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How new vaccines can help with our antibiotic dependence

New vaccination technology could reduce our reliance on antibiotics.

Samantha Vanderslott

How many people does synthetic fertilizer feed?

Hannah Ritchie

Are emerging economies deindustrializing too quickly?

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

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Nicolas Lippolis

Is organic really better for the environment than conventional agriculture?

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

Hannah Ritchie

How much of the world’s land would we need in order to feed the global population with the average diet of a given country?

There are large differences in the land of different diets, mostly depending on how much meat people eat.

Hannah Ritchie

Historical poverty reductions: more than a story about “free-market capitalism”

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

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina

Income inequality and happiness inequality: a tale of two trends

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

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina

Collective pessimism and our inability to guess the happiness of others

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.

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina

Life expectancy: what does this actually mean?

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

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina

Yields vs. land use: how the Green Revolution enabled us to feed a growing population

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

Hannah Ritchie

Is globalization an engine of economic development?

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina

What was the death toll from Chernobyl and Fukushima?

When we think of nuclear safety, two accidents often come to mind: Chernobyl and Fukushima. What was the death toll and impact of these disasters?

Hannah Ritchie

Not all deaths are equal: How many deaths make a natural disaster newsworthy?

How many deaths make a natural disaster newsworthy?

Sandra Tzvetkova

What the history of London’s air pollution can tell us about the future of today’s growing megacities

London once had local pollution levels as high as some of the most polluted cities in other parts of the world today.

Hannah Ritchie

There is a 'happiness gap' between East and West Germany

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina

Structural transformation: how did today’s rich countries become “deindustrialized”?

Most of the advanced economies of the world have been deindustrializing for decades and have moved into a new ‘post-industrial’ phase of development. This post asks how they got there.

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Nicolas Lippolis

Global renewables are growing, but have been partly offset by a decline in nuclear production

To displace fossil fuels we need to increase low-carbon energy. While renewables have been growing, a decline in nuclear has offset some of these gains.

Hannah Ritchie

Air pollution: does it get worse before it gets better?

Air pollution tends to get worse as incomes rise, then it turns and pollution levels decline.

Hannah Ritchie

Homelessness and poverty in rich countries

How common is homelessness in rich countries, and how does it relate to poverty?

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina

The short history of global living conditions and why it matters that we know it

Very few think the world is making progress. In this article, we look at the history of global living conditions and show that the world has made immense progress in important aspects.

Max Roser

How to embed Our World in Data visualizations in your article

Learn how to use any of the interactive visualizations from Our World in Data in your articles.

Max Roser