📈 Human Progress
In the last decades humanity has made great progress with less extreme poverty, increased health, wealth and democracy. We follow in the tradition of professor Hans Rosling.
📉 Diarrhea-related deaths among children reduced by 72 percent in 25 years
Deaths from diarrhea among children under five have dropped from 3.1 million annually in 1997 to 340,000 today. Rotavirus vaccines that cost $200 per dose in the 2000s now cost about one dollar. Since 1990, 2.6 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water.
🍔 American kids and teenagers eat less fast food
Children and teenagers between 2 and 19 years old consumed 11.4 percent of their daily calories from fast food in 2023. This is a decrease from nearly 14 percent during 2013 and 2014 according to CDC data.
🏭 Air pollutant emissions decrease significantly within the EU
All air pollutants had lower emissions in 2023 than in 2005, according to new report. Sulfur emissions decreased the most of all pollutants, down 95 percent since 1990 and by 14 percent since last year.
⚡ 310 million people have gained access to electricity since 2015 – totally 92% of the world's population
310 million people have gained access to electricity since 2015, meaning that 92 percent of the world's population now has basic access to electricity. The greatest growth in access between 2020 and 2023 occurred in Central and South Asia.
📲 Mobile payments increase dramatically in Africa and contribute to economic empowerment
Mobile payments have grown from 13 million accounts in 2010 to over 640 million accounts in 2023. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the share of people with mobile money accounts has increased from 12 percent in 2014 to 33 percent in 2021.
🐅 Thailand's tiger population has increased fivefold in 15 years
The tiger population in Thailand's Western Forest Complex has increased from approximately 40 individuals in 2007 to between 179 and 223 last year. WWF calls the increase extraordinary. Major tiger population recoveries have also been noted in India and Nepal.
🚭 Drug deaths plummet among young Americans
Fatal overdoses among 20- to 29-year-olds decreased by 47 percent. The number of fatal overdoses among people under 35 years fell from over 31,000 in 2021 to approximately 16,690 in 2024.
🧠 Younger generations have lower risk of dementia at a given age than earlier generations
People born later have less risk of developing dementia at the same age compared to earlier generations. The trend is clearer among women, especially in Europe and England.
🔙 Beaver returns to Portugal after 500 years
Beaver has returned to Portugal after being extinct since the end of the 1400s, confirmed through camera traps and gnaw marks. The species functions as a natural ecosystem engineer that creates wetlands and improves water quality without human cost.