Poverty
Real-time estimates of who lives below the poverty line, where they are, and how fast that is changing.
Impact Projects
We track the world's biggest challenges in real time.
We develop datasets and tools that track the SDGs as they move: emissions, jobs, poverty, hunger, water scarcity and health. Combining new data sources with advanced modelling, we help people and organisations make data-driven decisions.
8+
Real-time clocks
190+
Countries modelled
30M
Africa jobs mission
15
Local data scientists trained
Funded and trusted by
Mastercard Foundation
Internet Society Foundation
Templeton World Charity Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Asian Development Bank
UNDP
What we measure
Six development questions, modelled as living data
Each theme runs on the same engine behind our commercial forecasts, applied to public-good outcomes and published openly.
Hunger
Tracking undernourishment and food insecurity against SDG 2 targets, country by country.
Emissions
Sector-level emissions pathways to 2050, so climate policy can be tested against measurable outcomes.
Jobs
Youth employment forecasts across Africa, covering sectors, earnings and location of work.
Water scarcity
Where water stress bites first, and how population growth reshapes the picture through 2030.
Digital inclusion
Internet affordability and access, measured as a poverty line rather than a coverage map.
A World Data Lab and Mastercard Foundation partnership
Africa Jobs Clock
A real-time model of youth employment across Africa, built with and for the people closest to the question.
Explore the clock
Objectives
Supporting the Mastercard Foundation's mission of generating 30 million jobs in Africa, with an in-depth understanding of the African job market to aid strategic job creation.
Strategy
Advanced data models targeting job growth in Africa, alongside local capability: training and integrating 15 data scientists and software engineers from Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria, and strengthening partnerships with universities, statistics bureaus and public sector entities.
Impact
A dynamic, real-time model that tracks and predicts youth employment trends in Africa. The seven-year forecast captures employment locations, sectors of engagement, earnings and overall market dynamics, giving policymakers and market stakeholders a data-driven view.
About
World Data Lab and the Mastercard Foundation created the Africa Youth Employment Clock to monitor and forecast employment trends across the Foundation's key operational countries: Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Open tools
Our clocks
Free, public dashboards used by governments, funders, researchers and newsrooms worldwide.
Visit our Impact websiteContact us
Partner on the next Impact Project
Tell us about your project or ask about our data. Our Impact team works with foundations, development banks, UN agencies and governments.
- Custom SDG indicators and country deep dives
- Real-time dashboards and public clocks
- Local capability building and data science training
See the commercial engine behind the impact work
The same forecasting model powers World Data Intelligence across 190+ countries and 200+ categories.