🔔 Mid-year reminder: the world is still getting better
2020 has been a challenging year so far. But with everything we have been facing, it is important to zoom out and see the great progress we have made over the last decades.
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While the pandemic could hurt some of these trends in the short term, we have proven that humanity is amazing at solving problems. Take some time to steer your attention away from the overbearing negativity that is constantly spotlighted in the mainstream media and you will see that it is still the best time ever to be alive.
Data and facts don't lie.
Extreme poverty continues to fall
The 21st century has seen unprecedented economic growth in India and China as well as in many other developing countries. Statistically, 137,000 people have left extreme poverty every day since 1990.
Fewer children die than ever before
According to UNICEF, the global under-five mortality rate declined by 59% between the years 1990 and 2018.
People are living way longer
It may be hard to believe that as recently as 1950, the global life expectancy was only 46 years. Even more surprising is that that number had remained relatively flat looking as far back as the 16th century! As of 2016, the global life expectancy has skyrocketed to 72 years.
90% of the world's children are in school
A global increase of 18% since 1970 according to World Bank. It is worth noting that the world's population has also doubled since 1970. In other words, hundreds of millions more children are going to school today than in the previous millennium.
We have literally flipped the chart on literacy
Yep. According to Our World in Data, in 1800 only 12% of the world knew how to read and write. As of 2016, only 13% do not.
Freedom on the rise
As recently as the 1980s, autocratic governments outnumbered democracies. Back then, only about one third of the world's population lived in free nations. Today, well over half of the world's population lives in a democracy.
Access to the internet is increasing
45% of the world's population are using the internet today. We still have some work to do on this statistic, but with initiatives such as Starlink and projects such as 2Africa, we are racing towards the goal of achieving a globally connected world where everyone has access to instant knowledge and the ability to network with anyone on the planet.
The rise of renewables
While hydropower still holds a commanding lead in the global generation of renewable energy, wind and solar have been growing exponentially since the 2010s. As of 2018, renewable energy generation has reached 6,673 terawatt hours. One terawatt hour refers to the outputting of one trillion watts of energy for one hour.