January 03, 2025
China has dramatically reduced local air pollution levels — particularly in its biggest cities — in the last decade.
One rapidly declining pollutant is sulphur dioxide (SO2), which generates smog and can cause acid rain. Its primary source is coal burning.
In the chart, you can see the annual emissions of SO2 in China. They rose steeply during the 1980s and 1990s. But they peaked in the mid-2000s, and over the last 15 years, they have fallen by more than two-thirds.
Putting emissions limits on coal plants and introducing desulphurization technologies that remove SO2 from smokestacks were critical drivers of this decline.
These are modeled estimates from the Community Emissions Data System (CEDS).
See whether air pollution has increased or decreased in your country →
Today
In 1960, Singapore’s GDP per capita — a measure of average income — was a third of the average in Western Europe. It was even lower than Western Europe’s average income in 1900.
Since then, while Western Europe experienced steady growth, Singapore grew even faster. By 1994, it had surpassed Western Europe, and today, its average income is roughly twice as high. This is after adjusting for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.
Singapore became an independent republic in 1965. Key factors in its economic success include anti-corruption policies, investment in education and human capital, and its development as a global financial hub.
Explore how GDP per capita trajectories compare across countries →
January 02
In 2023, Norwegians gave $1,160 in foreign aid — more than twice the amount contributed by people in other large Western countries.
By comparison, people in countries like the United States and Japan gave much less, at $190 and $155 per person, respectively.
One factor behind Norway’s substantial foreign aid is its sovereign wealth fund, built from oil revenues. The fund is valued at around $1.8 trillion — about the size of the Australian economy — and provides financial resources that few nations can match.
Still, its generosity stands out: Norway also leads in foreign aid as a share of national income.
Explore foreign aid given per capita for more countries →
December 31
High levels of cholesterol are a risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
As the chart shows, the age-standardized share of American adults with unhealthy cholesterol levels has declined over the past 25 years. Age-standardized means the data accounts for the rising age of the population over time.
Data comes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a national study conducted every two years. In this study, blood measurements are taken from thousands of people to monitor these trends.
One important reason for the decline in cholesterol is the use of statins. Statins are prescribed to effectively reduce levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. These reduce the formation of cholesterol-filled plaques in the arteries and, thereby, the rates of heart attacks and strokes.
As the chart shows, statins have become more commonly used among adults eligible to take them.
Along with other medications, surgeries, and public health efforts, they’ve helped turn cardiovascular diseases into more manageable conditions. In the US, the age-standardized death rate from cardiovascular diseases has declined for decades and is almost four times lower today than in 1950.
Explore more data on cardiovascular disease, its risk factors, and treatment →
December 30
For most of human history since the agricultural revolution, the majority of the labor force in countries like France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands worked in agriculture.
However, over the last few centuries, this share has plummeted. Today, less than 10% of the workforce is employed in agriculture, and in many cases, it's just a few percent.
This trend is shown clearly in the chart, which is based on data from the International Labour Organization and historical reconstructions by Broadberry and Gardner (2013) and Herrendorf et al. (2014), as we’ve documented in detail.
The chart also includes the even steeper decline in agricultural employment in China over the last 50 years, as people have shifted to manufacturing and services.
Explore this data on agricultural employment across more countries →
December 27
Last year, the European Union's population experienced its lowest unemployment rate in over thirty years.
The chart shows that unemployment rates were above 10% in the mid-1990s and early 2010s. The rate has steadily declined since its peak in 2013, nearly halving over the past ten years.
Unemployment refers to individuals who are available for and actively seeking work but cannot find employment. It differs from economic inactivity, which includes people who are neither working nor actively looking for work.
Explore more unemployment data →
December 26
In international statistics, immigrants are people who have lived for more than one year in a country other than the one where they were born.
Between 1990 and 2020, the share of immigrants in high-income countries doubled, rising from around 7% to 14%. This means that today, one in seven people in high-income countries was born in a different country.
High-income countries often attract migrants with better living conditions, including higher wages, stable political environments, and better public services. In turn, migration has become a crucial driver of population growth in these countries: without migration, the population of high-income countries would have declined since 2020.
This growth is much quicker than in other parts of the world. In contrast, the global share of migrants increased only slightly, with less than one percentage point.
Explore the percentage of immigrants in all countries →
