Hard Numbers: 2021 in review

9 billion: More than 9 billion COVID vaccine doses have been administered in 184 countries since the shot was first rolled out just under a year ago. Of those, roughly 2.8 billion have been administered in mainland China.

168 million: Roughly 168 million school-aged kids worldwide have missed out on classes for around a year during the pandemic, and one in three of those were unable to access remote classes. The toll of the pandemic on children's development and wellbeing will become more evident in the months and years ahead.

247,000: Net international migration added 247,000 people to the US population in 2020-2021, the smallest increase in decades. (It reached a high of 1,049,000 in 2015-2016.) US land borders with Canada and Mexico, the main getaway for migrants, remained closed for much of that period because of the pandemic.

100 billion: Insurance claims from extreme weather events linked to climate change topped $100 billion in 2021, according to a new British report. The most expensive single event was Hurricane Ida, which hit the US’ Northeast this fall, causing $65 billion in damages.