Sense Arcade

The stories behind the numbers

Guides to understanding statistics, their reference years, units and original sources.

Understand the UN’s rounded 2024 population figure, how estimates are built, and why the year and edition matter.

Learn what ITU’s 2024 internet-use estimate counts, and why using the internet is different from having fast, affordable access.

Explore WHO’s global life expectancy at birth for 2023 and the difference between a population indicator and an individual prediction.

Use IEA’s 2024 electricity figure to distinguish generation from capacity, renewable power from nuclear, and electricity from total energy.

Understand IEA’s annual electricity-demand increase, calculate a growth rate, and distinguish percentages from percentage points.

Rice reached about 820 million tonnes on a paddy basis. Compare wheat and maize while keeping milling, harvest scope and units clear.

The Energy Institute’s 2025 edition puts 2024 oil output at 96.9 million barrels daily. Understand what counts and how gas and coal differ.

US surface area is about 9.83 million km²; Canada’s land area is 8.79 million. Learn why this cannot establish a ranking.

Compare Alaska at about 1,723,000 km², Texas at 696,000 and California at 424,000 using one Census definition of total area.