Gapminder World Makes Data Fun

Brilliant statistician and professor of global health at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, Hans Rosling, has developed a software program that configures interactive graphs for nearly all variables of international data.  Rosling works with the aim to eliminate our predetermined perceptions of what differentiates the Western world from the developing world.

Gapminder World, developed in 2006, is a nonprofit internet-accessible software program that allows its users to actively compare various patterns on an international level.  For example, you can compare children per woman with child mortality to examine the trends that ensue. Here, you can see the specificity by which you can adjust the axis to represent different relationships:

Perhaps the most fascinating feature of this software is its ability to "play" these datas over time.  Once you select the factors to be represented on each axis, press "play," and you see how these factors have changed since 1800.  Specific countries can be tracked by selecting them on the right-hand toolbar; in viewing all countries the size each geographically-color-coded circle reflects the population of that nation.  Watching a graph come to life brings about a "horse-race" like quality, as you track the highs and lows of each nation as it faces social, economic and health changes.

For those on the pursuit of understanding how social trends influence health, Gapminder World provides an invaluable tool for both aesthetically pleasing and stimulating research.  By publicizing and animating international UN data, Rosling has eliminated the need to scour old record books with lifeless table sets while providing a more enjoyable and comprehensive alternative.

Is this interesting to you?  Here are some additional links...

I highly suggest that everyone dabble on the Gapminder World website - it is actually really fun: GAPMINDER 

• There are several pre-made graphs that are useful to explore, but to create your own Gapminder experience, click on the "Open Graph Menu" key and the software will load.

I also recommend watching Hans Rosling's TED talks on Gapminder World, where he shares the effort put behind the creation of this software and explains the data presented by his animated graphs.  His demonstrations can be viewed on ted.com.  Here are a few links to his videos; I found them to be extraordinarily eye-opening and inspiring:

• Hans Rosling shows the best stats you've ever seen
• Hans Rosling's new insights on poverty
• Hans Rosling on HIV: New facts and stunning data visuals
• Hans Rosling: Let my dataset change your mindset