The Ledger
The world, in numbers that got better
One measurable thing per page, told by the long run of the data. The datasets are public and linked under every chart.
One measurable thing per page, drawn from a public dataset that is linked under every chart.
Entry 01
42.8% 3.7%
1800 → 2024
Far fewer children die before their fifth birthday
Entry 02
43.4% 10.4%
1990 → 2024
Extreme poverty has more than halved since 1990
Entry 03
$128.27 $0.26
1975 → 2024
Solar panels cost a tiny fraction of what they used to
Entry 04
12.0% 87.7%
1820 → 2024
Most of the world can now read and write
Entry 05
122,098 zero
1967 → 1980
Smallpox is the first human disease ever eradicated
Entry 06
65,737 536
1981 → 2023
Polio has been pushed to the edge of extinction
Entry 07
28.5 73.2
1770 → 2023
A person born today can expect to live far longer
Entry 08
73.2% 91.6%
1998 → 2023
Nearly everyone on Earth now has electricity
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