Measles vaccines have saved over 90 million lives in the last 50 years

Record national life expectancies have been climbing for over a century.

In 1840, Swedish women had a life expectancy of 46 years — the highest of any country recorded that year. By 1921, Australia held the record at 63 years.

For most of the 20th century, Iceland, Norway, Australia, and Sweden competed for the top position before being overtaken by Japan in 1984. Hong Kong and Japan have held the records since then.

These countries didn’t merely catch up; they’ve continued to push the limits higher.

Japan added six more years to female life expectancy between 1984 and 2010, rising from 80 to 86 years.

This remarkable rise has resulted from many advances in medicine, public health, and living standards — breaking many predictions of the “limits” of life expectancy.

Read more in our article about the rise of maximum life expectancy →

Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, many people have left the country. By 2020, around 8.5 millions had emigrated, representing nearly half (48%) of all people born in the country.

As you can see on the chart, most Syrian emigrants have stayed close to home. Two-thirds of Syrian emigrants now live in Turkey, Lebanon, or Saudi Arabia, with Turkey alone hosting over 40%.

Political obstacles have made it difficult for Syrian migrants to move beyond neighboring countries and reach Europe. In 2016, the European Union and Turkey made a deal to curb migration by keeping migrants in Turkey in exchange for 6 billion euros in aid.

The Syrian case is part of a larger global pattern: most individuals who leave their country stay in the same continent.

Read our full article on how far migrants travel from their home countries →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →