Explore the data
Sustainability: A tale of two halves
Below you'll find some charts that are used in the Sustainability: A tale of two halves chapter of Not the End of the World. Many of these charts are interactive so that you can explore this data over different periods, and for most countries in the world.
First, I'll list some best data sources that I used when writing this chapter, and go back to for the most recent updates. They're some of the core datasets that we use on Our World in Data. This is not an exhaustive list – there are lots of others doing great work in this area. In particular, these are data sources that update over time, so they're not static or specific to a single year. That means you can track progress in the future.
Where to go to explore more:
Explore the Data
Here are some interactive versions of charts used in the book. I've also left some notes on the underlying data source, where you can explore the methodology and related metrics.
If you are using any of this data or the charts, please make sure to credit the underlying source (not me).
Child mortality
The chart below shows the share of newborns that die before reaching the age of five. This is called the 'child mortality rate'.
You can add different countries using the buttons at the top. Or see a global map of these rates by clicking on the 'Map' tab.
Source: The data sources are Gapminder and the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).
Explore more on this topic at Our World in Data.
Maternal mortality
The chart below shows the number of women who die from pregnancy-related causes per 100,000 live births. This is called the 'maternal mortality rate'.
You can add different countries using the buttons at the top. Or see a global map of these rates by clicking on the 'Map' tab.
Source: The data sources are Gapminder, World Health Organization, and OECD.
Explore more on this topic at Our World in Data.
Life expectancy
The chart below shows the average life expectancy at birth, across the world. For a given year, it represents the average lifespan for a hypothetical group of people, if they experienced the same age-specific death rates throughout their whole lives as the age-specific death rates seen in that particular year. You can learn more about this metric here.
You can add different countries using the buttons at the top. Or see a global map of these rates by clicking on the 'Map' tab.
Source: The data sources are the Human Mortality Database and UN World Population Prospects.
Explore more on this topic at Our World in Data.
Access to basic resources
Here is a list of interactive charts documenting changes in access to basic resources:
Education
The chart below shows the share of children who are in school, getting a formal education.
You can add different countries using the buttons at the top. Or see a global map of these rates by clicking on the 'Map' tab.
Source: The data sources are Lee and Lee (2016) and UNESCO.
Explore more on this topic at Our World in Data.
Extreme poverty
The chart below shows the share of people living at different income thresholds. The bottom threshold is the 'international poverty line' – defined as living on less than $1.90 per day. Note that this is an incredibly low poverty line. The share of people living below higher thresholds is also falling.
You can add different countries using the buttons at the top.
Source: The data source is Moatsos (2021). You can find the most recent data (which does not extend back to 1820) from the World Bank here.
Explore more on this topic at Our World in Data.
Fertility rate
The chart below shows the 'total fertility rate' – the number of children born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and give birth to children at the current age-specific fertility rates.
You can add different countries using the buttons at the top. Or see a global map of these rates by clicking on the 'Map' tab.
Source: The data source is the UN World Population Prospects.
Explore more on this topic at Our World in Data.