Development indicators over time – animated bubble chart of GDP, life expectancy and fertility, 1960–2020

What it shows

Countries differ greatly in income, health and education, and these differences change over time. This bubble chart follows 25 countries from every continent between 1960 and 2020, using approximate data from the World Bank, the United Nations and Gapminder. Each bubble is a country, sized by population and coloured by region. Most countries moved up and to the right: incomes rose, people lived longer and families became smaller, but at very different speeds. The chart also shows that a strong correlation between two indicators does not by itself prove that one causes the other.

How to use

Press Play or drag the year slider to animate the bubbles from 1960 to 2020. Use Horizontal axis and Vertical axis to compare GDP per capita, life expectancy, children per woman, under-5 mortality and mean years of schooling. Tap a bubble or choose a country under Track, and tick Draw path to see its route decade by decade. Read the correlation coefficient and the gap between countries below the chart.

Parameters you can change

• Horizontal axis indicator GDP per capita (log scale), Mean years of schooling, Children per woman
• Vertical axis indicator Life expectancy, Children per woman, Under-5 mortality rate, Mean years of schooling
• Starting year 1960–2020
• Playback speed 1–10 years/s
• Tracked country None, China, India, South Korea, Brazil, Nigeria, Ethiopia, United States
• Draw the tracked country's path

Questions to explore

1. Between 1960 and 2020, did the gap in life expectancy between countries narrow or widen?
2. South Korea and Nigeria had similar incomes in 1960; how do their paths differ?
3. Does a strong correlation between GDP per capita and life expectancy prove that getting richer makes people live longer?