Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world, with more than four million confirmed cases in 188 countries. Nearly 300,000 people have lost their lives.

The United States alone has more than 1.3 million confirmed cases - about six times as many as any other country.

This series of maps and charts tracks the global outbreak of the virus since it emerged in China in December last year.

How many cases and deaths have there been?

The virus, which causes the respiratory infection Covid-19, was first detected in the city of Wuhan, China, in late 2019.

Note: The map and table in this page use a different source for figures for France from that used by Johns Hopkins University, which results in a slightly lower overall total.

The US has by far the largest number of cases, according to figures collated by Johns Hopkins University. With more than 80,000 fatalities, it also has the world's highest death toll.

France, Italy, Spain and the UK - the worst-hit European countries - have all recorded more than 25,000 deaths.

In China, the official death toll is some 4,600 from about 84,000 confirmed cases, although critics have questioned whether the country's official numbers can be trusted.

The outbreak was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March. This is when an infectious disease is passing easily from person to person in many parts of the world at the same time.

The true number of cases is thought to be much higher than the reported figures, as many of those with milder symptoms have not been tested and counted.

Globally, more than 4.5 billion people - half the world's population - have been living under social distancing measures, according to the AFP news agency's estimates.

Those restrictions have had a big impact on the global economy, with the International Monetary Fund warning the world faces the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The United Nations World Food Programme has also warned that the pandemic could almost double the number of people suffering acute hunger.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said "the spectre of multiple famines" loomed.

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Where are coronavirus cases still rising?

While some countries are starting to see confirmed cases and deaths fall following the introduction of strict lockdown restrictions, others are only now seeing them rise.

Brazil and Mexico announced their highest daily death tolls in recent days, and the WHO has said that the Americas are now at the centre of the pandemic.

Russia's latest official data shows it now has the second highest number of infections worldwide and has been reporting around 10,000 new cases a day for over a week.

These charts show four countries where deaths are on an upward trajectory - as shown by the red lines.

Ecuador saw its health system collapse in April - thousands have died from the virus and other conditions that could not be treated because of the crisis. The country's official number of coronavirus deaths is around 2,300 but the actual toll is thought to be much higher.

The growing threat in Latin America has led the WHO to say the Americas are the currently at the centre of the pandemic.

In March, the WHO had labelled Europe the "epicentre of the pandemic " but the region is now slowly beginning to ease restrictions brought in to slow the spread of the virus.

Europe slowly easing lockdown measures

In Europe, the UK became the first country to record more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths last week.

Italy, which was the first European country to have a major outbreak, has also passed that marker.

Differences in population size and how countries report their figures, with some including deaths in care homes, or deaths of those suspected but not confirmed of having the virus, means international comparisons are complicated.

However, the UK, Italy, Spain, France and many other European countries appear to have passed through the peak of the virus and the number of new reported cases and deaths is falling.

Germany and Belgium have also recorded a relatively high number of deaths and are now seeing those numbers decrease.

European countries have varied in their plans to ease lockdowns, but the WHO has urged all nations to adopt a "slow, steady" approach.

In Germany, all shops can now reopen with extra measures in place and schools have partially reopened - but infection rates there have increased in recent days.

France, Italy, Spain and Italy have also begun to allow some shops to reopen.

Other countries that saw fewer coronavirus cases, including Austria, Denmark, Greece and Switzerland, have been able to lift restrictions even further.

You can read more about how lockdowns are being eased across Europe here.

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a limited easing of restrictions on Sunday. The UK government is still encouraging people to stay at home wherever possible and all restaurants, bars and non-essential shops remain closed. However, those in other professions who cannot work from home are now being "actively encouraged" to return to their workplace, but not use public transport.

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New York the worst-hit in US outbreak

With more than 1.3 million cases, the US has the highest number of confirmed infections in the world. It has also recorded more than 80,000 deaths.

The state of New York has been particularly badly affected, with more than 27,000 deaths, but the number of new cases there has been on a downward trend in recent weeks.

At one point, more than 90% of the US population was under mandatory lockdown orders, but many states have now begun to loosen their stay-at-home restrictions and allowed some businesses to reopen - a move health officials fear could further spread the virus.

The top US infectious diseases doctor Anthony Fauci has cautioned against opening up public life too soon, warning of further "little spikes" which would become outbreaks.

However, he has now been criticised by President Donald Trump, who claimed during a press conference that Dr Fauci's warning was "unacceptable" - in particular his caution around reopening schools too quickly.

President Trump has made it clear he is keen to reopen the US economy and said last week it would be the new focus for his government's coronavirus task force.

The US unemployment rate has risen to 14.7%, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April, as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy.

The rise means the jobless rate is now worse than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

About this data

The data used on this page comes from a variety of sources. It includes figures collated by Johns Hopkins University, data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, national governments and health agencies, as well as UN data on populations.

When comparing figures from different countries it is important to bear in mind that not all governments are recording coronavirus cases and deaths in the same way. This makes like for like comparisons between countries difficult.

Other factors to consider include: different population sizes, the size of the a country's elderly population or whether a particular country has a large amount of its people living in densely populated areas. In addition, countries may be in different stages of the pandemic.