Data Insights
Bite-sized insights on how the world is changing, published every few days.
August 08, 2024
The world gets more seafood from aquaculture than wild catch
There are two ways to produce seafood: catch fish in the wild or farm your own. Seafood farming is often called “aquaculture”. Aquaculture is dominated by the farming of fish, but also includes other organisms, such as crustaceans and aquatic plants.
Aquaculture has grown rapidly over the last few decades. In fact, as the chart shows, it has overtaken wild catch since 2013.
This has relieved some pressure on wild fish stocks: if this increased demand for fish had been satisfied by wild catch, then many more would be severely overexploited.
August 07, 2024
In rich countries, women have become a much bigger part of the workforce over the past 50 years
The chart shows that in wealthy countries, many more women are now in the workforce compared to 50 years ago.
Data from the OECD and researcher Clarence Long shows that in the late 1960s and 1970s, only 25% to 40% of women were economically active.
This number has increased to more than 50% in all countries shown. In Spain, for example, the share of women in the workforce more than doubled, going from about one in four to more than half.
Even with these increases, women’s participation in the workforce is still significantly lower than men's. However, women devote more time to unpaid work than men.
August 06, 2024
Death rates from outdoor air pollution tend to be highest across middle-income countries
Outdoor air pollution is a significant health issue that impacts well-being and mortality.
It can increase the risk of several leading causes of death, including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases like asthma.
This chart shows that death rates from outdoor air pollution vary widely across countries. These rates, measured as the number of premature deaths per 100,000 people, are based on data from the IHME's Global Burden of Disease study.
Outdoor air pollution tends to worsen as countries transition from low to middle-income status and industrialize. This is often due to increased energy and industrial emissions without adequate regulation and cleaner technologies.
However, as countries reach higher income levels, death rates decline again as air quality improves.
Explore outdoor air pollution death rates for all countries →
August 05, 2024
Death rates have declined across all ages
Infants, children, adults, and the elderly are all less likely to die than in the past.
The chart shows death rates by age in France since the early 19th century, combining data from the Human Mortality Database and the United Nations World Population Prospects. Death rates have fallen in every age group.
When data collection began in 1816, around 1 in 5 babies in France died during infancy. Two centuries later, that figure was 1 in 274, a 50-fold reduction.
In 1816, around 1 in 20 people aged 65, died. In 2021, it was 1 in 106, a five-fold reduction.
These reductions mean that death continues to be delayed, and life expectancy continues to rise.
August 02, 2024
Tuberculosis in Ethiopia: a drastic decline but still far behind wealthier nations
In 1980, Ethiopia had the highest death rate from tuberculosis in the world. Almost 400 people died per 100,000 people, according to data from the latest edition of the Global Burden of Disease study.
Since then, the country has achieved a sixfold reduction in the death rate. This steep decline is shown in the chart.
The nation's widespread health initiatives have likely significantly improved access to tuberculosis care and treatment. These efforts have significantly exceeded the progress of other countries with similar tuberculosis rates in the 1980s.
Despite these advances, Ethiopia's tuberculosis mortality rate remains significantly above that of wealthier nations, where fewer than 1 in 100,000 people die from the disease annually.
August 01, 2024
In 2022, the sum of imports and exports across countries amounted to 63% of global GDP
According to the latest trade statistics from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, the sum of exports and imports across countries amounted to 63% of global GDP in 2022, the most recent year available.
This metric, also known as the trade openness index, represents the ratio of total trade (exports plus imports) to global output. The higher this ratio, the greater the influence of international trade transactions on global economic activity.
The chart shows the trade openness trend since 1970. After a decade of ups and downs, with a noticeable dip in 2020, trade rebounded above pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
In fact, from a long-run perspective, the 63% observed in 2022 was historically unprecedented.
Economic historians estimate that in 1912, at the peak of the “first wave of globalization”, the trade openness index reached 30%. Global trade declined substantially during the First and Second World Wars, then increased again with the onset of the “second wave of globalization”, exceeding 50% of GDP at the beginning of the 21st century.
The fact that global trade openness was higher in 2022 than ever before may seem surprising, given that several countries that followed different trajectories received considerable attention in the media. For example, imports and exports peaked at 65% of GDP in China in 2006 but have since declined to 38% in 2022.
Read more about the first and second waves of globalization →
July 31, 2024
Every day of infancy is safer than in the past
This chart shows death rates across the first year of a baby’s life and how they have been reduced over time.
The data spans 1921 to 2021 and comes from the Office for National Statistics in England & Wales.
On the left-hand side of the chart, you can see that death rates are much higher on the first day of life. They then drop sharply over the following days and continue declining gradually over the rest of the year.
But you can also see that over decades, the entire curve has shifted downwards. This means that every day of infancy is safer than in the past.
July 30, 2024
The global number of children not attending school has declined by nearly 40% since 2000
The chart shows the global number of children and adolescents who are not in school across primary and secondary education.
According to the most recent UNESCO data, this number has fallen from 390 million in 2000 to 244 million in 2023. That’s nearly a 40% reduction. The global population of children has grown during this time, making the decrease in out-of-school children even more significant.
Many more children are getting an opportunity to learn now than 20 years ago, but progress has stagnated in the last five years.
Historically, more girls than boys were out of school, but this gap has nearly closed. Unfortunately, the global aggregate data split by gender has not been updated by UNESCO since 2019. This makes it hard to track recent progress between boys and girls.
Explore the number of children out of school in other countries →
July 29, 2024
Two centuries ago, only 1 in 10 adults could read. Today, it’s almost 9 in 10
In 1820, only 1 in 10 people over the age of 15 could read. Today, the corresponding global literacy rate — the share of adults aged 15 and older who can read and write — is 87%. That means more than 5 billion people can read and write today, compared to fewer than 100 million two centuries ago.
The chart shows the rising global literacy rate over time. The data combines historical estimates from academic historians with more recent statistics from UNESCO.
As we can see, widespread literacy is a recent achievement. This trend underlines a huge achievement, but it’s important to remember that there’s still much progress ahead of us. In many schools, children learn very little, and many still do not attend school.
Read more about how literacy is measured, and learn about the research that identifies low-cost ways to improve learning outcomes →
July 26, 2024
In which countries do people drink the most alcohol?
Romania tops the list of countries with the highest alcohol consumption per person, with Georgia, Czechia, Latvia, and Germany rounding out the top five. This is according to the global estimates made available by the World Health Organization (WHO), the latest data referring to 2019.
Alcohol consumption is measured here in liters of pure alcohol to account for beer, wine, and spirits having different alcohol content, ranging from around 5% by volume for a typical beer to 12% for wine to 40% or more for spirits.
To make this more concrete, the average Romanian drinks an estimated 17 liters of pure alcohol per year — roughly equivalent to a weekly consumption of 18 bottles of beer (355 mL each) or 3.6 bottles of wine (750 mL each).
In contrast, alcohol consumption is very low in some countries, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.
July 25, 2024
Through sustained effort, we are close to eradicating guinea worm disease
Cases of guinea worm disease have fallen dramatically in recent decades. According to the WHO, over 890,000 cases were recorded worldwide in 1989. As you can see on the chart — which we just updated with the latest data — only 14 human cases were reported in 2023.
Guinea worm disease is caused by the parasitic guinea worm, which mainly spreads through stagnant water sources like ponds. The worm’s larvae enter the human body when a person drinks contaminated water, after which they penetrate the digestive tract to mature and reproduce within the body.
Around a year after the initial infection, the adult female breaks through the skin's surface, creating a painful blister through which it gradually emerges over several weeks. When it comes into contact with water, it releases new larvae and continues its life cycle.
The disease was previously endemic in over 20 countries in South Asia and Africa. An international eradication campaign has substantially decreased the number of cases by improving access to clean drinking water and actively monitoring and containing cases in endemic regions.
Learn more about the effort to eradicate guinea worm disease →
July 24, 2024
Fourteen countries in the world get almost all of their electricity from renewables
Since 2020, 14 countries have consistently generated over 95% renewable electricity, according to Ember’s Yearly electricity data. In eight of these countries, electricity has been almost entirely renewable-based for over 20 years.
Renewable sources include hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal, and wave power. In all these countries, the largest source of electricity was hydropower.
Sub-Saharan countries, however, use significantly less electricity in their energy mix compared to countries in Europe or North America.
July 23, 2024
Climate change does not affect all areas of the globe uniformly
Some regions are warming faster than others, and countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region have seen some of the most rapid warming.
We observe this through temperature anomalies. Anomalies compare current temperatures to historical averages, showing us shifts over time. In the chart, each bar represents the temperature anomaly for a given year.
In 2023, the global average temperature anomaly was 0.6°C above the 1991–2020 average. However, these anomalies vary by region. In countries such as Syria and Turkey, the average annual surface air temperature in 2023 was around 1.2°C above the 1991–2020 average, compared to approximately 0.3°C in Australia.
This pattern is not a one-off difference; it is also reflected in the decadal temperatures. This data comes from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA5 project.
We update this data every month: you can track monthly temperature changes across the globe and at the national level on our site.
July 22, 2024
The rise and fall of smoking in rich countries
This rise and fall of smoking is shown in this chart. Smoking rates grew rapidly across rich countries in the 20th century. But by the 1980s, they went into steep decline.
It looked like poorer countries would follow a similar path as incomes increased, but rates have decreased there, too. The global share of people who smoke has kept falling in the 21st century, from 34% in 2000 to 23% in 2020.
This is great news for global health. Smoking still kills millions every year, but death rates are falling as people turn their backs on cigarettes.
July 19, 2024
More than a million people die from road injuries every year
Around 1.2 million people die from road injuries every year. That includes the deaths of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
That’s around 2.3% of deaths from all causes.
As the chart shows, this death toll has barely changed for decades. However, with a larger global population and many more cars on the road, this means the death rate from road injuries — the number of deaths per 100,000 people — has fallen.
July 18, 2024
Recently, a smaller share of terrorism deaths have been caused by suicide attacks
According to data from the Global Terrorism Database, the share of deaths from suicide terrorism increased significantly after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Deaths from these types of attacks continued to be common in the following years, frequently making up about a quarter of all deaths due to terrorism.
However, from 2016 to 2020, the share of deaths from suicide attacks dropped. In 2021, which is the most recent data available, they made up only about 5% of terrorism deaths.
The same upward and downward trends can be seen in both the total number of deaths from suicide attacks and the share of all terrorist attacks that are suicide attacks.
July 17, 2024
Progress on reducing global hunger has stagnated
The world has made much progress in reducing global hunger over the last 50 years. Despite fast population growth, the amount of food produced per person has continued to increase.
Rates of hunger — defined as not having enough calories to sustain a healthy and productive life — were estimated to be as high as 1 in 3 people in developing countries in 1970. Since then, rates have fallen substantially.
However, as you can see on the chart, this progress has stalled over the last few years. In some regions, it has even reversed. In 2017, 7.6% of the world did not get enough calories. By 2022, this had risen to 9.2%.
Conflict, extreme weather, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to this reversal.
July 16, 2024
Violence between Mexican drug cartels has surged in recent years
In recent years, tens of thousands of people have died due to fighting between drug cartels in Mexico.
The chart uses data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program to show the country's deaths from “non-state conflicts” over the last thirty years.
These conflicts involve fighting between non-state armed groups, which in Mexico are criminal organizations like the Jalisco, Juarez, Los Zetas, and Sinaloa drug cartels.
Before the 2000s, there were relatively few deaths from these conflicts. The number of deaths then began to increase, reaching a peak of over 18,000 deaths in 2021.
July 15, 2024
Every country has now banned the use of leaded gasoline in cars
The world started adding lead to gasoline in the 1920s. It improved vehicle efficiency and engine performance. However, lead has proven to be a toxic pollutant, particularly for children. Using it in gasoline pollutes the air in cities worldwide, significantly impacting human health.
It took a long time for countries to start taking action. In 1986, Japan became the first country to ban leaded gasoline in cars completely. You can see this on the first map of the timelapse: at the time, leaded gasoline was still in use everywhere else. Since then, bans have been rolled out across the world.
Three and a half decades later, in 2021, Algeria became the last country to ban it. Leaded gasoline is now banned from being used in road vehicles in every country. It is a big win for the health of people around the world.
July 12, 2024
The rise and fall of homicides in Europe
Homicide rates in Europe surged in the second half of the twentieth century but have dropped over the last 30 years.
The chart shows the rates for several European countries based on data from the WHO Mortality Database.
You can see that this trend was most pronounced in Italy. Homicide rates more than doubled from less than 1 per 100,000 people in the late 1960s to more than 2 in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then, rates have even fallen below earlier levels.
This rise and fall in homicides is relatively consistent across other European countries, although the timing and magnitude of these changes differ. France, for example, saw a wave of homicides in the late 1950s and early 1960s.