Data Insights
Bite-sized insights on how the world is changing, published every few days.
Yesterday
Internet use became the norm for humanity only very recently
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.
April 23, 2025
How old are you compared to the rest of the world?
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 →
April 21, 2025
Once widespread, smoking is now uncommon in Great Britain
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 →
April 18, 2025
Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico account for 59% of people living in poverty in Latin America
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.
April 16, 2025
Recent surges in house prices have affected many — but not all — countries in the European Union
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.
April 14, 2025
Every year, more than half of the global area burned by wildfire is in Africa
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 →
April 11, 2025
In several countries, air travel emissions now surpass pre-pandemic levels
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.
April 10, 2025
Japan’s cherry trees have been blossoming earlier due to warmer spring temperatures
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.
April 09, 2025
The Arctic is the world’s region that has warmed the most, followed by Europe
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 →
April 08, 2025
Most of the world’s foreign aid comes from governments, not philanthropic foundations
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.
April 07, 2025
Vaccination eliminated polio from the United States
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 →
April 04, 2025
Transport now emits more than electricity and heat in some countries
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.
April 03, 2025
A flu strain has likely gone extinct since 2020
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.
April 02, 2025
China reduced extreme poverty rapidly, but Indonesia hasn't been far behind
China is often the poster child for rapid reductions in poverty, and for good reason: in the early 1980s, over 90% of its population lived in extreme poverty, but by the early 2020s, that number had dropped to nearly zero.
Some people assume that China is the only reason global extreme poverty has declined. But that’s wrong: many other countries have seen dramatic reductions in poverty. Indonesia is one clear example; it’s shown alongside China on the chart.
In 1984, three-quarters of Indonesians lived on less than $2.15 per day. By 2023, this had fallen to less than 2%. While it didn’t quite match China’s decline, it has still been impressive. The number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen from 120 million to 5 million.
Note that the international poverty line is extremely low, defined as people living on less than $2.15 per day. But Indonesia has also made progress measured by higher poverty lines.
Explore progress against poverty across the world in our data explorer →
April 01, 2025
Four countries that have successfully reversed democratic decline in recent years
Several countries have recently managed to stop and even reverse the erosion of their democratic institutions.
The chart illustrates these turnarounds using the liberal democracy index from the Varieties of Democracy project. This index measures key aspects of democracy, such as the fairness of elections and checks on government power. It ranges from 0 (highly autocratic) to 1 (highly democratic).
The four countries in the chart all saw serious declines in democracy over the past 20 years—these declines are shown in red. In Thailand, democracy eroded quickly, while in Zambia, it happened more slowly.
Still, in each case, people resisted growing authoritarianism. As a result, these countries were able to partially or fully restore previous levels of liberal democracy.
These examples show that when democracy deteriorates, its fate is not sealed, and democratic institutions can be reclaimed.
Read more about how democratic decline has been reversed before in my article →
March 31, 2025
Twice as many young Brazilians die from homicide than road injuries
Homicide rates in Brazil are among some of the highest in the world, and young people are more likely to be victims.
Another large killer of young people is road injuries. But in Brazil, the number of homicide deaths among young people is twice as high as that of road fatalities.
You can see this in the chart: an estimated 48,000 people aged 15 to 49 years died by homicide in 2021 — almost double the 25,000 who died from road injuries.
These comparisons are based on data from the IHME’s Global Burden of Disease study. Note that estimates of homicides can vary by source, as explained by my colleagues Bastian Herre and Fiona Spooner.
Explore more data on homicide rates across the world, including comparisons of different sources →
March 28, 2025
The world is getting more of its electricity from renewables but less from nuclear power
The world needs to move away from fossil fuels to low-carbon power if we’re to reduce our carbon emissions and tackle climate change.
There are two key sources of low-carbon power: renewables (which include solar, wind, hydropower and others) and nuclear.
While rapid growth in solar and wind has increased the amount of power coming from renewables, a lack of enthusiasm for nuclear means it’s playing a shrinking role in the global electricity mix.
In the chart, you can see the share of global electricity coming from fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear since 1985. Since 2000, nuclear and renewables have followed very different trajectories. Back then, both categories made up a similar share of global electricity, but today, renewables make up more than three times as much: 30% compared to 9%.
The total amount of electricity produced by nuclear plants is almost exactly the same as it was two decades ago. But because the world produces much more electricity overall, its share of the electricity mix has declined.
Explore the electricity mix of different countries in our Energy Data Explorer →
March 27, 2025
At the peak of the HIV epidemic, AIDS caused more than half of all deaths in some countries
The HIV epidemic — which started in the early 1980s and continued into the 1990s — has had lasting impacts that continue today. Almost one million people still die from HIV/AIDS every year globally.
However, some countries were hit much harder than others.
In the chart, you can see the share of all deaths in a given year that were caused by HIV/AIDS in four countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that were badly affected.
At the height of the epidemic, more than half of all deaths in Zimbabwe and Botswana and almost 40% in South Africa and Namibia were caused by the disease.
Thankfully, interventions to prevent the spread of HIV and treatments such as antiretroviral therapy have reduced death rates across the world. But more than one in ten deaths in these countries are still caused by AIDS today.
Read our article on antiretroviral therapy and the millions of lives it has saved →
March 26, 2025
Life satisfaction in Bhutan is comparable to other countries of similar income levels
In 2008, Bhutan started measuring the “Gross Happiness Index” as an official metric to track the well-being of its population. As a result, it’s often coined the “Land” or “Kingdom of Happiness”.
Bhutan tracks gross happiness with in-depth surveys, which other countries do not. How does it compare across similar metrics where we can make these comparisons? Despite its reputation, it’s actually not an outlier.
Self-reported life satisfaction is one internationally comparable metric measured in the annual World Happiness Report. Respondents in every country are asked to rate their lives based on a 10-step ladder, where 0 represents the worst possible life, and 10 is the best.
Self-reported life satisfaction tends to be higher in richer countries, although there is a spread among countries with similar gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The chart plots one against the other.
For its income level, Bhutan has a fairly average life satisfaction score; in the global comparison, it’s about as happy as we would expect based on the incomes of people in the country.
March 25, 2025
Most births in Europe are to mothers in their thirties
For many decades, most children in Europe were born to mothers in their twenties. However, since the mid-1970s, there has been a steady increase in the number of women giving birth in their thirties.
As the chart shows, since 2015, women in their thirties have given birth to the greatest number of babies; in the same year, it became more common for a woman in her forties to give birth than for women in their teens.
Many factors are causing these changes, including women spending more years in education and developing their careers, easily accessible contraception, improvements in fertility treatment, and high childcare costs.
Explore at what age women are having children in your country →