Asia is the most populous region with 60% of the world’s population in 2019.
Global life expectancy at birth increased from 47 in the early 1950s to 72.3 in 2015-2020.
Africa had the lowest life expectancy in 2015-2020 at 62.7 while North America had the highest at 79.2.
And greenhouse gas emissions have plummeted by one quarter in the EU since 1990 – from 5.6 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent to 4.2 billion tonnes in 2018.
Water quality
In 2019, 89.1% of bathing water sites in Ireland were classified as being of good water quality.
But 30.4% of urban waste water in Ireland received secondary treatment with nutrient reduction in 2019 compared with only 4% in 1997.
The proportion of unpolluted river water in Ireland fell from an average annual 77.3% in 1987-1990 to 66.2% in 2016-2018.
Land Use
In 2016, one-tenth of Ireland’s total land area was covered by forestry.
The area of agricultural land farmed organically in Ireland increased by 257% between 1997 and 2018, when it accounted for 1.4% of the total.
Energy
Renewable energy sources have grown from an average annual 0.1% of total transport energy consumption in 2006 to 7.2% in 2018.
Biodiesel accounted for 88% of renewable energy sources used in transport in 2018.
Renewable energy accounted for 33.2% of electricity generation in Ireland in 2018, close to the EU average of 32.1%.
Transport
In 2019, 38.1 million international passengers travelled through Irish airports, the highest figure over the 1995-2019 period.
In 2019, 12.6% of all new cars licensed for the first time were hybrid or electric, up from 1.7% in 2015.
Waste
Municipal waste generated in Ireland fell from 800 kilograms per capita in 2006 to 564 kilograms per capita in 2014.
The recovery rate for packaging waste in Ireland improved from 23% in 2001 to 91% in 2015. In 2017 the recovery rate was 86%.