Data Insights

Bite-sized insights on how the world is changing, published every few days.

China is moving much faster on electric cars than the EU or the United States

A line graph illustrates the share of new cars sold that are electric in three regions: China, the European Union, and the United States from 2020 to 2023. The vertical axis indicates the percentage of electric cars, ranging from 0% to 40%, with marked points at 2%, 6%, 10%, and 22%. 

In 2020, China starts at 2%, showing a steady upward trend, culminating at 38% in 2023. The European Union begins similarly at 6%, increasing to 22% by 2023. The United States, starting at 2%, progresses to 10% over the same period, showing the slowest growth among the three.

The graph highlights China's significant lead over both the EU and the US in the adoption of electric cars. 

Data source is the International Energy Agency, specifically from the Global EV Outlook 2024 report. A note indicates that in China and the EU, two-thirds of these cars are fully electric, while in the US, 80% are.

Road transport is responsible for around three-quarters of global carbon dioxide emissions from transport. Switching from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles is an important solution to decarbonize our economies.

This chart shows the change in share of new cars that were electric in China, the European Union (EU), and the United States (US) between 2020 and 2023. This includes fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars, though most are fully electric.

In 2020, electric cars were rare everywhere. But by 2023, over one-third of new vehicles in China were electric, compared to less than a quarter in the EU and under a tenth in the US.

While we only have annual data up to 2023, preliminary figures suggest that in 2024, electric cars outsold conventional ones for the first time in China.

Explore data on electric car sales for more countries

In some countries, women still don’t have the same freedom to work as men

A world map that highlights countries where women face restrictions on their right to work compared to men. The areas shaded in dark red indicate where husbands can prevent their wives from working, or where women require additional permissions for employment. Included text notes specific examples: Afghanistan, where the Taliban imposes strict restrictions on women's right to work outside the home, and Yemen, where women may work but often need permission from a male guardian and could face legal repercussions if they do not comply. The map is surrounded by a header that reads, "Where are women not allowed to take the same jobs as men?" and provides context about the legal implications of these restrictions. Data sources listed at the bottom include the World Bank's report titled "Women, Business and the Law" for the year 2024, with a note stating that the data is from 2023. The copyright attribution is indicated as CC BY.

Many previous generations of women in my family would not have been allowed to do the work I do today — even if computers, the Internet, and Our World in Data had existed then. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case where I live: I’ve had the same right to get an education, work, and build a career as my brother.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case everywhere.

The map highlights the countries where women had legal restrictions on their rights to work in formal employment in 2023. All are in the Middle East, North Africa, or Sub-Saharan Africa.

These restrictions can include the need for permission or documentation from a male family member — such as a husband or brother — to work, or legal consequences if they don’t follow working restrictions.

While nearly 20 countries still have these legal barriers for women, this number was much larger in the past: in 1970, it was almost 70.

This data only reflects legal restrictions on working rights. In other countries, strong social or cultural pressures still mean that women are less likely to be in formal employment than men, even if they’re legally allowed to.

Explore more data on female participation in the workforce

Women in the US spend more time with children than men do, across all ages

A line graph illustrates the daily hours spent with children by women and men in the U.S., across men and women's lifetimes.

The y-axis indicates hours per day spent with children, ranging from 0 to 6 hours. The x-axis represents the ages from 15 to 80. 

Notable points include:
- Women aged 35 spend more than 5 hours daily with children.
- Men aged 35 spend about 3 hours daily with children.

Overall, the graph demonstrates that women consistently spend more time with children than men across all ages.

Data source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023). Note: The analysis considers underage children related to the surveyed individual and those living in the same household (e.g. step-children) and includes all time spent with the child in the same room.

In the United States, women spend more time with children than men. This is true for adults of any age.

The difference is especially large for people in their 20s and 30s. For example, at age 35, women spend an average of five hours per day with children, while men spend around three hours. (Considered here are people’s children, step and foster children, grandchildren, and other family members under 18.)

Although the gap is smaller for older people, even in later life, women spend more time with children than men.

This gap reflects traditional gender roles, where women do more childcare and less paid work. But it also has broader implications: women spend less time with friends and alone than men, which may affect their social connections, leisure, and well-being.

This data comes from the American Time Use Survey by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Learn more about how men and women spend their time throughout life

Every global region has seen a steep rise in mobile phone subscriptions

The visualization illustrates the increase in mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people across various global regions from the year 2000 to 2023. Each region is represented by a line graph with specific data points.

- North America: Increased from 38 subscriptions in 2000 to 110 in 2023.
- Europe and Central Asia: Rose from 34 in 2000 to 128 in 2023.
- Latin America and Caribbean: Grew from 12 in 2000 to 112 in 2023.
- East Asia and Pacific: Expanded from 11 in 2000 to 130 in 2023.
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Increased from 2 in 2000 to 89 in 2023.
- South Asia: Went from less than 1 in 2000 to 84 in 2023.

The chart notes that the data source is the World Bank with a publication year of 2025, and it explains that the number can exceed 100 in instances where individuals may have multiple subscriptions.

Mobile phones have achieved what few technologies do: they’ve been adopted rapidly by people all over the world, in both rich and poor regions.

The chart shows how mobile subscriptions grew between 2000 and 2023. This is given per 100 people in each world region. If the number is over 100, it means some people own more than one mobile device. (This data doesn’t tell us the percentage of people with a phone, as some individuals own multiple devices.)

Mobile phone subscriptions have risen sharply everywhere in just a few decades. Even in the poorest parts of the world, like Sub-Saharan Africa, subscriptions grew from just 2 per 100 people to 89. In South Asia, they went from less than 1 to 84.

Still, this rise matters because mobile phones allow people to learn, connect, and build, even in places without physical infrastructure (like roads or banks). For example, mobile money systems enable people to save, send, and receive money without needing a bank branch or an Internet connection. This has helped millions improve their financial security.

Explore more data on mobile phone subscriptions

People in richer countries spend more on food, but it’s a smaller share of their overall spending

The image presents a scatter plot illustrating the relationship between the annual amount spent on food and the share of total consumer expenditure that is allocated to food across various countries. The x-axis represents the annual amount spent on food in US dollars, ranging from $0 to $4,000. The y-axis indicates the percentage of total expenditure spent on food, from 0% to 60%. 

Several key data points are highlighted: 

- Kenya, where the average food spending is $900, accounting for 58% of total expenditure.
- Kazakhstan appears on the plot, contributing to the overall trend of expenditure.
- The United States, where the average spending on food is $3,400, making up 10% of total spending.
- Switzerland, with an average food spending of $4,100, represents only 9% of total expenditure.
- Venezuela is also marked on the graph.

The title emphasizes that people in richer countries tend to spend more on food overall, yet this spending constitutes a smaller portion of their total spending. 

In the footer, the data source is referenced as the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) from 2023, indicating that the food expenditure is not adjusted for differences in living costs between countries. The graphic is licensed under Creative Commons BY, allowing for redistribution with proper attribution.

Three billion people worldwide cannot afford a healthy diet that gives them all the nutrients they need.

Most of these people live in low- to middle-income countries, where people have less money to spend on food. You might rightly guess that people in richer countries tend to spend more on food — but they also spend a smaller share of overall spending on food. You can see this in the chart, where each dot represents one country in 2022.

The average budget in Switzerland for food consumed at home was more than four times that of Kenya (when measured in US dollars). But food made up less than 10% of Swiss consumer spending, compared to almost 60% in Kenya.

This means people in richer countries don’t only have more money to spend on food; they also have far more left to spend on other important resources, like housing, education, clothing, and health.

Read more in my article “Engel's Law: Richer people spend more money on food, but it makes up a smaller share of their income” →

One in six people live in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it accounts for two-thirds of global extreme poverty

This visual representation displays two vertical bar graphs side by side. The left graph indicates the share of the global population, showing that Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 16% of the world's total population, while the majority resides in a section labeled "Rest of the World." The right graph illustrates the share of people living in extreme poverty, defined as those living on less than $2.15 per day. Here, Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 67% of the global population living in extreme poverty, contrasting sharply with the much smaller percentage attributed to the Rest of the World. 

Text on the left states, "16% of all people live in Sub-Saharan Africa," and an arrow points towards it. The text on the right concludes with, "...but 67% of all people in extreme poverty live there." The infographic is attributed to Our World in Data, with a footer noting the data is sourced from the World Bank for the year 2024. The image is licensed under CC BY.

Every twelfth person in the world still lives in extreme poverty. That means surviving on less than $2.15 per day (adjusted for differences in living costs between countries).

For many, that means struggling to afford nutritious food, not being able to afford basic healthcare, safe sanitation, or electricity.

So, where do most people in extreme poverty live? The chart shows that Sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to just 16% of the global population, now accounts for 67% of people living in extreme poverty.

This distribution is very different from 25 years ago. In 2000, Asia was home to most of the world’s population living in extreme poverty. However, strong economic growth in recent decades has led to steep reductions in poverty. Progress in Sub-Saharan Africa has been much slower.

If we're serious about ending extreme poverty worldwide, supporting economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa has to be a top priority. The recent progress achieved by some African countries reminds us that meaningful change is within reach.

Explore more data on extreme poverty

Most food is transported by boat, so food miles are a relatively small part of the carbon footprint of most diets

A bar chart displaying information about global food miles and their associated greenhouse gas emissions. The chart has two main sections: the left side indicates the share of global food miles by mode of transportation, while the right side shows the greenhouse gas emissions in grams required to move one kilogram of food one kilometer.

- Shipping accounts for 59% of global food miles, with a low emission of 20 grams.
- Road transport is responsible for 31% of food miles, emitting 400 grams per kilogram.
- Rail contributes 10% to the total, with 60 grams of emissions.
- A small percentage, 0.2%, represents food transported by air, which has the highest emissions at 1130 grams.

The chart suggests that shipping is a very carbon-efficient method of transporting food compared to other means. The data source is credited to Joseph Poore and Thomas Nemecek, 2018.

Many people are interested in how they can eat in a more climate-friendly way. I’m often asked about the most effective way to do so.

While we might intuitively think that “food miles” — how far our food has traveled to reach us — play a big role, transport accounts for just 5% of the global emissions from our food system.

This is because most of the world’s food comes by boat, and shipping is a relatively low-carbon mode of transport. The chart shows that transporting a kilogram of food by boat emits 50 times less carbon than by plane and about 20 times less than trucks on the road.

So, food transport would be a much bigger emitter if all our food were flown across the world — but that’s only the case for highly perishable foods, like asparagus, green beans, some types of fish, and berries.

This means that what you eat and how it is produced usually matters more than how far it’s traveled to reach you.

Read my article “You want to reduce the carbon footprint of your food? Focus on what you eat, not whether your food is local”

Internet use became the norm for humanity only very recently

A line chart titled "Most of humanity has been connected to the Internet for only a brief moment in history" displays the percentage of the global population that used the Internet in the last three months. The vertical axis ranges from 0% to 75%, with key data points indicated. 

In 1997, only 2% of the world’s population used the Internet. By 2009, one in four people used the Internet. The year 2019 is highlighted as the first year that half of the global population (53%) was online, and by the most recent data in 2023, the percentage of Internet users rose to 67%.

Data source is credited to the International Telecommunication Union, referenced via the World Bank, with a Creative Commons Attribution license.

For many readers in high-income countries, the Internet might no longer feel revolutionary. But when I was born in 1997, only 2% of the world's population used the Internet. By 2019, that number had risen to over 50%; today, two-thirds of the global population is online.

It’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the novelty and speed of this change for two reasons. First, much of the potential progress enabled by the Internet is still unfolding, from expanding educational opportunities through free online resources to reducing the cost of sending money home for migrants.

Second, it’s good to remember that in 2023, a third of people still didn’t use the Internet. Accelerating connectivity could give these individuals greater freedom and access to new opportunities. The United Nations aims to get more than 90% of people online by 2030. Some regions are still far from universal access, with just 43% of South Asia and 37% of Sub-Saharan Africa connected.

Explore more data on Internet use, country by country

How old are you compared to the rest of the world?

A line graph titled "How old are you, compared to most of the world?" is displayed. The y-axis represents age in years, ranging from 0 to 45, while the x-axis represents the years from 1950 to 2100. The line starts below 25 in 1950, gradually rises to about 30 in 2020, and goes above 40 by 2100. The data points are connected by a smooth, dark blue line with dotted segments for future projections. Also noted is a data source, indicating that the information comes from the United Nations' World Population Prospects of 2024. The graphic is credited with "CC BY" for licensing.

Describing someone as “young” or “old” is rather arbitrary. However, something we can quantify is whether a given person is “young” or “old” compared to the rest of the world.

Imagine we sorted all 8 billion people alive today from youngest to oldest. The person standing right in the middle would be about 30 years old; that's the median age today. The chart shows the global median age and the UN’s projection to 2100.

In 2025, if you are over 30, you are older than most people in the world.

The chart also shows that if you were born in 1950, you stopped being “young” when you passed 20, as that was the median age in 1970.

As birth rates decline and life expectancy increases, the median age is expected to keep rising until the end of the century.

Whether you’re younger or older than most, the world is still relatively young, and this matters for many aspects of society, from the demand for resources and jobs to long-term planning for healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

If you want to dig deeper into this data, have a look at our Population & Demography Data Explorer →

Once widespread, smoking is now uncommon in Great Britain

Line chart showing the decline in smoking among adults over age 16 in Great Britain from 1974 to 2023. In 1974, around 51% of men and 41% of women reported smoking cigarettes. Over the decades, these rates fell steadily. By 2023, only about 12% of men and 10% of women reported smoking. The gap between men and women remained fairly consistent, with men having slightly higher rates throughout the period. The chart illustrates a dramatic and sustained decline in smoking for both sexes.

The data is sourced from the GLS & OPN surveys (2023) and published by OurWorldinData.org under a Creative Commons BY license.

Fifty years ago, almost half the adults in Great Britain smoked cigarettes, but this has become much less common.

In the 1970s, half of men and 40% of women over the age of 16 reported smoking cigarettes. Since then, smoking rates have steadily fallen. By 2023, this was just 12% of men and 10% of women.

This dramatic decline is the result of decades of public health efforts such as clear warnings on cigarette packs, bans on tobacco advertising, indoor smoking restrictions, and support to help people quit. Newer technologies — including vaping products, nicotine patches, and medications — have also helped many people quit.

Despite this, smoking remains the leading risk factor for preventable death in the UK, raising the risk of many cancers, heart attacks, and strokes. Fewer smokers means fewer people suffering from these serious diseases.

Read more about the global problem of smoking in an article by my colleague Max

Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico account for 59% of people living in poverty in Latin America

A bar chart illustrating the number of people living in poverty in Latin America in 2023. The chart highlights that Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico account for 59% of the population living on less than $3.65 per day, totaling 52.2 million individuals. Brazil is represented by the longest bar, showing 23.5 million people, followed by Venezuela with 15.5 million and Mexico with 13.2 million. Other countries displayed include Colombia (10.2 million), Guatemala (5.8 million), Peru (4.3 million), and several others, with the smallest bars indicating very few affected, such as Uruguay (0.1 million) and Costa Rica (0.3 million). The chart provides a clear visual representation of poverty levels across the region.

Data source: Chang, Evans and Rivas Herrera (2024), Inter-American Development Bank. Note: Data in international dollars at 2017 prices, adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries. The graph is licensed under CC BY.

A recent report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) highlights the high concentration of poverty in Latin America. Across the region, around 89 million people — more than one in seven — live on less than $3.65 a day.

Poverty can be measured using various poverty lines; here, we’re looking at the $3.65 line, which the World Bank uses to define poverty in lower-middle-income countries.

The chart shows that 52.2 million people living under this line are in just three countries — Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico — representing 59% of the region’s total.

As the report explains, while Brazil and Mexico don’t have the highest poverty rates, their large populations mean they have the largest number of people living below this line. Venezuela, in contrast, has a smaller population but one of the region’s highest poverty rates.

Identifying where poverty is most concentrated can help target efforts to reduce and eliminate it.

You can explore more data on poverty, including different poverty lines and world regions, in our Poverty Data Explorer

Recent surges in house prices have affected many — but not all — countries in the European Union

A chart titled "There is no universal trend in housing prices in European countries" presents price changes of residential properties purchased by households in the 12 most populous European Union countries. It displays a grid layout. 

In the top row from left to right: 
- Portugal shows a steep increase of +50% from 2010 to 2023.
- Czechia indicates a +44% rise.
- Sweden reflects a +36% increase.

In the second row:
- Germany has a +33% change.
- Netherlands exhibits a +17% increase.
- Poland shows a +11% rise.

In the third row: 
- Belgium and France both have a modest increase of +6%.
- Greece shows a decrease of -9%.

In the fourth row: 
- Spain indicates a decline of -13%.
- Romania has a notable decrease of -27%.
- Italy shows a -28% drop.

The chart indicates that data has been adjusted for inflation and cites Eurostat as the data source for 2025. A note at the bottom reminds viewers about the inflation adjustment.

One of the most pressing problems I hear from European friends is that they cannot find an affordable place to live. Housing costs represent one of the largest expenses for most Europeans. While many people rent, purchasing a home remains a goal for some.

The chart shows the change in house prices of residential properties purchased by households in 12 countries across the European Union since 2010. In many, prices have increased sharply (even after inflation). Portugal shows the most dramatic increase, with prices rising by 50%.

But this large increase has not happened everywhere. Rises have been more modest in France and Belgium, and prices have actually fallen considerably in Romania and Italy.

These huge differences matter to young Europeans hoping to find their first home after leaving their family house.

Every year, more than half of the global area burned by wildfire is in Africa

A bar graph illustrating the share of global area burned by wildfires across different regions from 2012 to 2024. The graph is divided vertically into segments representing five regions: Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North and South America. The deep red color represents Africa, which dominates the graph, showing more than half of the total area burned. Other regions, represented by lighter colors, fill the remaining sections of the graph. The year labels are placed along the horizontal axis, indicating the timeline of the data. The title emphasizes that more than half of the area burned by wildfire is in Africa. The data source is the Global Wildfire Information System, with the year of the data being noted as 2025. The graph is under a Creative Commons BY license.

It’s often difficult to understand the scale of wildfires globally. That’s because most news coverage focuses on only a few countries.

News headlines might be filled with stories about large fires in Greece, Portugal, the United States, or Canada, but when we look at the data, the global total is no higher than usual.

This is because the global trend is so strongly dictated by the extent of fires in Africa, which we almost never hear about. As you can see in the chart, Africa experiences more than half of the burned area globally every year. In some years, it’s as much as two-thirds of the total.

Whether it’s a “high” or “low” year for wildfires globally largely reflects whether it’s a high or low year for Africa. These global trends don’t tell us much about the extent of wildfires in other regions.

Track global, regional, and country-level data on wildfires, which we update weekly →

In several countries, air travel emissions now surpass pre-pandemic levels

This image presents a series of bar graphs showing the changes in air travel CO2 emissions for Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and Portugal from 2019 to 2024. Each graph displays annual emissions in millions of tonnes.

The top left graph for Greece shows a dip in emissions during 2020 followed by a rise, ending with emissions projected to be higher than in 2019 by 2024. The label "2019 CO2 emissions" is highlighted in red.

The top right graph for Egypt also illustrates a significant rise, increasing from 2.9 million tonnes in 2019 to 4.3 million tonnes by 2024.

The bottom left graph for Turkey demonstrates a continuous upward trend in emissions from 2019 to 2024, starting near 0 and reaching up to 15 million tonnes.

The bottom right graph for Portugal shows fluctuations, with emissions dropping below 2019 levels in 2021, but returning above it by 2024.

The data source for this information is OECD, with a note explaining that the figures include emissions from both domestic and international aviation and that international aviation emissions are assigned to the country of departure. The data pertains specifically to CO2 emissions from commercial passenger flights only.

Global air travel collapsed in 2020 as lockdowns and travel restrictions took effect. With fewer flights, CO₂ emissions from commercial aviation fell sharply. The chart shows Egypt as an example, where they dropped by more than half.

As air travel rebounded, emissions rose too — in many countries, they’ve now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. These countries are highlighted in red on the chart.

Emissions from flying make up about 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, but air travel has one of the highest carbon footprints per passenger. As demand grows, reducing its impact will be important for meeting climate goals.

Read my colleague Hannah Ritchie’s article to learn more about aviation’s contribution to global CO₂ emissions →

Japan’s cherry trees have been blossoming earlier due to warmer spring temperatures

A scatter plot showing the dates of peak cherry tree (Prunus jamasakura) blossoms in Kyoto, Japan, with the range of dates on the y-axis showing from March 11 to April 30. 

The vertical axis is labeled with dates in late March to late April, while the horizontal axis ranges from the years 812 to 2025. 

Pink dots represent individual blossom dates, with a darker red line marking the 20-year average blooming date, which trends earlier over time. 

The note at the bottom clarifies that the average calculation requires at least five years of data within the 20-year interval and mentions that dates may vary by one day during leap years. 

The data source is Yasuyuki Aono, from published work in 2021 and personal communications in 2025.

The peak flowering of cherry trees in Kyoto, Japan, has been recorded since the ninth century. Yasuyuki Aono and colleagues from the Osaka Prefecture University collated this data from historical diaries and chronicles, indicating the dates on which cherry blossom viewing parties had been held or other observations of peak blossom.

In 2025, the peak cherry blossom happened on April 4th.

This long-run data is a proxy measure for how the climate has changed. The onset of cherry blossoms is linked with warmer temperatures. Since the early 20th century, the combined effects of urbanization and higher temperatures due to climate change have gradually moved the peak blossom earlier in the year.

Explore this data in our interactive visualization

The Arctic is the world’s region that has warmed the most, followed by Europe

A line graph titled "Every world region and ocean has warmed — the Arctic Ocean and Europe much more than others" displays the temperature differences between each decade's average surface temperature and a baseline average from 1991 to 2020, measured in degrees Celsius. The vertical axis has temperature values ranging from -2°C to 1°C. The horizontal axis lists decades from the 1940s to the 2010s.

The lines represent various regions and oceans, with the Arctic Ocean and Europe showing significant warming trends. The Arctic Ocean's line rises sharply, indicating an increase of 2.8°C in the 2010s compared to the 1940s. Europe's line also trends upward, showing a smaller but notable increase. Other regions and oceans are represented by less pronounced lines, which fluctuate around the average line.

In the footer, the data source is noted as "Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (2025) CC BY."

The world is heating up. By the 2010s, the global average temperature of the air above the surface was about 1°C higher than in the 1940s. But some regions are warming much faster.

The chart shows how average surface air temperatures have changed each decade across continents and oceans compared to historical averages.

The Arctic warmed more than any other region — by the 2010s, it was 2.8°C hotter than in the 1940s.

In the Arctic, melting sea ice has amplified this temperature increase: ice reflects sunlight, so having less of it leads to more warming.

Europe was in second. Since land heats up faster than water, its mostly land-based geography has increased its rate of warming. It has also seen a rapid reduction in aerosols from air pollution. These improvements in air quality can inadvertently increase temperatures because there are fewer aerosols to reflect sunlight.

You can explore how temperatures in each continent, ocean, and country have changed over time →

Most of the world’s foreign aid comes from governments, not philanthropic foundations

A bar graph titled "More than 95% of foreign aid comes from governments, rather than private donors" illustrates the distribution of foreign aid in 2023. The left portion shows a large maroon bar labeled "Foreign aid from governments," reaching $232 billion. The right section features a smaller tan bar labeled "Foreign aid from private donors," indicating $11 billion. A note beside the tan bar states that 4.5% of foreign aid came from private philanthropic donors. The footnote specifies that "Private donors" refers to philanthropic foundations reporting to OECD and excludes many individual charity donations or private investments. The data source is attributed to OECD (2024) and indicates that the information is shared under a Creative Commons BY license.

Foreign aid provides millions worldwide with life-saving treatments, emergency food supplies, and humanitarian assistance.

But where does most of this money come from: the governments of rich countries, or wealthy individuals?

95% of foreign aid comes from governments. Less than 5% comes from private philanthropic donors. This data focuses on larger private donations in the form of grants; it does not include the smaller, individual charity donations you or I might make.

This means that those of us living in wealthy democracies — which is many of our readers — play a key role in determining the size of the global foreign aid budget. If we want more aid to reach the world’s poorest, we hold some power through the governments we elect and the priorities we demand of them.

Most of our governments — including my own in the United Kingdom — do not meet the UN’s target of giving 0.7% of their gross national income in aid. In fact, the UK has recently announced plans to cut its aid budget significantly.

Explore global data on who gives and receives foreign aid

Vaccination eliminated polio from the United States

A line graph titled "Reported polio cases in the United States" displays the number of reported polio cases from 1910 to 2022. The vertical axis represents the number of cases, ranging from 0 to 60,000, while the horizontal axis indicates the years. The graph shows a dramatic peak in polio cases around 1952, with over 58,000 cases reported. Following this peak, there is a noticeable decline in cases, reaching nearly zero by the early 1960s, reflecting the impact of vaccination efforts. The graph includes a note stating it accounts for both wild and vaccine-derived poliovirus infections, whether indigenous or imported.

In the footer are the data sources: Public Health Reports (1942), United States Census Bureau (1945), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023). The graph is attributed to "Our World in Data" and is licensed under CC BY.

Polio is an infectious disease that primarily impacts children, and can cause paralysis and even death. In the first half of the twentieth century, thousands to tens of thousands of people suffered from paralysis from this terrible disease every year.

The first injectable vaccine against polio was introduced in the United States in 1955. Six years later, a second vaccine was introduced, which could be taken orally.

By 1961, over 85% of US children under ten had received at least one vaccination against polio.

As a result, the last wild polio outbreak in the US occurred in 1979, and the disease was officially eliminated from North, Central, and South America in 1994. This means it was not spreading within this region, and any new cases were only seen among individuals infected elsewhere.

Read our colleague Max’s article about the global fight against polio

Transport now emits more than electricity and heat in some countries

A data visualization titled "Globally, electricity and heat produce the most emissions, but in some countries, transport now emits more," showing emissions measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents over a 100-year timescale. 

The main section features a line graph for the world, indicating that electricity and heat (in blue) contribute significantly to carbon emissions, peaking around 200 million tonnes, while transport (in pink) shows a gradual increase. There are three smaller graphs for the United Kingdom, Austria, and the overall world, demonstrating trends from 1990 to 2021. 

In the United Kingdom's graph, transport emissions appear fairly stable with some fluctuations, while electricity and heat emissions show a decline after peaking. Austria's graph follows a similar pattern. The gray lines represent other sectors, which include aviation, shipping, buildings, and waste, displaying lower and more stable levels of emissions across the graphs.

The footer notes that the data source is Climate Watch from 2024 and includes a note on what is categorized as "Other" emissions. It states that land-use change emissions are not included in these data.

Globally, electricity and heating remain the largest sources of carbon emissions, but in some countries, transport has overtaken them.

In Spain and Austria, heating and electricity emissions fell while transport rose. In the UK, both declined.

The trend reflects the decarbonization of electricity, driven by the transition to renewables, while transport emissions remain high due to continued reliance on fossil fuels.

As countries work toward net-zero targets, addressing transport emissions will be critical in the fight against climate change.

Explore more in our data on greenhouse emissions

A flu strain has likely gone extinct since 2020

A line graph titled "Confirmed cases of influenza B Yamagata" shows weekly confirmed cases of B Yamagata influenza worldwide from various types of influenza surveillance. The vertical axis represents the number of cases, ranging from zero to 5,000, while the horizontal axis covers the years from 2013 to 2025. The graph indicates significant fluctuations in case numbers over the years, with a noticeable peak just below 5,000 cases around 2019, followed by a steep decline. A data source note mentions that only a fraction of potential influenza cases is tested by labs for confirmation and strain identification. The data comes from FluNet, World Health Organization, and is dated 2023. The graph is licensed under CC BY.

Flu viruses spread every year and cause seasonal outbreaks. But one type, called influenza B Yamagata, may have completely disappeared.

The chart shows global confirmed cases of B Yamagata flu over time. Before 2020, it peaked each flu season. However, no confirmed cases have been reported worldwide in the last five years.

This likely happened because COVID-19 precautions — such as social distancing, masks, and travel restrictions — sharply reduced social contact. With fewer opportunities to spread from person to person, B Yamagata couldn’t sustain transmission and eventually died out.

Regulatory health agencies like the WHO, European Medicines Agency, and US CDC have recommended removing it from flu vaccines. This could allow room for other strains to be included in seasonal flu vaccines, improving overall vaccine effectiveness.

Explore the data on influenza in our data explorer

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