Daily Data Insights
Bite-sized insights on how the world is changing, published every weekday.
March 11, 2024
A record number of objects went into space in 2023
2,664 objects were launched into space in 2023. This figure breaks the record set the previous year.
The chart shows that US agencies and companies were responsible for launching 2,166 of these objects; that’s 81% of the global total.
Within American launches, 1,935 objects — 73% of the global total — belonged to Starlink, the constellation of satellites operated by the aerospace company SpaceX.
The rapid growth of the global satellite constellation has the power to help expand Internet connectivity, but also contributes to increasing concerns regarding space debris and the congestion of Earth’s orbital environment.
March 08, 2024
Indonesia’s shift to cleaner cooking fuels has greatly improved air quality and health
In 2000, less than 10% of the population in Indonesia had access to clean cooking fuels. This is now over 80%, as the chart shows.
Clean cooking fuels are those that, when burned, emit less than the World Health Organization's recommended amounts of air pollutants. They reduce the burden of air pollution — and its health impacts — for the households that use them.
In 2007, the Indonesian government launched a national program to move from kerosene cooking fuels to liquefied petroleum gas.
This shift has greatly reduced particulate pollution and improved health outcomes. Death rates from indoor air pollution have fallen steeply.
March 06, 2024
Extreme poverty in China has been almost eliminated — first in urban, then in rural regions
In 1981, 97% of people in the Chinese countryside lived in extreme poverty. Even in cities, it was more than 70%.
Since then, large economic growth has made it possible for hundreds of millions of people in China to leave extreme poverty behind, first in cities and then in the countryside.
By 2020, the share of people living in extreme poverty in both urban and rural areas was below 1%.
March 05, 2024
Solar and wind gain an edge over coal in a number of countries
Solar and wind have surpassed coal as a source of electricity generation in a number of countries, as the chart shows. This marks a substantial shift towards more sustainable sources of energy.
Even in the United States, the world’s third-largest producer of coal electricity, the gap between solar and wind power, and coal is now very small. The adoption of clean energy is accelerating.
March 04, 2024
Differences in life expectancy across the world are extremely large
People in richer countries tend to live much longer than those in poorer countries.
We can see this in the cross-country life expectancy statistics shown on the chart. In Japan, life expectancy at birth is about 85 years, while in Chad and Nigeria, life expectancy is about 52 years — a gap of over three decades.
March 01, 2024
Pacemakers are crucial to people with heart rhythm disorders, but their adoption varies widely
Pacemakers are crucial medical devices for people with heart disorders and irregular heartbeats. They provide a steady heart rhythm and help the heart pump blood effectively to the rest of the body.
The chart shows that there are large differences in the rates of pacemaker implantations across countries.
In France and Sweden, over 1,000 per million people each year receive pacemaker implantations. In Egypt and Turkey, that figure is less than 150.