Where does the plastic in our oceans come from?
Which countries and rivers emit the most plastic to the ocean? What does this mean for solutions to tackle plastic pollution?
May 01
Article
Latest
Our latest articles, data updates, and announcements
April 20
Article
Wild mammals have declined by 85% since the rise of humans, but there is a possible future where they flourish
Wild mammal biomass has declined by 85% since the rise of humans. But we can turn things around by reducing the amount of land we use for agriculture.
March 19
Article
What are the carbon opportunity costs of our food?
What are the carbon opportunity costs of our diet? How much carbon could we store by regrowing forests and wild habitats on existing farmland?
March 18
Article
How much of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food?
Estimates of food emissions can range from one-quarter to one-third. Where do these differences come from?
March 15
Article
How much economic growth is necessary to reduce global poverty substantially?
We study the data on today's global inequality to calculate the minimum aggregate growth that is required to reduce global poverty substantially.
March 05
Article
Emerging COVID-19 success story: Vietnam's commitment to containment
Vietnam is one country which has responded well to the Coronavirus pandemic. How did they do so? In-country experts provide key insights.
March 05
Article
Global poverty in an unequal world: Who is considered poor in a rich country? And what does this mean for our understanding of global poverty?
What would global poverty look like if we rely on the notions of poverty in countries like Denmark, the US, or Germany? And why does this matter?
March 04
Article
If the world adopted a plant-based diet, we would reduce global agricultural land use from 4 to 1 billion hectares
We could reduce the amount of land used for grazing and croplands used to grow animal feed.
March 01
Article
Do rich countries import deforestation from overseas?
Rich countries import foods produced on deforested land in the tropics. How much deforestation do they import?
February 22
Article
The economies that are home to the poorest billions of people need to grow if we want global poverty to decline substantially
The majority of the world today is poor: 85% of the world live on less than $30 per day. We need economic growth to alleviate global poverty.
February 19
Article
Global deforestation peaked in the 1980s. Can we bring it to an end?
There was a marked acceleration in deforestation in the 20th century. But, global deforestation peaked in the 1980s. Since then, it has slowed.
February 09
Article
The world has lost one-third of its forests, but an end to deforestation is possible
Over the last 10,000 years, the world has lost one-third of its forests. An area twice the size of the United States. Half occurred in the last century.
January 14
Article
Do we only have 60 harvests left?
Claims that the world has only 100, 60, or even 30 years of harvests left often hit the headlines. These claims are overblown, but soil erosion is a problem and we can do something about it.
January 08
Article
Our World in Data is now tracking Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations across the world
We are building a global dataset on COVID-19 Vaccinations. Explore the latest data for all countries.
January 06
Article
How are working hours measured and what can we learn from the data?
The primary way to measure working hours is with surveys, but the data can have limitations that are important to understand.
December 21
Article
Do workers in richer countries work longer hours?
Workers in richer countries tend to work fewer hours than those in poorer countries.
December 16
Article
Are we working more than ever?
Working hours for the average worker have decreased dramatically over the last 150 years.
December 10
Article
The world’s energy problem
The world faces two energy problems: most of our energy still produces greenhouse gas emissions, and hundreds of millions lack access to energy.
December 01
Article
Why did renewables become so cheap so fast?
In most places, power from new renewables is now cheaper than new fossil fuels.
November 30
Article
Our World in Data switches to Johns Hopkins University as our main data source for COVID-19 cases and deaths
To continue providing daily updates on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Our World in Data has switched from ECDC to Johns Hopkins University as our data source for confirmed cases and deaths.
November 26
Article
Breaking out of the Malthusian trap: How pandemics allow us to understand why our ancestors were stuck in poverty
The Industrial Revolution ended the Malthusian trap in which incomes were determined by the size of the population — making it possible for a country to leave abject poverty behind.