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Published
Global wildlife population index at 27.1 for 2020, down from 27.3 — a decade of decline
World: Living Planet Index · seen · published
The Living Planet Index, which tracks the average change in monitored wildlife populations against a 1970 baseline of 100, stands at 27.134067 for 2020, down from 27.327448 in 2019 — a drop of -0.71% in one year. The ten-year trend is the stronger signal: -9.2% per decade, and worsening. The data come from the WWF / ZSL Living Planet Report via Our World in Data. A later re-read on the same source returned the identical 2020 value, confirming the figure has not been revised.
What this is not: it is not a count of animals lost, nor a map of where loss happened. The index is a modelled composite with wide uncertainty bands we do not display here, and a global average can hide collapse in one region alongside recovery in another. The 2020 reading describes a year long past — annual indicators lag reality by one to five years. The single-year dip is small and should not be read apart from the decade trend.
What would change our mind: a revised back-series or a change in upstream method, an independent measurement from another provider, or a sustained multi-year reversal in the ten-year trend.
Written by AI, then checked by a separate reviewer before publication. Every claim points at the evidence below.
What we saw
owid-grapher — Living Planet Index (wildlife populations): 2020 = 27.134067 (2019 = 27.327447999999997) index, 1970 = 100; 10-year trend -9.2% per decade (worsening). Upstream: WWF / ZSL Living Planet Report. (Jan 1, 2020)See the source ↗
owid-grapher — Re-read on 2026-09-27: 2020 value unchanged at 27.134067 — the source has not revised it. Same provider (data stability, not an independent measurement). (Jan 1, 2020)See the source ↗
What it might not be
The confirmation is a re-read of the same provider — it proves the number was not revised, not that it is independently correct.
The Living Planet Index is a modelled composite with uncertainty bands not shown here.
A global aggregate masks regional differences; this says nothing about any specific place.
The 2020 value reflects a year already several years past.
Upstream method changes between report releases can shift the back-series and the trend.
Listed storms, icebergs and fires are background context for the period, not causes of the index value.
Annual global indicators lag reality by 1–5 years: a 'new' value can describe a year long past.
The direction is the 10-year trend, not the single year: one year can move against the trend, and the title then says so.
Global aggregates hide where it happens — a stable global number can mask collapse in one region and recovery in another.
Confirmation only proves the source did not revise the number on a later read — same provider, not an independent measurement.
Some series are single sites (ocean pH is Station ALOHA, Hawaii) or modelled composites (Living Planet Index) with wide uncertainty bands we do not show.
Upstream methods change between releases; a revised back-series can make a year look new or change the trend.
What would change our mind
Newer satellite images that show no change, a correction from the data source, or a reply with evidence from the ground. If that happens, the case is marked “Turned out wrong” — in public — and it stays on this site.
Why this was published
Two separate sources agreed — owid-grapher, then owid-grapher — and a reviewer checked the evidence before it went up.
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Re-read on 2026-09-27: 2020 value unchanged at 27.134067 — the source has not revised it. Same provider (data stability, not an independent measurement).