December 20, 2024
Certain pathogens, like viruses and bacteria, can cause long-term inflammation or directly damage DNA in ways that eventually lead to cancer.
For example, hepatitis B and C viruses are key drivers of liver cancer. Some types of the human papillomavirus are responsible for cervical cancer. The bacterium H. pylori can cause stomach ulcers and cancers.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that around 13% of cancers overall are directly caused by infections, as the chart shows.
For some cancer types, they estimate that infections cause nearly all cases. They’re listed at the top of the chart and include cervical cancer, adult T-cell leukemia and lymphoma, and non-cardia stomach cancer.
This is an area where prevention can be very powerful: by tackling the infections that cause them, we can stop these cancers before they start.
Vaccines for human papillomavirus and hepatitis B have already been developed and have lowered cancer rates in younger generations. Additionally, antibiotics for H. pylori, antiviral treatments, and improved hygiene can dramatically reduce the risks of other infections.
I recently wrote an article about the virus that causes cervical cancer and how vaccines can eliminate it. You can read it here →
Today
Some countries take in far more refugees than others relative to their population.
A refugee is defined by the UN as someone needing international protection, who has fled their home country and whose home country’s government cannot or will not protect them.
This chart shows the cumulative number of refugees per 1,000 people in the country where they live as of 2023.
There are huge differences between countries: Lebanon hosts 137 refugees for every 1,000 residents — over four times as many as Germany (31) or Poland (25). Those numbers are still much higher than the Netherlands (13) and France (10), far above the United States at just 1.2 refugees per 1,000 residents.
These differences reflect conflicts in neighboring regions and national policies welcoming or deterring refugees.
Explore the number of refugees per 1,000 people for more destination countries →
Yesterday
The experience of poverty goes far beyond having no or low income. Unfortunately, still in many countries today, a large share of people experience severe poverty in many areas of life, such as health, education, and living standards.
To capture this broader reality, researchers from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and the UN Development Programme developed the global Multidimensional Poverty Index. This group of indicators measures poverty across essential areas of well-being, capturing whether people are undernourished, whether they lost a child, and lack access to education or basic facilities like clean water or electricity.
The map shows the share of the population in each country living in multidimensional poverty, highlighting where households face overlapping deprivations.
In countries across South America and some in East Asia, this share is less than 10%. But in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of the people experience these extreme conditions. The share even exceeds 4 in 5 people in Niger (91%), Chad (84%), and the Central African Republic (80%).
These figures are based on data from over 100 countries drawn from household surveys conducted between 2011 and 2023.
Read more on our article: Beyond income: understanding poverty through the Multidimensional Poverty Index →
January 13
The number of children in the world has stopped growing. This moment in time was given the term “peak child” by the late Hans Rosling.
The chart shows the estimated number of children under five years old globally up to 2023, with projections from the United Nations out to 2100. The UN thinks the number of under-5s peaked in 2017.
The chart also shows the number of young people under 15, which peaked in 2021. And the number of under-25s, which may have peaked last year.
“Peak child” is a sign that the world is on course for “peak population”. The UN expects the world population to start falling before the end of the century.
Read more about the key insights from the latest UN World Population Prospects →
January 10
Almost one-quarter of adults in the world smoke tobacco. However, there are significant differences by gender.
More than one-third of men smoke, while less than one in ten women do.
Men are more likely to smoke in almost every country in the world. You can see this on the chart, which plots the share of men who smoke versus the share of women. Nearly all countries lie above the diagonal line, which means more men smoke than women.
This data is collated and published by the World Bank. It’s based on adults aged 15 years and older and includes all tobacco products.
Explore all of our data and research on smoking across the world →
January 09
Childhood cancer deaths in the United States have fallen dramatically over time, as shown in the chart. It presents annual cancer death rates in children under five years old.
There has been a six-fold decline since the 1950s.
This progress reflects decades of collaboration between scientists, clinicians, and public health workers.
One major success story has been in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a common form of leukemia in children: researchers identified genetic mutations that caused the disease, making it possible to develop targeted chemotherapy drugs that have greatly improved survival. Surgeries, bone marrow transplants, and other treatments have also played a role.
We’ve also seen big improvements for other blood cancers, such as lymphomas and multiple myeloma, though progress has been slower for cancers of the brain and nervous system.
Explore more data on our page on cancer →
January 08
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 →
January 07
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 →
