owid-covid / README.md
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Initial ingest — owid-covid — card update
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---
pretty_name: OWID COVID-19 global daily compiled
license: cc-by-4.0
size_categories:
- 100K<n<1M
tags:
- cadence-daily
- geo-global
- surveillance-respiratory
- pathogen-sars-cov-2
- tier-2
- availability-open
schema_version: '0.1'
source_id: owid-covid
source_url: https://github.com/owid/covid-19-data
manifest_section: §16.1
surveillance_category: respiratory
pathogens:
- sars-cov-2
availability: open
availability_notes: null
access_type: github
tier: 2
cadence: daily
geography_levels:
- global
- national
geography_countries:
- multiple
gold_standard_for: []
vintaged_version_of: null
succeeds: null
derived_from: []
value_columns:
- name: new_cases
unit: cases/day
value_type: incident
description: New confirmed COVID-19 cases reported per day (per OWID's compilation)
aggregation: sum
- name: new_deaths
unit: deaths/day
value_type: incident
description: New confirmed COVID-19 deaths per day
aggregation: sum
- name: icu_patients
unit: patients
value_type: stock
description: Patients in ICU with COVID-19 (point-in-time)
aggregation: mean
- name: hosp_patients
unit: patients
value_type: stock
description: Patients in hospital with COVID-19 (point-in-time)
aggregation: mean
- name: weekly_icu_admissions
unit: admissions/week
value_type: incident
description: New weekly ICU admissions for COVID-19 (carried on the date OWID assigns within the week)
aggregation: sum
- name: weekly_hosp_admissions
unit: admissions/week
value_type: incident
description: New weekly hospital admissions for COVID-19
aggregation: sum
- name: new_tests
unit: tests/day
value_type: incident
description: New tests performed (any type) per day
aggregation: sum
- name: positive_rate
unit: proportion (0-1)
value_type: proportion
description: Share of COVID-19 tests that are positive
aggregation: rate
- name: people_vaccinated
unit: people
value_type: cumulative
description: Cumulative number of people who have received at least one vaccine dose
aggregation: max
- name: people_fully_vaccinated
unit: people
value_type: cumulative
description: Cumulative number of people fully vaccinated under the country's primary protocol
aggregation: max
- name: total_boosters
unit: doses
value_type: cumulative
description: Cumulative booster doses administered
aggregation: max
notes:
extra_columns:
- column: location_name
description: OWID's English country / aggregate name. `location_id` is canonical.
interpretation_caveats:
- column: new_cases
caveat: 'Compiled from a mix of national sources with very different definitions and
reporting cadences. Many countries publish weekly only; OWID assigns the value
to a single day in the week, leaving the surrounding days as 0/NaN. Treat as a
low-resolution signal post-2022.
'
- column: positive_rate
caveat: Computed by OWID from `new_tests`. Both inputs are sparsely reported, so this column has heavy missingness.
general: 'OWID''s compilation is the broadest single COVID-19 time series available; it is
*not* a primary source. For US analysis, prefer NHSN HRD; for forecast-target use,
prefer the relevant forecast hub''s truth file.
'
extra:
source_columns_omitted: 70+ smoothing/per-capita derivative columns dropped (recoverable from kept incident columns).
owid_iso_aggregates_dropped:
- OWID_AFR
- OWID_ASI
- OWID_EUR
- OWID_EUN
- OWID_HIC
- OWID_LIC
- OWID_LMC
- OWID_NAM
- OWID_OCE
- OWID_SAM
- OWID_UMC
computed:
last_ingested: '2026-04-26T12:49:09Z'
row_count: 396995
time_coverage:
- start: '2020-01-01'
end: '2024-08-14'
geography_unit_count: 238
observed_cadence_days: 1
missing_gaps: []
data_hash: 2a8ae627b9336e85
---
# OWID COVID-19 — global daily compiled
OWID's compilation is the broadest single COVID-19 time series available; it is
*not* a primary source. For US analysis, prefer NHSN HRD; for forecast-target use,
prefer the relevant forecast hub's truth file.
**Source:** <https://github.com/owid/covid-19-data>
## Coverage
- **Time:** 2020-01-01 → 2024-08-14
- **Cadence:** `daily` (observed median spacing: 1 days)
- **Geography levels:** `global`, `national` — 238 unique location IDs
- **Countries:** multiple
- **Pathogens:** `sars-cov-2`
- **Surveillance category:** `respiratory`
- **Rows:** 396,995
## Columns
| Column | Unit | value_type | Aggregation | Description |
|--------|------|------------|-------------|-------------|
| `new_cases` | cases/day | `incident` | `sum` | New confirmed COVID-19 cases reported per day (per OWID's compilation) |
| `new_deaths` | deaths/day | `incident` | `sum` | New confirmed COVID-19 deaths per day |
| `icu_patients` | patients | `stock` | `mean` | Patients in ICU with COVID-19 (point-in-time) |
| `hosp_patients` | patients | `stock` | `mean` | Patients in hospital with COVID-19 (point-in-time) |
| `weekly_icu_admissions` | admissions/week | `incident` | `sum` | New weekly ICU admissions for COVID-19 (carried on the date OWID assigns within the week) |
| `weekly_hosp_admissions` | admissions/week | `incident` | `sum` | New weekly hospital admissions for COVID-19 |
| `new_tests` | tests/day | `incident` | `sum` | New tests performed (any type) per day |
| `positive_rate` | proportion (0-1) | `proportion` | `rate` | Share of COVID-19 tests that are positive |
| `people_vaccinated` | people | `cumulative` | `max` | Cumulative number of people who have received at least one vaccine dose |
| `people_fully_vaccinated` | people | `cumulative` | `max` | Cumulative number of people fully vaccinated under the country's primary protocol |
| `total_boosters` | doses | `cumulative` | `max` | Cumulative booster doses administered |
### Additional data columns
- **`location_name`** — OWID's English country / aggregate name. `location_id` is canonical.
## Interpretation caveats
Things that may differ from how other sources define a similar measure. If you're combining this dataset with another, read these first.
- **`new_cases`** — Compiled from a mix of national sources with very different definitions and
reporting cadences. Many countries publish weekly only; OWID assigns the value
to a single day in the week, leaving the surrounding days as 0/NaN. Treat as a
low-resolution signal post-2022.
- **`positive_rate`** — Computed by OWID from `new_tests`. Both inputs are sparsely reported, so this column has heavy missingness.
## Access
- **Availability:** `open`
- **Access type:** `github`
- **License:** cc-by-4.0
- **Tier:** 2
---
*Schema version `0.1` · Last ingested 2026-04-26T12:49:09Z · `source_id: owid-covid` · Manifest section §16.1*