Global population has increased rapidly – particularly over the past 100 years. But this growth is temporary: we take a look at population growth over the past few centuries and what we can expect for the future, drawing on the latest UN Population Prospect projections. It maps the transition from rapid growth to a new equilibrium.

In our long history, how likely was it that our ancestors died as children? Historical studies suggest that around one-quarter of infants died in their first year of life and around half of all children died before they reached the end of puberty. It’s only in the very recent past that we’ve seen dramatic improvements.

There is a large disconnect between what gets covered in the media and the day-to-day reality for most. How do causes of death in the US match with media coverage and what people search for online?

50 years ago the average woman in world had five children. Since then, this figure has more than halved. Yet the global population is still rising – why is this the case?

5.4 million children under 5 die every year – that’s 15,000 every day. Yet this is an everyday tragedy that never makes the headlines.

The human population has been a young one for most of its history: high fertility rates and short lifespans mean children have accounted for a large share of the population. But the world is ageing: there are now more people older than 64 than younger than 5 years old. This marks a historic demographic change.

The world has committed to ending extreme poverty by 2030. But projections suggest we’re far off track: although global extreme poverty is expected to continue to fall, an estimated 500 million will still live in extreme poverty in 2030.

How hard is it for women to make it to the top? Recent research using income tax data from a number of high-income countries casts light on this. Although improving, we see that women are still very under-represented at the top of the income distribution.

Where do we find life on earth? Despite being vast, the oceans are home to just 1% of life – but the majority of animals. See how the different lifeforms are split across these global environments.

The last few decades have been extraordinarily successful in the fight against malaria. But we still need to – and can – do much more. See our global progress & why GiveWell recommends to donate to organizations that fight malaria.

How is life on Earth distributed across the taxonomic kingdoms? Humans make up just 0.01% of life: but we’ve had much larger impacts on shaping the animal kingdom. Livestock now outweighs wild mammals and birds ten-fold.

15,000 children die on average every single day. Reducing child mortality is a key target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). What would it take for the world to reach it?

China has been the world’s most populous country for a long time. But it’s soon to be overtaken by India. The UN projects that by 2024 India will be the world’s most populous country. What do future population trends look like around the world? Explore the data.

Researchers recently used a survey to ask people across countries about their willingness to postpone rewards. After validating questions with incentivised experiments, here is what they found.