Why Gapminder Exists
Gapminder exists to combat misguided global strategies rooted in outdated stereotypes and misconceptions—views that may have been accurate 70 years ago but no longer reflect today’s reality.
We promote an up-to-date, fact-based worldview grounded in macrotrends and reliable statistics. For much of history, this kind of worldview was unattainable because the necessary data simply didn’t exist. Today, we have access to a wealth of global data. However, the educational methods needed to turn this data into actionable wisdom are still lacking—and that’s the gap Gapminder is here to fill.
Over the past century, the world has made remarkable progress in improving human living conditions. It is more interconnected, developed, and collaborative than ever before. We believe even greater progress is possible—sustainably—if more people develop a clearer, more accurate understanding of global realities. A fact-based worldview is essential to foster the kind of global cooperation needed to tackle the greatest threats to humanity’s future:
- The risk of future pandemics
- A global financial crisis
- A third world war
- A climate catastrophe
The Global Ignorance Project
Since 2015, Gapminder has conducted the largest-ever investigation into global misconceptions through our Global Ignorance Project, detailed by Hans and Ola Rosling in their TED Talk: “How Not to Be Ignorant About the World”.
Our research reveals that most people lack a coherent, fact-based understanding of critical global trends and proportions. The most common misconceptions are nearly universal—not only among the general public but also among policymakers, journalists, teachers, academics, and other professionals. Some of these misconceptions are shared by over 90% of the people we have tested. This includes individuals across the political spectrum; whether on the left or right, and despite watching different news channels, they end up forming the same distorted picture of the world.
When we compare people’s perceptions against reliable data, we find that most individuals—regardless of their expertise—are systematically and consistently wrong about the same issues. These widespread misunderstandings are largely fueled by pervasive pessimism. While the world has improved in countless ways, the relentless negativity in the news reinforces outdated stereotypes and the false belief that progress is neither possible nor happening.
This overly dramatic, pessimistic worldview not only erodes hope among younger generations but also shapes the global political agenda in harmful ways.
The Biggest Challenge: Realizing Our Ignorance About Ignorance
When decisions are driven by misconceptions, opportunities for meaningful change are missed. The root problem is ignorance about ignorance. Most people are unaware of their own misunderstandings, so they cannot correct them. Unless someone actively checks their knowledge, they remain unaware that they’re misinformed—especially when everyone around them confirms their misunderstandings.
Gapminder is addressing this issue by creating comprehensive lists of facts that people consistently get wrong. These fact-based questions are freely shared under a Creative Commons license, enabling a new approach to knowledge upgrading. Our free online service, The Worldview Upgrader (upgrader.gapminder.org), allows users to identify and correct their misconceptions.
We offer hundreds of tests and exams aligned with all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, which we believe should be part of public curricula and corporate education worldwide. This provides organizations with a powerful tool to ensure their staff can rid themselves of common misunderstandings in their respective fields of work.
We envision this approach being widely adopted by organizations and institutions dealing with international information to ensure that critical decision-making is firmly grounded in reality.
A Systematic Solution is Needed
The patterns of public misconceptions are systematic, which means the solution can also be systematic. Just as early reformers championed universal literacy, Gapminder envisions a world where everyone has the tools and habits needed to challenge their assumptions and adopt a fact-based understanding of the world.
Historical education systems lacked a framework for teaching a worldview based on data, because almost no data existed about the world. Gapminder is inventing these missing educational pathways between global statistics and learners. Through extensive knowledge testing, we identify widespread misconceptions and develop free tools to help educators address these in their classrooms.
In practice, this often means focusing on developing simple ways to explain statistical trends and proportions. We also gather images and films of reality from around the world to help students understand what the numbers mean in real life. The Dollar Street project (gapminder.org/dollar-street) enables students to see the everyday lives of people across all income levels worldwide. This helps them realize how extremely distorted and overdramatic the selection of news images often is.
Our goal is to equip every student with the skills to maintain a fact-based worldview, fostering greater collective wisdom and decisions that drive sustainable progress.