While the world is growing
richer, inequality is increasing and extreme poverty remains deeply entrenched, as
critics of globalization’s current style are quick to underline.
Global GDP
has grown fivefold in real terms over the past 25 years, though over the same period
global GDP per capita only increased 3.5 times. This growth, however, has not been
shared by all.
The absolute number of people living on less than a dollar a day in developing countries
has remained practically unchanged over the past decade. The income gap between the
richest and poorest 20 per cent of world population has more than doubled over the
past 40 years, and nearly tripled if we look at the world’s five richest and five
poorest countries. These disparities are even more striking in specific areas: the
poorest 20 per cent, for example, only account for 0.2 per cent of the world’s Internet
users, while the richest 20 per cent make up 93.3 per cent of users.
Finally, a comparison between the sales of top corporations and the GDP of a number
of countries offers a telling illustration of the sheer power of big business. |
People
living on less than $1 per day in developing and transitional economies
Stark
disparities between rich and poor in global opportunity (1997 shares)
The
world’s top corporations had sales totalling more than the GDP of many countries
in 1998 - GDP or total sales (US$ billions)
|
