If You Could Shrink The World…
A little outdated, perhaps, but this is an ‘officially’ researched version (from May 2001) of one of my favorite selections, which really makes one feel just how we compare to the rest of the world. Unfortunately I don’t think it has improved much in the past few years.
Something to consider again with the current global economic situation.
Fast Company’s version of the infamous “the earth’s population” email links real statistics with real sources. Finally, a chain letter you can believe in.
If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like this:
- 60 Asians
- 12 Europeans
- 15 from the Western Hemisphere ( 9 Latin Americans, 5 North Americans, and 1 Oceanian )
- 13 Africans
Source: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, “World Population Prospects: The 2000 Revision.”
- 50 would be female
- 50 would be male
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census International Data Base, Table 094: Midyear Population by Age and Sex 2001.
- 80 would be non-white
- 20 would be white
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census International Data Base, Table 001: Total Midyear Population 2001, assuming the populations of South America, Asia, and Africa are “non-white” and those of North America, Europe, and Oceania are “white.”
- 67 would be non-Christian
- 33 would be Christian
Source: Britannica Book of the Year 1999, “Religious Population of the World, 1998,” reprinted at infoplease.com, using numbers from the “Christians” heading only for the Christian percentage.
- 20 people would earn 89% of the entire world’s wealth
Source: The International Herald Tribune, February 5, 1999, cited in the World Income Inequality table.
- 25 would live in substandard housing
Source: Habitat for Humanity International, “Why Habitat is Needed.”
- 17 would be unable to read
Source: UNICEF, “The State of the World’s Children 1999.”
- 13 would suffer from malnutrition
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization report, cited at OBGYN.net.
- 1 would die within the year
- 2 would give birth within the year
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, World Vital Events Per Time Unit 2001.
- 2 would have a college education
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, World Education Indicators, Gross Enrollment Ratio by Sex.
- 4 would own a computer
Source: UN Human Development Indicators, “Access to Information and Communications 1995.”
Hello. I think the article is really interesting. I am even interested in reading more. How soon will you update your blog?