Contemporary Society - Improvement of Life Conditions

Improvement of Life Conditions

The UN estimates that, at the beginning of the 20th century, about 60% of the world population lived in conditions of extreme poverty. In 1981, 40% of the world population lived extreme poverty. In 2001, the percentage had been halved to 20%. Several developing countries, in particular in Sub-Saharan Africa, still suffer from social and economic backwardness, but life conditions have significantly improved in most regions of the world, in particular in Asia. The overall improvement in life conditions and the role of technologies now available have contributed to increase GDP per capita by one and a half times in less than half a century (1960–2005), with peaks of over eight times in Eastern Asia. Only in a few countries, concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, growth of per capita income has been very slow.

Read more about this topic:  Contemporary Society

Famous quotes containing the words improvement of, improvement, life and/or conditions:

    They act as if they supposed that to be very sanguine about the general improvement of mankind is a virtue that relieves them from taking trouble about any improvement in particular.
    John Morley [1st Viscount Morley Of Blackburn] (1838–1923)

    We are accustomed to say, that the mass of men are unprepared; but improvement is slow, because the few are not materially wiser or better than the many.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    Art is uncompromising and life is full of compromises.
    Günther Grass (b. 1927)

    Under conditions of tyranny it is far easier to act than to think.
    Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)