Factsheets

Standards of living are difficult to measure, but indicators of social development are available. A basic measure, per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is the value of all goods and services produced within a region over a given time period, averaged per person. A more advanced metric, the Human Development Index (HDI), considers life expectancy, education, and Gross National Income (GNI). The three highest HDI-ranked countries are Norway, Ireland and Switzerland.¹ Many of the indicators discussed below are used to measure progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of targets agreed upon by United Nations member states as crucial for global human progress.

Population

• The 2022 U.S. population is 333 million and world population is over 7.9 billion.²
• Global population is projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, with 6.7 billion people living in urban areas—a 68% increase from 2015.³
• Significant issues affecting population include shifting mortality and fertility rates, gender equality, and youth education and employment.⁴
• Fertility rate, or number of births per woman (of child-bearing age), is projected to fall from a global average of 2.5 in 2019 to 1.9 by 2100. Currently, Niger has the highest fertility rate at 7.0; the U.S. fertility rate is 1.8.⁴
• Life expectancy averages 65 years in Least Developed Countries (LDC); life expectancy at birth in the U.S. is 77 years.⁵
• Globally, contraceptive use is increasing. In 2020, contraceptive use was 1.7 times higher than in 1990 and is 6 times higher in LDC.⁶ However, more than 20% of women of reproductive age in 15 countries still do not have access to contraceptives.⁷
• The population of sub-Saharan Africa is growing rapidly and may grow to over 3 billion people by 2100.⁴

 

World Population, Urban and Rural, 1950-2050³

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Standard of Living

• For the first time in 20 years, global extreme poverty rose in 2020 — a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in conjunction with climate change and conflicts. By the end of 2021, it is estimated that an additional 115 million people will be in extreme poverty.⁸
• According to the Gini Index, Slovenia, Iceland, and Norway have among the most equal income distributions in the world. There are over 100 countries a with more even income distribution than the U.S. (Gini index = 41.4).¹
• In 2020, 11.4% of the U.S. population—37.2 million people—were living in poverty (income under $26,246 for a family of 4 with 2 children).⁹ Hispanic and Black populations in the U.S. face higher than average levels of poverty (17.0% and 19.5%, respectively).⁹
• More than 580,466 people were homeless in the U.S. in 2020.¹⁰

Food (See U.S. Food System Factsheet)

• Average expenditures on food as a percentage of income range from 15% in developed countries to 30% in developing countries in 2020.^12,13 On average, Americans spend 7%, while Nigerians spend 59%.¹²
• Globally, 45% of deaths of children under age five are caused by undernutrition.¹⁴
• The Green Revolution during the second half of the 20th century led to large increases in agricultural yields and helped feed the rapidly growing global population. Sub-Saharan Africa was the only developing region where increased food production was primarily due to increased crop area vs. increased crop yield.¹⁵
• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization publishes a comprehensive set of food security statistics annually.¹⁶

 

Fraction of Population Undernourished, 2020^11​

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Water and Sanitation (See Factsheets Related to Water)

• Approximately 1.7 billion people lack access to proper sanitation. Access is lowest in rural sub-Saharan Africa, where only one in four people have proper facilities. Worldwide, urban areas have better sanitation coverage—88% have access to proper facilities, compared to 66% in rural areas.¹⁸
• Only 37% of people in LDCs have access to basic hygiene (soap and water).¹⁸
• In 2020, 74% of the world population had access to clean drinking water at home, but 282 million people spent more than 30 minutes per round trip to collect safe drinking water. However, in Oceania and Sub-Saharan Africa only 47% and 49% of the rural populations, respectively, have access to improved water resources.¹⁸

 

^​​Deaths from Unsafe Water and Sanitation, 2016¹⁷

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Healthcare and Disease

• Approximately 26% of deaths in 2019 were caused by communicable diseases.¹⁷
• Globally, 38 million people were infected with HIV and 680,000 died from AIDS in 2020. Most cases—20.6 million—were in eastern and southern Africa. The number of new infections declined by 31% between 2010 and 2020, but infection rates have increased in North Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.¹⁹
• Diarrheal diseases killed 1.6 million people in 2016 due to inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene services. Each year 446,000 children die from diarrhea. Greater than 70% and 55% of the infections are due to unsafe drinking water and sanitation, respectively.²⁰
• In 2020, there were 241 million cases of malaria worldwide, with 95% occurring in Africa; 627,000 people died and 77% of malaria cases in children under 5 resulted in death.²¹ Research shows more populations will be at risk of malaria as climate change expands suitable habitat for disease-carrying mosquitoes.²² Since 2000, malaria mortality rates have decreased by over 50% globally, with the largest rate of decline occurring in southeast Asia.²¹
• Indoor air pollution, caused primarily from smoke while cooking, contributes to 3.8 million premature deaths each year.²³
• Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world. A healthy diet, regular physical activity, and avoiding tobacco could reduce the major risk factors associated with premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases and strokes.¹⁷
• COVID-19 has become a leading cause of death. Preliminary WHO estimates suggest at least 6.2 million deaths globally in 2022.¹⁷
• In 2015, about 90 million people fell below the poverty line due to out-of-pocket health care costs.²⁴

 

^​​Development Assistance for Health to Developing Nations²⁵

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Education and Employment

• Global youth literacy has risen from 83% in 1990 to 92% in 2020. The gap in female and male literacy rates is also closing; in 1990, literacy rates were 87% and 80% for boys and girls, respectively. In 2020, the literacy rates were 93% and 91%.²⁸
• Cuba spends the highest percentage of its GDP on education, devoting between 12-13% each year. The U.S. spends around 5% each year.29
• Sub-Saharan Africa primary school enrollment increased from 52% to 80% from 1990-2015; the 2015 world average is 91.5%.³⁰
• In Low Human Development nations, 25% percent of the population has at least some secondary education. In Very High Human Development nations this metric is 89%.³¹
• Most jobs in developing countries are in agriculture (60%), services (27%), and industry (13%).³²

 

^​​Adult Literacy Rates, 2018^26,27

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Environment

• It is “extremely likely” (>95% certainty) that the majority of climate change is caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.³³ In the 21st century, climate change will likely result in increasing extinction risk for plant and animal species, more flooding and coastal erosion, extreme heat, droughts, tropical storm intensity, and human health risks associated with malnutrition and water-related and vector-borne diseases. Declines in crop productivity in low latitudes and freshwater availability are likely. Poor communities are especially vulnerable because of their low adaptive capacity and high dependence on local climate (e.g., rain for agriculture).³⁴
• A 2019 analysis found that not investing in climate change mitigation would result in an average 7.2% decrease in global GDP by 2100 while adhering to the Paris Agreement could limit this decrease to 1.1%.³⁵

Conclusions

• In 2015, the UN established seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including eliminating poverty and hunger, reducing inequalities, and improving health and education while ensuring environmental sustainability.³⁶
• Through 2019, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom continued to exceed giving 0.7% of their GNI as Official Development Assistance (ODA), an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) program. The U.S. donates a lower percentage of GNI, but the greatest absolute dollar amount of any nation. In 2019, U.S. ODA totaled $34.6 billion.³⁷