Gapminder data
Having looked at the videos you may want to explore the dynamic data sets that Rosling has developed using the excellent comparative data Gapminder site mentioned in section B6. Why not have a look at the site in the window below and the first comparison made by Rosling between life expectancy and fertility rates?
Alternatively, follow the previous links to open the site in a new window.
When looking at the site, click on the either the Gapminder world or data tabs to start. Bear in mind the following:
- each bubble represents a country
- the position of the bubble is determined by the indicators on the axes
- the size of the bubble represents the population of the country
- the colour represents the country's geographic region by default, but it can be changed to show indebtedness or income group instead
To help you understand the data and appreciate what is being shown, why not try:
- Clicking on a bubble(s) to view a particular country or countries
- Drag the timeline at the bottom to view how the data has changed (or press the play button)
- Change the variables you are viewing to compare different relationships (see some suggestions below)
- Uncheck the 'Show nonselected' box at the bottom right to view just the countries you have selected (by clicking on them)
- Click on the 'map' tab top left to view the data geographically
Why not try comparing:
- Income per capita and life expectancy - is there a correlation?
- Income per capita and carbon dioxide emissions
- Income per capita and child mortality
- Economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions - should there be a relationship here?
- Income per capita and internet users
Note: you can achieve this most easily by clicking on the arrow on each of the axes to see the alternatives.
Reflect on what you would expect in each case before running the visualisation, and see if that relationship you imagined actually appears. If it does not, investigate the reasons for any differences.
