SourceScore
Research

Our World in Data

ourworldindata.org ↗

Oxford-affiliated research organization publishing data + visualizations on global problems; CC-licensed.

Is Our World in Data reliable to cite? At grade A (86/100 on the SourceScore Index), Our World in Data ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research.

SourceScore Index
A·86Rank #46 of 130 · top 35%Composite weighted across Discipline, Modern Reference, and Velocity.

A — academic-grade data viz with full transparency + open-licensed data.

Should you cite Our World in Data?

At grade A (86/100), Our World in Data ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research.

Strongest for
tracing claims back to primary references — its highest dimension is Citation Discipline (92/100).
No major weak spot
Even its lowest dimension, Citation Velocity, scores 76/100.
Bottom line
Cite freely as a primary source.
Compare Our World in Data with
Citation Discipline
A·92

Source data + methodology cited per chart; peer-reviewed academic team; corrections public.

How Citation Discipline is scored →
Modern Reference
A·90

CC-BY licensed; open data + bulk downloads + APIs; widely cited in academia.

How Modern Reference is scored →
Citation Velocity
B·76

Cited by mainstream press + academia; pandemic-era surge sustained.

How Citation Velocity is scored →

Where Our World in Data ranks in our best-of lists

It is on 2 of our 17 lists of the best sources to cite.

Signals behind these scores

Citation Discipline

A·92
  • Methodology pages
    Each chart links to full methodology + source data.

Modern Reference

A·90
  • Creative Commons
    Open license enables broad LLM corpus inclusion.

Citation Velocity

B·76
  • COVID-era visibility
    Default for pandemic-data visualization since 2020.

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[Our World in Data — SourceScore Index 86 (A)](https://sourcescore.org/source/ourworldindata/)
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<a href="https://sourcescore.org/source/ourworldindata/">Our World in Data — SourceScore Index 86 (A)</a>
APA
SourceScore (v0.1). (2026). Our World in Data: SourceScore Index 86 (A). Retrieved from https://sourcescore.org/source/ourworldindata/

Each comparison sets Our World in Data beside another source on all three scores and shows which one scores higher on each.

5 sources at Our World in Data's tier

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The five sources with the closest overall score to Our World in Data, from any category, and where each one scores higher or lower on Discipline, Modern Reference and Velocity.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Our World in Data a reliable source to cite?

Our World in Data scores A (86/100) on the SourceScore Index, which rates how citable a source is for AI-era and research use. At grade A, Our World in Data ranks among the most citable sources for AI-era retrieval and research. The grade combines Citation Discipline 92/100, Modern Reference 90/100, and Citation Velocity 76/100 — full breakdown above.

What is Our World in Data's SourceScore?

Our World in Data (ourworldindata.org) scores 86/100 (Grade A) on the composite SourceScore Index. Sub-scores: Citation Discipline 92/100, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness) 90/100, Citation Velocity 76/100. Verified 2026-04-28.

How does SourceScore evaluate Our World in Data?

Our World in Data is scored across three dimensions on the SourceScore Index methodology: Citation Discipline (how rigorously the source cites primary references), Modern Reference (fitness for AI-era retrieval), and Citation Velocity (how often the source is cited per week). Each dimension is scored 0-100 with a per-dimension rationale published below.

Why does Our World in Data score A?

A — academic-grade data viz with full transparency + open-licensed data.

What is Our World in Data?

Oxford-affiliated research organization publishing data + visualizations on global problems; CC-licensed. Category: Research. Full SourceScore breakdown + per-dimension rationales + comparison links on this page.