Our World in Data at the Oxford Martin School has received support of £620,128 from German entrepreneur, businesswoman and philanthropist, Susanne Klatten.

The free online publication Our World in Data presents a global overview on how living conditions are changing. The aim is to show, through the visualisation of empirical data, how health, education, poverty, violence, hunger and environmental conditions are changing over time, across the world. Recent work by the programme looks at the decline of maternal mortality, historical famines, and extreme poverty. The evidence on many other aspects is available via OurWorldInData.org

The generous support and enhancement from Susanne Klatten is allowing the team to develop the tools and database that – crucially – make the online publication possible. This will complement the new grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which is providing key support for the Our World in Data project team to continue to develop its important work, to increase the project’s reach, and expand the aspects of global development covered by the project.

Established three years ago with the aim of improving understanding of global development, Our World in Data now has a large following among journalists, policymakers, academics, and students. The project was most recently highlighted in Stephen Pinker’s new book ‘Enlightenment Now’.

Dr. Max Roser, Project Director, says the aim of Our World in Data is to “make research and information on how our world is changing available, for free, to a wide audience. All of our work is published openly, on the basis that it can benefit the work of others and provide useful tools for decision-making. The financial support from Susanne Klatten, alongside the recent grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, allows us to improve the technical framework and expand the coverage of Our World in Data. This will make our research more accessible to an even bigger audience, which is fantastic. We are incredibly grateful for the financial support that is allowing us to make this possible; the team and I are very much looking forward to the work in the coming years”.