[PEN-L:304] KOFI ANNAN'S ASTONISHING FACTS (fwd)

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>From The New York Times 				September 27, 1998

KOFI ANNAN'S ASTONISHING FACTS

Every year, the United Nations Human Development Report looks for a new way
to measure the lives of people.  Putting aside faceless statistics like per
capita gross domestic product or export-import figures, the report burrows
into the facts about what children eat, who goes to school, whether there
is clean water to drink, how women share in the economy, or who doesn't get
vaccinations against diseases that go on killing even though they are
preventable.  This year, the report takes its first look at what people
have--from simple toilets to family cars--and what proportion of the
world's goods and services are consumed, comparatively, by the rich and by
the poor.  The pie is huge--the world's consumption bill is $24 trillion a
year--but some servings are very small indeed. -- Barbara Crossette

THE HAVES  The richest fifth of the world's people consumes 86% of all
goods and services while the poorest fifth consumes just 1.3%.  Indeed, the
richest fifth consumes 45% of all meat and fish, 58% of all energy used and
84% of all paper, has 74% of all telephone lines and owns 87% of all vehicles.

NATURAL RESOURCES  Since 1970, the world's forests have declined from 4.4
square miles per 1,000 people to 2.8 square miles per 1,000 people.  In
addition, a quarter of the world's fish stocks have been depleted or are in
danger of being depleted and another 44% are being fished at their
biological limit.

THE GANGES  The Ganges River symbolizes purification to Hindus, who believe
drinking or bathing in its waters will lead to salvation.  But 29 cities,
70 towns, and countless villages deposit about 345 million gallons of raw
sewage a day directly into the river.  Factories add 70 million gallons of
industrial waste and farmers are responsible for another 6 million tons of
chemical fertilizer and 9,000 tons of pesticides.

THE ULTRA RICH  The three richest people in the world have assets that
exceed the combined gross domestic product of the 48 least developed
countries.

AFRICA  The average African household today consumes 20% less than it did
25 years ago.

THE SUPER RICH  The world's 225 richest individuals, of whom 60 are
Americans with total assets of $311 billion, have a combined wealth of over
$1 trillion--equal to the annual income of the poorest 47% of the entire
world's population.

COSMETICS AND EDUCATION  Americans spend $8 billion a year on cosmetics--$2
billion more than the estimated annual total needed to provide basic
education for everyone in the world.

THE HAVE NOTS  Of the 4.4 billion people in developing countries, nearly
three-fifths lack access to safe sewers, a third have no access to clean
water, a quarter do not have adequate housing, and a fifth have no access
to modern health services of any kind.

MEAT  Americans each consume an average of 260 pounds of meat a year.  In
Bangladesh, the average is six and a half pounds.

THE FUTURE  By 2050, 8 billion of the world's projected 9.5 billion
people--up from about 6 billion today--will be living in developing countries.

SMOKE  Of the estimated 2.7 million annual deaths from air pollution, 2.2
million are from indoor pollution--including smoke from dung and wood
burned as fuel, which is more harmful than tobacco smoke.  80% of the
victims are rural poor in developing countries.

WRISTWATCHES AND RADIOS  Two-thirds of India's 90 million lowest-income
households live below the poverty line--but more than 50% of these
impoverished people own wristwatches, 41% own bicycles, 31% own radios and
13% own fans.

TELEPHONE LINES  Sweden and the United States have 681 and 626 telephone
lines per 1,000 people, respectively.  Afghanistan, Cambodia, Chad, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo have one line per 1,000 people.

ICE CREAM AND WATER  Europeans spend $11 billion a year on ice cream--$2
billion more than the estimated annual total needed to provide clean water
and safe sewers for the world's population.

AIDS  At the end of 1997 over 30 million people were living with HIV.  With
about 16,000 new infections a day--90% in developing countries--it is now
estimated that more than 40 million people will be living with HIV in 2000.

LAND MINES  More than 110 million active land mines are scattered in 68
countries, with an equal number stockpiled around the world.  Every month
more than 2,000 people are killed or maimed by mine explosions.

PET FOOD AND HEALTH  Americans and Europeans spend $17 billion a year on
pet food--$4 billion more than the estimated annual additional total needed
to provide basic health and nutrition for everyone in the world.

$40 BILLION A YEAR  It is estimated that the additional cost of achieving
and maintaining universal access to basic education for all, basic health
care for all, reproductive health care for all women, adequate food for
all, and clean water and safe sewers for all is roughly $40 billion a
year--or less than 4% of the combined wealth of the 225 richest people in
the world.




--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx