We need to focus on the most threatened species to protect them from extinction. But what does it mean for a species to be at risk, and how is it measured?

Many believe there is a real chance that human-level AI will be developed within the next decades, and some believe that it will exist much sooner.

How does spending on food change as incomes rise?

Changes in the world population are determined by two metrics: the number of babies born and the number of people dying.

Livestock make up 62% of the world’s mammal biomass; humans account for 34%; and wild mammals are just 4%.

How AI gets built is currently decided by a small group of technologists. It should be in all of our interest to become informed and engaged.

Little is as important for the world’s future and our own lives as how this history continues.

When did the "Big Five" mass extinctions happen, and what were their causes?

How many species do we share our planet with? How many of these species have we found and identified?

10,000 to 50,000 years ago, hundreds of the largest mammals went extinct. It's likely that humans were the key driver of this.

Intense whaling drove many of the world’s whale species close to extinction. But a dramatic decline in whale hunting since then has given them hopes of recovery.

How have rhino populations changed over time? What species are at risk of extinction today?

The World Bank has updated the methods it uses to measure incomes and poverty around the world. What does this mean for our understanding of global poverty?

The risk of death from influenza has declined over time, but globally, hundreds of thousands of people still die from the disease each year.

We’ve just published a major redesign of our topic pages. Explore this redesign with our new work on poverty.

Putting a price on carbon helps us account for the real costs of fossil fuels in the market. Which countries have a carbon tax or trading system?

The Living Planet Index is one of the most common measures used in biodiversity monitoring. But what is it, and where does this data come from?

The Living Planet Index shows an average decline of 73% across studied animal populations globally. But how does this vary by region?

The Living Planet Index is the biodiversity metric that always claims the headlines. It’s often misinterpreted. How should we understand it?

Many countries ship plastic waste overseas. How much of the world’s waste is traded, and how big is its role in the pollution of our oceans?

Hunting and habitat loss drove many large mammals in Europe close to extinction. New data shows us that many of the continent’s mammal populations are flourishing again.