Since the turn of the millennium, Internet access has grown quickly but at different rates across Asia’s most populous nations.

Four countries, home to more than 40% of the world's population, tell this story in the chart: China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

Internet users in China rose from 2% in 2000 to 77% in 2023, while Indonesia’s users grew from 1% to 69%. The pace has been slower in South Asia, with India reaching 43% by 2020 and Pakistan 33% by 2022.

Explore Internet usage for more countries →

There are few experiences, if any, that are more painful for a parent than losing a child.

In the past, child deaths were much more common than they are today. But even when these deaths were not unusual, historical diary entries show us that most parents still found them heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, in many countries today, a large share of parents still experience the loss of a child. The map here shows the share of mothers who lost a child before they reached the age of five.

In most of Europe and North America, this share is less than 1%. But in some of the world’s poorest countries — like Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Central African Republic — more than one in three mothers have experienced this tragedy.

These figures come from a research article by Emily Smith-Greenaway and colleagues, based on reported or estimated data from 2010 to 2018 for mothers aged 20 to 44.

Read my colleague Max Roser’s article for more historical context around this data →

Global livestock numbers — tracked by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization since 1961 — have surged, with particularly large increases in the number of chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, and cows.

For many land animals, life is short and painful. Recent estimates indicate that globally, most animals are raised on factory farms. In the US, where better data and research are available, 99% of livestock is factory-farmed.

Explore many more interactive charts and articles on animal welfare →

To decarbonize road transport, the world must move away from petrol and diesel cars and towards electric vehicles and other forms of low-carbon transport.

This transition has already started. In fact, global sales of combustion engine cars are well past the peak and are now falling.

As you can see in the chart, global sales peaked in 2018. This is calculated based on data from the International Energy Agency. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates this peak occurred one year earlier, in 2017.

Sales of electric cars, on the other hand, are growing quickly.

Explore more data on electric car sales across the world →

Child mortality in Asia has fallen sharply. The chart shows nine countries that have reduced child mortality rates by more than half since 2000. This means millions more children surviving through the crucial early years of life.

In India, for example, child mortality fell from 9% to 3%. China saw a similar decrease from 4% to just 1%. Key reasons for these gains include improved nutrition, clean water, sanitation, vaccinations, and poverty reduction.

However, even with these improvements, rates of 1–6% still reflect hundreds of thousands of young lives lost each year in these countries.

This is a story of remarkable progress — but one that’s not yet finished.

Explore child mortality data for more countries →

It’s difficult to quantify animal suffering in a single number, but one metric often used to measure living conditions is the number of animals raised on “factory farms”.

Factory farms are defined as “concentrated animal feeding operations” where many animals are held in an intensive feeding operation for more than 45 days.

99% of livestock in the United States is factory-farmed. This latest estimate comes from the Sentience Institute and is based on definitions and data from the US Environment Protection Agency.

The chart shows the share of different forms of livestock that are factory-farmed. More than 98% of chickens, turkeys, hens, pigs, and farmed fish are factory-farmed. Cows are a bit less likely to be factory-farmed, but three-quarters still spend much of their lives in these conditions.

Read more about factory farming, including estimates of how much livestock globally is factory-farmed →

What’s the most common season for babies to be born?

In many European countries, it’s late summer or autumn. Births are 5% to 10% more common in these months than others.

But this seasonal pattern used to be different. The chart shows the most common month for births each year. We’ve focused on France, which has data since the 1860s.

As you can see, spring was the most common season for births then. The pattern was temporarily disrupted during the two World Wars but continued until the late 20th century. Then, births shifted to later in the year, with late summer and autumn becoming more popular.

This shift also occurred in many other European countries and North America.

Explore the most common birth month around the world →