Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
GovernmentThe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental organization that collects and publishes standardized statistics across its member countries. OECD data enables cross-country comparisons on economic performance, labor markets, education systems, health outcomes, environmental conditions, and public governance. The organization develops methodologies and best practices that countries use to collect and report their own data, making it possible to compare apples to apples across different nations. Economists, policymakers, and researchers rely on OECD datasets to understand how countries perform relative to peers and to inform policy decisions.
Pinned datasets
OECD Avoidable Mortality
How many people die from things that shouldn't kill them? This data tracks preventable deaths (drunk driving, smoking, overdoses) and treatable deaths (cancers caught too late, infections that antibiotics should have handled). It's broken down by country so you can see which places have better healthcare systems and public health programs. The numbers are adjusted so you're comparing apples to apples, even though countries have different age distributions.
OECD Perceived Health Status
People in OECD countries are regularly asked how they'd rate their own health. This data shows what percentage say they're in good or very good health, split out by age, sex, and country. It's a simple but telling measure: if a large chunk of a country's population feels healthy, that usually points to a well-functioning health system. You can see how health perception changes as people age, and compare countries head to head.
OECD Maternal and Infant Mortality
How many mothers die in childbirth, and how many babies don't survive infancy or their first month alive? This data tracks those grim statistics across wealthy countries and some developing economies. Each country reports these numbers differently based on their own rules about what counts as a live birth, so the data includes notes about those differences. It's a window into how well countries' healthcare systems protect mothers and newborns, and how that's changed over time.
Healthcare Spending by Function (USD PPP per Capita)
How does a country actually spend its healthcare money? This dataset shows the breakdown. Instead of just knowing a country spends $5,000 per person on health, you see how much goes to hospital treatment, how much to drugs, how much to nursing homes, and how much to administration. You can compare what different countries prioritize. Some pour more into prevention, others into long-term care. It's all in dollars adjusted for cost of living so you're comparing apples to apples across countries.
Pharmaceutical Spending (USD PPP per Capita)
Americans spend a lot on drugs. But how much compared to other countries? This data answers that. It shows how much money per person each country spends on prescription medicines, over-the-counter pills, and medical equipment like hearing aids or wheelchairs. The money is adjusted so you can actually compare apples to apples across countries, even though a doctor visit costs more in Switzerland than in Chile.
Composite Leading Indicators (CLI)
Think of this as an economic crystal ball. Before recessions or booms show up in job numbers or GDP, this index starts moving. It pulls together signals like consumer mood, construction activity, and stock market moves into one number. When it's above 100, the economy is likely heating up. When it drops below 100, a slowdown is probably coming. It's not perfect, but it catches turns before most people see them.