A bloody civil war in Syria, renewed violence in Iraq, economic uncertainty in Cyprus, brinkmanship on the Korean peninsula – it seems that every day brings with it a fresh new tale of woe from around the world. At the same time, government officials tell us constantly the world is a place of great danger and potential dangers and politicians inflate threats and the risk they pose to the United States.
But guess what? You can turn that frown upside down, because for all the seemingly bad news around the world, we are actually living in a golden age of global development. Today, millions of people around the world are living longer, healthier, freer, safer and more prosperous lives than ever before in human history – and we have the data to prove it.
Earlier this month, to little fanfare, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) released its annual Human Development Report (HDR) and the results are both surprising and encouraging. According to the UNDP, over the past decade not some but, in fact, "all countries" have "accelerated their achievements" in education, health, and income. Not a single country for which data was available scored lower on the UNDP's human development index than they had 12 years earlier.
According to the HDR, these improvements are disproportionately happening in the global south, "home to the vast majority of the world's people" – most of whom are on the lower end of the income spectrum. Middle-range countries like Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey have seen some of the most rapid advances. But significant progress is also occurring in places like Bangladesh, Ghana, Mauritius, Rwanda and Tunisia.
In fact, according to the HDR, the combined economic output of the developing world's three largest economies (Brazil, China and India) will, by the end of decade, match that of the Canada, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States. The good news from the UNDP matches reams of existing data on the extraordinary advances in human progress that have been made in the past two decades.
For example, violent conflicts are on the decline and freedom (in the form of electoral democracies) is on the march. Indeed, inter-state war has largely disappeared from the global system; and when conflicts do occur, they tend to be far less violent.
In addition, there were just under 70 electoral democracies at the end of the cold war. Today, there are 117 (pdf) (though this is a slight decline from the high of 123 in 2006).
But as the HDR makes clear, the advance on public health, poverty reduction and social progress are, in some respects, even more impressive.
Thirty years ago, half the people living in the developing world survived on less than $1.25 a day; today, that proportion is about one-sixth – and the average worldwide income is around $10,000, a significant increase from just a decade ago.
That means more and more people around the world are entering the middle class. In fact, according to the HDR, there will by the end of the decade be approximately 3.25 billion members of the middle class, a dramatic leap from the 1.8 billion of just 4 years ago.
More people around the world can read and write; more go to school, more attend college and more women are getting an education than ever before. The latter point is of critical importance because we know that female education is one of the single most important development tools and actually more critical to child survival than either household income or wealth.
Speaking of child survival, child mortality rate continue to decline thanks to expanded access to healthcare, proper sanitation, and vaccinations. In 1970, the global child mortality rate (deaths of children under five per 1,000) was 141; in 2010, it was 57. From 2000 to 2008 alone, mortality rates among children fell by 17%. And when those kids grow up, they are living longer and healthier lives. Since 1970, the average person is living 11 years longer, to the ripe age of 70. Americans are doing even better, living close to 80 years.
These numbers are the result, in part, of extraordinary advances in public health. Aids-related deaths, while still too high, have dramatically declined. Tuberculosis is finally on the decline; so, too, are mortality rates due to malaria, which have dropped by 25% since 2000.
All of this good news hasn't happened by accident. As the HDR makes clear (pdf), they are the direct result of governmental policies on economic, trade and public investment, including a particular focus on investments in health and education. To the latter point, one of the more telling findings of the report (pdf) is a side-by-side comparison between South Korea and India in regard to education policies. In South Korea, young women are among the best-educated women in the world, which will result in both a healthier and smaller population (since better-educated women tend to have fewer children). In India, a less broad-based commitment to education means the country's population will continue to grow, curtailing what should be even higher levels of economic growth and productivity.
In addition, countries that have succeeded the best are ones that have focused on tapping into global markets, maintaining robust trade policies and even enhancing internet usage. In short, success is not the result of "cutting taxes for job creators", or enacting austerity policies, but rather consistent and deliberate government interventions.
Now, besides the fact that a world of longer life spans, greater education opportunity and higher living standards is a good outcome for millions of people, you might be asking why does this all matter for Americans?
The reason is that such extraordinary human progress actually furthers America's national security interests – and makes America itself safer and more prosperous. Quite often, when politicians and pundits talks about US security-related issues, it's viewed through a military prism or, rather, the defeat or containment of a political foe. The reality is that far more than all the bombs in America's arsenal and all the troops in its army, a world of peace and stability, greater freedom, wider prosperity and fuller, longer lives makes the US more secure.
We know, for example, that, by and large, democracies rarely go to war with other democracies and are less likely to fight non-democracies. We know that economic integration along with robust trade and foreign direct investment between countries correlate with long-term economic growth and a reduced likelihood of war. Finally, we know improvements in health and well-being contribute to greater global security and safety, because countries with weak human development are more likely to fight wars.
Moreover, countries that are integrated in the global economy are better trading partners for the United States, and countries that are functional democracies make for potentially stronger global allies and partners. It might even lead one to conclude that promoting democracy and good governance, furthering economic prosperity, extending and improving the human experience and protecting the environment against man-made threats should be more prominent and well-funded US foreign policy priorities.
Of course, there is another side to this uplifting tale. Far too many people around the world continue to live in poverty and hopelessness; far too many live in political systems that restrict their rights and limit their freedom; far too many go to bed hungry; far too many can't read or write; and far too many girls and women are excluded from the same opportunities as men.
Above all, the failure to tackle serious environmental challenges like climate change threatens to undermine many of the gains that have been achieved. In short, while progress has been made, we are very far from the finish line.
But that, in itself, should give us hope. The Human Development Report (pdf) is compelling evidence that once seemingly intractable global challenges can be tackled and minimized. We've done it before, and it can be done again. But that begins with reminding ourselves that we are living in one of the greatest moments in the history of the species – and even more importantly, how we got here.
