I came across an update of the “If the World were 100 persons” the other day. It is still five years out of date but it was interesting to compare with figures for an earlier period. Here is what they show:
2016 (For comparison purposes similar figures for 1999 in brackets)
If the World were 100 PEOPLE:
50 would be female (52)
50 would be male (48)
25 would be children
There would be 75 adults, 9 of whom would be 65 and older
There would be:
60 Asians (57)
16 Africans (8)
14 people from the Americas (14)
10 Europeans (21)
31 Christians (30)
23 Muslims
16 people who would not be aligned with a religion
15 Hindus
7 Buddhists
8 people who practice other religions (70 would be non-Christian)
12 would speak Chinese
6 would speak Spanish
5 would speak English
4 would speak Hindi
3 would speak Arabic
3 would speak Bengali
3 would speak Portuguese
2 would speak Russian
2 would speak Japanese
60 would speak other languages
86 would be able to read and write; 14 would not (70 would be unable to read in 1999)
7 would have a college degree (1 would have a college degree in 1999)
40 would have an Internet connection (1 would own a computer in 1999)
78 people would have a place to shelter them
from the wind and the rain, but 22 would not (80 would live in in substandard housing)
1 would be dying of starvation
11 would be undernourished (50 would be suffering from malnutrition)
22 would be overweight
91 would have access to safe drinking water
9 people would have no clean, safe water to drink
(6 people would possess 59% of the world’s wealth and all would be American in 1999)
But the important reminder is the map at the top of the page. Those of us who live in the wealthy countries are shielded from the realities of the rest of the world.