Our Data Sources

The World Factbook, also known as the CIA World Factbook, was a reference resource produced by the US Central Intelligence Agency between 1962 and 2026 with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. From 1971 it was not classified, and available to the public in print since 1975, initially by the CIA, and later the Government Publishing Office.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

Just over 20 years ago the Global Carbon Project (GCP) was created to bring together a global consortium of scientists to establish a common and mutually agreed understanding of the Earth carbon cycle.

The Human Capital Data Portal provides global, regional, and economy-level data on key dimensions of human capital, including education, health, social protection, and labor.

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is the global voice of the diabetes community. We are a non-profit umbrella organisation of 251 national diabetes associations in 158 countries and territories, working together to improve and empower the lives of the estimated 590 million people living with diabetes and prevent diabetes in those at risk.

ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for digital technologies (ICTs). ​The Organization is made up of a membership of 194​ Member States and more than 1000 companies, universities and international and regional organizations. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and with regional offices on every continent, ITU is the oldest agency in the UN family – has been connecting people for over 160 years.

Our World in Data is a collaborative effort between researchers at the University of Oxford, who are the scientific editors of the website content; and the UK-based nonprofit organization Global Change Data Lab (GCDL), which publishes and maintains the website and the data tools that make our work possible.

Reporters Without Borders (RWB) is an international non-profit organisation governed by principles of democratic governance. We are neither a trade union nor a representative of media companies. Founded in 1985 in Montpellier by four journalists, RSF is at the forefront of the defence and promotion of freedom of information. Recognised as a public interest organisation in France since 1995, RSF has consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF).

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world’s greatest challenges.

Founded in 1964, we support developing countries to access the benefits of a globalized economy more fairly and effectively. And we help equip them to deal with the potential drawbacks of greater economic integration. To do this, we provide analysis, facilitate consensus-building, and offer technical assistance. This helps them to use trade, investment, finance, and technology as vehicles for inclusive and sustainable development.

UNdata is a web-based data service for the global user community. It brings international statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single-entry point. Users can search and download a variety of statistical resources compiled by the United Nations (UN) statistical system and other international agencies. The numerous databases or tables collectively known as "datamarts" contain over 60 million data points and cover a wide range of statistical themes including agriculture, crime, communication, development assistance, education, energy, environment, finance, gender, health, labour market, manufacturing, national accounts, population and migration, science and technology, tourism, transport and trade.

The Data and Analytics Section (DAS) is the specialized statistics unit within UN-Habitat. The data section is responsible for overall data oversight across all urban monitoring domains within UN-Habitat, methodological developments, supporting member states in their monitoring efforts around global agenda such as the SDGs, implementing direct data collection and compilation, providing data to UN-Habitat global reports, and publicly and openly disseminating urban data through its urban indicators programme.

The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs conducts demographic research, supports intergovernmental processes at the United Nations in the area of population and development, and assists countries in developing their capacity to produce and analyse population data and information. The Division brings population issues to the attention of the international community by highlighting the central role of demographic trends in all aspects of sustainable development. The Division publishes datasets on the world’s population and analyzes global demographic trends.

Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) is a unique approach to conceptualizing and measuring democracy. V-Dem distinguishes between five high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, and egalitarian, and collects data to measure these principles.

The Women, Business and the Law (WBL) team invites collaboration from public and private sector experts on data collection and dissemination to help create jobs for women and boost economic growth globally. The next WBL report is expected to be published in March 2026. If you are a private sector expert interested in contributing, please refer to the expert contributors page for more information. For the first time, governments are invited to nominate focal points to coordinate the completion of questionnaires. If you wish to contribute, please refer to the government engagement page.

The World Bank is like a cooperative, made up of 189 member countries. These member countries, or shareholders, are represented by a Board of Governors, who are the ultimate policymakers at the World Bank. Generally, the governors are member countries' ministers of finance or ministers of development. They meet once a year at the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

Who we are Founded in 1948, WHO is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners and people to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health.

A global compilation of data capturing household, business, and citizen perceptions of the quality of governance in more than 200 economies.