Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

What Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation does

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent, non-profit global health research center founded in 2007 and housed within the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. The organization is staffed by more than 500 team members (including over 400 UW-affiliated faculty and staff) and operates a Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Collaborator Network of more than 20,000 researchers and policymakers across 167 countries. Its mission is to produce impartial, evidence-based measurement of population health that is structurally separated from advocacy, in order to inform health policy, resource allocation, and program evaluation worldwide.

The core product is the Global Burden of Disease study, which quantifies health loss across 375 diseases and injuries and 88 risk factors for 204 countries and territories, with subnational estimates for dozens of high-population countries. Supporting this flagship are interactive visualization tools (GBD Compare, GBD Results, country profiles), the Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) data catalog, the annual Financing Global Health report, health forecasting and scenario modeling services, a Verbal Autopsy tool for cause-of-death inference in low-certification settings, and the DEX Project tracking US disease expenditure. Distribution is digital-first and freemium: datasets, tools, and publications are freely available for non-commercial use through self-serve channels, while commercial licensing is handled separately. Outputs are disseminated through peer-reviewed publications in The Lancet and other journals, a podcast, monthly newsletter, conferences, and recurring coverage in major international media.

The business model is grant-funded rather than commercial. Founding support came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the state of Washington in 2007, with the Gates Foundation continuing to anchor major initiatives such as the Goalkeepers Report and child mortality projections, complemented by University of Washington institutional support and ancillary grants. Strategic partnerships with WHO, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the University of Queensland, and the broader Collaborator Network extend IHME's global reach. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and no venture funding, M&A activity, or commercial product launches have been identified.

Name

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

Legal name

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

Website

https://healthdata.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is a University of Washington-based non-profit research center that produces the Global Burden of Disease study and related global health datasets, serving policymakers, researchers, and international health organizations across 167 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Health Research and Health Metrics

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Statistics & Reporting (National/State/Local Indicators) (HLAJAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Chronic Disease & NCD Program Evaluation (e.g., diabetes/CVD/cancer) (HLAJANAG), Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) & Equity Measurement (HLAJAJAI), Mortality, Cause-of-Death Coding & Excess Death Analysis (HLAJAJAG), Data Governance, Standards & Interoperability (ICD, HL7/FHIR, LOINC, SNOMED) (HLAJAJAM), Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) & Mental Health Programs (BPADAIAK)

Keywords

• Global health research
• Health metrics analysis
• Disease burden estimation
• Population health data
• Health policy evidence

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: IHME was founded with initial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the state of Washington. The Gates Foundation continues to fund major research initiatives including the annual Goalkeepers Report and child mortality projections.
2. University of Washington Support: IHME is part of the UW School of Medicine and receives institutional support
3. Data Access and Licensing: Free non-commercial data access; commercial use inquiries handled separately through [email protected]

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IHME quantifies global health loss through the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, covering 375 diseases and injuries and 88 risk factors across 204 countries and territories. It distributes findings via peer-reviewed publications, the Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) catalog, interactive visualization tools (GBD Compare, GBD Results), country profiles, health forecasting models, and the Verbal Autopsy Tool, offering free non-commercial access to researchers and policymakers worldwide.

Product overview

IHME is a research organization that operates as a platform-plus-services model. Its core product is the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study—the most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss from hundreds of diseases, injuries, and risk factors worldwide. Supporting this flagship initiative are data visualization tools including GBD Compare and GBD Results for interactive exploration of findings. The Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) serves as a catalog providing free access to datasets and sources. IHME also publishes the annual Financing Global Health report, provides Health Forecasting services for policy impact analysis, offers a Verbal Autopsy Tool for mortality data collection, and delivers Country Profiles for health overviews. Additional offerings include the DEX project for US disease expenditure tracking, an Interactive Data Visuals suite, and the Global Health Insights Podcast. The organization functions as a unified research platform with modular analytical tools and data access services built around its GBD infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Global Burden of Disease (GBD): The most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss from hundreds of diseases, injuries, and risk factors across every country and territory in the world
• Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx)
• Global Health Insights Podcast
• Financing Global Health
• GBD Compare
• GBD Results
• Verbal Autopsy Tool
• Roux Prize
• GBD Emerging Researcher Award

Products and services

• Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study The flagship research initiative quantifying health loss from 375 diseases and injuries and 88 risk factors across 204 countries and territories, with subnational estimates for dozens of high-population countries. Used by governments, researchers, and international health organizations to inform health policy.
• GBD Compare Interactive visual tool enabling users to explore and compare global burden of disease data across countries, time periods, and health conditions, used by researchers and policymakers.
• GBD Results Interactive data visualization tool presenting GBD study results and outcomes data for exploration and analysis by researchers and policymakers.
• Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) A catalog of the world's health data providing free access to datasets and sources on disease burden, health financing, and various health metrics for policymakers and researchers.
• Financing Global Health Report Annual report tracking development assistance for health, government health spending, and resource flows to countries and health focus areas worldwide.
• Verbal Autopsy Tool Tool for determining cause of death in areas where medical certification of death is not available, helping to improve mortality data collection.
• Country Profiles Health profiles for all countries providing an overview of population health and demographic information, accessible through interactive visual tools.
• Health Forecasting Forecasts and personalized future scenarios to study the impact of new policies, technologies, or interventions on health outcomes, helping governments and funders plan more effectively.
• DEX (Disease Expenditure) Project Tracks disease expenditure in the United States, offering a detailed picture of how health spending is distributed across conditions, age groups, and types of care.
• Interactive Data Visuals A suite of interactive visual tools for exploring health data, including GBD Compare and GBD Results visualizations.
• Data Sources Catalog Freely available datasets and sources enabling policymakers to access evidence needed for informed health decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Global mental disorders have nearly doubled since 1990 to 1.2 billion people
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.

• University of Washington School of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007IHME was founded at and is part of the University of Washington School of Medicine. Over 400 faculty and staff work at IHME as part of UW.
• St. Jude Children's Research HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to improve knowledge of childhood cancer worldwide. Joint research published in The Lancet on childhood cancer burden globally.
• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHO and IHME collaborate to improve health data globally. DHIS2 platform is recognized as a global public good by WHO.
• University of QueenslandnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Global Burden of Disease Study, including mental health research such as the anxiety disorders study showing 123% increase in India cases between 1990-2023.
• GBD Collaborator NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 20,000 researchers and policymakers in 167 countries contribute to the Global Burden of Disease study, providing local expertise and data.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• World Health Organization (WHO): The leading intergovernmental authority on global health statistics and policy. WHO produces comparable global health indicators, mortality data, and disease burden estimates that directly overlap with IHME's GBD output, serving the same ministries of health, donors, and policy audiences.
• Our World in Data: A non-profit research and data publication project producing interactive global health, demographic, and development visualizations. It pulls heavily from IHME and similar sources but repackages health data into public-facing interactive charts for a comparable policy and academic audience.
• United Nations Population Division: Produces official global population estimates, projections, and demographic indicators that are foundational inputs to IHME's subnational and population work. It serves the same intergovernmental and policy audiences with comparable methodology-heavy health and demographic statistics.

Others

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: IHME's founding and largest continuing funder, and a major producer and consumer of global health evidence through initiatives like Goalkeepers. Comparable as a stakeholder, agenda-setter, and counterpart in the global health evidence ecosystem, though not a direct research competitor.

Regional players

• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): The EU's public health agency producing surveillance and disease burden data for European countries. Operates in a comparable measurement role to IHME but is regionally scoped, with a similar methodology-driven, evidence-to-policy mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: A major global health foundation that funds and produces population-level health research, including infectious disease, mental health, and data initiatives. Wellcome overlaps with IHME on funding, agenda-setting, and convening power in global health evidence.
• RAND Corporation: A large, policy-focused research organization conducting health, population health, and social science research for governments and foundations. RAND competes for similar foundation and government research dollars and produces comparable policy-grade evidence.
• World Bank Health, Nutrition & Population: Tracks health financing, country-level health spending, and development assistance for health — overlapping with IHME's Financing Global Health report and serving the same ministries of finance, donors, and multilateral policy buyers.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): A large public health agency producing surveillance, mortality, and disease burden data primarily for the US but with global programs. CDC's NCHS mortality data and global health security work overlap with IHME's measurement-of-health approach at national scale.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): The largest public funder of biomedical and population health research in the US, with parallel work on disease burden, epidemiology, and global health. NIH's intramural and extramural research ecosystem overlaps with IHME's evidence production and target policy audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ihme_uw
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCB8o7jtGPgaYYWRyotiyBMw
• Facebookfacebook.com/IHMEUW
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-for-health-metrics-and-evaluation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation