How rapidly the world is changing, and what further changes are needed to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

An overview of how literacy is defined, and how estimates compare to other measures of educational achievement.

Do most countries devote resources to maintain armies even when they are not immersed in a critical conflict? How are military capabilities changing in the 21st century?

Gross domestic product (GDP) is increasingly seen as an incomplete measure of economic activity. Another measure gaining traction as a supplement to GDP is national wealth.

Decoupling emissions from the economy is possible.

The Economic Complexity Index offers insights into how diversified and sophisticated a country's export profile is. This matters for economic growth and development potential.

Understanding education challenges and progress in Ethiopia through the Young Lives Study.

Which countries make up the world regions commonly used in our charts?

How does the electricity output of different sources compare?

New vaccination technology could reduce our reliance on antibiotics.

As today’s developed countries grew richer, they experienced a process of ‘structural transformation’. Are developing countries following a similar process?

Depending on the measure, organic farming can sometimes have higher environmental impacts than conventional farming.

The reduction of poverty has also happened because public spending and redistribution have increased significantly.

How could it be that happiness inequality falls with rising income inequality?

We tend to underestimate the average happiness of people around us. One possible explanation is that we are positive about ourselves, but negative about those we don't know.

How is life expectancy calculated, what does it mean, and what’s the difference between period and cohort life expectancy?

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