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Many previous generations of women in my family would not have been allowed to do the work I do today — even if computers, the Internet, and ż­ČöÓéŔÖ had existed then. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case where I live: I’ve had the same right to get an education, work, and build a career as my brother.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case everywhere.

The map highlights the countries where women had legal restrictions on their rights to work in formal employment in 2023. All are in the Middle East, North Africa, or Sub-Saharan Africa.

These restrictions can include the need for permission or documentation from a male family member — such as a husband or brother — to work, or legal consequences if they don’t follow working restrictions.

While nearly 20 countries still have these legal barriers for women, this number was much larger in the past: in 1970, it was almost 70.

This data only reflects legal restrictions on working rights. In other countries, strong social or cultural pressures still mean that women are less likely to be in formal employment than men, even if they’re legally allowed to.

Explore more data on female participation in the workforce →

In the United States, women spend more time with children than men. This is true for adults of any age.

The difference is especially large for people in their 20s and 30s. For example, at age 35, women spend an average of five hours per day with children, while men spend around three hours. (Considered here are people’s children, step and foster children, grandchildren, and other family members under 18.)

Although the gap is smaller for older people, even in later life, women spend more time with children than men.

This gap reflects traditional gender roles, where women do more childcare and less paid work. But it also has broader implications: women spend less time with friends and alone than men, which may affect their social connections, leisure, and well-being.

This data comes from the American Time Use Survey by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Learn more about how men and women spend their time throughout life →

Mobile phones have achieved what few technologies do: they’ve been adopted rapidly by people all over the world, in both rich and poor regions.

The chart shows how mobile subscriptions grew between 2000 and 2023. This is given per 100 people in each world region. If the number is over 100, it means some people own more than one mobile device. (This data doesn’t tell us the percentage of people with a phone, as some individuals own multiple devices.)

Mobile phone subscriptions have risen sharply everywhere in just a few decades. Even in the poorest parts of the world, like Sub-Saharan Africa, subscriptions grew from just 2 per 100 people to 89. In South Asia, they went from less than 1 to 84.

Still, this rise matters because mobile phones allow people to learn, connect, and build, even in places without physical infrastructure (like roads or banks). For example, mobile money systems enable people to save, send, and receive money without needing a bank branch or an Internet connection. This has helped millions improve their financial security.

Explore more data on mobile phone subscriptions →

Three billion people worldwide cannot afford a healthy diet that gives them all the nutrients they need.

Most of these people live in low- to middle-income countries, where people have less money to spend on food. You might rightly guess that people in richer countries tend to spend more on food — but they also spend a smaller share of overall spending on food. You can see this in the chart, where each dot represents one country in 2022.

The average budget in Switzerland for food consumed at home was more than four times that of Kenya (when measured in US dollars). But food made up less than 10% of Swiss consumer spending, compared to almost 60% in Kenya.

This means people in richer countries don’t only have more money to spend on food; they also have far more left to spend on other important resources, like housing, education, clothing, and health.

Read more in my article “Engel's Law: Richer people spend more money on food, but it makes up a smaller share of their income”Ěý→

Every twelfth person in the world still lives in extreme poverty. That means surviving on less than $2.15 per day (adjusted for differences in living costs between countries).

For many, that means struggling to afford nutritious food, not being able to afford basic healthcare, safe sanitation, or electricity.

So, where do most people in extreme poverty live? The chart shows that Sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to just 16% of the global population, now accounts for 67% of people living in extreme poverty.

This distribution is very different from 25 years ago. In 2000, Asia was home to most of the world’s population living in extreme poverty. However, strong economic growth in recent decades has led to steep reductions in poverty. Progress in Sub-Saharan Africa has been much slower.

If we're serious about ending extreme poverty worldwide, supporting economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa has to be a top priority. The recent progress achieved by some African countries reminds us that meaningful change is within reach.

Explore more data on extreme poverty →

Many people are interested in how they can eat in a more climate-friendly way. I’m often asked about the most effective way to do so.

While we might intuitively think that “food miles” — how far our food has traveled to reach us — play a big role, transport accounts for just 5% of the global emissions from our food system.

This is because most of the world’s food comes by boat, and shipping is a relatively low-carbon mode of transport. The chart shows that transporting a kilogram of food by boat emits 50 times less carbon than by plane and about 20 times less than trucks on the road.

So, food transport would be a much bigger emitter if all our food were flown across the world — but that’s only the case for highly perishable foods, like asparagus, green beans, some types of fish, and berries.

This means that what you eat and how it is produced usually matters more than how far it’s traveled to reach you.

Read my article “You want to reduce the carbon footprint of your food? Focus on what you eat, not whether your food is local” →

For many readers in high-income countries, the Internet might no longer feel revolutionary. But when I was born in 1997, only 2% of the world's population used the Internet. By 2019, that number had risen to over 50%; today, two-thirds of the global population is online.

It’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the novelty and speed of this change for two reasons. First, much of the potential progress enabled by the Internet is still unfolding, from expanding educational opportunities through free online resources to reducing the cost of sending money home for migrants.

Second, it’s good to remember that in 2023, a third of people still didn’t use the Internet. Accelerating connectivity could give these individuals greater freedom and access to new opportunities. The United Nations aims to get more than 90% of people online by 2030. Some regions are still far from universal access, with just 43% of South Asia and 37% of Sub-Saharan Africa connected.

Explore more data on Internet use, country by country →