Low-level jets (LLJs), wind speed maxima in the lower troposphere, impact several environmental and societal phenomena. In this study we take advantage of the spatially and temporally complete meteorological dataset from ERA5 to present a global climatology of LLJs taking into consideration their formation mechanisms, characteristics and trends during the period of 1992-2021. The global mean frequency of occurrence was of 21% with values of 32% and 15% for land and ocean. We classified the LLJs into three regions: non-polar land (LLLJ), polar land (PLLJ) and coastal (CLLJ). Over LLLJ regions, the average frequency of occurrence was of 20%, with 75% of them associated with a near-surface temperature inversion i.e. associated with inertial oscillation at night. Over PLLJ regions the LLJs were also associated with a temperature inversion, but were much more frequent (59%), suggesting other driving mechanisms than the nocturnal inversion. They were also the lowest and the strongest LLJs. CLLJs were very frequent in some hotspots, specially on the west coast of the continents, with neutral to unstable stratification close to the surfaces, that became more stably stratified with increasing height. We found distinct regional trends in both the frequency and intensity of LLJs, potentially leading to changes in the emission and transport of dust aerosols, polar ice and moisture over the world. However, it is currently unclear the evolution of the trends with global warming and what the implications are for climate and weather extremes. Future studies will investigate long-term trends for LLJs and the associated implications.