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Today — 14 July 2025Our World in Data

How does the World Bank classify countries by income?

The World Bank classifies countries into four income groups based on average income per person. This article explains how these groups are defined.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/world-bank-income-groups-explained" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/d4cdc240-17cd-4e8c-31e3-d1d197547600/w=1350"/></a>
Before yesterdayOur World in Data

New feature: embed archived versions of our interactive charts in your website

Learn more about different options for embedding our interactive charts.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/new-feature-embed-archived-charts" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/7eedca36-daec-4abd-5f19-a87de6a05a00/w=1350"/></a>

There are now more than half a billion mobile money accounts in the world, mostly in Africa — here's why this matters

7 July 2025 at 04:00
Mobile money allows people without banks to securely transfer funds via text message, and its adoption is growing rapidly.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/mobile-money-why-it-matters" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/c18c6704-95a3-4757-6f5a-7036d5b86400/w=1350"/></a>

The end of tuberculosis that wasn’t

In the 1980s, many thought tuberculosis was on the path to elimination. In reality, more were dying from the disease than ever.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/the-end-of-tuberculosis-that-wasnt" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/b5aa8c82-2fc4-4e0a-cdf1-82d5aa6f9800/w=1350"/></a>

Two billion people don’t have safe drinking water: what does this really mean for them?

23 June 2025 at 04:00
For billions, it can mean hours spent collecting water. For almost a million, it means dying from disease.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/what-no-safe-water-means" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/59c8ad10-ac08-4179-3186-1b2bac060c00/w=1350"/></a>

Measles leaves children vulnerable to other diseases for years

16 June 2025 at 04:00
Measles causes more than an acute illness: it suppresses immune memory and increases the risk of complications for years.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/measles-increases-disease-risk" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/b2168626-1df5-419a-7709-f57955f46800/w=1350"/></a>

Childhood leukemia: how a deadly cancer became treatable

9 June 2025 at 04:00
Before the 1970s, most children affected by leukemia would quickly die from it. Now, most children in rich countries are cured.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/childhood-leukemia-treatment-history" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/28a0ccf8-4618-4822-638f-ea8143e06000/w=1350"/></a>

Once a leading killer, tuberculosis is now rare in rich countries — here’s how it happened

As much as one-quarter of deaths in Europe and the United States were once from tuberculosis.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/tuberculosis-history-decline" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/21b69f06-f8eb-4618-a3ed-401b8af6d300/w=1350"/></a>

What are international dollars?

International dollars are used to compare incomes and purchasing power across countries and over time. Here, we explain how they’re calculated and why they’re used.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/international-dollars" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/95f674ac-5e7c-4474-6493-9a5578eb2a00/w=1350"/></a>

Measles vaccines save millions of lives each year

Measles once killed millions every year. Vaccines changed this, preventing disease, long-term immune damage, and deadly outbreaks.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/measles-vaccines-save-lives" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/5f66d86d-91f5-4839-caa7-d6c5ce64e300/w=1350"/></a>

Where in the world are babies at the lowest risk of dying?

12 May 2025 at 04:00
It’s difficult to compare countries because they don’t always measure infant mortality in the same way.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/where-are-babies-at-lowest-risk-of-dying" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/39d23685-afc7-46b8-2018-8813c041c100/w=1350"/></a>

Children in rich countries are much less likely to die than a few decades ago, but we rarely hear about this progress

5 May 2025 at 04:00
In most rich countries, child mortality has more than halved in the last thirty years; we know we can go further.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/child-mortality-rich-countries-decline" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/0f13d2cd-7f47-4f84-22a3-b1014dd1e500/w=1350"/></a>

How effective and safe are measles vaccines?

21 April 2025 at 04:00
Data from large meta-analyses show that measles vaccination is highly effective and safe, giving a 95% reduction in the risk of measles.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/measles-vaccine-effectiveness-safety" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/1d042616-0031-4929-ef74-a0d7a3176000/w=1350"/></a>

What is foreign aid? How “Official Development Assistance” is measured

Foreign aid measurement is complicated — what exactly counts as Official Development Assistance, what doesn’t, and how much is actually spent abroad?<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/what-is-foreign-aid" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/45c115b3-453b-4d01-6ded-31b0e8570700/w=1350"/></a>

How much foreign aid is spent domestically rather than overseas?

In many countries, a significant share of aid is spent domestically on hosting refugees, offering student scholarships, and administrative costs.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/foreign-aid-domestic-overseas" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/78a7ce1c-2086-4716-c5dc-30f130bbee00/w=1350"/></a>

For many of us, it doesn’t cost much to improve someone’s life, and we can do much more of it

10 March 2025 at 10:00
Most countries spend less than 1% of their national income on foreign aid; even small increases could make a big difference.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/foreign-aid-donations-increase" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/486658e7-cc1e-4bed-f5a7-4c66b7ced500/w=1350"/></a>

“Cool” years are now hotter than the “warm” years of the past: tracking global temperatures through El Niño and La Niña

The world is warming despite natural fluctuations from the El Niño cycle.<br><br><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/global-temperatures-el-nino-la-nina" target="_blank"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/40c0d7fb-f503-45b1-8eda-8cc001f4dd00/w=1350"/></a>
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