worlddata.info

What is Worlddata?

Worlddata is a statistics and comparison site that presents global data by country and topic. Its main value is breadth: it gathers geography, population, climate, nature and economic figures into browsable lists, rankings and country-to-country comparisons. The site describes itself as a database covering all countries, with sections such as largest countries, capital cities, megacities, airports, timezones, population growth and density, languages, religions, life expectancy, education, refugees, earthquakes, volcanoes, tropical cyclones, emissions and oil and gas reserves.

Best for

• Quick cross-country comparisons, such as climate, population or quality-of-life indicators.
• Reference browsing when you want a ranked list rather than a single statistic.
• Readers who prefer plain overviews over academic papers or raw data portals.

Trade-offs

• It is an aggregator-style reference, so for decisions that depend on precise, current or methodologically detailed figures, check the underlying source or a national statistics office.
• Topic coverage is broad but not necessarily deep; a specialist agency will usually have more granular data.
• Rankings can invite over-simple conclusions, especially on subjects like IQ, quality of life or education, where definitions vary between countries.

A practical next step

If you are comparing two countries, start with the comparison feature and then use one topic page to sanity-check the numbers. For example, compare climate alongside population density before drawing conclusions about living conditions. For official national data, cross-check with a source such as World Bank Data or the relevant country’s statistics office.

How do I compare population statistics between two countries?

Use Worlddata's country comparison view: open one country's profile, switch the comparison target to the second country, and read the population figures side by side. The site's population section covers population growth by decade and country, population density, and related demographic topics, so you can compare both the current total and the trend behind it.

Worlddata

H3 Practical comparison workflow

1. Pick the two countries and open the comparison page rather than two separate tabs, so the same year and definition apply to both.
2. Note the population total, then check density (residents per area) — useful when a large population lives in a small area.
3. Check the growth-by-decade view to see whether the gap between the two countries is widening or narrowing.
4. If migration matters to your question, look at the refugees data for origin and host countries.

H3 What the numbers do and do not tell you

A raw population total is a headcount, not a measure of living conditions. Two countries with similar totals can differ sharply in density, age structure and growth rate. For a school report, a market-sizing exercise or a relocation decision, pair the population figure with life expectancy, average body height or education rankings from the same site so the comparison reflects people, not just counts.

H3 Quick decision guide

• Comparing scale only: total population and density are enough.
• Comparing future demand: use the decade-by-decade growth figures.
• Comparing living conditions: add life expectancy and quality-of-life rankings.
• Comparing movement of people: add the refugees origin and host-country lists.

Next step: write down the year each figure refers to before you draw a conclusion, since a growth rate and a headcount from different periods can make a comparison misleading.

What is the difference between a country and a sovereign state?

A country is a geographic and cultural idea; a sovereign state is a legal and political one. The two often overlap, but they are not interchangeable.

A country usually means a named territory with a people, a shared identity, and often a government. It can be a nation, a region, or a historical homeland. A sovereign state is a territory with a defined government that has supreme authority within its borders and is recognized as independent by other states. Sovereignty means it makes its own laws, controls its territory, and conducts foreign relations in its own name.

Worlddata frames this directly with its page heading "Country or sovereign state?", which is the right question to ask before comparing places. Its database covers countries, capitals, populations, languages, religions, and quality-of-life rankings, so the distinction matters when you read its numbers: a listing may include dependent territories, overseas regions, or partially recognized states that are not sovereign in the strict sense.

How to tell them apart

A useful decision rule: ask who controls defense, currency, borders, and foreign policy. If a single government does all four in its own name, it is a sovereign state. If those powers sit elsewhere, it may still be a country in everyday speech.

For a concrete case, someone comparing life expectancy across "countries" may find Greenland listed separately from Denmark. That is useful for geography and culture, but it is not a comparison of two sovereign states. The same caution applies to rankings of the richest countries or the most educated countries, where tax havens and dependent territories can appear alongside independent states.

Next step: when you use any country-level data, check whether the entry is an independent state, a dependent territory, or a disputed region. That single check prevents most misleading comparisons.

How can I find the richest countries in the world and what data is used?

You can find a ranking of the richest countries on Worlddata’s economy section, where it lists the 50 richest countries and explains the measures behind the comparison. The page evidence shows the site covers “Richest countries in the world: The 50 richest countries: tax havens, oil and gambling make for prosp…”, which signals that the ranking is based on economic output or wealth per country and may highlight unusual sources of national income. For the exact methodology, use the page’s own definitions; the excerpt does not state whether it uses GDP per capita, total GDP, GNI or another measure.

What to check on the page

• The ranking itself – which countries appear in the top 50.
• The metric – whether the list is by total economic size or per-person wealth.
• The notes – any mention of tax havens, oil, gambling or other special factors.
• The comparison tools – the site offers “Comparison Data from any country,” so you can compare two countries directly.

How to use it in practice

If you are comparing countries for research, relocation or investment, do not rely on one number. A country can look rich in total GDP because it is large, while a smaller country may have higher income per person. Use the ranking as a starting point, then check the site’s country pages for population, life expectancy, education and quality of life to understand what the wealth figure actually means for residents.

A useful next step is to open the richest-countries list and then compare two countries side by side. For example, compare a known tax haven with a large oil producer to see how the same ranking can reflect very different economies. If you need broader context, Worlddata also covers population, climate and education, which helps explain why a country ranks where it does.

What are the most recent earthquakes and where can I see their magnitude and location?

For recent earthquakes and their magnitudes and locations, use Worlddata's earthquake page: Worlddata. It lists the most violent quakes of recent weeks along with their magnitude and where they struck, and it also explains what causes earthquakes.

The page excerpt highlights a concrete example of that format: a magnitude 5.3 earthquake in Japan on October 1st. So you can expect entries that pair a magnitude figure with a country or place, rather than a bare number.

Best for

• A quick global roundup of significant recent quakes
• Readers who want magnitude, location and a short causal explanation in one place
• Comparing recent activity across regions without reading local news in several languages

Trade-offs

• It covers notable or more violent quakes, not every minor tremor worldwide
• It is a summary page, so for an event near you, official local or national seismic agencies will usually have faster, more detailed updates
• Magnitude alone does not tell you about damage; depth, distance from settlements and building quality matter more

Where to start

Open the earthquakes section from the site's Climate + Nature area. If you need real-time alerts for a specific region, use it alongside your national geological or emergency management service.

How do I convert time between different time zones around the world?

Use Worlddata's timezone section to look up a country's offset and daylight-saving switches, then adjust manually — it is a reference database, not an interactive converter.

What the page gives you

• A list of all timezones, the dates countries switch clocks, and a timezone converter tool.
• Related country data (population, geography) so you can check a location's context while planning.

How to convert a time in practice

1. Find the two places on the timezone list and note their current offsets from UTC.
2. Check whether either is in daylight saving on your travel date — the switch dates matter more than the offset shown today.
3. Subtract or add the difference to your local time. Example: if you are in Berlin (UTC+1) and the destination is Tokyo (UTC+9), add 8 hours.

When a dedicated converter is better

Worlddata is strongest for browsing offsets, switch dates and country background. If you need recurring meeting times across many zones, a calendar tool that stores zones for you will save repeated arithmetic. For authoritative rule changes, confirm with timeanddate.com.

Decision criterion

Use Worlddata when you want the offset and the country context together; use a scheduling tool when the conversion repeats or involves multiple participants.