Environment & Energy
GDP vs CO2: A significant coupling
Shows the tight correlation between wealth and CO2 emissions for the last decades
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Energy intensity of growth
Some countries maintain high GDP with lower energy use through efficiency and different energy mix strategies
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Global emissions evolution
Map showing which countries reduced emissions vs increased
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GDP vs CO2: Decoupling possibilities
Individual trajectories show that some countries achieve some level of decoupling through different policy choices, energy mix, or industrial transition stage
Explore in Observatory →Politics
Democracy and development
Shows the impressive diversity of individual trajectories in the PIB-democraty phase space
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Governance quality and prosperity
Moderate correlation with substantial dispersion — high GDP can coexist with varying levels of government functioning.
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Democracy and corruption
Significant correlation: more democratic countries tend to have less corruption
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Military spending and regime type
Autocracies and countries in conflict spend more on military as % GDP
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The Third Wave of Democracy (1974-2023)
Democratic countries rose from 35 (1974) to 90+ (2000s) - largest democratic expansion ever. Now shows signs of reversal.
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Fall of Communism (1989-2000)
Eastern Europe GDP crashed 20-40% after 1989 then recovered - shows painful transition from planned to market economy.
Explore in Observatory →Violence
Inequality and violence correlation
Higher inequality correlates with higher homicide rates across countries
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Incarceration and development
Complex relationship with notable outliers (e.g. the US with incarceration rates 5-10x other wealthy nations)
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Incarceration effectiveness paradox
Many countries show high incarceration rates alongside high homicide rates questioning deterrence effectiveness. Dynamic analysis could improve understanding.
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US homicide exceptionalism
Clear negative correlation between economic wealth and homicide rates. Notable outliers (US homicide rates 5-10x higher than similar wealthy democracies)
Explore in Observatory →Economics
GDP-Happiness relationship (Easterlin paradox)
Beyond ~$40k GDP/capita, happiness gains diminish - shows limitations of economic growth alone
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Productivity growth patterns
Western nations show steady long-term productivity gains, while China and India demonstrate rapid catch-up; Ethiopia and Brazil lag despite recent improvements.
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US healthcare cost anomaly
USA spends far more on healthcare as % of GDP but achieves lower life expectancy than other wealthy nations - trajectory shows widening gap
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Structural transformation
Shows clear pattern: as countries develop, agricultural employment drops from 50%+ to <5%
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Engel's Law: Food expenditure share
Poorer countries spend higher % on food (>40%) vs wealthy (<15%)
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The 2008 Financial Crisis
Largest economic crisis since Great Depression - some countries (Greece/Spain) took 10+ years to recover.
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African Growth Revival (2000-2023)
After 20 years of stagnation (1980-2000) Africa resumed growth - though still below Asian rates.
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The Nordic Tax Paradox
High-tax Scandinavian countries (45-50% of GDP) achieve both strong economic growth and high life satisfaction - challenging the tax-kills-growth narrative
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Working Hours Divergence
Since 1980: Europeans work 25% fewer hours while maintaining productivity parity with Americans - questions the hours-worked = prosperity equation
Explore in Observatory →Health
Obesity and wealth paradox
Middle-income countries show rising obesity; wealthiest countries vary widely
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Suicide rate evolution
US suicide rates continue increasing while declining in most other wealthy democracies
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Substance use death rates rising
US death rates from substance use disorders increase more significantly than in other wealthy democracies
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China's Great Leap Forward (1958-1962)
China's famine killed 15-45M people - visible as life expectancy drop from 50 to 30 years. Worst peacetime catastrophe.
Explore in Observatory →Demography
Aging and fertility spiral
Shows aging-fertility feedback loop; countries struggle to reverse trajectory
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Living alone and development
Wealthier countries have more single-person households (individualization)
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The Population Explosion
World population: 2.5B (1950) → 8B (2023) - tripled in 70 years. Peak growth rate was 2.1%/year in 1968.
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The Population Aging Crisis (1950-2100)
Median age rising globally: 24 (1950) → 30 (2023) → 40+ (2100) - creates unprecedented fiscal challenges.
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Social Progress
Literacy and longevity improvements
Clear positive relationship between education and health outcomes — countries improving literacy consistently show parallel gains in life expectancy.
Explore in Observatory →Rise of the welfare state
Government expenditure grew from ~10–15% of GDP (1950) to ~40–50% (2023) in most high-income nations, marking the expansion of the modern public sector.
Explore in Observatory →Urbanization quality
Rapid urbanization in developing countries creates slum challenges
Explore in Observatory →China's Reform Era (1978-2023)
China lifted 800M from poverty - largest poverty reduction in history. GDP grew 40-fold since Deng's reforms.
Explore in Observatory →Urbanization Without Prosperity
Many African/Asian nations reached 50%+ urbanization at GDP levels where Europe was still 80% rural - shows urbanization decoupled from development
Explore in Observatory →The Poverty Paradox
$3/day poverty eliminated in China (800M people) while Sub-Saharan Africa still has 400M+ in extreme poverty despite decades of aid
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