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Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world, with more than five million confirmed cases in 188 countries. More than 330,000 people have lost their lives.

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.

It then spread quickly across the globe in the first months of 2020.

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, nearly five times as many as any other country according to figures collated by Johns Hopkins University. With more than 94,000 fatalities, it also has the world's highest death toll.

The UK, Italy, France and Spain are the worst-hit European countries.

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 WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that the pandemic is a long way from being over - and expressed particular concern about rising cases in "low and middle income countries".

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.

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• COMPARING COUNTRIES: The pitfalls of doing so
• R0, FURLOUGH: The language of the outbreak
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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.

A sharp increase in cases in Latin America has led the WHO to say the Americas are currently at the centre of the pandemic.

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

There is particular concern about the situation in Brazil where at least 20,000 people have died.

The country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, has repeatedly downplayed the risks of the virus and is pushing for restrictions on businesses to be eased.

Brazil now has more than 300,000 infections, the third highest number in the world, and it is thought that the real number could be much higher, due to a lack of testing.

Some experts are also concerned that virus may be spreading rapidly in Brazil's favelas, or shanty towns, where social distancing is difficult or impossible.

Bruno Covas, mayor of Brazil's largest city, São Paulo, which is home to 12 million people, has warned its health system could collapse because of the growing demand for emergency beds.

Mexico has also seen a spike in new infections, while Ecuador saw its health system collapse in April.

Outside South America, Russia has seen infections rise rapidly and now has the second highest number worldwide, according to official data.

In Africa, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco have been worst-hit.

• Coronavirus in Africa: Contained or unrecorded?

Europe easing lockdown restrictions

European countries are now slowly beginning to ease restrictions brought in to slow the spread of the virus.

The UK, Italy, Spain and France, along with others, now appear to have passed the peak, with the number of new confirmed cases and deaths falling.

The UK and Italy have seen more than 30,000 deaths, while France and Spain have both recorded about 28,000.

However, 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.

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

• What are the new lockdown rules in the UK?
• How European countries are easing lockdowns

New York the worst-hit in US outbreak

With more than 1.5 million cases, the US has the highest number of confirmed infections in the world. It has also recorded more than 94,000 deaths.

The state of New York has been particularly badly affected, with more than 28,000 deaths, but the number of new cases there has been on a downward trend in recent weeks.

Thousands fewer people would have died if the United States had imposed social-distancing measures one week earlier in March, according to a study by Columbia University disease modellers.

At one point, more than 90% of the US population was under mandatory lockdown orders, but all 50 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.

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

President Trump, who disagrees with Dr Fauci's advice, has made it clear he is keen to reopen the US economy "vaccine or no vaccine".

The latest figures show more than 38.6 million people have lost their jobs since the outbreak hit the US. That's nearly a quarter of the American workforce.

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

• Are US states reopening too soon?

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.