200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes: Healthy Living and Income Plotted Out

Professor Hans Rosling is a man who revels in the glorious nerdiness of statistics, and here he entertainingly explores their history, how they work mathematically and how they can be used in today's computer age to see the world as it really is, not just as we imagine it to be. Rosling's lectures use huge quantities of public data to reveal the story of the world's past, present and future development. In the following four minute film, he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes. Despite its light and witty touch, the film nonetheless has a serious message - without statistics we are cast adrift on an ocean of confusion, but armed with stats we can take control of our lives, hold our rulers to account and see the world as it really is. Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Hans shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine. Enjoy!

Hans Rosling has written a textbook too- check out Global Health: An Introductory Textbook.