Geography1500SocietyandNature

TheGlobalFrontierofInequality
RyanKrajicek
250673043
003
SarahLevine

Theongoingefforttoreduceinequalitiesonaglobalspectrumhasbroughtforth
variousdatathatcanhelpidentifylevelsofeconomic,socialandenvironmental
inequality.
Demographiclevelsvaryamongdifferentincomelevels,withthemajorityofthe
worldswealthbeinglocatedintheuppermiddleincomebracket.Howeverdespite
makinguponly18.5%oftheworldspopulationthetopincomeearnerscontrol68.3%of
theworldsGDP(37,595US$perannum).Thelowestearnersareleftwithsubstantially
lessfinanceattheirdisposal,andareabletogenerateonly1.6%GDPperannumofthat
ofthehighestincomeearners.Thediscrepanciesaremostlyseenbetweenwestern
nations(Ex:Canada,Germany,Japan)andthoseinlocatedinAfricaandvariouspartsof
Asia(Zambia,Kenya,Pakistan).
Lifeexpectancyandchildmortalitymeasuresareuniversallyacceptedas
profoundmethodstodescribethewellnessofacountry.Itisnotsurprisingthatcountries
belonginginthehighestHDIgroupingalsoshowthelongestlifeexpectancy(Ex:
Australia82years),comparedtothelowestHDIgroup(Ex:Chad49.9years)
FinallythehighestHDIgroupingiscontinuouslypumpingfarmoreCO2
emissionsintotheatmospherethanthelowestgrouping.ThelowestHDIgroupingis
barelyregisteringmorethan0.1tonneofCO2emissionspercapita(Ex:Niger).The
highestHDIgroupingshowcasesarangeofscoresonaveragebetween1018tonnesof
CO2emissionspercapita(Ex:UnitedStates).

Inconclusion,thereareenormouseconomic,socialandenvironmental
inequalitiesbetweendifferentpartsoftheglobeandhopefullytheMillennium
DevelopmentGoalsheavilytakethisintoconsideration.