Our World in Data
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ourworldindata.org
Our World in Data
@ourworldindata.org
Research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. Based out of Oxford University (@ox.ac.uk), founded by @maxroser.bsky.social.
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The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.

All three statements are true at the same time. Understanding this is key to solving big global problems.

We believe data & research can help us understand both the problems we face & the progress that’s possible. 🧵
Anxiety is the most common mental health condition globally. It’s estimated that 4% to 5% of people in the world have an anxiety disorder at any given time.

Long-term surveys in the United States suggest that around one-third of people experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
November 10, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Reposted by Our World in Data
🔍 Introducing our new, more powerful search!

ourworldindata.org/search

With such a rich publication—nearly 14,000 charts and 100s of articles on 120+ topics—it can be hard to find what matters to you.

Now, finding what you’re looking for, or discovering something new, has never been easier.
November 6, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Democracies tend to have lower levels of corruption
November 7, 2025 at 1:19 PM
🔍 Introducing our new, more powerful search!

ourworldindata.org/search

With such a rich publication—nearly 14,000 charts and 100s of articles on 120+ topics—it can be hard to find what matters to you.

Now, finding what you’re looking for, or discovering something new, has never been easier.
November 6, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Almost one billion children have died globally since 1950
November 5, 2025 at 3:16 PM
The limits of our personal experience and the value of statistics 🧵

How many people do you know by name?

One study found that the average American knows 611.

In a world of 8 billion, that’s less than 0.00001%. A 100,000th of a percent.

We can’t see much of the world through our direct experience
November 5, 2025 at 10:26 AM
A decade ago, the most frequent opinion among smokers was that vaping was less harmful than tobacco. But ten years on, the opposite is true: over a third say that vapes are just as or even more dangerous. You can see this shift in the chart.

The scientific evidence is clear that this is incorrect.
November 3, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Life expectancy has increased at all ages
November 3, 2025 at 11:26 AM
A century of progress in access to primary education
October 31, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Reposted by Our World in Data
We’re celebrating 20 years of tackling global challenges with groundbreaking solutions. 🌍

Our latest 20 Years of Impact story features @ourworldindata.org , bringing trusted, accessible data to millions worldwide.

Find out what their work has achieved so far: https://f.mtr.cool/wkucuegjqn
October 30, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Humanity’s history is a continuous battle between us and the microbes. For most of our history, we were on the losing side. It wasn’t even close. We were losing very decisively.
October 30, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Maternal deaths have more than halved in the last forty years
October 29, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Interested in bite-sized, data-driven insights on the world and how it’s changing?

Check out our growing catalog of over 350 Data Insights (DIs) — which we’ve just made easier to explore and discover what matters to you!
October 28, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Bangladesh has become much more resilient to cyclones, saving many lives
October 27, 2025 at 11:09 AM
China’s internal combustion car sales peaked in 2017 as electric vehicles took off
October 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM
From 5% to 76% in 30 years: Kenya has made substantial progress in providing access to electricity
October 22, 2025 at 12:14 PM
✍️ New article! What do a tonne of potatoes, gravel, coal, and copper have in common? Not much, except that they all weigh the same, and are treated exactly the same in a metric called the “material footprint”.
October 21, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Over many generations, better nutrition and lower disease have led to people becoming taller
October 20, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Our World in Data
The Oxford Martin Programme on Forecasting Technological Change uses data to show which technologies will advance, how fast they’ll spread, and what risks they might pose.

The Technology Observatory will be hosted by @ourworldindata.org  

🔗 https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/forecasting-tech-change
October 20, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Only two countries recorded human cases of guinea worm disease in 2024
October 17, 2025 at 1:27 PM
The Living Planet Index is the biodiversity metric that always claims the headlines. Unfortunately, many of these headlines are wrong. The index is very easy to misinterpret.

The Living Planet Index reports an average decline of 73% across tens of thousands of wildlife populations since 1970.
October 16, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Today we celebrate #WorldFoodDay & the 80th anniversary of @fao.org!

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN provides crucial data to understand food & agricultural systems around the world & how they’re changing.

Much of our work on these topics would not be possible without them.
October 16, 2025 at 10:48 AM
In Colombia, fertility rates have fallen sharply in recent decades
October 15, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Oxford University's (@ox.ac.uk) vice-chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, gave us a nice shout-out in her recent annual oration!

“And did you realise that Our World in Data, the first port of call for millions seeking information on ourselves and our planet, is hosted by the Oxford Martin School?”
Vice-Chancellor's Oration 2025 | University of Oxford
Professor Irene Tracey CBE FRS FMedSci has delivered her annual Oration to the University in the Sheldonian Theatre. Here is the full text of the speech:
www.ox.ac.uk
October 14, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Most people are fairly optimistic that their lives will improve
October 13, 2025 at 10:32 AM