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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jul 9

Lack of enough data precludes doing the same for Ukraine. But we do find that while Russian forward movement is still slow, it is speeding up. More at link: www.economist.com/interactive/...

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jul 9

To estimate Russian losses, I lined up satellite data and shifts to areas of control in Ukraine with more than 200 estimates of total casualties there. This enabled me to construct a credible day-to-day range for the toll of the war since the invasion.

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jul 9

Our analysis of data from the front lines in Ukraine suggests Russia is suffering its heaviest losses of the conflict so far. We use satellites to track the fighting: www.economist.com/interactive/...

Russia’s summer Ukraine offensive looks like its deadliest yet

Our analysis of what it has cost both sides

www.economist.com

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jun 25

Whether a specific ceasefire will hold can be very hard to tell. But data on masses of them, researchers told me, reveal some factors that tend to be correlated with success. I had a look at 2,203 declared since 1989: www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

How often do ceasefires in the Middle East work?

Donald Trump says he expects the Iran-Israel truce to last forever. Our analysis of more than 2,000 truces suggests that’s optimistic

www.economist.com

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jun 25

Just saw this. It would be possible to replicate the approach if I knew the locations of strategic sites to monitor within Israel. It is also possible to do this independently of strategic sites, as I do in Ukraine. www.economist.com/interactive/...

Mapping the Ukraine war: where is the latest fighting?

Our daily updated satellite view of the conflict

www.economist.com

Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jun 18

While tracking thermal events is not perfect either, it has some advantages: it covers all sites systematically, and data comes in regardless of access (as long as skies are clear), several times daily.

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jun 18

To track the Israel-Iran war, @economist.com, I think uniquely, monitors 208 strategic sites in Iran for abnormal thermal activity. It can be hard to know how much maps of confirmed strikes may miss. We find broad overlap, but not perfect. www.economist.com/interactive/...

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jun 10

Last week, we wrote about how estimated casualties (dead+wounded) are approaching 1m on the Russian side. Those timelines may now shift forward. www.economist.com/internationa...

Vladimir Putin’s sickening statistic: 1m Russian casualties in Ukraine

His regime uses payouts to salve Russian families’ grief

www.economist.com

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jun 10

Russia has attacked along virtually the entire front in the past week, and especially heavily in the past few days. But essentially no shift in the front lines. www.economist.com/interactive/...

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jun 9

Read cover story by @vinjeru.bsky.social (with some numbers / projections from me), which also evidences a preference for girls emerging in parts of the rich world www.economist.com/briefing/202...

More and more parents around the world prefer girls to boys

The bias in favour of boys is shrinking in developing countries even as a preference for girls emerges in the rich world

www.economist.com

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Jun 9

Our cover this week is about girls. The news is good: I find that the enormous global shortfall of baby girls has seen a stunning decline. www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 27

Thanks Hethan, glad you found it fascinating.

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 25

Thanks!

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 24

Happy to hear that, thank you again.

Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 24

Thank you very much @gaborbekes.bsky.social

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 21

Too rare I'm afraid. If it helps, I'm also not in the data.

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 13

Our poll of Ukraine is now in (N=1000). Mr Zelensky approval at >70%, very few want elections before peace. But also suggests 58% will not want Ukraine to concede territory, and that many also expect the war to end within the year ->
www.economist.com/europe/2025/... by @olliecarroll.bsky.social

Is Zelensky a disliked dictator or a popular hero?

Our poll of Ukrainians shows a surprising shift in the president’s ratings

www.economist.com

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 7

Some sources provide casualties (dead+wounded), some provide dead only. I collected both. More on dead-to-wounded ratios here: www.economist.com/internationa...

What Ukraine’s bloody battlefield is teaching medics

Western armies have not dealt with mass casualties since the 1950s

www.economist.com

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 7

I cover both casualties (dead and wounded) and dead. The chart that appears with the link shows fatalities only. As you may know, this cuts both ways: a lower dead-to-wounded ratio means that for any given set of fatalities, there are more wounded and thus probably more soldiers out of action.

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 7

In 2024, Russia seized less than half a percent of Ukrainian land at the cost of about 100,000 lives, new estimates of casualties and my calculations suggest. My take on the latest data:
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

How do Ukrainian soldier fatalities compare with Russia’s?

Russia is losing more troops than its opponent. That makes it a strange time for America to force an unequal peace on Ukraine

www.economist.com

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Mar 3

Recommend this for those interested in my work or how I think about it: oxfordpoliticalreview.com/2025/02/28/t...

Turning Numbers into News: the Economist’s Sondre Solstad on Data Journalism and Mapping the Ukraine War | Oxford Political Review

February 28, 2025 | OPR sits down with Dr Sondre Ulvund Solstad, a senior data journalist at the Economist.

oxfordpoliticalreview.com

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Feb 13

The impact of the latest round of tariffs on US imports from China depends on what the alternatives are. If you thought most of these imported goods are easy to get from elsewhere, I'd think again
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

Which goods are most vulnerable to American tariffs on China?

Our number-crunching shows which trade flows could be hard to replace

www.economist.com

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Feb 3

What makes ceasefires, such as the one between Israel and Hamas, more likely to succeed? The experts I talked to and data from 2000+ recent halts in fighting suggest monitoring, politics and a strong start are key:
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

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Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Dec 19

For more on the complexities of this data, and how direct cash transfers such as those by GiveDirectly offer an advantage not captured by GiveWell’s numbers, see link: www.economist.com/finance-and-...

The search for the world’s most efficient charities

What the data say about doing good well

www.economist.com

Sondre Ulvund Solstad @sondreus.bsky.social · Dec 19

In an accompanying leader, we offer more advice on the subject - and argue that wise donors should let a balance of morals, liberty and efficiency be their guide. www.economist.com/leaders/2024...

How to give money to good causes

Let a balance of morals, liberty and efficiency be your guide

www.economist.com

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