Statistics
What is Poverty?
Living on less than $2 per day is generally defined as poverty, while living on less than $1 per day is known as extreme poverty. Today, nearly half of the world's population lives in poverty, and almost half of those in extreme poverty. Poverty can also be defined as the lack of basic needs, being food, water, shelter, healthcare, and education.
Please spend a few minutes reviewing the information below, which highlight the immense inequalities in the world. Consider that today alone, according to UNICEF, over 26,000 children will die from symptoms of poverty.
The table below, is a glimpse of how unequal world spending is. Don't forget these numbers are people like you and I.
Consider the global priorities in spending in 1998:
| Global Priority | $U.S. Billions |
| Cosmetics in the United States
| 8
|
| Ice cream in Europe
| 11
|
| Perfumes in Europe and the United States
| 12
|
| Pet foods in Europe and the United States
| 17
|
| Business entertainment in Japan
| 35
|
| Cigarettes in Europe
| 50
|
| Alcoholic drinks in Europe
| 105
|
| Narcotics drugs in the world
| 400
|
| Military spending in the world
| 780
|
Compare the information above to what was estimated as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries:
| Global Priority | $U.S. Billions |
| Basic education for all
| 6
|
| Water and sanitation for all
| 9
|
| Reproductive health for all women
| 12
|
| Basic health and nutrition
| 13
|
Statistics courtesy of globalissues.org
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"We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world." - Howard Zinn