Positive News: Amid our world’s growing population, the portion of people living in extreme poverty has diminished nonetheless. Reliable data gathered from the World Bank, among other sources, indicates that over the last two hundred years the world population grew from about one billion to seven billion. Yet in 1820 the portion of people living hand-to-mouth (defined as spending less than $1.25 in today’s dollars) has fallen from greater than 90 percent to about 20 percent. More recently, the number of extremely poor people in the world is three times lower than in 1970. Remarkable!
To what can be attributed this remarkable progress? While such an answer is complex, some important factors include:
- Industrialization, leading to mass production of life-sustaining products
- Agricultural advancement, prompting greatly increased yields
- Improved physical health, promoting economic productivity and decreased birth rates
While we continue to promote the welfare of all humankind, we can also be encouraged by the assurance of very real progress. Read more at https://ourworldindata.org/world-poverty/