Wealth and Poverty in the Modern World

World History Sara Watts

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Wealth and Poverty in the Modern World
125 World Bank, WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT,1992 The World Bank, also known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development was founded in 1944 and soon became affiliated with the newly established United Nations. Using funds provided by UN members, it advances loans to nations and private businesses for projects that further economic development. Although most loans at first went for postwar reconstruction, since the 1950s the bank has mainly supported loans for projects in developing nations. Since 1978 it has published annually its World Development Report. with essays on development issues and statistics on economic, demographic, and educational trends.

The following statistics are drawn from the 1992 edition. The nations included are divided into three broad categories: low-income economies (those with a per-capita gross national product of $610 or less in 1990), middle-income economies (those with a per-capita GNP of more than $610 but less than $7,620), and high income economies (those with a per-capita GNP of $7,620 or more). Low-income and middle-income economies are referred to as "developing economies." Mozambique had the lowest GNP per-capita, Switzerland, the highest.

QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS

In what areas did low-income nations make the greatest progress in the l970s and l980s?
Is the gap between rich and poor nations becoming larger or smaller?
What do these statistics suggest about the structure of a nation's economy as the economy develops?
What do these statistics reveal about impediments to development in the poorer nations?

	Population (millions)			Gross domestic product1 per capita ($ millions)		Gross national product2 per capita		Fertilizer consumption (hundreds of grams plant nutrient per hectare3 arable land)		Energy consumption per capita (Kilograms of oil equivalent)
						Dollars	Av. annual growth rate
Nation	1990	2000	2025	1965	1990	1990	(%) 1965-1990	1971	1990	1965	1990
Mozambique	16	21	42	-	1320	80	-	22	5	81	85
Ethiopia	51	71	156	1180	5490	120	-0.2	4	70	10	20
Zaire	37	50	89	4040	7540	220	-2.2	6	10	75	71
India	850	1006	1348	50,530	254,540	350	1.9	137	687	100	231
China	1134	1294	1579	67,200	364,900	370	5.8	410	2619	178	598
Pakistan	112	147	240	5450	35,500	380	2.5	146	890	135	233
Ghana	15	26	34	2050	6270	390	-1.4	11	31	76	68
Indonesia	178	209	275	5980	107,290	570	4.5	133	1116	91	272
Philippines	61	74	101	6010	43,860	730	1.5	287	674	158	215
Bolivia	7	9	14	710	4480	630	-0.7	7	23	156	257
Nigeria	115	153	255	5380	34,760	290	0.1	121	106	34	138
Egypt, Arab. Rep.	52	62	86	1550	33,210	600	41	1312	4043	313	598
Nicaragua	4	5	9	570	-	-	-3.3	215	648	172	261
Turkey	56	68	91	7660	96,500	1630	2.6	157	645	257	857
Jordan	3	5	10	-	3330	1240	-	87	771	393	994
Brazil	150	178	237	19,470	414,060	2680	3.3	186	430	286	915
Mexico	86	103	142	21,640	237,750	2490	2.8	232	728	605	1300
Hungary	11	10	10	-	32,920	2780	-	1497	2463	1825	3211
Korea, Rep. of	43	47	54	3000	236,400	5400	7.1	2450	4250	238	1898
Greece	10	10	10	5270	57,900	5990	2.8	861	1752	615	2092
Israel	5	6	8	3590	53,200	10,920	2.6	1401	2425	1574	2050
Iran, Islamic Rep.	56	78	166	6170	116,040	2490	2.8	60	797	524	1026
Saudi Arabia	15	21	43	2300	80,890	7050	2.6	54	4448	1759	5033
United Kingdom	57	59	61	100,690	975,150	16,110	2	2631	3502	3483	3646
Japan	124	128	128	91,920	2,942,890	25,430	4.1	3547	4179	1474	3563
Canada	27	29	32	52,870	570,150	20,470	2.7	191	472	6007	10,009
United States	250	270	307	701,380	5,392,200	21,790	1.7	816	985	6535	7822
Switzerland	7	7	7	13,920	224,850	32,680	1.4	3831	4262	2501	3902

	Population per physician		Total age group enrolled in primary ed. (%)4		% of gross domestic product
					Agriculture		Industry &		Services
							manufacturing
Nation	1965	1984	1965	1989	1965	1990	1965	1990	1965	1990
Mozambique	18,000	-	37	68		65		15		21
Ethiopia	70,190	78,780	11	38	58	41	14	17	28	42
Zaire	34,740	13,540	70	78	20	30	32	33	48	36
India	4880	2520	74	98	44	31	22	29	34	40
China	1600	1010	89	135	38	27	35	42	27	31
Pakistan	-	2900	40	38	40	26	20	25	40	49
Ghana	13,740	2039	69	75	44	48	19	16	38	37
Indonesia	31,700	9410	72	118	51	22	13	40	36	38
Philippines	-	6570	113	111	26	22	27	35	25	47
Bolivia	3300	1530	73	81	23	24	31	32	31	46
Nigeria	29,530	6410	32	70	55	36	12	38	33	25
Egypt, Arab. Rep.	2300	770	75	97	29	17	27	29	45	53
Nicaragua	2560	-1500	69	99	25	29	24	23	51	48
Turkey	2900	1390	101	112	34	18	25	33	41	49
Jordan	2710	860	95	-	-	8	-	26	-	66
Brazil	2500	1080	108	105	19	10	33	39	48	51
Mexico	2080	-	92	114	14	9	27	30	59	61
Hungary	630	310	101	94	-	12	-	32	-	56
Korea, Rep. of	2680	1160	101	108	38	9	25	45	37	46
Greece	710	350	110	102	24	17	26	27	49	56
Israel	400	350	95	93	-	-	-	-	-	-
Iran, Islamic Rep.	3890	2840	63	109	26	21	36	21	38	58
Saudi Arabia	9400	730	24	76	8	8	60	45	31	48
United Kingdom	870	680	92	107	3	2	46	37	51	62
Japan	970	660	100	102	10	3	44	41	46	56
Canada	770	510	105	105	6	-	40	-	54	-
United States	670	470	100	101	3	2	38	29	59	69
Switzerland	710	700	87	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

1. Gross domestic product (GDP) measures a nation's total output of goods and services for final use and the total income generated as a result of that production. It includes investment income paid to resident foreigners but not income earned by citizens from investments and business activities in foreign countries.

2. Gross national product (GNP) measures the income accruing to citizens and firms of a nation (wages, interest, profit, rent, taxes, depreciation) from activities abroad as well as income produced domestically. It does not include payments to nonresidents who contribute to the national economy. Thus, profits earned at Ford plants in Canada are counted as U.S. GNP, as are wages, earned by American consultants in Brazil Salaries earned by Japanese SONY executives in New York City, however, are not counted as GNP.

3. One hectare equals 10,000 square meters, or 2.47 acres.

4. Age group for primary school age children is 6 to 11 years. Some nations with universal primary education show gross enrollment ratios in excess of 100 percent because of the enrollment of younger or older students in primary school.