The book, 50 Facts That Should Change the World, is a startling revelation of the disparities between the developed and developing worlds. Written by Jessica Williams, a journalist and television producer for the BBC, it presents facts that we should be making every effort to change by placing pressure on governments and business.
Modern Life
Williams writes, ‘Each fact tells us something important we need to know about modern life in the modern world. Some address inequality – of income, of opportunity, of power. Others consider the rampant consumption of natural resources, while still others look at our changing culture and society…
‘Many of the world’s problems are caused by the grotesque inequalities that exist between the rich, industrialised world and the poorer, developing nations. If we could just address the severity of these inequalities, then we would go a long way to solving the problems.’
Globalisation
‘The oft maligned phenomenon of globalisation – the increasing interconnection of the world through trade, communications and investment – could do much to address this, if it were applied in the right way,’ she continues. ‘But rich nations have been able to use it as a further tool of exploitation, imposing tough barriers on developing countries while lavishly propping up their own economies, while corporations use cheap labour and materials in poorer countries to further maximize their profits.’
The Facts
While I will not reproduce every fact in the book, here are the ones that should give us pause for thought.
o The average Japanese woman can expect to live to be 84. The average Batswana will reach just 39.
o A third of the world’s obese people live in the developing world.
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o Eighty-one percent of the world’s executions in 2005 took place in just four countries:
o Every cow in the European Union is subsidised by $2.50 a day. That’s more than what 75 per cent of Africans have to live on.
o In more than 70 countries, same-sex relationships are illegal. In nine countries, the penalty is death.
o One in five of the world’s people live on less than a $1 a day.
o More than 12,000 women are killed each year in
o Landmines kill or maim at least one person every hour.
o There are 44 million child labourers in
o People in industrialised countries eat between fourteen and fifteen of food additives every year.
o Cars kill two people every minute.
o Global warming already kills 150,000 every year.
o In
o The world’s trade in illegal drugs is estimated to be worth around $400 billion – about the same as the world’s legal pharmaceutical industry.
o More than 150 countries use torture.
o Everyday, one in five of the world’s population – some 800 million people – go hungry.
o A third of the world’s population is at war.
o The world’s oil reserves could be exhausted by 2040.
o Eighty-two percent of the world’s smokers live in developing countries.
o Britons buy 3 million items of clothing every year – an average of 50 pieces each. Most of which end up being thrown away.
o A quarter of the world’s armed conflicts of recent years have involved a struggle for natural resources.
o Some 30 million people in
o Ten languages die out every year.
o More people die each year from suicide than in all world’s armed conflicts.
o There are at least 300,000 prisoners of conscience in the world.
o Two million girls and women are subjected to female genital mutilation each year.
o There are 300,000 child soldiers fighting conflicts around the world.
o In 2005, the
o There are 27 million slaves in the world today.
o Americans discard 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. That’s enough bottles to reach all the way to the moon every three weeks.
o Some 120,000 women and girls are trafficked into
o A kiwi fruit flown from
o Children living in poverty are three times more likely to suffer a mental illness than children from wealthy families.
