Date:
2 May 2023
Author:
Kate Swayne

UNICEF’s open data

Most of us know UNICEFExternal Link as an aid organisation helping children in need. UNICEF’s mission that “every child has the right to grow up in a safe and inclusive environment” remains the core purpose of the work carried out around the world.

The UNICEF Data WarehouseExternal Link underpins UNICEF’s hands-on work to support children. As UNICEF says, “knowledge is a classic example of a global public good. As part of its mission to protect children’s rights and well-being, UNICEF designs, collects, analyses and publishes indicators on the state of children and women around the world. These data play a vital role in informing national, regional and global policy and programming decisions, while also directing international assistance.”

UNICEF’s open data covers a wide range of topics, such as:

UNICEF also provides detailed blogsExternal Link , interactive data visualisationsExternal Link and Sustainable Development GoalsExternal Link per country. There is a wealth of data available within the data warehouse.

Salsa takes a deep dive into a couple of datasets.

Life expectancy

UNICEF’s data provides the life expectancy for males and females across 247 countries from 2013 until 2023.

Females have a greater life expectancy than males throughout the world, living on average five years longer than males.

The 10 countries with the lowest life expectancy all come from the African continent.

Countries with the highest life expectancy are scattered throughout Europe and Asia

the above diagram is a map of the world with the top 10 average life expectancy countries highlighted in green (Monaca, China, Japan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Singapore, Italy, Holy See, Republic of Korea and Spain) and the lowest 10 average life expectancy countries highlighted red (Chad, Nigeria, Lesotho, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia, Eswatini, Namibia, Guinea and Mali)
Countries with the highest life expectancy are scattered throughout Europe and Asia
Download Countries with the highest life expectancy are scattered throughout Europe and Asia

Average Life Expectancy

The above chart details the 10 countries with the highest life expectancy (Monaco, China, Japan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Singapore, Italy, Holy See, Republic of Korea and Spain) and the 10 countries with the lowest life expectancy (Mail, Guinea, Namibia, Eswatini, Somalia, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Lesotho, Nigeria and Chad).
Average Life Expectancy
Download Average Life Expectancy

Some welcome news is that when comparing the data from 2013 to 2023, countries with the greatest increase in life expectancy growth from 10 years prior include three of the African countries with the lowest life expectancy.

Life expectancy increase 2013 to 2023

This is a bar graph showing countries with the greatest increase in life expectancy growth over the past 10 years (Syrian Arab Republic 13%, Eswatini 12%, Lesotho 12%, Mozambique 10%, Central African Republic 9%, Sierra Leone 8%, Zimbabwe 8%, Dominica 8%, United Republic of Tanzania 7%, Ethiopia 8%)
Life expectancy increase 2013 to 2023
Download Life expectancy increase 2013 to 2023

Government expenditure on health

Many of the countries with the lowest % GDP government spend on health also fall in the bottom of the life expectancy table, in particular many of the African countries.

Cuba has the highest percentage of government GDP spend on health of all countries. Not surprisingly, Cuba is also the country with the highest percentage of doctors per 1000 peopleExternal Link .

GDP health spend

the above diagram is a map of the world with the top 10 government GDP GDP health spend countries highlighted in green (Cuba, Sweden, Kiribati, Japan, Germany, Norway, United States, Denmark, France and Canada) and the 10 countries with the lowest government percentage GDP spend on health highlighted in red (Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Benin, Afghanistan, Comoros, Bangladesh and Cameroon
GDP health spend
Download GDP health spend

Government % of GDP on health spend

The above chart details the 10 countries with the highest government percentage GDP spend on health (Cuba, Sweden, Kiribati, Japan, Germany, Norway, United States, Denmark, France and Canada) and the 10 countries with the lowest government percentage GDP spend on health (Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Benin, Afghanistan, Comoros, Bangladesh and Cameroon).
Government % of GDP on health spend
Download Government % of GDP on health spend

Salsa Digital’s take

Open data is more than just making statistics publicly available. Open data is about sharing information to allow others to learn from the patterns and trends of data. Learnings from data can help humanity by guiding better pathways. Salsa’s ethos is to be more open, more connected and more consolidated. We believe that UNICEF is working towards the same goal and we congratulate them on their endeavours.

About UNICEF

UNICEF was created in the aftermath of World War II by a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946. The original mandate was “to help children and young people whose lives and futures were at risk — no matter what role their country had played in the war."

Today, 77 years on, UNICEF works in over 190 countries to reach children and young people in the greatest need.