Kurrs' Digital Tapestry of Words

While doing research* for my thesis, I ran into some numbers that I remember shocking me when I read them the first time. Sometimes I wonder if people realise stuff like this:

Currently, over 50% of people in sub saharan Africa live under the extreme poverty line as defined by the World Bank. This means that, after adjusting for both currency differences and puchasing power parity (some things are cheaper in other places than others), they live off less than $200 a year.

To get a sense of what that means, try living off less than a dollar a day. Because the number is represented in US dollars and already adjusted for pricing differences, this should be about accurate. Heck, let's make you a bit wealthier or assume that Canadians pay a bit higher prices for stuff, you get a toonie a day. Buy yourself all the clothing, shelter (read: rent and utilities), food, and entertainment for that day with just a twoonie. Congradulations, you're now living wealthier than 1 in 2 Africans living south of the Saharan desert.

Doesn't that just fuck with your brain? That's why I get pissed off when people say they're poor. No one in Canada is that hard done by, no-one.

Written On: Home Computer

* If you feel like reading an excellent paper on the topic, read "The Economic Tragedy of the XXth Century: Growth in African" by Elsa V. Artadi and Xavier Sala-i-Martin.