October 10, 2024
When it comes to demographic trends, few are as well known as the “baby boom”.
The baby boom was a sharp rise in the fertility rate toward the end of the Second World War and for decades after. It happened in several countries around the world, but it was especially pronounced in the United States.
Before the baby boom, the US had seen a long-term decline in the fertility rate, down to about 2 children per woman by the 1930s.
During the baby boom, the fertility rate rose sharply, almost doubling to nearly 4 children per woman — levels that hadn’t been seen since the beginning of the 20th century. By the early 1970s, the fertility rate had returned to about 2 children per woman. Today, it’s just over 1.6.
It’s estimated that more than 70 million people were born in the US between 1946 and 1964, the official years of the baby boom according to the US Census Bureau. By 1964, this generation comprised almost 40% of the nation’s population.
As such a large generation, “baby boomers” have played a significant role in shaping many social, economic, and political trends in modern US history.
Today
Marriage is closely linked to decisions about having children in many societies. It also matters for legal rights, family finances, and many other aspects of life.
The age at which people marry has rapidly changed in many countries. The chart shows this by tracking the average age at first marriage among women, using records from national statistics.
In Portugal, Italy, and Spain, the average age at first marriage has risen rapidly and consistently. Portugal saw the largest increase: from around 26 years in 2002 to over 32 years by 2020. This is more than six years in less than a generation. It’s also the largest increase among the countries in the OECD Family Database with data available from the early 2000s up to 2020 (the most recent year with available data in the series).
Changes in the timing of marriage have come together with other related shifts. For instance, a growing share of people are not marrying at all.
March 03
4,510 objects were launched into space in 2025, surpassing the previous peak of 2,903 objects in 2023 by a large margin.
The data shows that US agencies and companies were responsible for launching 3,708 of these objects — 82% of the global total.
The vast majority of these American launches consist of small satellites deployed as part of large commercial “constellations”. These interconnected networks of satellites now account for the bulk of all objects sent into orbit.
The rapid growth of satellite constellations makes it possible to expand Internet connectivity, but it also increases concerns regarding space debris and the congestion of Earth’s orbital environment.
February 28
In the 1970s, oil spills from tankers — container ships transporting oil — were common. Between 70 and 100 spills occurred per year. That’s one or two spills every week.
This number has fallen by more than 90% since then. In the last decade, no year has had more than ten oil spills, as shown in the chart.
The quantity of oil spilled from tankers has also fallen dramatically. Over the last decade, the average is less than 10,000 tonnes per year, compared to over 300,000 tonnes in the 1970s.
February 26
In the past, forests around the world were cut down on a massive scale. We lost some of the world’s richest ecosystems.
In recent decades, the picture has become more complex. Deforestation has not ended, but it is no longer happening everywhere. Since 1990, some regions have continued to lose large areas of forest, while others have slowed this long-run trend — and even reversed it.
The map shows regional changes in forest area based on the latest data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Deforestation has been particularly large in South America and Africa. At the same time, the forested area has expanded in Europe, North and Central America, and large parts of Asia.
These gains show that deforestation is not inevitable. When pressure on land falls, forests can return.
February 24
The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. Since then, almost 40 other countries have followed suit.
You can see this in the chart, based on data from Pew Research. By 2025, same-sex marriage was legal in 39 countries.
Last year, two countries were added to the total. Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and a same-sex marriage bill also took effect in Liechtenstein.
February 21
The share of the world population living in extreme poverty has never declined as rapidly as in the past three decades.
The decline in China was particularly fast, and given that one in six people in the world lives there, we’re often asked whether the decline in global poverty was only due to the decline in China.
The chart shows the data that answers this question. In blue, we see the global decline. In red, we see the decline if we exclude China from the data. In the world outside of China, 33% lived in extreme poverty in 1990; by 2025, this share was down to 12%.
The large economic growth that lifted 940 million Chinese people out of extreme poverty since 1990 was a major contributor to the global decline in poverty. But the non-Chinese world also achieved a very large reduction.
It is not true that the global decline in poverty was only due to China. Extreme poverty has declined in China and the rest of the world.
February 19
Forty years ago in Japan, two babies were born for every person who died. Twenty years ago, these numbers were equal. And today, the ratio has reversed: one baby is born for every two people who die.
In the chart, you can see this change in the number of births and deaths over time.
Since deaths now greatly outnumber births, and because immigration is low, Japan’s population has started to shrink.
