The Living Planet Index is the biodiversity metric that always claims the headlines. It’s often misinterpreted. How should we understand it?

Many countries ship plastic waste overseas. How much of the world’s waste is traded, and how big is its role in the pollution of our oceans?

Hunting and habitat loss drove many large mammals in Europe close to extinction. New data shows us that many of the continent’s mammal populations are flourishing again.

Many more people have democratic rights than in the past. Some of this progress has recently been reversed.

Explore the environmental impacts of hundreds of specific food products.

Explore historical and recent emissions of air pollutants across the world.

It is wrong to think that these three statements contradict each other. We need to see that they are all true to see that a better world is possible.

How democratic have countries been across the world? And how big are the differences between them?

Explore the key highlights from the UN’s latest release of its world population estimates.

Explore data on population, fertility rates, life expectancy, deaths and other demographic data across the world.

In the late 1980s, there were near a million new cases of guinea worm disease recorded worldwide. In 2021, there were only 15. How was this achieved?

Explore the world’s political systems with the leading approaches of measuring democracy.

All energy production takes up land – whether it’s for a power plant, or to dig minerals out of the ground. Which sources use the most land, and which use it most efficiently?

The world is close to eradicating polio, but has been set back in the last few years. To achieve the goal of global eradication, it’s crucial to improve testing.

Research suggests that many children – especially in the world’s poorest countries – learn only very little in school. What can we do to improve this?

The world produces more food than ever, but the amount of land we use is now falling. This means we can feed more people while restoring wild habitat.

Explore the latest reported data on the 2022 Monkeypox outbreak, produced by the Global.health team.

Depression is one of the world’s most common health conditions. It’s estimated that one-in-three women and one-in-five men have an episode of major depression by the age of 65.

Most people still eat some meat. But survey data shows that many report adopting a diet with less animal products. Young people are more likely to be non- or only occasional meat-eaters.

Humans hunted many of the world’s large mammals to extinction. This threat still exists today, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

The world is close to eradicating polio. Explore the latest data on polio cases in 2021.