The world has problems.
Data shows the path forward.
This dashboard presents verifiable, peer-reviewed data on humanity's largest challenges — and its genuine progress. Every number has a source. Every trend has context. No agenda, no optimism bias, no pessimism bias.
Empirically verified
Every claim backed by peer-reviewed data from World Bank, WHO, UN, NASA, NOAA. Primary sources only.
Honest about uncertainty
Data gaps, measurement limitations, and conflicting findings are explicitly noted. We don't cherry-pick.
Long-run perspective
Short-term noise misleads. We show decade-scale and century-scale trends where data permits.
~9%
of world lives in extreme poverty
vs 36% in 1990
vs 36% in 1990
World Bank · $2.15/day PPP
37
child deaths per 1,000 births
vs 93 in 1990
vs 93 in 1990
World Bank · under-5 mortality
422
ppm atmospheric CO₂
vs 280 pre-industrial
vs 280 pre-industrial
NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory
87%
global adult literacy rate
vs 56% in 1960
vs 56% in 1960
UNESCO · World Bank
Poverty & Wealth
Extreme poverty — defined as living on less than $2.15/day in 2017 PPP — has declined dramatically. But 700 million people still live below this threshold. Progress is real; the problem is not solved.
Sources: World Bank Poverty & Inequality Platform · International Monetary Fund
Measurement note: Poverty lines use Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) to account for cost-of-living differences. The $2.15/day threshold is a minimum floor — many researchers argue $5–$10/day better reflects genuine deprivation. Data has gaps for conflict zones.
~700M
People in extreme poverty today
Still 700M too many
2023 estimate · World Bank
−1.9B
Reduction since 1990
↓ 73% in 33 years
World Bank historical series
8.9%
Share of world population
vs 36% in 1990
$2.15/day 2017 PPP
40%+
Sub-Saharan Africa share
Progress slowest here
World Bank regional data
Extreme Poverty Rate by Region — 1990 to 2023
Share of population living below $2.15/day (2017 PPP). Long-run decline is real, but Sub-Saharan Africa remains stalled.
World Bank Poverty & Inequality Platform · SI.POV.DDAY indicator
What the data shows
East Asia saw the fastest poverty reduction in human history — China's economic growth alone lifted ~800 million people. South Asia followed. Sub-Saharan Africa has made less progress and now holds the majority of the world's extreme poor.
Reason for evidence-based hope
The global poverty rate has fallen faster in the last 30 years than at any point in recorded history. Direct cash transfers and economic growth have proven effective. The tools exist — the question is political will and resources.
GDP per Capita — Major Economies
World Bank · NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD (constant 2017 PPP)
Income Inequality (Gini Index)
0 = perfect equality · 100 = one person owns everything
World Bank · SI.POV.GINI
Health & Mortality
Global life expectancy has risen by over 25 years since 1950 — the greatest improvement in human wellbeing in history. Child mortality has collapsed. Yet 5 million children under five still die annually, mostly from preventable causes.
Sources: World Health Organization · World Bank Health Nutrition & Population
72.8
Global life expectancy (years)
↑ from 46 in 1950
WHO 2023
37
Child mortality per 1,000 births
↓ from 93 in 1990
World Bank U5MR
5M
Children under 5 die annually
Still largely preventable
UNICEF 2022
+14yr
Life expectancy gap (rich vs poor)
Persistent inequality
World Bank regional data
Life Expectancy at Birth — World & Regions
Years a newborn is expected to live, assuming current mortality rates persist throughout life.
World Bank · SP.DYN.LE00.IN
What the data shows
The convergence is real: low-income countries are catching up to high-income countries faster than at any previous time. The main drivers are vaccines, oral rehydration therapy, mosquito nets, and basic sanitation — not expensive technology.
Reason for evidence-based hope
Child mortality has fallen 59% since 1990. Every day, 17,000 fewer children die than did in 1990. This is the result of concrete, proven interventions that are affordable. The problem is tractable.
Child Mortality Rate (Under-5)
Deaths per 1,000 live births
World Bank · SH.DYN.MORT
Maternal Mortality Ratio
Deaths per 100,000 live births
World Bank · SH.STA.MMRT
Education
Global literacy has risen from 12% in 1820 to 87% today — the steepest knowledge expansion in human history. But 750 million adults remain illiterate, two-thirds of them women. Access is not yet universal.
Sources: UNESCO Institute for Statistics · World Bank Education
87%
Global adult literacy rate
vs 56% in 1960
UNESCO 2022
750M
Adults who cannot read
2/3 are women
UNESCO
90%
Primary school enrollment
vs 55% in 1960
World Bank
↑
Girls' education closing gap
Fastest in low-income nations
World Bank gender parity
Literacy Rate by Region — Historical Trend
Share of adults (15+) who can read and write. Fastest improvement in South and East Asia.
UNESCO UIS · World Bank · SE.ADT.LITR.ZS
What the data shows
Education access has expanded faster than at any point in history. The gender gap in school enrollment has nearly closed globally. The remaining illiteracy is concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, often correlated with conflict and extreme poverty.
Reason for evidence-based hope
Research consistently shows that girls' education is the single highest-return development investment. When girls complete secondary school, birth rates fall, child mortality falls, and GDP rises. Countries that have invested here (Bangladesh, Ethiopia) show remarkable results.
Climate Change
The scientific consensus is unambiguous: human activities are warming the planet at an unprecedented rate. This page shows the raw data — CO₂ concentrations, temperature anomalies, and the honest picture of where we stand.
Sources: NOAA GML Mauna Loa · NASA GISS Surface Temperature Analysis · IPCC AR6
Scientific consensus: 97%+ of actively publishing climate scientists agree that current warming is primarily human-caused (Cook et al. 2013, Lynas et al. 2021). The remaining 3% disagreement is on magnitude and timing, not causation. This is not a matter of debate in the peer-reviewed literature.
422
ppm CO₂ — Mauna Loa
Highest in 3 million years
NOAA GML · live reading
+1.2°C
Global warming vs pre-industrial
Paris target: 1.5°C
NASA GISS 2023
+50%
CO₂ above pre-industrial baseline
280→422 ppm since 1750
NOAA / ice core data
29%
Global electricity from renewables
↑ rapidly, was 19% in 2010
IRENA 2023
Atmospheric CO₂ — Mauna Loa Observatory, 1958–present
Weekly mean CO₂ in parts per million (ppm). The seasonal "Keeling Curve" shows plant cycles; the upward trend shows fossil fuel emissions.
NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory · Scripps Institution of Oceanography
What the data shows
CO₂ has risen from 315 ppm (1958) to 422 ppm (2024) — a 34% increase in 66 years. The rate of increase is itself accelerating. Ice core data confirms this is higher than any point in the last 800,000 years.
Reason for evidence-based hope
Solar and wind energy costs have fallen 90% since 2010. Global renewable capacity additions hit records every year since 2015. The energy transition is underway — the question is speed. Physics means every ton of CO₂ not emitted directly reduces warming.
Global Surface Temperature Anomaly — 1880 to 2023
Departure from 1951–1980 average in °C. Based on land and ocean measurements from thousands of weather stations worldwide.
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) · GISTEMP v4
Energy Transition
The shift from fossil fuels to clean energy is the most critical industrial transition in history. The data shows both the scale of what's been achieved and the scale of what remains to be done.
Sources: World Bank · IRENA · Our World in Data energy dataset
80%
Energy still from fossil fuels
Oil, gas, coal globally
IEA World Energy Outlook 2023
29%
Electricity from renewables
↑ from 19% in 2010
IRENA 2023
−90%
Solar cost reduction since 2010
Fastest technology cost drop ever
IRENA LCOE data
733M
People without electricity access
Sub-Saharan Africa concentrated
World Bank 2022
Renewable Energy Share of Electricity
Top transition countries vs world average
World Bank · EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS
Access to Electricity — Global Progress
% of population with electricity access
World Bank · EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS
Population
World population reached 8 billion in 2022. The growth rate is slowing — the UN's best estimate is 9.7 billion by 2050, then stabilizing around 10.4 billion. Demographic change is the most predictable long-run force in the world.
Sources: UN World Population Prospects 2022 · World Bank
8.1B
World population 2024
Growing at 0.9%/year
UN DESA · World Bank
9.7B
Projected 2050
UN medium variant
UN WPP 2022
2.3
Global fertility rate (children/woman)
↓ from 5.1 in 1963
World Bank
56%
Urban population
↑ from 30% in 1950
UN Urbanization Prospects
World Population — 1960 to 2023
Total world population. Growth rate has halved since the 1960s peak. The "population explosion" is slowing due to education and development.
World Bank · SP.POP.TOTL
What the data shows
Population growth rate peaked in 1963 at 2.3%/year and has since fallen to 0.9%. In every country that has reduced poverty and improved girls' education, fertility rates fell naturally — without coercion. Demographics is destiny, but the trajectory is toward stabilization.
Reason for evidence-based hope
The best population policy is also the best human rights policy: educate girls, reduce child mortality, improve living standards. Countries with high education and low child mortality consistently reach below-replacement fertility rates within 1–2 generations.
Food & Hunger
The share of humanity that is undernourished fell from 19% in 1990 to 9% in 2015 — then progress stalled and reversed. Climate change, COVID-19, and conflict have pushed hunger up again. 733 million people face food insecurity today.
Sources: FAO State of Food Security · World Bank
733M
People facing hunger
↑ from 615M in 2019
FAO 2023
9%
Share of world undernourished
Progress reversed post-2015
FAO
149M
Children with stunted growth
Due to chronic malnutrition
UNICEF 2022
30%
Food produced is wasted
Could feed all hungry twice over
FAO 2022
Prevalence of Undernourishment — Regional Trends
% of population below minimum dietary energy requirements. Progress was remarkable 1990–2015, then reversed.
FAO · World Bank · SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS
What the data shows
Global hunger fell steadily from 1990 to 2015 — then COVID-19, climate shocks, and conflict reversed gains. Today we produce enough food to feed everyone on earth; the problem is distribution, purchasing power, and conflict. This is political and logistical, not agricultural.
Reason for evidence-based hope
The Green Revolution and subsequent agricultural science has more than tripled food production per hectare since 1960 while population doubled. Reducing food waste by 25% would provide enough calories for all currently hungry people. The solutions are known.