SHOCKFACTS: Global consumption

Wednesday, November 17, 1993 - 11:00

  • North America and Western Europe (12% of the world's population) account for 60% of household consumption globally.

  • The one-third of humanity who live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa account for 3.2% of household consumption.

  • Almost 3 billion people worldwide barely survive on less than $2 per day.

  • 75% of global fish stocks are now fished at or beyond their sustainable limit.

  • The US has more private vehicles on the road than people licensed to drive them.

  • Global spending on advertising reached $446 billion in 2002. More than half of this is in the US.

  • In 2000, 1.1 billion people did not have reasonable access to safe drinking water.

  • Two out of every five people worldwide live without basic sanitation.

  • Each year, $18 billion is spent globally on makeup. Menwhile, reproductive health care could be provided for all women if annual spending was increased by $12 billion.

[Source: Worldwatch's State of the World 2004 report.]

From Green Left Weekly, July 14, 2004.

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From GLW issue 589