Money

Chart: The End of World Poverty is in Sight

Published

7 years ago

November 11, 2016

Jeff Desjardins

The End of World Poverty is in Sight

End of World Poverty is in Sight

The number of people in extreme poverty has been cut in half since 1990.

The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.

The world is not a perfect place, and there are many injustices that still must be combatted. Just some of these include racism, sexism, income inequality, climate change, terrorism, soaring debt, corruption, and food and water security.

Many groups of people have it rough, and they deservedly have an axe to grind. There’s plenty of work to still be done.

However, sometimes we get so caught up in our day-to-day battles and the negative news stories that we forget to look at the big picture – and the big picture actually provides a lot of optimism.

Despite the majority of Americans being pessimistic about the future, the world is actually getting better as a whole: people are living longer and healthier lives, crime and violence are down, and living standards are generally improving.

Could an End to World Poverty be near?

One particular area that is fascinating to look at is poverty.

In absolute terms, the total amount of people living in extreme poverty peaked in 1970 when 2.2 billion of the world’s 3.7 billion people lived on less than $1.25 per day.

Today, in an astonishing reversal, only 0.7 billion of 7.3 billion people are below this poverty-line worldwide.

While progress has been made in many countries, the story of China is of particular interest: after market reforms started being introduced in 1978, the country grew at an average pace of 10% per year until 2010. Over this period of time, at least 800 million people were lifted out of absolute poverty.

And while there is still much work to be done, this is an undeniable step in the right direction. The U.N. even has a bold target to end extreme world poverty by 2030.

Based on the progress so far, this doesn’t seem unrealistic.

Contributing Factors

Why have we made so much progress in this realm?

One of the most important factors is very simple: it’s estimated that two-thirds of poverty reduction comes from good old-fashioned economic growth. For every 1% increase in GDP per head, poverty is reduced by 1.7%.

From 1960 to 2000, developing nations grew at an average pace of 4.3% – and from 2000 to 2010, they grew at an even faster pace of 6.0% per year. This helped lift a lot of people out of extreme poverty.

The other factor for the remaining one-third? It’s income distribution. The degree to which economic growth helps the poorest depends on their chances of getting some of that benefit.

It’s estimated that a 1% increase in GDP per head in the least equal countries only reduces poverty by 0.6%, while it does so by 4.3% in the most equal of places.

More growth and more equality will make it possible for this powerful trend in poverty reduction to continue. And by 2030 – who knows – maybe extreme levels of poverty will be an afterthought for society.

GDP

Visualizing U.S. GDP by Industry in 2023

Services-producing industries account for the majority of U.S. GDP in 2023, followed by other private industries and the government.

Published

3 days ago

November 28, 2023

Govind Bhutada

Visualizing U.S. GDP by Industry

The U.S. economy is like a giant machine driven by many different industries, each one akin to an essential cog that moves the whole.

Understanding the breakdown of national gross domestic product (GDP) by industry shows where commercial activity is bustling and how diverse the economy truly is.

The above infographic uses data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to visualize a breakdown of U.S. GDP by industry in 2023. To show this, we use value added by industry, which reflects the difference between gross output and the cost of intermediate inputs.

The Top 10 U.S. Industries by GDP

As of Q1 2023, the annualized GDP of the U.S. sits at $26.5 trillion.

Of this, 88% or $23.5 trillion comes from private industries. The remaining $3 trillion is government spending at the federal, state, and local levels.

Here’s a look at the largest private industries by economic contribution in the United States:

Industry	Annualized Nominal GDP (as of Q1 2023)	% of U.S. GDP
Professional and business services	$3.5T	13%
Real estate, rental, and leasing	$3.3T	12%
Manufacturing	$2.9T	11%
Educational services, health care, and social assistance	$2.3T	9%
Finance and insurance	$2.0T	8%
Wholesale trade	$1.7T	6%
Retail trade	$1.5T	6%
Information	$1.5T	6%
Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services	$1.2T	4%
Construction	$1.1T	4%
Other private industries	$2.6T	10%
Total	$23.5T	88%

Like most other developed nations, the U.S. economy is largely based on services.

Service-based industries, including professional and business services, real estate, finance, and health care, make up the bulk (70%) of U.S. GDP. In comparison, goods-producing industries like agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and construction play a smaller role.

Professional and business services is the largest industry with $3.5 trillion in value added. It comprises establishments providing legal, consulting, design, administration, and other services. This is followed by real estate at $3.3 trillion, which has consistently been an integral part of the economy.

Due to outsourcing and other factors, the manufacturing industry’s share of GDP has been declining for decades, but it still remains a significant part of the economy. Manufacturing of durable goods (metals, machines, computers) accounts for $1.6 trillion in value added, alongside nondurable goods (food, petroleum, chemicals) at $1.3 trillion.

The Government’s Contribution to GDP

Just like private industries, the government’s value added to GDP consists of compensation of employees, taxes collected (less subsidies), and gross operating surplus.

Government	Annualized Nominal GDP (as of Q1 2023)	% of U.S. GDP
State and Local	$2.1T	8%
Federal	$0.9T	4%
Total	$3.1T	12%

Figures may not add up to the total due to rounding.

State and local government spending, largely focused on the education and public welfare sectors, accounts for the bulk of value added. The Federal contribution to GDP amounts to roughly $948 billion, with 52% of it attributed to national defense.

The Fastest Growing Industries (2022–2032P)

In the next 10 years, services-producing industries are projected to see the fastest growth in output.

The table below shows the five fastest-growing industries in the U.S. from 2022–2032 in terms of total output, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Industry	Sector	Compound Annual Rate of Output Growth (2022–2032P)
Software publishers	Information	5.2%
Computing infrastructure providers, data processing, and related services	Information	3.9%
Wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite)	Information	3.6%
Home health care services	Health care and social assistance	3.6%
Oil and gas extraction	Mining	3.5%

Three of the fastest-growing industries are in the information sector, underscoring the growing role of technology and digital infrastructure. Meanwhile, the projected growth of the oil and gas extraction industry highlights the enduring demand for traditional energy sources, despite the energy transition.

Overall, the development of these industries suggests that the U.S. will continue its shift toward a services-oriented economy. But today, it’s also worth noticing how services- and goods-producing industries are increasingly tied together. For example, it’s now common for tech companies to produce devices, and for manufacturers to use software in their operations.

Therefore, the oncoming tide of growth in service-based industries could potentially lift other interconnected sectors of the diverse U.S. economy.