All Points of Progress

Previous years of CO 'flatlining' came with economic contraction, but that wasn't the case last year. That kind of carbon-stable expansion of wealth hasn’t happened in four decades, says the International Energy Agency.

Only 19 women currently serve as heads of state or government, but there are signs of progress. March 8 is International Women's Day.

In a recent study by the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, a majority of 1,600 residents surveyed in the capital city of Mogadishu said they witness less conflict between clans and fewer attacks by rebel groups.

2 million of the world’s 1.5 billion farmers are now producing organically, with nearly 80 percent based in developing countries. India boasts the most certified organic producers, followed by Uganda and Mexico.

The amount of newly infected individuals worldwide is down 38 percent since 2001 and investment in prevention and better access to care are credited.

A record amount of girls are in school in Afghanistan and the Constitution guarantees equality before the law. Can a decade-plus of success withstand Western withdrawal?

The world is making steady progress toward reducing child marriage, which is closely linked to chronic poverty and health problems.

More than 15 percent of terrestrial and inland water areas around the globe are now under protection. The United Nations established a target of 17 percent by 2020.

Eleven percent of the world's children – about 168 million – are currently subjected to child labor, but between 2000 and 2012, the number of children involved was cut by one-third.

In recent years, many nations have reduced wage gaps, increased female college enrollment, and expanded the role of women in government. But there's still work to be done – a recent report estimates that complete gender equality in economic participation and opportunity remains decades away.

Nearly two dozen species of Pacific groundfish, including snapper, Dover sole, and dogfish, and Atlantic haddock, among others, are all making a comeback. The rebounds can be attributed to the passing of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the US management system.

The rate of fatal workplace injuries in the US is 25 percent lower than it was in 2006 and it's been trending downward for the past two decades, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The decline in certain dangerous occupations, as well as better regulations, have contributed.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the number of chronically undernourished dropped from 18.7 percent of the total population to 11.3 between 1990 and 2014. More than 60 developing nations have halved the number of undernourished people in their populations since 1990.

The tide first began to turn against land mine use in 1997 when 122 countries signed the Mine Ban Treaty, and the number of land-mine casualties has decreased almost every year since then, reaching its lowest recorded point in 2013.

In every region except Latin America, consumers now expect the job market to be good or excellent in the coming year. The number is the highest since before the Great Recession.

More people worldwide have gained access to an 'improved' source of drinking water, or one that is not likely to be susceptible to outside contamination, says the World Health Organization.

In key regions, private firms and governments are taking action.

In the two decades since the United States Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act, domestic violence has declined dramatically.

UN Millennium Development Goals report shows how 'bold targeting' has reduced the gap between boys and girls attending primary school, malaria mortality, and the number of people living without improved water sources.

Changes to a federal nutrition program and Michelle Obama's nutrition and exercise campaign may have played a role in the dramatic decline in early-childhood obesity, some say.