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Animation: The World’s Rapid Rise in Life Expectancy, in Just 13 Seconds

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Pandemics have been a thorn in the side of humanity for thousands of years.

But despite COVID-19 being the latest iteration in these deadly infectious diseases to strike, we are experiencing it in a very different public health context than past pandemics throughout history.

A New Era of Medicine

Since the onset of the 1918 influenza pandemic, humans have seen a monumental and undeniable leap forward in the health sciences.

Advancements in everything from sanitation to pharmacology have spread globally, resulting in a health landscape that is almost unrecognizable from those during past disease outbreaks.

While it’s not possible to demonstrate every life-saving advancement in medical knowledge in just one chart, the rise of life expectancy at birth can be a useful proxy. In just 65 years, modern medicine has propelled countries around the world to see a rapid surge in this crucial measure:

The above animation, which comes to us from Reddit user u/karthikvcp, provides a helpful reminder of just how much has changed in public health over recent decades.

And although countries seem to move up following a linear line, here’s another look at this surge in global life expectancy on a much longer timeline — since the dawn of human civilization:

Historical life expectancy since 10000 BC

Yes, for most of human history, it’s been estimated that global life expectancy at birth has bounced between 20 and 30 years.

Beginning approximately in the year 1820, global life expectancy started its exponential ascent, seeing its most impressive gains after 1950 as modern sanitation and medical advancements began to trickle down to developing nations.

Life Expectancy: Interactive Version

While the 13-second animation is a fast summation of the revolution that has occurred in public health, here’s an interactive version from Our World in Data that plots the exact same data:

Still at the Mercy of Nature

Although our understandings of epidemiology and disease treatment are better than they’ve been during previous pandemics, other aspects of modern society have still compounded to make COVID-19 a complex challenge for public health officials.

Population density, frequency of travel, and a modern tendency to gather in large groups are all factors that have contributed to an initial spread of the virus that was faster and more widespread than anything humanity has ever seen.

And so, even with our increased level of medical sophistication, it seems we are still at the mercy of Mother Nature — just in a very different set of circumstances than in pandemics past.

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Demographics

Charted: Global Tobacco Use by Country and Sex

This visual shows tobacco use by country and sex, highlighting which countries still have a high prevalence of smoking.

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Chart of tobacco use by country and sex in 2022

Charting Global Tobacco Use by Country and Sex

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Globally, rates of tobacco use have been falling for decades. Today, it is estimated that one-in-five people around the world use tobacco products, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).

That’s still enough people to have a sizable impact on both global healthcare and the environment. And the prevalence of tobacco use by country, and by sex, varies widely.

This chart shows current tobacco use in selected countries around the world using WHO estimates for 2022.

Which People Smoke the Most?

Below we examine the entire dataset of global countries by 2022 tobacco use. Estimates are of people aged 15 years and older and include both smoked and smokeless tobacco (including vaping). Countries that had no data for 2022 have been omitted.

In almost every country, males use tobacco more than females. Globally, 36% of men are tobacco users compared to just 8% of women.

CountryTotal Prevalence (%)Male (%)Female (%)
🇦🇫 Afghanistan22.138.35.9
🇦🇱 Albania22.438.76.6
🇩🇿 Algeria21.641.90.7
🇦🇩 Andorra33.633.333.8
🇦🇷 Argentina23.128.218.1
🇦🇲 Armenia22.549.31.7
🇦🇺 Australia12.514.810.3
🇦🇹 Austria22.023.720.5
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan19.339.60.1
🇧🇸 Bahamas10.720.62.1
🇧🇭 Bahrain18.125.74.9
🇧🇩 Bangladesh31.148.914.2
🇧🇧 Barbados6.511.71.7
🇧🇾 Belarus27.947.212.0
🇧🇪 Belgium24.727.422.1
🇧🇿 Belize8.715.51.9
🇧🇯 Benin5.59.51.7
🇧🇹 Bhutan19.627.211.0
🇧🇴 Bolivia12.220.44.1
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina35.141.029.5
🇧🇼 Botswana18.130.26.5
🇧🇷 Brazil12.315.79.1
🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam17.131.32.2
🇧🇬 Bulgaria34.038.130.2
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso13.521.75.5
🇧🇮 Burundi10.015.25.0
🇨🇻 Cabo Verde10.516.25.0
🇰🇭 Cambodia16.127.35.5
🇨🇲 Cameroon5.610.21.1
🇨🇦 Canada11.413.79.2
🇹🇩 Chad6.812.31.4
🇨🇱 Chile28.230.625.8
🇨🇳 China24.947.32.0
🇨🇴 Colombia8.212.14.5
🇰🇲 Comoros16.226.26.2
🇨🇬 Congo15.028.22.0
🇨🇰 Cook Islands25.530.321.4
🇨🇷 Costa Rica8.813.24.5
🇨🇮 Cöte d'Ivoire8.616.40.7
🇭🇷 Croatia32.634.231.1
🇨🇺 Cuba18.526.910.4
🇨🇾 Cyprus34.046.022.1
🇨🇿 Czechia27.531.723.3
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo11.119.92.6
🇩🇰 Denmark16.216.416.0
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic10.214.06.5
🇪🇨 Ecuador10.117.62.6
🇪🇬 Egypt24.748.90.3
🇸🇻 El Salvador8.315.61.9
🇪🇪 Estonia25.632.919.1
🇸🇿 Eswatini8.616.21.4
🇪🇹 Ethiopia4.67.81.4
🇫🇯 Fiji27.341.713.1
🇫🇮 Finland19.623.915.4
🇫🇷 France29.231.327.3
🇬🇲 Gambia9.618.70.6
🇬🇪 Georgia29.054.77.1
🇩🇪 Germany18.821.316.4
🇬🇭 Ghana3.15.90.3
🇬🇷 Greece29.633.126.3
🇬🇹 Guatemala12.022.71.7
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau7.514.80.6
🇬🇾 Guyana10.519.32.2
🇭🇹 Haiti7.312.62.3
🇭🇳 Honduras12.222.71.7
🇭🇺 Hungary29.434.724.5
🇮🇸 Iceland9.49.49.4
🇮🇳 India23.936.810.4
🇮🇩 Indonesia38.573.63.4
🇮🇷 Iran (Islamic Republic of)13.924.83.1
🇮🇶 Iraq18.736.01.6
🇮🇪 Ireland18.220.516.1
🇮🇱 Israel19.826.413.3
🇮🇹 Italy20.424.116.8
🇯🇲 Jamaica9.515.83.5
🇯🇵 Japan16.826.57.7
🇯🇴 Jordan36.357.813.4
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan21.738.26.9
🇰🇪 Kenya9.216.62.1
🇰🇮 Kiribati38.251.625.7
🇰🇼 Kuwait22.735.62.1
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan26.451.33.3
🇱🇦 Lao People's Democratic Republic25.843.28.4
🇱🇻 Latvia30.345.617.2
🇱🇧 Lebanon34.043.125.7
🇱🇸 Lesotho22.942.04.8
🇱🇷 Liberia7.112.51.7
🇱🇹 Lithuania27.940.117.3
🇱🇺 Luxembourg21.823.320.3
🇲🇬 Madagascar25.741.79.9
🇲🇼 Malawi7.113.01.7
🇲🇾 Malaysia22.643.80.7
🇲🇻 Maldives29.343.610.1
🇲🇱 Mali7.614.40.7
🇲🇹 Malta23.225.520.6
🇲🇭 Marshall Islands30.451.88.6
🇲🇷 Mauritania9.417.22.0
🇲🇺 Mauritius20.038.12.8
🇲🇽 Mexico14.623.16.9
🇲🇳 Mongolia29.352.67.3
🇲🇪 Montenegro32.130.933.2
🇲🇦 Morocco13.125.31.0
🇲🇲 Myanmar43.969.419.2
🇳🇦 Namibia12.521.34.7
🇳🇷 Nauru49.550.348.7
🇳🇵 Nepal24.942.79.4
🇳🇱 Netherlands (Kingdom of the)20.122.517.7
🇳🇿 New Zealand11.412.710.2
🇳🇪 Niger7.714.01.3
🇳🇬 Nigeria2.95.40.4
🇳🇴 Norway14.014.813.2
🇴🇲 Oman11.017.40.4
🇵🇰 Pakistan16.927.76.2
🇵🇼 Palau17.026.37.3
🇵🇦 Panama5.18.41.9
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea40.455.424.9
🇵🇾 Paraguay10.617.43.8
🇵🇪 Peru7.011.62.6
🇵🇭 Philippines20.436.24.3
🇵🇱 Poland23.227.619.1
🇵🇹 Portugal20.927.115.5
🇶🇦 Qatar18.824.62.3
🇰🇷 Republic of Korea18.932.75.4
🇲🇩 Republic of Moldova27.852.76.3
🇷🇴 Romania27.537.418.5
🇷🇺 Russian Federation27.242.014.8
🇷🇼 Rwanda12.017.76.7
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia13.624.83.0
🇼🇸 Samoa22.231.013.2
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe7.112.61.8
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia17.428.42.1
🇸🇳 Senegal6.011.70.6
🇷🇸 Serbia36.638.834.6
🇸🇨 Seychelles20.834.65.7
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone11.417.35.5
🇸🇬 Singapore16.427.94.0
🇸🇰 Slovakia30.235.425.4
🇸🇮 Slovenia18.120.215.9
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands37.655.319.6
🇿🇦 South Africa20.335.16.5
🇪🇸 Spain24.927.522.5
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka19.137.82.4
🇸🇪 Sweden22.128.315.9
🇨🇭 Switzerland23.326.320.4
🇹🇭 Thailand18.937.71.8
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste37.664.59.8
🇹🇬 Togo5.610.20.9
🇹🇴 Tonga30.746.815.5
🇹🇳 Tunisia20.139.71.6
🇹🇷 Türkiye30.741.919.6
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan5.410.60.5
🇹🇻 Tuvalu33.848.319.0
🇺🇬 Uganda5.39.01.8
🇺🇦 Ukraine22.038.38.5
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates11.715.52.5
🇬🇧 United Kingdom13.115.011.4
🇹🇿 United Republic of Tanzania7.513.12.2
🇺🇸 United States of America23.028.617.5
🇺🇾 Uruguay19.323.016.0
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan16.231.81.0
🇻🇳 Viet Nam22.844.32.2
🇾🇪 Yemen20.833.77.9
🇿🇲 Zambia12.021.82.7
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe9.219.00.8

From a regional perspective, we can see many countries in Europe and Asia have higher rates of tobacco use. Indonesia and Myanmar specifically have some of the highest tobacco use rates in the world, with 73.6% of Indonesian men estimated to smoke or use tobacco.

In many Asian countries we also see a greater difference between male and female smokers compared to the rest of the world. In China for example, 47.3% of males are estimated to use tobacco compared to just 2.0% of females.

On the other hand, the Americas and especially Africa have a lower prevalence of tobacco use. Nigeria at 2.9% had the lowest rate of tobacco use in the world in 2022.

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