Human Progress

What Human Progress does

Human Progress is a free, registration-free digital platform that aggregates and presents curated datasets on long-term global trends in human well-being. The platform's core product is a data aggregation and visualization environment housing 692 curated datasets spanning eight major topic areas: Economics, Health & Demographics, Politics & Freedom, Science & Education, Energy & Environment, Culture & Tolerance, Violence, and Food & Hunger. Data is sourced from reputable external organizations including the United Nations, World Bank, World Health Organization, OECD, and academic institutions, and is presented through interactive charts, maps, and tables that support cross-country and time-series exploration. The platform also offers 78 curated trend analyses, a podcast series (The Human Progress Podcast), a news/blog aggregator, and a portfolio of themed projects including Doomslayer, Your Life In Numbers, Superabundance Calculator, Psychology of Progress, American Abundance Index, Simon Abundance Index, Grim Old Days, Heroes of Progress, and Centers of Progress.

Human Progress is operated as a project of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Washington, D.C. It does not generate commercial revenue; all content and features are provided at no cost with no paid tiers, subscriptions, or registration requirements. Funding flows from the Cato Institute and major foundation grants, principally the John Templeton Foundation and the Searle Freedom Trust, with additional support from the B & E Collins Foundation and the William H. Donner Foundation. The organization targets students, scholars, journalists, policymakers, and the general public, positioning itself as a counterweight to pessimistic narratives about global conditions.

The technical stack is a content-publishing and data-visualization website rather than a software product. The platform has no mobile app, no public API, no SDK, and no documented AI/ML capabilities. Distribution relies on the website, organic social media (X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok), an email newsletter, and earned media coverage in outlets including the Washington Post, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, and The Atlantic. The editorial team is small — Editor Marian Tupy and Managing Editor Chelsea Follett anchor the operation, supported by a research fellow, a website/data coordinator, a digital communications manager, and a quantitative research associate — and the project is reinforced by an advisory board that includes Nobel laureates in economics Angus Deaton (2015), Vernon Smith (2002), and Joel Mokyr (2025), as well as Steven Pinker, Andrew McAfee, Matt Ridley, and Johan Norberg.

Name

Human Progress

Legal name

Human Progress

Website

https://humanprogress.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Human Progress is a free, non-profit digital platform operated by the Cato Institute that aggregates and visualizes 692 curated global well-being datasets from the UN, World Bank, WHO, OECD, and academic sources, serving students, scholars, journalists, policymakers, and the general public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Development Data Analytics

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Data & Information Literacy (Search, Evaluation, Misinformation) (EDAAAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

OER Authoring, Remixing & Publishing Tools/Platforms (EDAGAJAM)

Keywords

• Global development data
• Interactive data visualization
• Well-being metrics
• Public research data
• Global progress trends

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Human Progress operates a free, registration-free web platform that aggregates 692 curated datasets and 78 long-term global trends on human well-being from reputable external sources (UN, World Bank, WHO, OECD, academic institutions) and presents them through interactive charts, maps, and tables. The platform also publishes The Human Progress Podcast, a Topics news aggregator, and themed Projects such as Doomslayer, Your Life In Numbers, and the Superabundance Calculator, all offered at no cost.

Product overview

Human Progress is a free, registration-free web platform operated by the Cato Institute that aggregates and presents interactive datasets, curated trends, podcasts, and themed projects on global human well-being. Its core offering is the Data Platform (humanprogress.org) housing 692 datasets sourced from external organizations (World Bank, UN, WHO, OECD, academic institutions), supplemented by the Trends section, the Human Progress Podcast (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube), a Topics news aggregator covering Economics, Health & Demographics, Politics & Freedom, Science & Education, Energy & Environment, Culture & Tolerance, Violence, and Food & Hunger, and a collection of named Projects including Doomslayer, Your Life In Numbers, Superabundance Calculator, Psychology of Progress, American Abundance Index, Superabundance, Simon Abundance Index, Grim Old Days, Heroes of Progress, Centers of Progress, Time Prices, Dead Wrong with Johan Norberg, Classroom Resources, New and Improved with Johan Norberg, and Book Reviews. All content and features are provided free of charge.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Human Progress Podcast: Podcast series featuring interviews with experts on topics related to human progress, economics, and global trends.
• Doomslayer
• Your Life In Numbers
• Superabundance Calculator
• Psychology of Progress
• American Abundance Index

Products and services

• Human Progress Data Platform A free, registration-free web platform that aggregates and presents interactive datasets, visualizations, and trend analyses on global human well-being across topics such as economics, health, demographics, politics, freedom, environment, violence, and food/hunger, with exploration via maps, tables, and charts.
• Datasets Archive An archive of 692 curated datasets organized by topic (Economics, Health & Demographics, Politics & Freedom, Energy & Environment, Culture & Tolerance, Violence, Science & Education, Food & Hunger), sourced from reputable external organizations including the World Bank, UN agencies, WHO, and academic institutions, with documented methodology including interpolation practices and regional calculation criteria.
• Trends A curated set of 78 long-term global trends covering the Great Enrichment, end of poverty, peak population, life expectancy, democracy, peace, decarbonization, and more, with filter categories including Top 10 Trends, People Trends, Health Trends, Violence Trends, Work Trends, Natural Resource Trends, Farm Trends, Tech Trends, and U.S. Trends.
• The Human Progress Podcast A podcast series featuring episodes with guests discussing topics related to human progress, economic growth, liberty, and well-being, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
• Topics A curated news and blog aggregation covering eight thematic areas (Economics, Health & Demographics, Politics & Freedom, Science & Education, Energy & Environment, Culture & Tolerance, Violence, and Food & Hunger), with news sourced from outlets such as BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review, Reuters, and Gallup.
• Projects Collection A collection of themed initiatives including Doomslayer (newsletter), Your Life In Numbers (interactive tool showing how the world has changed since a user's birth), Superabundance Calculator (time-price analysis), Psychology of Progress, American Abundance Index, Superabundance, Simon Abundance Index, Grim Old Days, Heroes of Progress, Centers of Progress, Time Prices, Dead Wrong with Johan Norberg, Classroom Resources, New and Improved with Johan Norberg, and Book Reviews.

Quantifiable outcome

• Website provides access to 692 curated datasets documenting global progress
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Statista: Commercial data aggregation platform providing statistics, charts, and forecasts across global industries and topics. Comparable breadth of topic coverage but operates as a paid subscription B2B service rather than free public-interest content.
• World Bank Open Data: Primary source for much of Human Progress's economic and development data; offers its own interactive data explorer, country profiles, and visualization tools. Comparable content (global development indicators) but as a primary data publisher rather than a curated intermediary.
• OECD Data Explorer: OECD's official data platform publishing indicators on economics, education, health, environment, and society across member and partner countries. Comparable dataset breadth and visualization tools; operates as primary source rather than third-party curator.
• UN Data: United Nations' official statistical portal aggregating datasets from across UN agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, FAO, etc.). Comparable global indicator coverage; serves as both a primary data source and a visualization portal for the same content Human Progress curates.

Direct peers

• Our World in Data: Free, non-profit research and data publication focused on global poverty, disease, hunger, education, and environmental trends. Closest functional peer — also aggregates data from UN/World Bank/WHO, presents via interactive charts and maps, and targets students, researchers, journalists, and the general public.
• Gapminder Foundation: Non-profit founded by Hans Rosling that uses interactive data visualizations and teaching materials to correct misconceptions about global development. Highly comparable mission of using accessible data viz to combat misperception about human progress.
• Information is Beautiful: Data visualization studio and platform turning complex datasets into accessible visual narratives for general audiences. Comparable content format (charts/graphics on global themes) and similar educational/popularization mission.
• Visual Capitalist: Digital media publisher producing data-driven visual content on global trends in economics, energy, technology, and demographics for a general audience. Similar content model (charts, infographics, blog posts) and free distribution model, though commercially funded.

Emerging players

• FlowingData: Data visualization publication by Nathan Yau covering how designers, statisticians, and analysts use data to communicate. Comparable focus on data visualization as a vehicle for understanding the world, though less explicitly oriented to global development indicators.
• The Pudding: Digital publication producing data-driven visual essays on cultural and societal topics. Overlaps with Human Progress in combining rigorous data with accessible visual storytelling for general audiences.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/humanprogress
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HumanProgressOrg
• Facebookfacebook.com/HumanProgress.org
• Instagraminstagram.com/humanprogressorg
• TikToktiktok.com/@humanprogress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Human Progress