We are so blessed

By Bill Fox/Columnist

A friend sent me these statistics, which I verified were correct and enlightening. If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would look something like this:

ETHNICITY:

61 Asians

13 Africans

12 Europeans

8 North Americans

5 South Americans and Caribbeaners

1 from Oceania

GENDER:

50 male

50 female

RELIGION:

33 are Christian

21 are Muslims

13 are Hindus

6 are Buddhists

1 is Sikhs

1 is Jewish

11 practice other religions

11 are non-religious

3 are Atheists

SKIN COLOUR

70 non-white

30 white

LANGUAGE:

17 speak Chinese

9 speak English

8 speak Hindi

6 speak Russian

6 speak Spanish

4 speak Arabic

50 speak other languages

EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY

12 are unable to read

1 has a college or university degree

12 own a computer

8 have an Internet connection

FOOD:

30 would always have enough to eat (15 would be overweight)

50 would be malnourished

20 would be undernourished (1 would be dying of starvation)

FREEDOMS:

48 can’t speak, act according to their faith and conscience due to harassment, imprisonment, torture or death.

52 can.

20 live in fear of death by bombardment, armed attack, landmines, or of rape or kidnapping by armed groups.

80 do not.

HEALTH:

12 are disabled and 1 adult has HIV/AIDS

LIVING STANDARDS

43 live without basic sanitation

20 either lack a constant source of water or have access to a water source that is polluted.

80 live in substandard housing leaving 20 with no place to live.

68 breathe clean air leaving the other 32 to breathe polluted air

MONEY:

6 people own 59 per cent of the world’s wealth

74 people own 39 per cent

20 people share the remaining 2 per cent.

21 people live on $1.25 (US) per day or less

$1.24 trillion (US) was spent on military expenditures

$100 billion (US) was spent on development aid!

 

If you have a roof over your head, eat meals daily and drink clean water, have a mobile phone, can surf the Internet, and have gone to college, you are in the privileged seven per cent category.

Among 100 persons in the world, only eight live to or exceed the age of 64.

If you are over 65, be content and grateful. Cherish the life you have. Remember, 92 persons died before age 65. You are already richly blessed. Think positive thoughts and be kind to yourself and to others. Cherish every moment.

Appreciate what you have & do your best for a better world.

I’m at bdfox@rogers.com trying to fathom these numbers.