Our World in Data

Country statistics, historical data and numeric time series

Research and data on global challenges and long-term trends.

Get statistic

Get statistic

Get a country-by-year statistic from the best-matching Our World in Data chart. Returns the selected chart, its definition and source, and numeric values. Only charts with downloadable numeric time-series data are supported.

Your information

To YearOptional

Last year to include. Example: 2020. Defaults to the latest available year.

CountriesOptional

Country names separated by commas. Example: France, Germany. Defaults to World.

From YearOptional

First year to include. Example: 2000. Defaults to the earliest available year.

Statistic

The statistic to measure, in plain words. Example: life expectancy.

1 credit per completed run

The same inputs also work from your code or an AI assistant. See For developers.

Example results

Annual CO₂ emissions

Annual total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured in tonnes.

United States
1. 2020
  4,689,954,000 tonnes
2. 2021
  5,020,111,000 tonnes
3. 2022
  5,055,403,000 tonnes
World
1. 2020
  35,158,230,000 tonnes
2. 2021
  36,866,863,000 tonnes
3. 2022
  37,527,773,000 tonnes

Data source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Unit: tonnes

Open chart on Our World in Data

About the Our World in Data tool

Our World in Data (OWID) returns numeric country-by-year values from the best-matching chart for a named statistic.

Get statistic returns chart details, definitions, sources, units, and values; provide a statistic and optionally countries and years.

Built from ourworldindata.org. Last checked Sep 29, 2026.

Actions

Get statistic

1 credit

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
To Year`to_year`	Number	Optional	Last year to include. Example: 2020. Defaults to the latest available year.Example: 2022
Countries`countries`	Text	Optional	Country names separated by commas. Example: France, Germany. Defaults to World.Example: World, United States
From Year`from_year`	Number	Optional	First year to include. Example: 2000. Defaults to the earliest available year.Example: 2020
Statistic`statistic`	Text	Required	The statistic to measure, in plain words. Example: life expectancy.Example: CO2 emissions

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Unit`unit`	Text	Measurement unit.Example: Tonnes
Source`source`	Text	Original data source citation.Example: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Values`values`	List	Numeric observations sorted by country and then year.
Year`values[].year`	Number	Example: 2020
Value`values[].value`	Number	Example: 4689954000
Country`values[].country`	Text	Example: United States
Chart Link`chart_link`	Text	Link to the selected chart.Example: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-co2-emissions-per-country
Definition`definition`	Text	What the statistic measures.Example: Annual total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change…
Chart Title`chart_title`	Text	Title of the chart used.Example: Annual CO₂ emissions

Example result

For To Year: 2022, Countries: World, United States, From Year: 2020, Statistic: CO2 emissions

JSON

{
  "unit": "tonnes",
  "source": "Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data",
  "values": [
    {
      "year": 2020,
      "value": 4689954000,
      "country": "United States"
    },
    {
      "year": 2021,
      "value": 5020111000,
      "country": "United States"
    },
    {
      "year": 2022,
      "value": 5055403000,
      "country": "United States"
    }
  ],
  "chart_link": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-co2-emissions-per-country",
  "definition": "Annual total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured in tonnes.",
  "chart_title": "Annual CO₂ emissions"
}

For developers

Call it from your code with one request. Change the values in input to run it on new data. To get an API key, open Developers at the bottom of Studio, turn on Developer mode and go to API keys.

cURL

curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@our-world-in-data",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "get_statistic",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "to_year": 2022,
    "countries": "World, United States",
    "from_year": 2020,
    "statistic": "CO2 emissions"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'

What you can do with it

Compare a statistic across countries and years
Track changes in a statistic over time
Find the source and definition for a statistic
Build country-level reports from historical values

Questions about Our World in Data

Can I run it with my own inputs?

Yes. Change the inputs in Studio and press Run, or send new inputs from your code, or ask a connected AI assistant.

Can I call this Our World in Data tool as an API?

Yes. Send a POST request to /v1/query with your Fous API key and the inputs, and get JSON back.

How much does it cost?

Each completed run costs 1 credit. Failed runs without a completed receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted. With pay as you go, a credit costs 1¢. Monthly plans cost less per credit.

Do I need a Our World in Data account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from ourworldindata.org when you run it. Some results are reused for up to 24 hours, and results that use your account or key are never reused. It was last verified on Sep 29, 2026.