With global population now exceeding 7 billion, National Geographic examined provided a broad overview of demographic trends that got us to today and will impact us tomorrow.
It was just over two centuries ago that the global population was 1 billion — in 1804. But better medicine and improved agriculture resulted in higher life expectancy for children, dramatically increasing the world population, especially in the West. U.N. forecasts suggest the world population could hit a peak of 10.1 billion by 2100 before beginning to decline.
The World Bank uses the Gini coefficient to help visualise levels of inequality of income or wealth. Worldwide, Gini coefficients for income range from approximately 0.23 (Sweden) to 0.70 (Namibia).
The OECD's How's Life survey offered a comprehensive picture of what makes up people’s lives in 40 countries worldwide and assessed 11 specific aspects of life – ranging from income, jobs and housing to health, education and the environment.
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life. The global average life expectancy has increased by about 15 years over the past half century and continues to rise.
