Let's run the numbers

It's easy to feel depressed about world affairs, but a set of statistics that went viral actually proves our world is becoming a better place. Here are four stats to prove it. (1) Life expectancy continues to rise. It's leveled out in the United States (the richest nation on earth) and even dropped a little, but it's skyrocketing worldwide. Twenty years ago the average life expectancy in Africa was 50. Today it's 60 and still rising.  (2) World population is starting to level off. It's still going up, but not as fast.

(3) Democracy is spreading. Thirty years ago, only about 40% of people lived in democratic societies. Now it's almost 60%.  (4) Global income inequality is way down. Fifty years ago, a huge percentage of the world lived in poverty. But now, an average of 200,000 people are lifted out of poverty every day.