Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index - Data package#
This data package contains the data that powers the chart “Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index” on the Our World in Data website.
CSV Structure#
The high level structure of the CSV file is that each row is an observation for an entity (usually a country or region) and a timepoint (usually a year).
The first two columns in the CSV file are “Entity” and “Code”. “Entity” is the name of the entity (e.g. “United States”). “Code” is the OWID internal entity code that we use if the entity is a country or region. For normal countries, this is the same as the iso alpha-3 code of the entity (e.g. “USA”) - for non-standard countries like historical countries these are custom codes.
The third column is either “Year” or “Day”. If the data is annual, this is “Year” and contains only the year as an integer. If the column is “Day”, the column contains a date string in the form “YYYY-MM-DD”.
The remaining columns are the data columns, each of which is a time series. If the CSV data is downloaded using the “full data” option, then each column corresponds to one time series below. If the CSV data is downloaded using the “only selected data visible in the chart” option then the data columns are transformed depending on the chart type and thus the association with the time series might not be as straightforward.
Metadata.json structure#
The .metadata.json file contains metadata about the data package. The “charts” key contains information to recreate the chart, like the title, subtitle etc.. The “columns” key contains information about each of the columns in the csv, like the unit, timespan covered, citation for the data etc..
About the data#
Our World in Data is almost never the original producer of the data - almost all of the data we use has been compiled by others. If you want to reuse data, it is your responsibility to ensure that you adhere to the sources’ license and to credit them correctly. Please note that a single time series may have more than one source - e.g. when we stich together data from different time periods by different producers or when we calculate per capita metrics using population data from a second source.
How we process data at Our World In Data#
All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator. Read about our data pipeline
Detailed information about each time series#
Fertility rate, total – UN WPP#
The average number of live births a hypothetical cohort of women would have at the end of their reproductive period if they were subject during their whole lives to the fertility rates of a given period and if they were not subject to mortality.
Last updated: July 12, 2024
Date range: 1950–2023
Unit: live births per woman
How to cite this data#
In-line citation#
If you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Full citation#
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. “Fertility rate, total – UN WPP” [dataset]. United Nations, “World Population Prospects” [original data]. Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World In Data
What you should know about this data#
It is expressed as live births per woman. For age-specific fertility rates, it measures the number of births to women in a particular age group, divided by the number of women in that age group. The age groups used are: 15-19, 20-24, …, 45-49. The data refer to annual civil calendar years from 1 January to 31 December.
Source#
United Nations – World Population Prospects#
Retrieved on: 2024-07-11
Retrieved from: https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/
Human Development Index#
The HDI is a summary measure of key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, a good education, and a decent standard of living. Higher values indicate higher human development.
Last updated: April 9, 2024
Next update: May 2025
Date range: 1990–2022
How to cite this data#
In-line citation#
If you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:
UNDP, Human Development Report (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Full citation#
UNDP, Human Development Report (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. “Human Development Index – UNDP” [dataset]. UNDP, Human Development Report, “Human Development Report 2023-2024” [original data]. Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2024) – with minor processing by Our World In Data
What you should know about this data#
Each of the dimensions of the HDI is measured with four indicators: a long and healthy life is measured by life expectancy at birth, good education (knowledge) is measured by two indicators, expected and mean years of schooling; and a decent standard of living is measured by Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, logarithmized to reflect that incomes become less important as they increase.
The index is then calculated by normalizing and aggregating the indicators. First, the indicators are brought onto the same scale, ranging from 0 to 1. This is done by setting minimum and maximum values for each indicator, and a country at or below the minimum value receiving a score of 0, and a country at or above the maximum value receiving a score of 1.
The minimum and maximum values for each indicator are defined as follows: Life expectancy at birth ranges between 20 and 85 years; expected years of schooling between 0 and 18 years; mean years of schooling, between 0 and 15 years; and GNI per capita between 100 and 75,000 international-$ at 2017 prices.
The HDI is then estimated as the geometric mean of these indices, or HDI = (Health index * Education index * Income index)^(1/3). The education index is the arithmetic mean (average) of the mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling.
How is this data described by its producer - UNDP, Human Development Report (2024)?#
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and having a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.
The health dimension is assessed by life expectancy at birth, the education dimension is measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and more and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age. The standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita. The HDI uses the logarithm of income, to reflect the diminishing importance of income with increasing GNI. The scores for the three HDI dimension indices are then aggregated into a composite index using geometric mean. Refer to Technical notes for more details.
The HDI can be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with different human development outcomes. These contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy priorities.
The HDI simplifies and captures only part of what human development entails. It does not reflect on inequalities, poverty, human security, empowerment, etc. The HDRO provides other composite indices as broader proxy on some of the key issues of human development, inequality, gender disparity and poverty.
A fuller picture of a country’s level of human development requires analysis of other indicators and information presented in the HDR statistical annex.
Source#
UNDP, Human Development Report – Human Development Report#
Retrieved on: 2024-04-09
Retrieved from: https://hdr.undp.org/
Notes on our processing step for this indicator#
We calculated averages over continents and income groups by taking the population-weighted average of the countries in each group. If less than 80% of countries in an area report data for a given year, we do not calculate the average for that area.
Population (historical)#
Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.
Last updated: July 15, 2024
Next update: July 2026
Date range: 10000 BCE – 2023 CE
Unit: people
How to cite this data#
In-line citation#
If you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Full citation#
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “Population (historical)” [dataset]. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, “History Database of the Global Environment 3.3”; Gapminder, “Population v7”; United Nations, “World Population Prospects”; Gapminder, “Systema Globalis” [original data]. Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World In Data
Sources#
PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency – History Database of the Global Environment#
Retrieved on: 2024-01-02
Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.24416/UU01-AEZZIT
Gapminder – Population#
Retrieved on: 2023-03-31
Retrieved from: http://gapm.io/dpop
United Nations – World Population Prospects#
Retrieved on: 2024-07-11
Retrieved from: https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/
Gapminder – Systema Globalis#
Retrieved on: 2023-03-31
Retrieved from: https://github.com/open-numbers/ddf–gapminder–systema_globalis
Notes on our processing step for this indicator#
The population data is constructed by combining data from multiple sources:
10,000 BCE - 1799: Historical estimates by HYDE (v3.3).
1800 - 1949: Historical estimates by Gapminder (v7).
1950-2023: Population records by the UN World Population Prospects (2024 revision).
World regions according to OWID#
Last updated: January 1, 2023
Date range: 2023–2023
How to cite this data#
In-line citation#
If you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:
Our World in Data – processed by Our World in Data
Full citation#
Our World in Data – processed by Our World in Data. “World regions according to OWID” [dataset]. Our World in Data, “Regions” [original data]. Source: Our World in Data