Do governments worldwide have the ability to implement their policies and achieve their goals?
Explore research and data on state capacity.
Latest:Our latest articles, updates and announcements
Life expectancy has increased across the world, but large differences remain
People are living longer around the world. Explore global data on life expectancy and how it has changed over time.Period versus cohort measures: what’s the difference?
What do the terms “period” and “cohort” mean in statistics? How do they differ, and why does it matter?Why do women live longer than men?
Women tend to live longer than men around the world – but the sex gap in life expectancy is not a constant.Child mortality has declined, but millions of children still die every year, many from preventable causes
Explore a major overhaul of our work on child and infant mortality.The Human Development Index and related indices: what they are and what we can learn from them
Researchers have developed several indices that aim to capture human development. How do they work?How much plastic ends up in the ocean? Where does it come from?
Explore global data on plastics and plastic pollution.Substantial progress on global education, but hundreds of millions of children do not get to go to school
Explore a major overhaul of our work on global education.Redesigning our interactive data visualizations
We have redesigned our interactive visualizations to improve their layout and functionality. Three product and engineering team members discuss the changes and our plans to improve things further.How does the risk of death change as we age – and how has this changed over time?
Death rates decline rapidly after birth but rise again in adolescence. From adulthood onwards, they rise exponentially.Welcoming Rachel Glennerster and Andrew Dilnot
We are very excited to share that Rachel Glennerster and Andrew Dilnot have joined our Board of Trustees.How much CO2 can the world emit while keeping warming below 1.5°C and 2°C?
The budget to keep temperatures below 1.5°C is less than a decade of current emissions. For 2°C, it’s less than three decades.Per capita, national, historical: how do countries compare on CO2 metrics?
There are many ways to measure countries’ contributions to climate change. What do they tell us?How many animals get slaughtered every day?
Hundreds of millions of animals get killed for meat every day.We published a new topic page on animal welfare
How many animals are slaughtered every year? How do welfare standards vary across the world? Explore data and research on animal welfare.We updated our topic page on artificial intelligence
Our page on artificial intelligence has been enriched with key insights and 23 new charts.We published a new topic page on causes of death
To find ways to save lives, it’s essential to know what people are dying from. Explore global data and research on causes of death.We published a new topic page on terrorism
Explore key insights, 4 articles, and 25 charts on terrorism and how it has changed over time.The Global Terrorism Database: how do researchers measure terrorism?
There are different approaches to measuring terrorism. Here is the approach of the Global Terrorism Database, a leading source of terrorism data.How do researchers estimate the death toll caused by each risk factor, whether it’s smoking, obesity, or air pollution?
Risk factors are important to understand because they can help us identify how to save lives. How do researchers estimate their impact?How are causes of death registered around the world?
In many countries, when people die, the cause of their death is officially registered in their country’s national system. How is this determined?