Skip to content
WORLD STATISTICS

Methodology

Sources & methodology

Every observation stored in World Statistics carries its distributor, original producer, reporting period, unit, retrieval time and full revision history.

Connected data distributors

  • World Bank

    52 indicators

    The World Bank compiles internationally comparable statistics from UN agencies (UN DESA, WHO, UNESCO, FAO, ILO, ITU, UNODC, UNWTO), the IMF, IEA/IRENA and national statistical offices. The original producer of each series is shown on every indicator.

    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Last import
    10 Nov 2026, 01:06 UTC

    Endpoint: https://api.worldbank.org/v2/

  • NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory

    1 indicators

    Monthly global mean CO₂ concentration derived from NOAA marine surface sites.

    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. Government work)
    Last import
    10 Nov 2026, 01:06 UTC

    Endpoint: https://gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/trends/co2/co2_mm_gl.csv

  • NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

    2 indicators

    Global land-ocean temperature anomalies relative to the 1951–1980 base period.

    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. Government work)
    Last import
    10 Nov 2026, 01:06 UTC

    Endpoint: https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata_v4/GLB.Ts+dSST.csv

Original producing agencies

Agencies whose statistics are redistributed through the connected interfaces.

  • UN DESA World Population Prospects7
  • UNESCO Institute for Statistics6
  • World Bank & OECD national accounts6
  • Food and Agriculture Organization (FAOSTAT)5
  • International Telecommunication Union (ITU)3
  • EDGAR, European Commission JRC2
  • IEA, IRENA, UNSD, World Bank, WHO (Tracking SDG7)2
  • International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)2
  • NASA GISS Surface Temperature Analysis v42
  • UN Tourism (UNWTO)2
  • FAO & UN DESA World Population Prospects1
  • FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment1
  • IEA, UN Statistics Division1
  • IMF Government Finance Statistics1
  • IMF International Financial Statistics1
  • Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)1
  • International Energy Agency (IEA) statistics1
  • International Labour Organization (ILOSTAT)1
  • NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, marine surface sites1
  • National Science Foundation, Science & Engineering Indicators1
  • Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)1
  • UN DESA World Urbanization Prospects1
  • UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation1
  • UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)1
  • WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank, UN DESA (MMEIG)1
  • World Health Organization Global Health Estimates1
  • World Health Organization Global Health Expenditure Database1
  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)1

Not yet connected

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) — World Economic Outlook projections — planned via the IMF DataMapper API; will be labelled as projections.
  • International Energy Agency (IEA) — World Energy Balances require a licensed subscription; global energy production is shown as unavailable until connected.
  • UN Population Division — WPP projections to 2100 — planned; current population estimates arrive via the World Bank.

Data classifications

Live observation
Measured continuously and published in near real time. No live feeds are connected yet, so no figure on this site carries this label.
Latest available
Most recent figure published by the source for a completed reporting period.
Estimate
Modelled or derived by the producing agency from incomplete underlying data.
Projection
Forward-looking figure for a period that has not yet been observed. No projections are currently displayed.

Rules we follow

  • Values are stored exactly as published; no interpolation, gap-filling or simulated counters.
  • Annual figures are labelled with their reference year and never presented as daily measurements.
  • Derived figures (e.g. annual births from crude birth rate × population) are labelled as derived estimates with their formula.
  • When a source changes a previously published value, the previous value is kept in the revision log.
  • Missing data is displayed as missing.