1. LIVING STANDARDS

2. World Poverty… A Reality Check!
According to the United Nations Development Programme…
Current World population = 6.7 billion people
People living in severe poverty = 1.3 billion ( 1 in every 6 people)
People living without adequate food or no food at all = 850 million people
Illiterate people = 850 million-- of which 540 million are women!

3. What is a standard of living?
Standard of living is a measure of economic welfare
Usually measured by assessing per capita income or per capita consumption of goods/services
Gross Domestic Product or GDP is commonly used to measure the standard of living of a given country
GDP is the value of all goods and services produced by a country in the period of one year
GDP is a measure of a country’s annual production

4. How are living standards quantified?
Standards of living are usually quantified by using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or the Gross National Product (GNP)
GDP measures a country’s production
GNP measures the average individual income in a given country

5. UNITED NATIONS Publishes Human Development Report
Rates countries on 3 criteria
Adult literacy
life expectancy
per capita GDP = total value of goods and services produced in a country over one year

6. Interesting stats
From Canada was rated as the top country to live in
The combined wealth of the worlds 200 richest people was greater than the combined income of 41% of the world’s population
The world is divided into “have” and “have not countries”

7. How are living standards quantified?
Standards of living are usually quantified by using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or the Gross National Product (GNP)
GDP measures a country’s production
GNP measures the average individual income in a given country

8. Countries with a high standard of living-- “The Haves”1
 Norway
0.949
 0.001 2
 Australia
0.939
 0.002
  Switzerland 4
 (2)
 Germany
0.926 5
 (1)
 Denmark
0.925
 (6)
 Singapore
 0.013 7
 Netherlands
0.924 8
 Ireland
0.923
 0.003 9
 (7)
 Iceland
0.921 10
 Canada
0.920
 United States 12
 Hong Kong
0.917 13
 (4)
 New Zealand
0.915 14
 Sweden
0.913
 0.004 15
 Liechtenstein
0.912

9. Countries with low standard of living-- “The Have Nots”
177
 Liberia
0.427
178
 (1)
 Guinea Bissau
0.424
 0.003
179
 (2)
 Eritrea
0.420
 0.002
 (3)
 Sierra Leone
 0.011
181
 Mozambique
0.418
 0.004
 South Sudan
183
 Guinea
0.414
184
 Burundi
0.404
185
 Burkina Faso
0.402
186
 Chad
0.396
187
 Niger
0.353
188
 Central African Republic

10. Bridging the Gap
Efforts have been made to narrow the gap between “have” and “have not” countries
Aid from international governments as well as NGO’s
What are NGO’s?

11. Developed and Developing
Most analysts now prefer to talk of developed or less developed economies – regardless of their political style.
Countries like Canada, the USA, Britain and Japan are regarded as developed because of their industrialized and diverse economies.
Countries like Indonesia and Egypt are regarded as developing or less developed (LDC’s).
The world’s least developed countries, which often lack resources – like Chad or Laos – are often described as least less developed (LLDC’s).
Road to Development

12. Divided Countries Developed nations:
Industrialized, good housing, healthy and educated
Infrastructure: transportation, communication links, electric power distribution, schools and hospitals

13. developing Countries Few schools, doctors and hospitals Unpaved roads
limited communication - telephones, internet etc
Limited access to electricity
Newly industrialized countries are found in the middle - refers to countries that are developing e.g. Indonesia

14. North and South
In a very simple division of the world, some observers note that most of the developed countries lie in the Northern hemisphere and many of the developing countries are in the southern.
They refer to the rich countries as the North and the poor as the South.
The yellow countries represent the North - the Developed World and those with the highest HDI, GDP and GNP

15. The Newly Industrialized
The New Dragons
In a further division of the world, some observers note that a number of countries, particularly in East Asia, have rapidly industrialized and have now, or soon will, catch up with the developed world.
These are referred to as Newly Industrialized Countries – NIC’s.
Those in East Asia are sometimes called the New Dragons.
South Korea
Hong Kong (SAR)
Taiwan
Thailand
Malaysia
Singapore

16. Living Standards Measured by Per capita GDP - not always accurate
Wealth isn’t always shared
Quality of life - health, levels of nutrition, life expectancy, literacy, and the status of women and children.

17. Needs and Wants
Comparing standards of living between countries is not easy.
Needs and wants differ enormously from place to place.
Air conditioning is highly desirable in the tropics, but not in higher latitude areas.
In colder countries good heating systems are essential.
Beyond the essentials of life – food, drink, clothing, security and shelter – needs are determined more by societal expectations than by biological requirements.

18. “Human poverty is more than income poverty --- it is a denial of choices and opportunities for living a tolerable life.”