The World Wealth & Income Database was launched in 2017 with the goal of, "providing open and convenient access to the most extensive available database on the historical evolution of the world distribution of income and wealth, both within countries and between countries." The database is the newest iteration of the World Top Income Database (WTID), which was launched in 2011 by economists Facundo Alvaredo, Tony Atkinson, Thomas Piketty, and Emmanuel Saez. WID.world contains data and infographics about dozens of countries, which visitors can explore in a variety of ways. In the worldview section, visitors can explore a number of statistics by manipulating an interactive infographic. These statistics include the average national income, average national wealth, and a variety of statistics about income and wealth distribution. Alternatively, visitors can explore data by country or by data indicator. Researchers will also want to check out the methodology section, which includes related published research papers.