Our World in DataOur World in Data is a free global development website whose purpose is to collect, visualize, and share “research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems.” Affiliated with the University of Oxford, operated by the nonprofit organization Global Change Data Lab, and launched in 2014, the website is designed for a global audience, including scholars, journalists, policymakers, educators, and schoolchildren. The website reportedly sees more than 1 million visits per month and has been cited hundreds of times in research and the media.
Our World in Data contains more than 3,000 interactive charts and dozens of articles across 297 topics. Ten categories ranging from “Energy and Environment” to “Violence and War” enable visitors to drill down to topics such as “Homicides” and “Environmental impacts of food production.” Each topic features interactive charts with annotations and sources. Searchability is basic, limited to browsing by topic, filtering charts by title, or doing a keyword search across the entire website. Topic entries are lengthy and sometimes difficult to skim. Ability to filter information by region, country, and dates would help visitors find what they need more quickly. Visitors can download charts as PNG or SVG images and export datasets in spreadsheet-ready CSV format. Our World in Data’s spin-off site, Sustainable Development Goals Tracker, uses these data to track progress toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, set to be achieved by 2030.
Founder Max Roser’s stated aim is to use statistical data to combat doom-and-gloom media coverage that fosters cynicism and apathy among citizens. The worldview behind Our World in Data aligns with psychologist Steven Pinker’s hotly debated claims in The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (2011). Sure enough, the website repeatedly quotes Pinker and cites his work as a data source. While Our World in Data claims not to cherry-pick or omit data, visitors should recognize its bias in favor of a narrative of steady human progress.
Our World in Data makes it easier to access, share, and understand statistical data that reveal trends in global development. Visualizations are posted under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, allowing anyone to share and adapt the content freely. Biases are disclosed and sources cited. While the raw data are widely available elsewhere, the website’s broad coverage, open access, and countless charts and graphs make it exceptionally useful to researchers and citizens.—Michael Rodriguez, University of Connecticut ACRL Internet Review April 2020
