Trends
The Great Enrichment
The world is now richer than ever. In 200 years, the economy has grown more than a hundred fold.
The End of Poverty
Only 200 years ago, more than 80% of the world lived in extreme poverty. Today, it is under 9%.
Are We Running Out of Resources?
Contrary to pessimistic predictions, resources tend to become more abundant and cheaper over time.
Peak Population
As education levels increase, people tend to choose to have fewer children. As a result, population growth will peak sooner than previously expected.
The End of Famine
Improvements in productivity, yields, and availability of crops have historically increased the world’s food supply.
More Land for Nature
As people turn to urban life, woodlands are expanding and spaces being recovered for other species to rebound and thrive.
Planet City
The urbanization of the world’s population translates into more wealth, innovation and environmentally-conscious lives.
Democracy on the March
After the demise of modern autocracies in the 20th century, democracy has become the most popular form of government.
The Long Peace
Wars have become increasingly rarer as countries tend to be more democratic, wealthier and economically intertwined.
A Safer World
The probability of surviving a natural disaster has dramatically increased, as countries become wealthier and technologies more available.
Life Options Are Expanding
The HDI shows how life expectancy, education and income per capita has improved around the world in the last few decades.
Global Happiness Is Rising
Self-reported happiness, related to subjective well being, has increased as countries become freer and richer.
Global Income Is Rising
Since the Industrial Revolution, humanity made over twice as much progress in 100 years as it did in the previous 1,800, raising the global GDP per capita at an astonishing pace.
Global Income Inequality Is Falling
As non-Western countries grow their economies faster, global income inequality has started to steadily decline since the 1950s.
The Evolution of Slums
Although the number of people living in slums still increases, the ultimate process of urbanization will translate into better living standards.
Empowering Women
Influenced by Enlightenment ideas, gender equality has dramatically increased in the last century.
Choosing Smaller Families
As women’s life expectancy increases, as well as their participation in the workforce, they tend to choose to have fewer children.
Achieving Universal Literacy
As the ability to read and write becomes more common, poverty rates decrease and equality improves.
More Kids in School
The increase in access to education for children translates into higher salaries, and even more educational opportunities for their future kids.
More Years in School
The rise in the number of average years of education is closely correlated to the progress humanity has made regarding economic growth.
IQ Scores Rising Massively
In the past century, IQ test scores have increased by 30 points as nutrition, schooling and overall health also improves.
Decriminalizing LGBTQ
Out of the 193 members of the UN in 2019, more than 60% of the countries had decriminalized same-sex relations.
Global Free Press Progress, With Setbacks
Although there have been some setbacks, freedom of the press continues to advance. Without freedom of speech, no other rights can be defended.
Life Expectancy is Rising
For most of human history, people only lived for about 30 years. In the last two centuries, the global life expectancy has risen to 72 years.
Global Death Rate Is Falling
Due to lower infectious diseases, wars, and food insecurity, the crude annual death rate is also in retreat.
Vastly Fewer Children Die Young
Infant mortality rates have fallen considerably, largely thanks to modern medicine and early vaccine access.
Mothers Are Living Longer
Hygienic practices in the medical environment resulted in the fall of maternal mortality rates, from 385 in 1990 to 216 per 100,000 in 2016.
Vaccines Are Saving Lives
The growing access to early vaccination has prevented millions of deaths and even more lives have been protected from illness.
Overcoming HIV/AIDS
In the last three decades, HIV infections have become rarer, while the survival rate of the disease has considerably gone up.
Trouncing Tuberculosis
In the last two decades, the incidence rate of tuberculosis has considerably decreased, while the detection and treatment success rates have gone up.
Malaria Retreats
Accelerated by insecticide and medicine advancements, progress in the fight against malaria is being made.
Winning the War on Cancer
Over the last few decades, the global cancer death rate has decreased due to faster detection methods and constant drug improvements.
Tobacco’s Last Stand
Although the number of smokers has continued to rise as the population grows, the prevalence of daily smokers has fallen in the last four decades.
Accelerating Vaccine Discoveries
The acceleration of vaccine developments has enabled the eradication of numerous deadly diseases.
Global Murder Rate Is Falling
The global homicide rate has progressively declined over the last three decades, as fairer judicial systems and better policing have spread around the world.
Capital Punishment Plummets
Gruesome punishments have become rarer over time. As of 2018, the majority of countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
Battle Death Rate Is Declining
As wars have become rarer, battle death rates have also decreased considerably in the last decades.
Genocides are Disappearing
As genocides tend to go hand in hand with war, they peak when conflicts occur. As war becomes less frequent, since 2000, the mass killings of civilians have become rarer still.
Military Spending Ratio Falling
Although military spending has risen in actual dollars, the expenditure as a percentage of the growing global GDP has considerably decreased.
Armies Shrink as a Proportion of Population
During this unprecedented period of peace, the percentage of the labor force working for armed forces is lower than ever.
Nuclear Arsenals Dwindle
After reaching its peak during the Cold War, the number of nuclear warheads has consistently declined.