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Daily Data Insights

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

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Line chart showing the change in teenage pregnancy rates across regions since 2000. All lines show a reduction over time.

Teenage pregnancy rates have fallen across the world

Teenage pregnancy rates have fallen across all regions in the last few decades.

The chart shows the number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 since 2000, based on data compiled by the United Nations.

Globally, rates have fallen by around one-third. This decline has been even more dramatic in some regions. For example, rates have fallen by more than two-thirds in Central and South Asia.

Birth rates have also fallen among adolescents aged 10 to 14 years old, where health concerns for pregnancy in such young girls are even greater.

Explore teenage pregnancy data for individual countries over time

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A line chart showing a sharp increase in the fertility rate in the United States after the Second World War, known as the "baby boom"

The “baby boom” saw a sharp rise in the fertility rate in the United States

When it comes to demographic trends, few are as well known as the “baby boom”.

The baby boom was a sharp rise in the fertility rate toward the end of the Second World War and for decades after. It happened in several countries around the world, but it was especially pronounced in the United States.

Before the baby boom, the US had seen a long-term decline in the fertility rate, down to about 2 children per woman by the 1930s.

During the baby boom, the fertility rate rose sharply, almost doubling to nearly 4 children per woman — levels that hadn’t been seen since the beginning of the 20th century. By the early 1970s, the fertility rate had returned to about 2 children per woman. Today, it’s just over 1.6.

It’s estimated that more than 70 million people were born in the US between 1946 and 1964, the official years of the baby boom according to the US Census Bureau. By 1964, this generation comprised almost 40% of the nation’s population.

As such a large generation, “baby boomers” have played a significant role in shaping many social, economic, and political trends in modern US history.

Learn more about fertility rates over time →

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Line chart showing a decline in road deaths in the UK since 1970. This has fallen from 8,000 to less than 2,000.

Road deaths in the United Kingdom have fallen by three-quarters since 1970

The number of people dying in road accidents in the United Kingdom has fallen by around three-quarters since 1970.

The chart shows the number of road deaths over time, based on data from the OECD, which we just updated. This includes the deaths of pedestrians, drivers, passengers, and cyclists.

In the early 1970s, there were around 8,000 road deaths per year. This has dropped below 2,000 in recent years. Deaths reached a low in 2020 due to reduced traffic from the COVID-19 pandemic but have rebounded slightly since then.

This multi-decade decline is even steeper when we look at the number of deaths per kilometer driven.

Explore road death data for other countries

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This chart displays the share of electricity production from wind as a percentage of total electricity for several countries between 1985 and 2023. Denmark shows the highest share, peaking above 50% by 2023.

Denmark generates a larger share of its electricity from wind than any other country

In 2023, wind power generated nearly 60% of Denmark’s electricity. This made Denmark the country with the highest share of wind in its electricity mix. This is based on data from Ember.

Wind also contributes significantly to Denmark’s broader energy system. Data from the Energy Institute shows that wind power accounts for over a quarter of Denmark’s total primary energy consumption — the largest figure globally.

Denmark also ranks first in per capita wind power generation, with Sweden close behind.

Explore more data on energy sources in our Data Explorer →

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Line chart showing the share of people who said they do not want homosexual neighbours. This has fallen in many countries in recent decades.

Many countries have become much more supportive of same-sex relationships

When I was born in 1993, one-third of people in the United Kingdom said they “would not want homosexual neighbors”. Today, that’s less than 5%.

As you can see in the chart, the acceptance of same-sex relationships has increased in many other countries, too. This data comes from the Integrated Values Survey.

Attitudes to homosexuality tend to be far more positive in Western Europe and North and South America than in other parts of the world. In many countries across Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa, the majority of surveyed respondents still say they would not want homosexual neighbors.

Explore the data on attitudes to homosexuality across the world

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Line chart shows military spending for Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Estonia from 2003 to 2023. Military spending in all countries, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, neighboring countries have increased their military spending

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has led to increased military spending not only in the two countries themselves but also in other neighboring countries.

The chart, using inflation-adjusted data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, shows that Russia has increased its military spending to support the invasion, while Ukraine has expanded its budget tenfold to defend itself.

The war has also motivated several of Russia’s other neighbors to increase their military spending. For instance, in 2023, Poland almost doubled its military spending from 15 to 27 billion US$, and Finland raised its budget from 4.5 to 6.9 billion US$.

Other neighboring countries, like Lithuania and Estonia, have so far not made increases as dramatic but have returned to the longer-term expansion of their military budgets.

Some Western European countries, especially Denmark, have also already increased their military spending after Russia’s invasion.

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This chart, titled "How far apart are the incomes of the rich and poor in different countries?" compares the monthly after-tax income of individuals in the richest 10% and the poorest 10% across various countries. The income disparities are represented visually with vertical lines and circles for each country, showing the ratio between the two groups. For instance, in South Africa (2017), the richest 10% earn 22 times more than the poorest 10%, while in Norway (2021), the richest 10% earn only 3.1 times more. Other countries included are Brazil (2022), China (2018), Uruguay (2022), the UK (2021), and the US (2022), with the disparity ranging from 3.1x in Norway to 22x in South Africa. All incomes are measured in international dollars at 2017 prices to account for differences in the cost of living. Data source: Luxembourg Income Study (2024).

How far apart are the incomes of the rich and poor in different countries?

The chart shows how incomes are spread in several countries in different world regions. The data comes from the excellent Luxembourg Income Study.

Blue points show the monthly after-tax income of someone who falls just inside the richest 10% of their country's population. Red points show the income of someone who falls just inside the poorest 10%. To allow for comparisons, all incomes are shown in international dollars, which account for differences in cost of living across countries.

The ratio between these two numbers gives us a measure of inequality known as the “P90/P10 ratio”.

In Norway, a country with very low inequality, this ratio is around 3. A person just inside the richest 10% has a monthly income of $5,490 — a little more than 3 times the $1,760 earned by someone just inside the poorest 10%.

In the United States, inequality is much higher, and the ratio is twice as large — around 6. The chart shows that the richest 10% are much richer than those in Norway, with incomes above $7,440. But, the poorest are also poorer, with incomes of less than $1,240.

In many countries, the ratio is between 4 and 6. But in the most unequal countries, it is much higher. In South Africa, the ratio is 22. Those in the bottom decile are among the poorest people in the world, living on less than $110 per month. In contrast, the richest 10% earn $2,490 or above — higher than the incomes of half the UK population and nearly a third of the US population.

Explore incomes across the distribution for other countries in our dedicated Data Explorer →

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What share of children die before their fifth birthday?

What could be more tragic than the death of a young child? Child mortality, the death of children under the age of five, is still extremely common in our world today.

The historical data makes clear that it doesn’t have to be this way: it is possible for societies to protect their children and reduce child mortality to very low rates. For child mortality to reach low levels, many things have to go right at the same time: good healthcare, good nutrition, clean water and sanitation, maternal health, and high living standards. We can, therefore, think of child mortality as a proxy indicator of a country’s living conditions.

The chart shows our long-run data on child mortality, which allows you to see how child mortality has changed in countries around the world.

Explore and learn more about this data
Explore and learn more about this data

Share of population living in extreme povertyWorld Bank

Life expectancy at birthLong-run estimates collated from multiple sources by Our World in Data

Per capita CO₂ emissionsLong-run estimates from the Global Carbon Budget

GDP per capitaLong-run estimates from the Maddison Project Database

Share of people that are undernourishedFAO

Literacy rateLong-run estimates collated from multiple sources by Our World in Data

Share of the population with access to electricityWorld Bank

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