
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think
Audible Audiobook
– Unabridged
Amazon Price | New from | Used from |
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial |
Digital
"Please retry" |
—
| — | — |
Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of carrying only opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.
When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty - we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.
In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and a man who can make data sing, Hans Rosling, together with his two longtime collaborators Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens and reveals the 10 instincts that distort our perspective.
It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most.
Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
- Listening Length7 hours and 59 minutes
- Audible release date3 April 2018
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB0787M4JWY
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
Read & Listen
Get the Audible audiobook for the reduced price of $2.99 after you buy the Kindle book.
- Get this audiobook free then 1 credit each month, good for any title you like - yours to keep, even if you cancel
- Listen all you want to the Plus Catalogue—a selection of thousands of Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts, including exclusive series
- Exclusive member-only deals
- $16.45 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime
People who viewed this also viewed
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
Product details
Listening Length | 7 hours and 59 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund |
Narrator | Simon Slater |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com.au Release Date | 03 April 2018 |
Publisher | Sceptre |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B0787M4JWY |
Best Sellers Rank | 1,758 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 133 in Business & Careers 259 in Business & Economics |
Customer reviews

Top reviews from Australia
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Not every program of global health has been a roaring success, he has done some cherry picking. Also there are many problems outside that discipline that are running away out of control, particularly in the areas of resources and the environment. Despite the gains in keeping down population growth that are well illustrated in the book much of Africa is still a basket case and even the optimistic projections show that feeding and housing world of 2100 will not be easy and will put huge strain on the environment.
As for coining "factfullness" and listing categories of ways that people make errors in appreciating statistics it may sell books but it doesn't add much to understanding the broader problem of fake news and lack of facts behind decision making today. The treatment is rather shallow, rather like categorising bugs by name without doing anything to explain why there are so many bugs and what that means - in part because of the narrow scope of his examples.
As Scott Adams explains in Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter , people are persuaded mainly through emotion even though we think that we arrived at a position through rational arguments based on facts.
Rosling does address several issues with facts:
- how accurate is the data?
- they are contested (especially if they seem to conflict with one's beliefs)
- barriers to access to facts - not all facts are readily accessible to everyone either through cost, knowing where to look, or understanding what the facts mean.
- political agendas behind the collection and dissemination of facts.
Rosling's anecdotes help to expand on his points.
Factfulness as a book is a most valuable contribution to correctly realigning our worldview.
Factfulness as a code for living is even more important because it stretches us to make sure that what we know is right and, more importantly, how we respond is appropriate.
What a legacy has been left by Hans.
The author of the book is Hans Rosling, a professor of international health and a world-renowned public educator. Hans has presented his statistics and charts at several UN, World Economic Forum and other public and private forums. He has some very captivating talks at TED. He and his son Ola and daughter-in-law Anna have been instrumental in developing the “moving bubble chart” presentation that would wow any audience (watch his TED talks).
In this book the author Hans Rosling asserts, supported by his personal experiences, that we are largely wrong about our knowledge on the progress of humankind. He surmises that we are wrong not because of out-of-date knowledge, but because our ingrained opinions are not based on facts. He calls this the “overdramatic worldview” which is fed by news that makes us think the world is getting more violent, more frightening and more hopeless. He opines that if we don’t control our dramatic worldview, we might focus on wrong priorities or reach incorrect conclusions.
He starts the book with a startling set of 13 questions; and challenges us to perform better than chimpanzees (who might pick 33% answers correctly). He comforts his reader that even the well-educated, the Nobel laureates, the renowned economists have fared worse than the chimpanzees.
By the end of the book, Hans will convince you, based on facts from UN and presented in form of charts and tables, that the world is improving “not on every single measure every single year, but as a rule… This is a fact-based worldview”. He uses several charts and statistics to prove his point including a chart on “guitars per capita” as a statistic on human progress!!! By exposing our human instincts, Hans provide tips to his readers in controlling those instincts.
Why do we divide the world into “West and the rest” “developing and developed countries” (gap instinct) when facts show that the gap between these worlds has almost disappeared? “Factfulness is … recognizing when a decision feels urgent and remembering that it rarely is” (urgency instinct)? Are we not generalising the destiny of a continent like Africa (destiny instinct) and thereby foregoing the vast investment opportunities there for the smaller gains we make in the West? Instead of generalising countries into developed and developing countries, Hans prefers to group them into 4 levels based on the income. (Blame instinct) “remembering that blaming an individual often steals the focus from other possible explanations and blocks our ability to prevent similar problems in the future”.
As Hans puts it “This is data as you have never known it: it is data as therapy. It is understanding as a source of mental peace. Because the world is not as dramatic as it seems.” This book makes a compelling read. It presents a socio-economic story based on facts from UN and other organisations and presented by Hans in his own quintessential style. He exposes our own personal prejudices and instincts and enforces upon us to use a fact-based worldview.
Top reviews from other countries

The book literally begins with a tone of “Why I am right and everyone is wrong” – because I gave simple questions to a lot of people and they all got it wrong. Well, people got it wrong because they have been conditioned to it, it’s the failure of our education and society in general, nothing wrong with that. The whole premise of the book is that we need to open up our eyes to the wide array of positive changes that are taking place in the world, and the world is getting better at most of the metrics be it child mortality, per capita income, healthcare, deaths to due to diseases, children being vaccinated, literacy levels, gender equality and what not. On the face of it, yes, mostly the world is getting better and it can be proved with data and statistics.
What did I like about the book?
1. Rosling tells you to believe that world is getting better (and he proves so with the use of data), and at the same time keep an eye out for the bad things (because they need to be improved too). I think this is a realistic world view, where you celebrate the progress and keep working on improving the things that need attention.
2. Every statement is supported by facts, figures, charts and a lot of data (simple to understand).
3. The book basically imbibes a more realistic (if positive is too strong a word here) outlook towards the world.
4. You learn to look at data cautiously, trying to overcome your bias and instincts.
5. You learn to look at media publications, news etc with a pinch of salt and would know better than they prefer showing ‘bad’ stuff rather than ‘good’ stuff. The media blows everything out of proportion and unfortunately, most people believe it.
6. Finally, you learn about your 10 instincts and would be more aware of them whenever you hear any news or information that talks about how bad the world has become. You learn to look at things from multiple perspectives, suppress these instincts, and eventually be more rational.
What I did not like about the book?
1. The book is based on figures and statistics to prove the point. But as it’s true with statistics, there’s more to it than what meets the eye. For example, Rosling says there’s no such thing as a ‘Developed’ and ‘Developing’ country anymore, a majority of the countries are now ‘Middle Income’ countries. He’s right, no doubt about that. But what makes up a ‘Middle Income’ country. If you make more than $2 a day, you are in the middle-income group. But does that ensure a good living? What is the meaning of $2 in the context of living standards? Isn’t this progress so slow that many generations will not even witness the progress?
2. Rosling has used averages to convey the point of progress while cautioning the user against them at the same time. As compared to maybe a few decades ago, there are only 1 Billion people living at Level 1 (Extreme Poverty) and trends show you that this number has decreased drastically. But if you look at it in absolute terms, we are talking about 1 Billion people on this planet who don’t get enough food to eat on a daily basis! That’s a huge number.
3. Rosling has underplayed suffering and lack of resources, and covered it with the statistically correct ‘progress’. It’s like saying, so what if your food lacks nutrition and variety, at least you’re getting better than what you were getting a decade back. It’s funny really and seems such a farce at times. Definitely, he’s not wrong when he says progress has happened, but the meaning of ‘progress’ would differ for different people. His overall thesis, that we live in a much better world than we imagine, is comforting, but “better” might still be “terrible” in some cases.
Let’s look at the book summary now! Rosling talks about our ten ‘Dramatic Instincts’ (and 10 reasons why we are wrong about the world). Here they are –
1. The Gap Instinct - We tend to divide the things into 2 distinct groups and imagine a gap between them. To control gap instinct, look for the majority. Beware of the averages, if you look at the spread, the majority will overlap. Beware comparisons of extremes (Media loves to do it).
2. The Negativity Instinct - We tend to instinctively notice the bad more than the good. We need to learn to acknowledge the fact that things can be both ‘better’ and ‘bad’ at the same time. Example, education levels have improved over time, but still, 10% of the children don’t get any education, that’s bad. We also need to know that good news is never reported, media would hype the bad stuff always. Subsequently, gradual improvement isn’t reported either. Countries, government, media often try to glorify the past, so we need to be beware of these rosy pasts.
3. The Straight Line Instinct - When we see a line going up steadily, we tend to assume the line will continue to go up in the foreseeable future. To control this instinct, remember that curves come in different shapes. Finally, don’t assume straight lines if data doesn’t show it.
4. The Fear Instinct - We tend to perceive the world to be scarier than it really is. We overestimate the risks associated with violence, captivity, contamination etc. The world seems scarier because what you hear has been carefully selected to be told. Remember, Risk = Danger x Exposure, and act accordingly. Make decisions only when you’re calm, not when you are afraid.
5. The Size Instinct - We tend to see things out of proportion, over-estimating the importance of a single event/person that’s visible to us, and the scale of an issue based on a standalone number. A lonely number may seem impressive in isolation, but can be trivial in comparison to something else. Hence, always look for comparisons. Use the 80/20 rule. When comparing countries, look for rates per person.
6. The Generalization Instinct - We tend to wrongly assume that everything or everyone in a category is similar. Hence, we must look for differences within a group, look for similarities across groups and look for differences across groups. We should beware of the term ‘Majority’ – it can mean 51% or 99% or anything in between. Beware of vivid images, which are easier to recall but can be exceptions than the general norm.
7. The Destiny Instinct - We tend to assume that the destinies of people, cultures, countries etc. are predetermined by certain factors, and such factors are fixed and unchanging, i.e. their destinies are fixed. To control this, we must keep track of gradual changes and improvements. We should update our knowledge on different subjects, and look for examples of cultural changes.
8. The Single Perspective Instinct - We tend to focus on single causes or solutions, which are easier to grasp and make our problems seem easier to solve. It is better to look at problems from multiple perspectives. To control this, always test your ideas and allow people to find weaknesses. Don’t claim to be an expert at all times, be humble about your limited expertise in different areas.
9. The Blame Instinct - When something goes wrong, we instinctively blame it on someone or something. To control this, resist finding a scapegoat. Look for causes, not villains. Finally, look for systems and processes, not heroes.
10. The Urgency Instinct - We tend to rush into a problem or opportunity for fear that there’s no time and we may be too late. To control this, take small steps. Always insist on data rather than making hunch based hasty decisions. Always be aware of the side effects of your hasty decision to avoid making the same.
Favorite Quotes from the Book:
- “The world cannot be understood without numbers. And it cannot be understood with numbers alone.”
- “Being always in favor of or always against any particular idea makes you blind to information that doesn’t fit your perspective. This is usually a bad approach if you like to understand reality.”
- “Forming your worldview by relying on the media would be like forming your view about me by looking only at a picture of my foot. Sure, my foot is part of me, but it’s a pretty ugly part. I have better parts.”
To sum up, Factfulness is a good book that explains how our instincts sometimes distort our understanding of our world and why it's crucial to learn established facts that are now reliably and readily available. Our instincts might help in certain situations, but in others, critical thinking beyond emotions is necessary. However, we must learn to look beyond the displayed ‘progress’ also, because even lesser suffering can mean ‘progress’ statistically.


Reviewed in India on 20 March 2019
The book literally begins with a tone of “Why I am right and everyone is wrong” – because I gave simple questions to a lot of people and they all got it wrong. Well, people got it wrong because they have been conditioned to it, it’s the failure of our education and society in general, nothing wrong with that. The whole premise of the book is that we need to open up our eyes to the wide array of positive changes that are taking place in the world, and the world is getting better at most of the metrics be it child mortality, per capita income, healthcare, deaths to due to diseases, children being vaccinated, literacy levels, gender equality and what not. On the face of it, yes, mostly the world is getting better and it can be proved with data and statistics.
What did I like about the book?
1. Rosling tells you to believe that world is getting better (and he proves so with the use of data), and at the same time keep an eye out for the bad things (because they need to be improved too). I think this is a realistic world view, where you celebrate the progress and keep working on improving the things that need attention.
2. Every statement is supported by facts, figures, charts and a lot of data (simple to understand).
3. The book basically imbibes a more realistic (if positive is too strong a word here) outlook towards the world.
4. You learn to look at data cautiously, trying to overcome your bias and instincts.
5. You learn to look at media publications, news etc with a pinch of salt and would know better than they prefer showing ‘bad’ stuff rather than ‘good’ stuff. The media blows everything out of proportion and unfortunately, most people believe it.
6. Finally, you learn about your 10 instincts and would be more aware of them whenever you hear any news or information that talks about how bad the world has become. You learn to look at things from multiple perspectives, suppress these instincts, and eventually be more rational.
What I did not like about the book?
1. The book is based on figures and statistics to prove the point. But as it’s true with statistics, there’s more to it than what meets the eye. For example, Rosling says there’s no such thing as a ‘Developed’ and ‘Developing’ country anymore, a majority of the countries are now ‘Middle Income’ countries. He’s right, no doubt about that. But what makes up a ‘Middle Income’ country. If you make more than $2 a day, you are in the middle-income group. But does that ensure a good living? What is the meaning of $2 in the context of living standards? Isn’t this progress so slow that many generations will not even witness the progress?
2. Rosling has used averages to convey the point of progress while cautioning the user against them at the same time. As compared to maybe a few decades ago, there are only 1 Billion people living at Level 1 (Extreme Poverty) and trends show you that this number has decreased drastically. But if you look at it in absolute terms, we are talking about 1 Billion people on this planet who don’t get enough food to eat on a daily basis! That’s a huge number.
3. Rosling has underplayed suffering and lack of resources, and covered it with the statistically correct ‘progress’. It’s like saying, so what if your food lacks nutrition and variety, at least you’re getting better than what you were getting a decade back. It’s funny really and seems such a farce at times. Definitely, he’s not wrong when he says progress has happened, but the meaning of ‘progress’ would differ for different people. His overall thesis, that we live in a much better world than we imagine, is comforting, but “better” might still be “terrible” in some cases.
Let’s look at the book summary now! Rosling talks about our ten ‘Dramatic Instincts’ (and 10 reasons why we are wrong about the world). Here they are –
1. The Gap Instinct - We tend to divide the things into 2 distinct groups and imagine a gap between them. To control gap instinct, look for the majority. Beware of the averages, if you look at the spread, the majority will overlap. Beware comparisons of extremes (Media loves to do it).
2. The Negativity Instinct - We tend to instinctively notice the bad more than the good. We need to learn to acknowledge the fact that things can be both ‘better’ and ‘bad’ at the same time. Example, education levels have improved over time, but still, 10% of the children don’t get any education, that’s bad. We also need to know that good news is never reported, media would hype the bad stuff always. Subsequently, gradual improvement isn’t reported either. Countries, government, media often try to glorify the past, so we need to be beware of these rosy pasts.
3. The Straight Line Instinct - When we see a line going up steadily, we tend to assume the line will continue to go up in the foreseeable future. To control this instinct, remember that curves come in different shapes. Finally, don’t assume straight lines if data doesn’t show it.
4. The Fear Instinct - We tend to perceive the world to be scarier than it really is. We overestimate the risks associated with violence, captivity, contamination etc. The world seems scarier because what you hear has been carefully selected to be told. Remember, Risk = Danger x Exposure, and act accordingly. Make decisions only when you’re calm, not when you are afraid.
5. The Size Instinct - We tend to see things out of proportion, over-estimating the importance of a single event/person that’s visible to us, and the scale of an issue based on a standalone number. A lonely number may seem impressive in isolation, but can be trivial in comparison to something else. Hence, always look for comparisons. Use the 80/20 rule. When comparing countries, look for rates per person.
6. The Generalization Instinct - We tend to wrongly assume that everything or everyone in a category is similar. Hence, we must look for differences within a group, look for similarities across groups and look for differences across groups. We should beware of the term ‘Majority’ – it can mean 51% or 99% or anything in between. Beware of vivid images, which are easier to recall but can be exceptions than the general norm.
7. The Destiny Instinct - We tend to assume that the destinies of people, cultures, countries etc. are predetermined by certain factors, and such factors are fixed and unchanging, i.e. their destinies are fixed. To control this, we must keep track of gradual changes and improvements. We should update our knowledge on different subjects, and look for examples of cultural changes.
8. The Single Perspective Instinct - We tend to focus on single causes or solutions, which are easier to grasp and make our problems seem easier to solve. It is better to look at problems from multiple perspectives. To control this, always test your ideas and allow people to find weaknesses. Don’t claim to be an expert at all times, be humble about your limited expertise in different areas.
9. The Blame Instinct - When something goes wrong, we instinctively blame it on someone or something. To control this, resist finding a scapegoat. Look for causes, not villains. Finally, look for systems and processes, not heroes.
10. The Urgency Instinct - We tend to rush into a problem or opportunity for fear that there’s no time and we may be too late. To control this, take small steps. Always insist on data rather than making hunch based hasty decisions. Always be aware of the side effects of your hasty decision to avoid making the same.
Favorite Quotes from the Book:
- “The world cannot be understood without numbers. And it cannot be understood with numbers alone.”
- “Being always in favor of or always against any particular idea makes you blind to information that doesn’t fit your perspective. This is usually a bad approach if you like to understand reality.”
- “Forming your worldview by relying on the media would be like forming your view about me by looking only at a picture of my foot. Sure, my foot is part of me, but it’s a pretty ugly part. I have better parts.”
To sum up, Factfulness is a good book that explains how our instincts sometimes distort our understanding of our world and why it's crucial to learn established facts that are now reliably and readily available. Our instincts might help in certain situations, but in others, critical thinking beyond emotions is necessary. However, we must learn to look beyond the displayed ‘progress’ also, because even lesser suffering can mean ‘progress’ statistically.






However, the book format allows him to move way beyond this and Factfulness is by far the best book about developing sound real-world thinking and practical judgment that I have ever read. It ranks way up there on this hard-to-teach topic alongside studying the lives and words of people like Lee Kuan Yew, Charlie Munger and Charles Darwin.
The book entertainingly spans evidence-based reasoning, statistical thinking (as opposed to its more common cousin - anecdotal outrage), psychological cognitive biases, self-awareness, looking through media biases (usually towards sensationalist, fear-mongering bad news) and thinking through effective, actionable solutions to material real-world problems including non-intuitive, indirect ones. Rosling is unusual in his ability to abstract out a range of conceptual tools that we can use across situations, while using examples from his experience to keep such concepts relatable and grounded.
Rosling's day job was as a medical doctor specialising in controlling epidemics around the world. He has witnessed gut-wrenching tragedy first-hand. However, rather than despair or be guided by emotions, he objectively looks for the most effective solutions that can help do most good even if it worsens the situation immediately confronting him. As an illustration, the most effective tool to limit high population growth in poor countries isn't family planning propaganda but better sanitation (infant mortality is disproportionately caused by contamination of water with sewage and reducing this automatically causes parents to try for fewer children). This then has spillover benefits for family health, women's empowerment and fewer children getting more attention and resources, making it far more likely that the family will escape from abject poverty over a generation.
Rosling is a nuanced thinker, able to convey seemingly contradictory thoughts in a way that allows the reader to navigate a grey, messy world rather than a neat, binary one popularised by academics and journalists. As an illustration, he paints a nuanced picture of how things can be both bad and better at the same time. Often, activists are so outraged by things being bad (all we have to do in a place like India is to look around) that they deny any notion that things are actually getting better in many ways. In reality, acknowledging, appreciating and understanding how things are getting better is the way to fix what is still clearly bad.
This is the kind of book that all of us should read, as a great starting point towards being lesser idiots in whatever we have set out to do.

Truly inspirational and life affirming - read it now!
