Data Insights
Bite-sized insights on how the world is changing, written by our team.
Many countries lack regular data on mental health
![This map, titled "Countries that have reported recent data on mental health, 2020," illustrates the reporting status of countries that have compiled and reported systematic data on mental health in the past two years. The map uses different colors to indicate the type of reporting.
The data source is the WHO Mental Health Atlas 2020 via UNICEF (2023). The map shows a diverse reporting landscape, with many countries in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia and Australia providing specific reports for public and private sectors. In contrast, several countries in Africa and parts of Asia and South America have either no mental health data or did not respond to the WHO survey.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/ourworldindata.org/images/published/reporting-of-mental-health-system-data-in-the-past-two-years-desktop.png)
Data on mental health is neglected or unavailable in many countries, especially in Africa and Asia.
The map shows which countries have reported recent data on mental health in the population and how they have reported them. This is based on surveys conducted for the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Atlas (2023).
Several countries have not compiled mental health data in recent years, as shown in red.
Other countries have compiled recent data, but only for general statistical purposes — without using it in specific reports to inform policy, planning, or management purposes. These countries are shown in light green.
Without regular data, it’s difficult to track whether progress is being made or if new problems are emerging and guide resources to address mental health issues.
This means many people’s difficulties with mental health can go unnoticed and unaddressed.
Read more on how researchers study the prevalence of mental illnesses →
6 in 10 people in the world regularly use the Internet
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/ourworldindata.org/images/published/internet-access-desktop.png)
The Internet is one of the world’s fastest-growing technologies.
In 2010, just 30% of the global population was online. Within a decade, this figure had doubled to 60% in 2020. And it’s still growing rapidly, as the chart shows.
There are, however, large inequalities. In North America and Europe, more than 80% are online, compared to just 30% in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The quality of this access is also very different: this indicator is based on someone having used the Internet at least once in the last three months. The experience of someone having non-stop connections on their smartphone will be very different from someone logging on in a public space once a month.
But the dominant trend globally — and across all regions — is that more people are coming online every year. It’s a technology that’s moving incredibly fast.
How much do people value leisure?
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/ourworldindata.org/images/published/how-important-leisure-is-to-people-in-life-desktop.png)
Free time is important to most people around the world.
As shown on this chart, in many countries, leisure is important to more than 80% of people. This is based on data from the European Values Study and World Values Survey.
However, the percentage of people who find leisure “very important” varies more. In some countries, it is the majority; in others, it is less than a quarter.
People enjoy their free time, but valuing leisure a lot doesn’t mean people value work less or work fewer hours. In countries such as Nigeria, Mexico, and Indonesia, people put a high value on both these aspects of their lives.
The global malaria death rate increased for the first time in 20 years due to COVID-19
!["Line graph showing the estimated deaths from malaria per 100,000 people from 1980 to 2021. The graph starts at around 12 deaths per 100,000 people in 1980, rises to a peak of about 15 deaths per 100,000 people around 2004, then gradually declines to about 9 deaths per 100,000 people by 2019. After 2019, the rate rises again to approximately 10 deaths per 100,000 people by 2021. Data source: IHME, Global Burden of Disease (2024)."](https://cdn.statically.io/img/ourworldindata.org/images/published/death-rate-from-malaria-ihme-desktop.png)
The death rate from malaria has gradually decreased since 2004, but disruption to healthcare programs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden increase in death rates in 2020 and 2021.
According to the latest Global Burden of Disease Study — published earlier this year by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) — the age-standardized death rate from malaria was 14.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2004 and had fallen by almost 40% in 2019, to 9.3 deaths per 100,000.
However, in 2020, it increased by around 12% to 10.3 deaths per 100,000, equivalent to around 80,000 additional deaths. Estimates from the World Health Organization also show a similar increase.
This increase is largely attributed to disruptions in malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The increase was most noticeable in Africa, where IHME estimates that around 95% of malaria deaths occur.
Life expectancy is lower in the United States than in other high-income countries
![A line graph titled “Life expectancy in the United States is lower than peer nations” shows life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. The y-axis ranges from 60 to 85 years. The graph compares the United States (orange line) with Australia (green), Canada (blue), the United Kingdom (purple), and high-income countries (teal). The U.S. consistently has lower life expectancy, with a widening gap over time. Data sources: UN WPP (2022), HMD (2023), Zijdeman et al. (2015), Riley (2005). Credit: Our World in Data.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/ourworldindata.org/images/published/lars-usa-life-expectancy-desktop.png)
The world has seen big gains in life expectancy in recent decades, yet the United States increasingly lags behind peer countries.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the period life expectancy in the US was two years lower than the average for high-income countries, according to data from the UN World Population Prospects.
Healthcare spending as a share of GDP is much higher in the United States than in peer nations. This raises questions about equality in access to care, affordability, and the overall efficiency of the US healthcare system.
Other lifestyle and societal factors are also likely to play a role: the US, for example, has seen a surge in drug-related deaths in recent years as a result of the opioid crisis.