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- Our World in Data
- Life expectancy by region
Life expectancy by region
Our World in Data's line chart drew 61K views on X: 2.1x its typical post and #36 of 139 Our World in Data charts we track by views. Read Oct 10, 2026.
Life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last 150 years.
Why it spread
This post from @OurWorldInData on 2025-07-24 spread because it paired a hot topic that week with a line chart showing life expectancy rising across all regions over time, drawing 60,998 views, 176 likes, 50 reposts, 10 quotes, and 33 saves, with a quote rate in the top quarter and source reach in the top quarter.
What worked
- The post text leads with a plain, dramatic claim that life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last 150 years, which gives people an easy reason to share.
- The line chart shows life expectancy rising across all regions over time, a simple upward story that reads at a glance.
- It is branded, shows a source line, and asks explanatory questions about how life expectancy is calculated and the difference between period and cohort life expectancy, which invites quotes and saves.
What to borrow
We could take a long-run trend in our own data, state the headline change in one plain sentence, show it as a line chart with a source line, and add a short explainer question about how the measure is defined.
Careful
Do not over-read the likes, reposts, quotes, saves, or views as proof that the chart design alone caused the spread, since the facts also point to a hot topic that week and a top quarter quote rate.
Written by our analysis model from the measured numbers above, not by Our World in Data.
Make it yours
Your numbers, in this line chart.
Starts from the real numbers of "Life period life expectancy at birth, in a given year." by Our World in Data. Replace every number with yours before you post. Make one like this, step by step
Free pictures carry a small "Made with ViralChart" line. That line is how other people find us.
API · Max
Use this chart via API
On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id 6bc1888f9c81.
Approximate values. Our two readings of this chart agreed only in part (confidence 0.44 of 1), so check the original before you quote a number. The API marks it lowConfidence, and ?min_confidence=0.5 leaves it out.
| Path | Returns | Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/v1/charts/6bc1888f9c81 | Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data link | Open |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/6bc1888f9c81/data | Every point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSV | Max |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/6bc1888f9c81/render?view=1 | The draw-only view this page uses | Open |
| POST | /mcp | Tool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Max |
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/6bc1888f9c81/data \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.
More from Our World in Data
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Other giants using a line chart
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Questions people ask
How far did Our World in Data's "Life expectancy by region" chart travel?
60,998 views, 176 likes, 50 reposts and 33 saves on X, read Oct 10, 2026. A normal post from @OurWorldInData gets about 28.6K views.
What kind of chart is it?
A line chart. Life expectancy rises across all regions over time.
Can I use Our World in Data's chart?
Use the format, not the picture. The chart, logo and design belong to Our World in Data. ViralChart redraws the chart type with your numbers and words, and credits the original publisher.