Interactive Visualizations

Global Data Trackers

Interactive visualizations tracking fundamental needs indicators across countries. These trackers draw on open data from the World Bank, FAO, and OECD to provide a window into global inequality, food insecurity, and homelessness.

The Gini coefficient measures income or consumption inequality within a country, ranging from 0 (perfect equality) to 100 (perfect inequality). The World Bank classifies countries with a Gini above 40 as high inequality.

2020
Country Gini Index Year

Methodology & Caveats

  • The Gini index measures income or consumption inequality only — it does not capture wealth inequality, access to services, or other dimensions of wellbeing.
  • Coverage is uneven: some countries have annual data, others have multi-year gaps. The map shows the most recent available value for the selected year or earlier.
  • Some countries measure income, others measure consumption, which affects comparability.

Source: World Bank — Gini Index (SI.POV.GINI)

The prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity measures the share of a country's population that has experienced food insecurity, as assessed using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). This includes people who have reduced the quality or quantity of food they eat, or gone without food entirely.

2022
Country Food Insecurity (%) Year

Methodology & Caveats

  • FIES-based estimates rely on survey self-reports and may not capture all dimensions of food insecurity (e.g., micronutrient deficiency).
  • Data coverage begins around 2015 and is not available for all countries in all years.
  • Moderate food insecurity means uncertainty about the ability to obtain food; severe means going without food for a day or more.

Source: World Bank / FAO — Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS)

0
People face absolute
homelessness worldwide
0
Live in inadequate
housing globally
0
Of 195 countries report
official data

Homelessness data is among the hardest to collect and compare across countries. There is no internationally agreed definition of homelessness, and countries differ widely in what they count. The Institute of Global Homelessness estimates that at least 330 million people face absolute homelessness — lacking any type of shelter. UN-Habitat reports that 1.6 to 2.8 billion people worldwide lack adequate housing.

Global Estimates — Homeless Rate per 10,000 Population

These estimates draw on a variety of sources including UN agencies, national censuses, and research organizations. Numbers include internally displaced persons (IDPs) in conflict zones. All figures are approximate and almost certainly severe undercounts. Countries like India (12 per 10k), Brazil (13), and China (18) are based on outdated census data that capture only a fraction of actual homelessness. A value of 100 per 10,000 = 1% of the population.

Country Rate per 10,000 pop. Year

OECD Countries (Per 100,000 Population)

The data below covers approximately 40 mostly OECD countries. These numbers appear dramatically lower than the global estimates above because they use narrow national definitions and only cover wealthy nations.

Loading homelessness data…
Country Per 100,000 Year

Methodology & Caveats — Please Read

  • No internationally agreed definition of homelessness exists. Countries define and count their homeless populations differently.
  • The OECD data covers only ~40 mostly wealthy nations. Billions of people live in countries with no official homelessness statistics.
  • Definitions vary widely: Japan counts only people sleeping on streets, while New Zealand includes people in inadequate housing. France includes those in temporary accommodation.
  • "Hidden homelessness" — people staying with friends/family, in cars, or in other precarious situations — is generally not captured.
  • Data are collected using different methods: some countries do single-night counts, others track flows over a year.
  • Global estimates include internally displaced persons (IDPs) in conflict zones (Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Sudan, etc.), which dramatically increases numbers.

Sources: OECD Affordable Housing Database (HC3.1) · Our World in Data · World Population Review · Institute of Global Homelessness · UN-Habitat · UNHCR · IDMC