Trends

The Great Enrichment

The world is now richer than ever. In 200 years, the economy has grown more than a hundred fold.

Only 200 years ago, more than 80% of the world lived in extreme poverty. Today, it is under 9%.

Contrary to pessimistic predictions, resources tend to become more abundant and cheaper over time.

As education levels increase, people tend to choose to have fewer children. As a result, population growth will peak sooner than previously expected.

Improvements in productivity, yields, and availability of crops have historically increased the world’s food supply.

As people turn to urban life, woodlands are expanding and spaces being recovered for other species to rebound and thrive.

The urbanization of the world’s population translates into more wealth, innovation and environmentally-conscious lives.

After the demise of modern autocracies in the 20th century, democracy has become the most popular form of government.

Wars have become increasingly rarer as countries tend to be more democratic, wealthier and economically intertwined.

The probability of surviving a natural disaster has dramatically increased, as countries become wealthier and technologies more available.

The HDI shows how life expectancy, education and income per capita has improved around the world in the last few decades.

Self-reported happiness, related to subjective well being, has increased as countries become freer and richer.