1. Living Standards

2. Human Development Index Each year the UN releases a report ranking the development of all of the countries in the world

3. Living Standards Human Development Index This is based on three factors 1) adult literacy 2) life expectancy 3) per capita gdp Current Stats

4. Living Standards Human Development Index GDP or Gross Domestic Product is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in one year

5. Living Standards Human Development Index The Index has shown that there is a major difference between the top ten countries and the lowest ten countries

6. Living Standards Human Development Index In 1998 the wealth of the 200 richest people in the world (over a trillion $s) was greater than the combined income of 41% of the human population

7. Living Standards A country is generally defined as being a developed nation if it is amongst the world’s wealthiest countries, with a high per capita income,

8. Living Standards Developing nation refers to those countries that do not have a modern infrastructure or many industries. Countries such as those that comprise Southeast Asia, which are continually building up their industries and infrastructure, are known as newly industrialising countries.

9. Living Standards Massive Debt Many countries at the bottom of the HDI are in debt to those at the top of the list. They are known as HIPCs or Highly Indebted Poor Countries

10. Comparing Living Standards Standards of Living are measured by looking at the quality of life in a certain country

11. Comparing Living Standards Quality of Life factors include Personal incomes Health Nutrition Life expectancy Status of women and children

12. Comparing Living Standards Quality of Life factors also include Freedom of expression Economic freedom The right to a safe clean environment

13. Comparing Living Standards This is a graph that shows the distribution of the World's GDP

14. Measuring Poverty Poverty also looks very different in a developed nation than in an HIPC

15. Measuring Poverty The International Bank defines the poverty line in developing countries to be people who earn less than $1 per day

16. Measuring Poverty In Canada 9.6% of people live below the Canadian Poverty line which is 18,421/year The definition of Canadian Poverty line is when an individual or family must spend more than 56% of their income on the necessities of life

17. The Poverty Trap It is estimated that 800 million people in developing countries are starving The issue is that the poor cannot purchase food Migrant workers and tenant farmers are the first to feel the effects of crop failures, droughts and recessions

18. The Burden of Debt After WWII the International Monetary Fund and World Bank were created as agencies of the United Nations

19. The Burden of Debt They provided loans to developing countries to improve their standard of living through economic growth

20. The Burden of Debt This was done through mega-projects Dams Agricultural Irrigation These projects caused environmental damage and did not improve the countries' economies

21. The Burden of Debt In the 1960s Western banks lent developing countries billions to help develop the expanding mineral and agricultural markets

23. The Burden of Debt This was followed by an economic slowdown which made it impossible for the HIPCs to repay the loans

25. The Burden of Debt The IMFs solution for HIPCs to pay the debt was to encourage foreign investment, grow cash crops and allow some government control to go to private companies This is known as the “Structural Adjustment Program”

26. The Burden of Debt This practice led to a riot in Zambia when the government was forced to stop subsidizing food.

27. The Burden of Debt The HIPCs usually have few natural resources or receive a low price for them because there is an oversupply or the prices are controlled by Multinational companies

28. The Burden of Debt Ghana produces 70% of the world's cocoa The Price is controlled by companies like Nestle who keep the price low to boost their profits This practice makes it impossible to boost Ghana's GDP and as a result will never be able to get out of debt

29. The Burden of Debt Mozambique spends 10X more on debt repayment than healthcare Many African countries have also had many natural disasters and civil wars which have also affected their ability to pay off their debts

30. The Burden of Debt Debt Reduction programs have been put in place by the IMF in the last ten years, but it is nowhere near enough

32. The Burden of Debt Canada has been one of the countries pushing for debt forgiveness Canada has forgiven all foreign aid overseas development debts, except for Myanmar which is a military dictatorship

33. The Burden of Debt Canada has also allowed Latin American countries to repay their debt by investing in their own environmental initiatives