Research and Development

Hannah Ritchie; Edouard Mathieu; Max Roser

Research and development underpin nearly all the transformative changes we see on Our World in Data.

Cures for diseases, vaccines, and techniques to prevent infection have helped us survive beyond childhood and live much longer lives. Understanding hygiene, water, and sanitation has saved countless lives from preventable diseases.

Electricity, artificial light, transport, and other energy technologies have transformed our lives. Agricultural research has broken deadlocks in crop yields and allowed us to produce enough food for eight billion people.

Even beyond the long list of technological advances, research into effective political and economic systems, human rights, and social sciences have reshaped societies worldwide.

More research is needed to address our largest problems — old and new. We will need innovations in clean energy to tackle climate change, agriculture to feed a growing population, and developments in medical research to tackle existing and prevent new diseases. Research is vital to address emerging and ongoing risks such as artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons.

This page contains all of our data, visualizations, and writing on research, development, and innovation.

Research & Writing

Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

The world needs ideas and innovation to make progress. Creative and talented people are everywhere, but the opportunity to develop is limited to only a small number of well-off children. The world loses out as a result.

Max Roser

The price of batteries has declined by 97% in the last three decades

To transition towards low-carbon energy systems, we need low-cost energy storage. Battery costs have been falling quickly.

Hannah Ritchie

Why did renewables become so cheap so fast?

In most places, power from new renewables is now cheaper than new fossil fuels.

Max Roser

The brief history of artificial intelligence: the world has changed fast — what might be next?

Little is as important for the world’s future and our own lives as how this history continues.

Max Roser

Yields vs. land use: how the Green Revolution enabled us to feed a growing population

Crop yields across the world have increased dramatically over the last half-century. But has this kept up with a growing population?

Hannah Ritchie

Thumbnail for article battle against microbes

Our history is a battle against the microbes: we lost terribly before science, public health, and vaccines allowed us to protect ourselves

For most of our history, we were losing terribly against the microbes. Only recently did we turn the battle in our favor. Vaccines were a major breakthrough.

Max Roser

Antiretroviral therapy has saved millions of lives from AIDS and could save more

38 million people had HIV/AIDS in 2020. A couple of decades ago, the chances of surviving more than ten years with HIV were slim. Today, thanks to antiretroviral therapy (ART), people with HIV/AIDS can expect to live long lives. How many lives has ART saved?

Bernadeta Dadonaite

Interactive Charts on Research and Development

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Hannah Ritchie, Edouard Mathieu and Max Roser (2023) - “Research and Development” Published online at OurWorldinData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/research-and-development' [Online Resource]

BibTeX citation

@article{owid-research-and-development,
    author = {Hannah Ritchie and Edouard Mathieu and Max Roser},
    title = {Research and Development},
    journal = {Our World in Data},
    year = {2023},
    note = {https://ourworldindata.org/research-and-development}
}

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