These are bleak times for many people — but a lot of things are improving.
As racism, sexual misconduct or assault, and an un-popular U.S. President headline the news everyday, many people around the world feel these are bleak times.
However, it would be a mistake to believe that these news is the only thing happening around the world.
Under this idea is why Vox presented a list of charts and maps that show the world is getting much, much better:
- Extreme poverty has fallen by half since 1990 — The extraordinary rate of economic growth in India and China — as well as slower but still significant growth in other developing countries — has led to a huge decline in the share of the world population living on less than $1.90 a day, from nearly 35% in 1987 to under 11% in 2013.
- Life expectancy is rising — Lifespans have been doubling or more the world over since 1870, persisting in more recent decades. Female and male life expectancy both increased by more than six years between 1990 and 2016, and the gains were biggest in poor countries in Africa and Asia. Lifespans in Africa are still a shocking 16.3 years shorter than in Europe, but the gap is slowly closing.
- Maternal mortality is declining — Death is childbirth declined by 43% between 1990 and 2015, according to the World Health Organization. The drop has been especially dramatic in African countries.
- Violent crime are declining in the U.S. — Despite other serious violent crimes have been shocking the U.S., violent crimes have been decreasing steadily in the U.S. since the early 1990s, according to data from the FBI.
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More people are going to school for longer — In countries like South Korea, the U.S., Iraq, China and India, the average years of going to school have been growing rapidly despite their is still much progress to be done in education worldwide, especially in developing countries.
