Quiz: What’s better for Australians today, and what’s worse?

Between the climate crisis, natural disasters, the rising cost of living, and the never-ending housing crisis, it can feel like all news is bad. But in many ways, the world is actually getting better.

In Australia and around the world the literacy rate is improvingthe life expectancy of Australians has increased by more than a year in the past decade (despite a pandemic boost), and the cost of solar has decreased significantly.

These improvements are not always universal – they mask or build on existing inequalities. Australians are become richer average, but many still struggle to make ends meet. Falling solar panel prices are only a concern if you can afford the initial outlay and own a home to put them on.

And for some things, it is subjective whether an upward or downward trend represents an improvement or a decline. A good example is marriage rates, as well as the share of people living in cities.

In short, the news is mixed. But the most important factor in how we perceive it is often how it is portrayed in the media.

See how well you can identify the following trends. For each graph, draw a line starting at the red dot to indicate how you think the graph progressed.Then we’ll show you what other Guardian readers thought and what actually happened.