It was a tough year by many measures but 2016 also saw some reasons for celebration. We look behind the headlines for signs of progress
- World hunger is at its lowest point for 25 years
- The Rio Olympics featured more female athletes than ever before
- The Paris Climate Change Agreement came into force
- For the 24th year in a row, teenage pregnancy rates declined in the UK and US
- Wild tiger numbers increased for the first time in 100 years
- The number of women dying from pregnancy and childbirth-related causes has almost halved since 1990
- Evidence suggests that major diseases, from colon cancer to heart disease, are now starting to wane in wealthy countries
- India turned on the world’s largest solar power plant – spanning 10 sq km – in the state of Tamil Nadu
- Public smoking bans appear to have improved health in 21 nations
- Black incarceration rates fell in the US
- Measles has been eradicated in the Americas – the first time the disease has been eliminated from an entire world region
- An HIV cure may be a step closer after a trial cleared the virus in a British man
- Italy became the last large Western country to recognise same-sex unions
- China installed 20 gigawatts of solar in the first half of 2016
- Volunteers in India planted 50m trees in 24 hours
- Life expectancy in Africa has increased by 9.4 years since 2000, it was announced this year
- The amount of money it would take to eliminate extreme poverty is now lower than the annual foreign aid spend
- Giant pandas are no longer endangered
- The number of deaths from malaria is at a global record low
- The World Bank says we are now one generation away from achieving universal literacy
Main illustration by Spencer Wilson: the fact that some conflicts have ended has helped reduce world hunger
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