Introduction | Overview | Population | Life expectancy
A world of empires | Independence | Rich and poor
Before and after | Did you know? | Find out more

Did you know?

• In 2000, most national borders were less than 150 years old. And they were more stable in the second half of the century than in the first.

• In 1960, the income ratio of the poorest 20% to the richest 20% of the world's population was 1:30. In 1999, it was 1:74.

• In the 1990s, large corporations such as General Motors, Wal-Mart and Exxon-Mobil each had larger revenues per year than countries such as Colombia, Pakistan, Chile and Ireland.

• In 1998, out of a population of over 9 million, there were more than 8,000 murders in São Paulo, Brazil.

• In 2000, only 20% of the world's people lived in the developed West. Yet these 20% consumed 80% of the world's resources.

• In 2000, the consumption of resources per head of population in the West was 17 times that of the Third World.

• In 2000, a Nike quilted jacket cost £100 in a London shop, but only 51p of that went to the Bangladeshi women who made it.

• Globalisation meant that, of the richest 100 organisations in the world in 2000, only 52 were countries. The remaining 48 were multinational companies.

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