microbes. For most of our history, we were on the losing side. It wasn’t even close. We were losing very decisively. Billions of children died from infectious diseases. They were the main reason why child mortality was so high: No matter where or when they were born, around half died as children. The recurring epidemics of influenza, measles, cholera, diphtheria, the bubonic plague, and smallpox also killed large parts of the adult population. Within just a few years, the Black Death killed half of Europe’s population. The epidemics — especially of smallpox, but also measles, typhus, and other diseases — that the colonialists brought from Europe with them to the Americas often killed an even larger share of the population. The world today is very different. Infectious diseases are the cause of fewer than 1-in-6 deaths, and as the world made progress against the microbes, our lives became much longer. The global average life expectancy is now 73 years after life expectancy doubled in every world region. Read more in Max Roser’s article “Our history is a battle against the microbes: we lost terribly before science, public health, and vaccines allowed us to protect ourselves”: https://lnkd.in/gKZVpNV

How do we make sense of the world’s biggest challenges? Start with the data. In an age of misinformation, Our World in Data has become a global reference point for trusted, evidence-based information. From public health to economics to human rights, they bring together high-quality global data, helping policymakers, journalists, researchers, and the public understand the world and drive progress. “𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤, 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘖𝘝𝘐𝘋 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴.” — Professor Max Roser, Founder, Our World in Data Impact in numbers: 📈 100 million users annually 🌐 750 million+ page views in five years 🧭 Cited tens of thousands of times in research, media, and policy 💉 Trusted by governments and journalists during COVID-19 We’re proud to celebrate Our World in Data as part of our 20th anniversary — showcasing how data-driven insights are advancing understanding and action on global challenges. 🔗 Read the story: https://lnkd.in/eV7Kfa8Q

Maternal deaths have more than halved in the last forty years— A woman dying when she is giving birth to her child is one of the greatest tragedies imaginable. Every year, 260,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes. This number rose to 322,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the world has made continuous progress, and such tragic deaths have become much rarer, as the chart shows. The WHO has published data since 1985. Since then, the number of maternal deaths has more than halved. (This Data Insight was written by Max Roser.) Explore data on the number of maternal deaths, country by country: https://lnkd.in/gcpYkCDd

Interested in bite-sized, data-driven insights on the world and how it’s changing? Check out our growing catalog of over 350 Data Insights (DIs) — which we’ve just made easier to explore and discover what matters to you! Previously our DIs were only available as part of our dedicated feed, but now you can find them via our recently improved search, allowing you to filter and focus on what interests you most. Try it out: https://lnkd.in/gcsqQJfH We’ve also made it easier to subscribe to our Data Insights newsletter and get these delivered directly to your inbox, every few days. Join our growing community of 20,000! → https://lnkd.in/g6cAqPkc

Bangladesh has become much more resilient to cyclones, saving many lives— In 1970, Cyclone Bhola hit Bangladesh, killing more than 300,000 people. It was a strong cyclone, but not unprecedented. What made it so deadly was the lack of any early detection systems, alarms, or mass evacuation procedures. A huge storm surged into a densely populated area, and hundreds of thousands of people drowned in their homes. Since then, Bangladesh has become much more resilient to these events. The chart shows the country's annual death toll from storms, stretching back to 1960. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, a few large events claimed many lives. But in recent decades, the death toll has been low. That’s despite Bangladesh experiencing some extremely powerful cyclones. Cyclone Amphan (2020) and Mocha (2023) were both Category 5 — the strongest rating. Bangladesh offers one of the clearest examples of how humans are not helpless in the face of “natural” disasters: investments in weather forecasting, early warning systems, and proper evacuation procedures can protect communities and save lives. (This Data Insight was written by Hannah Ritchie.) This development is part of a longer-term and widespread success in reducing humanity’s vulnerability to storms, floods, earthquakes, and other hazards. Read more in Hannah’s article: https://lnkd.in/gbK7Rqa8

China’s internal combustion car sales peaked in 2017 as electric vehicles took off— Electric cars have become incredibly popular in China. In 2020, one in eighteen new cars sold was electric. By 2024, this had increased to one in two. This growth has pushed down sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, which run mostly on petrol. As you can see in the chart, sales of ICE cars peaked in 2017 and have declined since. The world reached peak ICE car sales just one year later. The displacement of petrol cars with electric ones is vital in decarbonizing transport. The rise of electric vehicles in China means the IEA expects oil demand to peak earlier than previously projected. Here, “electric cars” include fully battery-electric ones and plug-in hybrids. In China, 56% of them were fully battery-electric. (This Data Insight was written by Hannah Ritchie.) Track data on the evolution of electric cars across the world: https://lnkd.in/dsF-8vWS

From 5% to 76% in 30 years: Kenya has made substantial progress in providing access to electricity— Those with access to electricity take many of its benefits for granted: food refrigeration reduces waste, the radio can keep us company during the day, and light at night makes it possible to study or get together after sunset. According to data published by the World Bank, 30 years ago, only 5% of people in Kenya had access to basic electricity and its benefits. Since then, the country has made substantial progress, as the chart shows: by 2023, 76% of Kenyans had access to a basic electricity supply. (This Data Insight was written by Max Roser.) Explore our world map and charts of the share of the population with access to electricity: https://lnkd.in/eSHm4ZP Visit the feed of all of our Data Insights: https://lnkd.in/g6cAqPkc

✍️ New article! What do a tonne of potatoes, gravel, coal, and copper have in common? Not much, except that they all weigh the same, and are treated exactly the same in a metric called the “material footprint”. The material footprint sums up the weight of all the resources used within an economy. So if a country’s material footprint is 60 million tonnes, it extracts 60 million tonnes of “stuff” per year. This includes both non-renewable resources like metals and fossil fuels, and “renewable” ones like crops and wood. The scarcity or environmental impact of different resources is not considered, so every kilogram of stuff is considered just as important as every kilogram of something else. In the chart you can see the material footprint of the European Union. Some readers may not be familiar with this metric, but it has gained increasing popularity in environmental discussions and international policy. For example, it’s included as a key metric in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. However, for reasons we explain in our new article, this metric isn't particularly helpful in understanding the sustainability of resource use or its environmental impacts. Rather than helping us tackle some of our biggest environmental and resource challenges, it can obscure our understanding and take our focus away from the most pressing problems. Read more in the new article by Hannah Ritchie: https://lnkd.in/ecP_QHRq

Over many generations, better nutrition and lower disease have led to people becoming taller— Poor nutrition and illness can limit human growth, so long-term improvements in living conditions are often reflected in increases in average height. At the individual level, height depends on many other factors, but genetics plays a particularly important role. Not all short people are undernourished or sick, and not all tall people are necessarily healthy. However, when we look at population averages across generations, broad patterns in nutrition and disease burden can play a visible role. This is why historians often use height as an indirect measure of living conditions. By examining historical changes in height, researchers can gain insights into living standards during periods when little or no other data is available. This chart presents estimates from Jörg Baten and Matthias Blum, published in the European Review of Economic History (2014). The lines show the average height of men by decade of birth in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany, from 1710 to 1980. For the earlier period, the estimates are based mainly on military conscription records (which measured young men eligible for service), so they are not fully representative of the entire population. These historical data points are less representative than modern survey data, but the changes are large enough that the overall pattern is meaningful even if exact levels carry some uncertainty. The chart shows how rapidly average height rose in these countries during the 20th century, a trend consistent with major improvements in health and nutrition. (This Data Insight was written by Esteban Ortiz-Ospina.) Explore the data for other countries: https://lnkd.in/g2WD8z-C