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Daily Data Insights

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

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A data visualization titled "Nine Asian countries where child mortality has halved since 2000." The chart shows the estimated percentage of newborns dying before age five in nine countries: Afghanistan (13% in 2000 to 6% in 2022), Cambodia (11% to 2%), Laos (11% to 4%), Bangladesh (9% to 3%), Myanmar (9% to 4%), India (9% to 3%), Nepal (8% to 3%), Indonesia (5% to 2%), and China (4% to 1%). Each country is represented by a line graph showing a significant decline in child mortality over time. Data source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2024), CC BY.

In these nine Asian countries, child mortality has more than halved since the year 2000

Child mortality in Asia has fallen sharply. The chart shows nine countries that have reduced child mortality rates by more than half since 2000. This means millions more children surviving through the crucial early years of life.

In India, for example, child mortality fell from 9% to 3%. China saw a similar decrease from 4% to just 1%. Key reasons for these gains include improved nutrition, clean water, sanitation, vaccinations, and poverty reduction.

However, even with these improvements, rates of 1–6% still reflect hundreds of thousands of young lives lost each year in these countries.

This is a story of remarkable progress — but one that’s not yet finished.

Explore child mortality data for more countries

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An infographic titled "Most livestock in the United States are factory-farmed." It lists the percentages and numbers of animals raised in factory farms, defined by the EPA as operations with intensive feeding for over 45 days. Chickens: 99.96%, 9.2 billion; Turkeys: 99.8%, 260 million; Farmed fish: 100%, 530 million; Cows: 75%, 66 million; Egg-laying hens: 98.3%, 380 million; Pigs: 98.6%, 73 million. Data source: Sentience Institute (2024), with data from 2022.

Almost all livestock in the United States is factory-farmed

It’s difficult to quantify animal suffering in a single number, but one metric often used to measure living conditions is the number of animals raised on “factory farms”.

Factory farms are defined as “concentrated animal feeding operations” where many animals are held in an intensive feeding operation for more than 45 days.

99% of livestock in the United States is factory-farmed. This latest estimate comes from the Sentience Institute and is based on definitions and data from the US Environment Protection Agency.

The chart shows the share of different forms of livestock that are factory-farmed. More than 98% of chickens, turkeys, hens, pigs, and farmed fish are factory-farmed. Cows are a bit less likely to be factory-farmed, but three-quarters still spend much of their lives in these conditions.

Read more about factory farming, including estimates of how much livestock globally is factory-farmed →

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A line graph depicting the most common birth month in France from 1861 to 2022, with the horizontal axis representing months from January to December and the vertical axis indicating years. Each year shows a line indicating the month with the highest average birth rate per day, with varying colors representing different time periods. 

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, lines often cluster around spring months, indicating this as the most common season for births. Disruptions during World Wars I and II are noted, as birth rates shifted temporarily. Since the late 20th century, the trend has changed, with late summer and autumn months becoming the most common for births.

The data source is the Human Mortality Database (2024) and the chart is published on OurWorldinData.org, and is licensed under CC-BY by the authors, Saloni Dattani and Lucas Rodés-Guirao.

Spring no more: France’s shift in birth patterns

What’s the most common season for babies to be born?

In many European countries, it’s late summer or autumn. Births are 5% to 10% more common in these months than others.

But this seasonal pattern used to be different. The chart shows the most common month for births each year. We’ve focused on France, which has data since the 1860s.

As you can see, spring was the most common season for births then. The pattern was temporarily disrupted during the two World Wars but continued until the late 20th century. Then, births shifted to later in the year, with late summer and autumn becoming more popular.

This shift also occurred in many other European countries and North America.

Explore the most common birth month around the world

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A line graph titled "Foreign aid given as a share of national income, DAC Countries" illustrates the trend of official development assistance (ODA) as a percentage of gross national income from 1960 to 2023. The vertical axis represents the percentage of national income, ranging from 0% to 0.5%, while the horizontal axis indicates the years from 1960 to 2023. 

The graph shows a decline in foreign aid from approximately 0.49% in 1960, followed by fluctuations, hitting a low of about 0.21% around the year 2000. After this low point, there is a gradual increase, reaching 0.37% in 2023. Two data points are highlighted: 0.49% at the start, and 0.21% around 2000, marking significant moments in the timeline.

In the graph, "DAC countries" is noted as major aid donors in the OECD, with a credit to the data source, which is the OECD for the year 2024. The visual is copyrighted under CC BY.

OECD countries give a smaller share of their national income to foreign aid today than in 1960

Over the last 60 years, the 32 high-income countries in the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) steadily increased the foreign aid they sent abroad. In total, aid rose from $39 billion to $213 billion, adjusted for inflation.

But while aid has grown in dollar terms, it has shrunk as a share of national income. Between 1960 and 2000, foreign aid as a percentage of national income fell sharply from 0.49% to 0.21%. Since then, it has recovered slightly to 0.37% but remains far below its 1960 level.

As a result, only five countries currently meet the UN’s target of dedicating at least 0.7% of their national income to foreign aid.

Explore foreign aid given as a share of national income by all countries

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The chart titled "Share of births that are twins" displays the percentage of twin births over time, spanning from 1858 to 2021. The vertical axis represents the share of births that are twins, ranging from 0% to 2%.

There are five colored lines, each representing a different country: the United States, France, Canada, Australia, and England and Wales. Throughout the years, the percentage of twin births shows a noticeable increase in each of the countries shown, particularly from the 1980s.

A note on the chart indicates that delayed childbearing, alongside technologies such as IVF, has contributed to this rise in twin births. 

The data for this chart is sourced from the Human Multiple Births Database in 2024. The chart is credited under a Creative Commons BY license, and is published by Our World in Data.

The twin baby boom

The share of births that are twins has changed over time.

The chart shows data for France, Canada, the United States, and England & Wales in the Human Multiple Births Database.

As you can see, twin births have risen dramatically since the 1980s.

One reason is the use of reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), which have made it possible for many more couples to conceive. During procedures like IVF, multiple eggs can be used at the same time to maximize the chances of a successful pregnancy, which can lead to twin births.

Another reason for the rise in twin births is that the average age of women at childbirth has risen. Older women are more likely to have twin births, even without using reproductive technologies.

Twin births are a chance event, but data shows they can also be influenced by societal changes and reproductive technologies.

Explore trends in twin births for other countries

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A line graph depicting the average number of days it took to install a gigawatt of solar energy capacity worldwide from 2001 to 2023. The vertical axis represents the number of days on a logarithmic scale, spanning from 1 to 1000 days. The horizontal axis indicates the years from 2001 to 2023. 

In 2004, the average time was about 1 year, which is marked on the graph. A downward trend shows significant decreases in installation time over the years. By 2010, it took under 30 days, and by 2015, just over 7 days. The most notable point is in 2023, where it dropped to about 1 day on average for installation. 

The data source is attributed to IRENA (2024), with calculation by Our World in Data, and the chart is identified as CC BY, indicating it is licensed for sharing and adaptation with appropriate credit.

In 2004, it took the world a year to add a gigawatt of solar power — now it takes a day

To mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, the world needs to quickly transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy sources such as solar power.

The chart shows how much this transition has accelerated in the last two decades.

In 2004, it took the world about a year to add one gigawatt of solar power capacity. By 2023, the same amount was added, on average, every single day.

For reference, a gigawatt of solar is enough to power approximately 200,000 homes in the US.

Much of this growth has been driven by China, which by 2023 accounted for about 43% of the cumulative installed capacity worldwide.

A big reason for this acceleration has been a large decrease in the price of solar panels. Since 2001, the price has dropped by about 95%, from $6.21 to $0.31 per watt.

Learn more about why renewables like solar became so cheap so fast

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A line graph titled "In some English-speaking countries, people value religion less than before" displays data from 1993 to 2022 on the share of people who consider religion "very important" or "rather important" in their lives. The graph features five lines, each representing a different country: 

- The United States, starting at 79% in 1993 and decreasing to 61% by 2022.
- Canada, beginning at 61% in 1993 and declining to 35%.
- Australia, initially at 48% and dropping to 29%.
- The United Kingdom, starting at 45% and falling to 33%.
- New Zealand, with a starting point of 38% and a slight decrease to 28%.

The Y-axis represents the percentage of respondents, while the X-axis marks the years from 1993 to 2022. A note on the survey question states: "Would you say [religion is] very important [in your life], rather important, not very important or not important at all?" The data source is cited as "Integrated Values Surveys (2022)" along with a Creative Commons BY attribution.

Religion has become less important in some English-speaking countries

Religion means less to people in some English-speaking countries than it did 30 years ago.

The chart shows a clear downward trend in the share of people who see religion as important in their lives. This is based on surveys across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, from 1993 to 2022.

The United States stands out as the country with the highest percentage of people who consider religion important, though this has declined from 79% to 61%. The shift was even sharper in Canada, falling from 61% to 35%.

Religion was already less important to people in Australia, the UK, and New Zealand but in all three countries, this share dropped by more than a quarter.

Explore this data on the importance of religion for many more countries

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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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