What is GHDx (Global Health Data Exchange)?

Updated

GHDx (Global Health Data Exchange), at ghdx.healthdata.org, is a catalog of surveys, censuses, vital statistics, and other health-related data, hosted by IHME. It is designed as a starting point for health data searches: you use it to find what data exists and where it lives, rather than as a single database holding every dataset itself. It is most useful when you need to locate global health datasets, IHME-produced data such as GBD 2023, or country-level survey and census records.

What you can find on GHDx

The site describes itself as a catalog covering:

  • Surveys — household and health survey records
  • Censuses — national population census entries
  • Vital statistics — birth, death, and related registration data
  • Other health-related data — additional datasets indexed in the catalog

It also surfaces specific IHME data collections directly, including:

  • GBD 2023 data — the latest Global Burden of Disease release
  • All IHME data — the broader set of IHME datasets

How the site is organized

The homepage provides a few main entry points:

Element What it does
Search form Lets you search the catalog directly
Search Data Entry point for browsing or querying datasets
Countries Browse records by country
GHDx Help Documentation on how to use the catalog
Header sites / Main menu Navigation across the site and related IHME properties

If you are unsure where to start, the search form and the Countries view are the two most direct ways in.

Using IHME data from GHDx

Data made available for download by IHME can be used, shared, modified, or built upon by non-commercial users under the IHME Free-of-Charge Non-Commercial User Agreement. For more information, including inquiries about commercial use, the site points to IHME Terms and Conditions.

Two practical implications:

  • If your use is non-commercial, the agreement explicitly permits reuse, modification, and building on the data.
  • If your use is commercial, you need to check IHME's terms rather than assume the same permissions apply.

The site also references a "subscribe" option, but the available page information does not specify what a subscription includes or what it costs, so treat pricing and access terms as something to confirm on the site itself.

When GHDx is the right place to look

GHDx fits these situations well:

  • You need to discover whether a survey, census, or vital statistics dataset exists for a country or topic.
  • You want GBD 2023 or other IHME datasets and need the official distribution point.
  • You want a catalog-level view across many data sources instead of searching individual agency websites one by one.

It is less suited to cases where you already know the exact dataset and just need a direct download, or where you need data that is not indexed in the catalog at all.

Getting started

  1. Go to ghdx.healthdata.org.
  2. Use the search form if you know your topic or dataset name, or open Countries if you want to browse by geography.
  3. For IHME data specifically, go straight to the GBD 2023 data or All IHME data links.
  4. Before downloading, read the IHME Free-of-Charge Non-Commercial User Agreement and check IHME Terms and Conditions if your use may be commercial.
  5. If the interface or record types are unclear, consult GHDx Help.