How much CO2 can the world emit while keeping warming below 1.5°C and 2°C?
The budget to keep temperatures below 1.5°C is less than a decade of current emissions. For 2°C, it’s less than three decades.
September 29, 2023
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September 27, 2023
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Per capita, national, historical: how do countries compare on CO2 metrics?
There are many ways to measure countries’ contributions to climate change. What do they tell us?
September 26, 2023
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How many animals get slaughtered every day?
Hundreds of millions of animals get killed for meat every day.
August 30, 2023
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Which form of transport has the smallest carbon footprint?
How can individuals reduce their emissions from transport?
August 16, 2023
Article
The Global Terrorism Database: how do researchers measure terrorism?
There are different approaches to measuring terrorism. Here is the approach of the Global Terrorism Database, a leading source of terrorism data.
August 9, 2023
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How do researchers estimate the death toll caused by each risk factor, whether it’s smoking, obesity, or air pollution?
Risk factors are important to understand because they can help us identify how to save lives. How do researchers estimate their impact?
August 9, 2023
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How are causes of death registered around the world?
In many countries, when people die, the cause of their death is officially registered in their country’s national system. How is this determined?
August 9, 2023
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Risk ratios, odds ratios, risk differences: How do researchers calculate the risk from a risk factor?
The effects of risk factors can be calculated in different ways. How are they calculated and interpreted?
August 9, 2023
Article
Why isn’t it possible to sum up the death toll from different risk factors?
Deaths caused by each risk factor can’t be added up. By understanding why, we will have a better understanding of how many lives can be saved with each intervention.
July 27, 2023
Article
The limits of our personal experience and the value of statistics
The world is huge; to get a clear idea of what our world is like, we have to rely on carefully collected, well-documented statistics.
July 18, 2023
Article
SDG Tracker: Measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals
Our World in Data’s Sustainable Development Goals Tracker
July 11, 2023
Article
How are incomes adjusted for inflation?
Adjusting incomes for inflation is crucial if we want to learn how standards of living are changing. How is this adjustment done?
July 6, 2023
Article
How has income inequality within countries evolved over the past century?
While the steep rise of inequality in the United States is well-known, long-run data on the incomes of the richest shows countries have followed a variety of trajectories.
July 6, 2023
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OWID Data Collection: Inequality and Poverty
Explore a wide range of indicators on inequality and poverty and compare sources.
July 3, 2023
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Income inequality before and after taxes: how much do countries redistribute income?
The redistribution of income achieved by governments through taxes and benefits varies hugely.
June 30, 2023
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Measuring inequality: what is the Gini coefficient?
The Gini coefficient is the most common way of measuring inequality. But what does it actually measure? And how does it differ from other measures of inequality?
June 26, 2023
Article
Homicide data: how sources differ and when to use which one
There are several ways to measure homicides. What approaches do different sources take? And when is which approach best?
June 2, 2023
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Population momentum: if the number of children per woman is falling, why is the population still increasing?
50 years ago, the total fertility rate was five. This figure has more than halved. Yet the global population is still rising — why?
May 26, 2023
Article
How do researchers study the prevalence of mental illnesses?
Global data on mental health is essential to understand the scale and patterns of these illnesses, and how to reduce them. How do researchers collect this data, and how reliable is it?
May 26, 2023
Article
How are mental illnesses defined?
Mental illnesses are a range of conditions that significantly affect people’s lives. What are their symptoms?
April 27, 2023
Article
How is food insecurity measured?
Billions of people suffer from food insecurity. What does it mean to be food insecure?