Pesticide poisoning is a common method of suicide in many low- to middle-income countries. Banning highly toxic pesticides and substituting them with less fatal ones can save lives.

People in high-income countries could dramatically improve lives worldwide with minimal financial commitment, yet few do.

In June 2025, the World Bank increased its extreme poverty estimates by 125 million people. This doesn’t mean the world has gotten poorer: it reflects a new, higher International Poverty Line of $3 a day, up from $2.15.

Over a century of progress in surgery, drugs, prevention, and emergency response has driven down death rates from heart disease and stroke.

If we get it right, the world could save more than 1.2 million lives every year.

Cuts to US aid could end the Demographic and Health Surveys. This would leave a massive gap in our understanding of global health, mortality, and development.

The World Bank classifies countries into four income groups based on average income per person. This article explains how these groups are defined.

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Mobile money allows people without banks to securely transfer funds via text message, and its adoption is growing rapidly.

In the 1980s, many thought tuberculosis was on the path to elimination. In reality, more were dying from the disease than ever.

For billions, it can mean hours spent collecting water. For almost a million, it means dying from disease.

Measles causes more than an acute illness: it suppresses immune memory and increases the risk of complications for years.

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Before the 1970s, most children affected by leukemia would quickly die from it. Now, most children in rich countries are cured.

As much as one quarter of deaths in Europe and the United States were once from tuberculosis.

International dollars are used to compare incomes and purchasing power across countries and over time. Here, we explain how they’re calculated and why they’re used.

Measles once killed millions every year. Vaccines changed this, preventing disease, long-term immune damage, and deadly outbreaks.

It’s difficult to compare countries because they don’t always measure infant mortality in the same way.

In most rich countries, child mortality has more than halved in the last thirty years; we know we can go further.

A story of how our work helps journalists who use data.

Data from large meta-analyses show that measles vaccination is highly effective and safe, giving a 95% reduction in the risk of measles.