Chapter 2: What We Need: More Than You Ever Imagined

OVERVIEW

America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. A typical middle-class, even lower-class, American cannot even imagine what life is like for the typical citizen of Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, or Indonesia. Our standard of living far exceeds any other developed nation. What we take for granted as an essential part of our way of life—unlimited electricity, clean running water, refrigeration, and television—is far beyond the means of a significant portion of the world's population. Worldwide, the average per capita gross national product is currently about $7,200. The United States per capita of $36,200 is five times as large, as shown in Figure 2.1. With U.S. median household income hovering around $40,000 and median net worth of $71,600, the average American's wealth is unimaginable for most of the world's inhabitants.

$36,200 and above	United States, Luxembourg
$25,000–$36,199	Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Hong Kong, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland
$20,000–$24,999	Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
$15,000–$19,999	Argentina, Bahrain, Greece, Israel, Kuwait, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan
$10,000–$14,999	Chile, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Malaysia, Martinique, Slovenia
$7,200	Worldwide average
$5,000–$9,999	Algeria, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Guadeloupe, Iran, Lebanon, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Russia, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, Uruguay
$1,000–$4,999	Albania, Angola, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe
Under $1,000	Afghanistan, Congo Republic, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Zambia
Source: The World Factbook, CIA, 2001

Figure 2.1: Gross Domestic Product per Capita for Selected Countries, 2000