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Data Insights

Bite-sized insights on how the world is changing, published every few days.

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A line chart titled "Most of humanity has been connected to the Internet for only a brief moment in history" displays the percentage of the global population that used the Internet in the last three months. The vertical axis ranges from 0% to 75%, with key data points indicated. 

In 1997, only 2% of the world’s population used the Internet. By 2009, one in four people used the Internet. The year 2019 is highlighted as the first year that half of the global population (53%) was online, and by the most recent data in 2023, the percentage of Internet users rose to 67%.

Data source is credited to the International Telecommunication Union, referenced via the World Bank, with a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Internet use became the norm for humanity only very recently

For many readers in high-income countries, the Internet might no longer feel revolutionary. But when I was born in 1997, only 2% of the world's population used the Internet. By 2019, that number had risen to over 50%; today, two-thirds of the global population is online.

It’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the novelty and speed of this change for two reasons. First, much of the potential progress enabled by the Internet is still unfolding, from expanding educational opportunities through free online resources to reducing the cost of sending money home for migrants.

Second, it’s good to remember that in 2023, a third of people still didn’t use the Internet. Accelerating connectivity could give these individuals greater freedom and access to new opportunities. The United Nations aims to get more than 90% of people online by 2030. Some regions are still far from universal access, with just 43% of South Asia and 37% of Sub-Saharan Africa connected.

Explore more data on Internet use, country by country

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A line graph titled "How old are you, compared to most of the world?" is displayed. The y-axis represents age in years, ranging from 0 to 45, while the x-axis represents the years from 1950 to 2100. The line starts below 25 in 1950, gradually rises to about 30 in 2020, and goes above 40 by 2100. The data points are connected by a smooth, dark blue line with dotted segments for future projections. Also noted is a data source, indicating that the information comes from the United Nations' World Population Prospects of 2024. The graphic is credited with "CC BY" for licensing.

How old are you compared to the rest of the world?

Describing someone as “young” or “old” is rather arbitrary. However, something we can quantify is whether a given person is “young” or “old” compared to the rest of the world.

Imagine we sorted all 8 billion people alive today from youngest to oldest. The person standing right in the middle would be about 30 years old; that's the median age today. The chart shows the global median age and the UN’s projection to 2100.

In 2025, if you are over 30, you are older than most people in the world.

The chart also shows that if you were born in 1950, you stopped being “young” when you passed 20, as that was the median age in 1970.

As birth rates decline and life expectancy increases, the median age is expected to keep rising until the end of the century.

Whether you’re younger or older than most, the world is still relatively young, and this matters for many aspects of society, from the demand for resources and jobs to long-term planning for healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

If you want to dig deeper into this data, have a look at our Population & Demography Data Explorer →

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Line chart showing the decline in smoking among adults over age 16 in Great Britain from 1974 to 2023. In 1974, around 51% of men and 41% of women reported smoking cigarettes. Over the decades, these rates fell steadily. By 2023, only about 12% of men and 10% of women reported smoking. The gap between men and women remained fairly consistent, with men having slightly higher rates throughout the period. The chart illustrates a dramatic and sustained decline in smoking for both sexes.

The data is sourced from the GLS & OPN surveys (2023) and published by OurWorldinData.org under a Creative Commons BY license.

Once widespread, smoking is now uncommon in Great Britain

Fifty years ago, almost half the adults in Great Britain smoked cigarettes, but this has become much less common.

In the 1970s, half of men and 40% of women over the age of 16 reported smoking cigarettes. Since then, smoking rates have steadily fallen. By 2023, this was just 12% of men and 10% of women.

This dramatic decline is the result of decades of public health efforts such as clear warnings on cigarette packs, bans on tobacco advertising, indoor smoking restrictions, and support to help people quit. Newer technologies — including vaping products, nicotine patches, and medications — have also helped many people quit.

Despite this, smoking remains the leading risk factor for preventable death in the UK, raising the risk of many cancers, heart attacks, and strokes. Fewer smokers means fewer people suffering from these serious diseases.

Read more about the global problem of smoking in an article by my colleague Max

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A bar chart illustrating the number of people living in poverty in Latin America in 2023. The chart highlights that Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico account for 59% of the population living on less than $3.65 per day, totaling 52.2 million individuals. Brazil is represented by the longest bar, showing 23.5 million people, followed by Venezuela with 15.5 million and Mexico with 13.2 million. Other countries displayed include Colombia (10.2 million), Guatemala (5.8 million), Peru (4.3 million), and several others, with the smallest bars indicating very few affected, such as Uruguay (0.1 million) and Costa Rica (0.3 million). The chart provides a clear visual representation of poverty levels across the region.

Data source: Chang, Evans and Rivas Herrera (2024), Inter-American Development Bank. Note: Data in international dollars at 2017 prices, adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries. The graph is licensed under CC BY.

Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico account for 59% of people living in poverty in Latin America

A recent report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) highlights the high concentration of poverty in Latin America. Across the region, around 89 million people — more than one in seven — live on less than $3.65 a day.

Poverty can be measured using various poverty lines; here, we’re looking at the $3.65 line, which the World Bank uses to define poverty in lower-middle-income countries.

The chart shows that 52.2 million people living under this line are in just three countries — Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico — representing 59% of the region’s total.

As the report explains, while Brazil and Mexico don’t have the highest poverty rates, their large populations mean they have the largest number of people living below this line. Venezuela, in contrast, has a smaller population but one of the region’s highest poverty rates.

Identifying where poverty is most concentrated can help target efforts to reduce and eliminate it.

You can explore more data on poverty, including different poverty lines and world regions, in our Poverty Data Explorer

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A chart titled "There is no universal trend in housing prices in European countries" presents price changes of residential properties purchased by households in the 12 most populous European Union countries. It displays a grid layout. 

In the top row from left to right: 
- **Portugal** shows a steep increase of +50% from 2010 to 2023.
- **Czechia** indicates a +44% rise.
- **Sweden** reflects a +36% increase.

In the second row:
- **Germany** has a +33% change.
- **Netherlands** exhibits a +17% increase.
- **Poland** shows a +11% rise.

In the third row: 
- **Belgium** and **France** both have a modest increase of +6%.
- **Greece** shows a decrease of -9%.

In the fourth row: 
- **Spain** indicates a decline of -13%.
- **Romania** has a notable decrease of -27%.
- **Italy** shows a -28% drop.

The chart indicates that data has been adjusted for inflation and cites Eurostat as the data source for 2025. A note at the bottom reminds viewers about the inflation adjustment.

Recent surges in house prices have affected many — but not all — countries in the European Union

One of the most pressing problems I hear from European friends is that they cannot find an affordable place to live. Housing costs represent one of the largest expenses for most Europeans. While many people rent, purchasing a home remains a goal for some.

The chart shows the change in house prices of residential properties purchased by households in 12 countries across the European Union since 2010. In many, prices have increased sharply (even after inflation). Portugal shows the most dramatic increase, with prices rising by 50%.

But this large increase has not happened everywhere. Rises have been more modest in France and Belgium, and prices have actually fallen considerably in Romania and Italy.

These huge differences matter to young Europeans hoping to find their first home after leaving their family house.

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A bar graph illustrating the share of global area burned by wildfires across different regions from 2012 to 2024. The graph is divided vertically into segments representing five regions: Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North and South America. The deep red color represents Africa, which dominates the graph, showing more than half of the total area burned. Other regions, represented by lighter colors, fill the remaining sections of the graph. The year labels are placed along the horizontal axis, indicating the timeline of the data. The title emphasizes that more than half of the area burned by wildfire is in Africa. The data source is the Global Wildfire Information System, with the year of the data being noted as 2025. The graph is under a Creative Commons BY license.

Every year, more than half of the global area burned by wildfire is in Africa

It’s often difficult to understand the scale of wildfires globally. That’s because most news coverage focuses on only a few countries.

News headlines might be filled with stories about large fires in Greece, Portugal, the United States, or Canada, but when we look at the data, the global total is no higher than usual.

This is because the global trend is so strongly dictated by the extent of fires in Africa, which we almost never hear about. As you can see in the chart, Africa experiences more than half of the burned area globally every year. In some years, it’s as much as two-thirds of the total.

Whether it’s a “high” or “low” year for wildfires globally largely reflects whether it’s a high or low year for Africa. These global trends don’t tell us much about the extent of wildfires in other regions.

Track global, regional, and country-level data on wildfires, which we update weekly →

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This image presents a series of bar graphs showing the changes in air travel CO2 emissions for Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and Portugal from 2019 to 2024. Each graph displays annual emissions in millions of tonnes.

The top left graph for Greece shows a dip in emissions during 2020 followed by a rise, ending with emissions projected to be higher than in 2019 by 2024. The label "2019 CO2 emissions" is highlighted in red.

The top right graph for Egypt also illustrates a significant rise, increasing from 2.9 million tonnes in 2019 to 4.3 million tonnes by 2024.

The bottom left graph for Turkey demonstrates a continuous upward trend in emissions from 2019 to 2024, starting near 0 and reaching up to 15 million tonnes.

The bottom right graph for Portugal shows fluctuations, with emissions dropping below 2019 levels in 2021, but returning above it by 2024.

The data source for this information is OECD, with a note explaining that the figures include emissions from both domestic and international aviation and that international aviation emissions are assigned to the country of departure. The data pertains specifically to CO2 emissions from commercial passenger flights only.

In several countries, air travel emissions now surpass pre-pandemic levels

Global air travel collapsed in 2020 as lockdowns and travel restrictions took effect. With fewer flights, CO₂ emissions from commercial aviation fell sharply. The chart shows Egypt as an example, where they dropped by more than half.

As air travel rebounded, emissions rose too — in many countries, they’ve now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. These countries are highlighted in red on the chart.

Emissions from flying make up about 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, but air travel has one of the highest carbon footprints per passenger. As demand grows, reducing its impact will be important for meeting climate goals.

Read my colleague Hannah Ritchie’s article to learn more about aviation’s contribution to global CO₂ emissions →

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What share of children die before their fifth birthday?

What could be more tragic than the death of a young child? Child mortality, the death of children under the age of five, is still extremely common in our world today.

The historical data makes clear that it doesn’t have to be this way: it is possible for societies to protect their children and reduce child mortality to very low rates. For child mortality to reach low levels, many things have to go right at the same time: good healthcare, good nutrition, clean water and sanitation, maternal health, and high living standards. We can, therefore, think of child mortality as a proxy indicator of a country’s living conditions.

The chart shows our long-run data on child mortality, which allows you to see how child mortality has changed in countries around the world.

Explore and learn more about this data
Explore and learn more about this data

Share of population living in extreme povertyWorld Bank

Life expectancy at birthLong-run estimates collated from multiple sources by Our World in Data

Per capita CO₂ emissionsLong-run estimates from the Global Carbon Budget

GDP per capitaLong-run estimates from the Maddison Project Database

Share of people that are undernourishedFAO

Literacy rateLong-run estimates collated from multiple sources by Our World in Data

Share of the population with access to electricityWorld Bank

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