If the world were a small village of 100 people it would be a lot easier to see firsthand the plight of the human race. Huge numbers tend to distort our ability to comprehend things. The proportions of a situation are generally more comprehensible when we shrink things down to a number that we can relate to.This information is intended only as a reality check. It certainly gives most of us reason to feel very grateful, and gratitude is a wonderful thing.
.
Perhaps reading this will move us all to look for ways to contribute more to the human family. Conscious awareness and fellow feeling are an important first step toward solving problems, especially big problems.
.
So here’s the scenario:
If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:
.
The village would have 60 Asians, 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 Latin Americans, 5 from the USA and Canada, and 1 from the South Pacific
.
51 would be male, 49 would be female
.
82 would be non-white; 18 white
.
67 would be non-Christian; 33 would be Christian
.
80 would live in substandard housing
.
67 would be unable to read
.
50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
.
33 would be without access to a safe water supply
.
39 would lack access to improved sanitation
.
24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76 that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)
.
7 people would have access to the Internet. this puts you in that 7% minority!
.
1 would have a college education
.
1 would have HIV
.
2 would be near birth; 1 near death
.
5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth; all 5 would be US citizens
.
33 would be receiving - and attempting to live on - only 3% of the income of “the village”
.
Source: Discomfort Zone
.
It’s something to think about, isn’t it?
.
No matter who you are, chances are as you look over this list, you can see a lot of reasons for us to count your blessings.
.
PS. I would love to hear your comments & feelings on this!
{ 0 comments… add one now }