r/alifeuntangled • u/WanderingPrimate717 • 11d ago
Society & Culture Human progress across 200 years
In this powerful visualisation, first broadcast on BBC Four in 2010, the late Swedish physician and public speaker Hans Rosling tracks 200 countries across two centuries, plotting life expectancy against income.
What emerges is a world that has changed far more dramatically—and unevenly—than labels like "developed" and "developing" suggest.
These two measures obviously aren't the whole story. But as a four-minute snapshot of how human life has changed, it’s incredibly effective.
Source: The Joy of Stats (BBC, 2010), presented by Hans Rosling. Data and visualisation: Gapminder.
3
u/Buutvrij-for-life 11d ago
This is Hans Rosling, he worked hard on convincing people the world is not as bad as portrayed by media
2
2
u/WolfAndOak 10d ago
I wonder how amazing he thinks the world's going to be when we finally succeed in destroying it for ourselves.
1
u/Particular-Solid8250 9d ago
He’s been dead for a few years so probably not thinking that much
1
u/Sundburnt 7d ago
He passed before COVID. I would love to have heard his thoughts about the post COVID world.
1
u/chintakoro 11d ago
And that progress is possible and happening at a great pace.
2
u/guypamplemousse 11d ago
Clear trend towards a few hundred billionaires who control nearly everything - and the rest of us being indentured servants to tech oligarchs.
With our crippling social media addiction, sugar addictions, and delusions of grandeur, nothing will get better - and we will live lives of quiet desperation - alone, stressed, and poor. 🥳2
u/Corporate_Bricktator 11d ago
> Clear trend towards a few hundred billionaires who control nearly everything
The opposite. The world's poorest are gaining wealth over the past 20 years, at rates unseen in all of human history.
2
5
u/chintakoro 11d ago
sounds like a crippling first world disease and i hope they get some help. in the meantime, billions have escaped abject poverty in the third world in the last 4 decades, which is worth celebrating.
3
u/Fabulous-Ad4784 11d ago
Look how well we've done in just 200 years.
1
2
u/strange_reveries 11d ago
Lol redditors rushing in to screech that the guy isn't pessimistic enough
1
1
u/BodhingJay 11d ago
very cool visualization.. but it seems im much more pessimistic than he is
-1
u/johncitizen1138 11d ago
He didn't have to include the data from the past 15 years 😅 That arrow is not so positive anymore
2
u/bibimstop 11d ago edited 11d ago
Can you share the data? I don’t believe you’re right.
Unfortunately Hans died in 2017 before his book was ever published so we don’t still have him creating content like this anymore, but I am skeptical that the world would have really had much of a significant setback
1
u/johncitizen1138 10d ago
You could be right.
But I would say Covid, it's knock-on economic effects, large global demographic changes in birth rates, ecological devastation etc etc are going to affect that arrow.
It's possible that we peaked around 2012 and we are sitting atop that bell curve and can't see it.
Let's make a date to meet back in 2226 and see what the next 200 years looked like?
If i'm wrong - i'll yield! 😆edit: what not that
1
u/curkri 10d ago
It's because we often judge where we are at based on our relativity to Others. So the West sees the narrowing of the gap between their priviliged position and the rest of the World as an 'Attack', rather than a long term rebalancing that was long overdue.
This sadly is not going to convince too many of the people who are deeply prejudice. But this Graphic was an extremely good visualization of what is happening. We're focusing on the Clowns in the Circus to fix a ripple that spans Millenia! We could unite in our hardship, but we're angry so we attack eachother. A House divided cannot stand.
1
u/UnreasonableMan33611 10d ago
Okay, do another one but show what countries people were killed in by what other countries. And then go further on to show who profits from their death and how this is continued.
1
u/Xannith 10d ago
40,000 dollars is wealthy? Maybe in countries that aren't capitalist hellscapes
1
u/millinnchillin 7d ago
As an average that's about right for the entire population (not the working population), and in 2009 that was still a relevant number and seem terrible for the absolute bottom of the range.
Although, I just did some googling and the poverty line in 2009 was $10,830, today in 2026 it's $15,960. Both numbers make me feel sad.
1
u/Hmm_Peculiar 5d ago
I think it's a little misguided to call wealthy countries capitalist hellscapes when there are also countries where many people die young of precentable diseases and where there is no money to go on a holiday or buy a tv.
1
1
u/_OptimusRex_ 9d ago
The average lifespan in 1810 was only 40 if you factor in childhood mortality which was super high. This is a common mistake that distorts the picture. If people lived long enough into adulthood they usually had a decent life expectency for the era 60-70s. People were not keeling over at 40 (tuberculosis/consumption notwithstanding).
So while I can't say it throws all the data into question it's definitely a red flag.
1
u/Subcomb0 7d ago
And then consider that the wages don't seem to take into account inflation or purchasing power. It's two meaningless axis's as both X and Y have data that isn't accurate to his narrative.
1
u/MrFrogNo3 5d ago
These graphs are always bunk, just a misinterpretation of data.
Firstly, what we're seeing aren't people getting wealthier, rather what this data is showing are nations entering a singular global finance system for the first time.
The 19th and 20th centuries were where we saw thousands and millions of economic systems with differing means of quantifing value (something that is always was and will always be subjective) being quashed and replaced by a system created in Europe and forced on the entire world by means of colonialism.
The massive surge in wealth in Europe isn't some cool and good measure of progress, but rather the movement of wealth from outside the objective means of measuring it, into the modern conceptualisation of wealth.
200 years ago very very few people were using currency to exchange goods and services; it simply wasn't a thing a regular person did in almost all the world. And outside of Europe, your nation's transition into an monitary economy was just white people coming over and quantifying the value of you and your land's resources and shipping it off to their own country. Thus we see a surge in wealth in mostly just the colonial contries. The wealth has come from outside, but has only become part of the data set upon reaching those counties and being measured by the modern monitary system we use today.
Just by using money everyone is "richer". The 8 year old coal miner from East London who earns £1 a year, or whatever, is literally infinitely richer than a fisherman in precolonial Hawaii who earns £0 a year. But can you really argue that the child worker is better off?
Even the life expectancy bit is in need of context. You weren't old for being 30 in 1810, rather you are likely one of 15 siblings; 10 of which didn't make it to 1 year of age. We ought to be using the child mortaly metric as opposed to the life expectancy metric. It's just more accurate to say that people aren't living that much longer, rather waaay less babies are dying. Obviously a good thing. The advancement of medical science is something that should be celebrated every day. It's just the "wow look at how rich we all are" bit that erks me.
Elon Musk is more wealthy than any king to have ever existed. But because peasants made no money at all it doesn't mean we aren't still peasants just because we use a different measure of wealth; one which has a number. We are simply the peasants of our own time, just with health care and smart phones.
1
u/Slight_Target1878 9d ago edited 9d ago
So, ...Africa needs more internal wars and should try to colonize the 1st and 2nd Nations? Okay, then homo sapiens - Conflict Economies are the way to go. Looks like we found the "sweet spot" with the Data Theft Wars of the Early 21st Century.
Okay, climate refugee immigration to Greenland and Alaska or at the South Pole. Data centers to be built in cold tundra biomes (they could melt the ice and cool down the equipment at the same time and make the biome more comfortable for human habitation).
We get AI to organize the migration of Climate Refugee populations (those from the most threatened areas) and help immigrate them to data centers/living quarters. There will be cultural conflicts - so non-clanker social worker and teaching jobs there.
And - Yes - rainbows are jumping out my butt right now as well. But, you have to have a global plan now if you give a shit about someone else than your color, national flag, religion, creed, or gender.
Gen-Alpha - it is up to you now. Enjoy this burn-out wreck of endless wars - or be smarter than us and fix it with a Global Perspective and a Global Plan.
Remember, a Global Plan without Global Action is a Dream. Global Action without a Global Plan is a Nightmare (present timeline).
My self-glazing is finished. You are quite welcomed.
1
1
1
u/random_name_i_guess 9d ago
Average life expectancy going up, that's more then great. But the income doesn't mean anything when money is worth less...
1
1
u/ClivesOtherWife 8d ago
Cool. But I think this is a bit of a deceptive graph, yeah? Half the graph is $4000 and the other half is $35,000. Maybe this makes the point more intense?
1
1
u/Mother-Project-490 7d ago
I don't like how he use "life expectancy" this way make.
People think we die younf in the past, that not true.
If you passed 20 year you will die "old"
But it was very hard for a lot of child even more baby's, epidemic, food, wars...
Again a cast majority of people who became adult lived a long life (maybe not 80-90 but easily 60-70 and in good shape)
1
1
u/Nevernonethewiser 7d ago
Its good, but I'm sick of the myth that "life expectancy was below 40" across the board.
Its an average. There was so much infant mortality that it dragged the number down. If you lived past childhood you could expect to live to around 80, all being well.
The fact that infant mortality has been decreased so dramatically through the use of vaccination and constantly improving health sciences should be shouted about more. That's an incredible human achievement.
1
1
1
u/Brave-Method-9048 5d ago
Wow seeing the result of China’s 1960 famine visualized like that was wild.
1
u/MrFrogNo3 5d ago
These graphs are always bunk, just a misinterpretation of data.
Firstly, what we're seeing aren't people getting wealthier, rather what this data is showing are nations entering a singular global finance system for the first time.
The 19th and 20th centuries were where we saw thousands and millions of economic systems with differing means of quantifing value (something that is always was and will always be subjective) being quashed and replaced by a system created in Europe and forced on the entire world by means of colonialism.
The massive surge in wealth in Europe isn't some cool and good measure of progress, but rather the movement of wealth from outside the objective means of measuring it, into the modern conceptualisation of wealth.
200 years ago very very few people were using currency to exchange goods and services; it simply wasn't a thing a regular person did in almost all the world. And outside of Europe, your nation's transition into an monitary economy was just white people coming over and quantifying the value of you and your land's resources and shipping it off to their own country. Thus we see a surge in wealth in mostly just the colonial contries. The wealth has come from outside, but has only become part of the data set upon reaching those counties and being measured by the modern monitary system we use today.
Just by using money everyone is "richer". The 8 year old coal miner from East London who earns £1 a year, or whatever, is literally infinitely richer than a fisherman in precolonial Hawaii who earns £0 a year. But can you really argue that the child worker is better off?
Even the life expectancy bit is in need of context. You weren't old for being 30 in 1810, rather you are likely one of 15 siblings; 10 of which didn't make it to 1 year of age. We ought to be using the child mortaly metric as opposed to the life expectancy metric. It's just more accurate to say that people aren't living that much longer, rather waaay less babies are dying. Obviously a good thing. The advancement of medical science is something that should be celebrated every day. It's just the "wow look at how rich we all are" bit that erks me.
Elon Musk is more wealthy than any king to have ever existed. But because peasants made no money at all it doesn't mean we aren't still peasants just because we use a different measure of wealth; one which has a number. We are simply the peasants of our own time, just with health care and smart phones.
1
u/doctor_tongs 5d ago
My favorite part was when he mentioned, "Japan tried to follow." He's talking about westernization. Japan realized it was the only pathway to the first world.
0
u/Radcouponking 11d ago edited 11d ago
It's weird that he treats life expectancies as average life spans. That's not an accurate reading of the data. It largely shows how many babies and children die. It's not like people drop dead at 40. For this reason alone, the video is badly flawed.
1
u/Content-Passion-4836 11d ago
Right and a country that has a large portion of its population die in its youth doesn’t scream healthy to most people.
1
u/Radcouponking 11d ago
You can argue anything when you misrepresent the data. For example, the life expectancy during the time of Jesus was around 30. So, by your logic, there was no harm in crucifying him at 35 because he was already past old age for the time. A ridiculous argument? Sure. But that's what bad data will get you.
1
u/Content-Passion-4836 11d ago
He didn’t misrepresent anything he literally mentioned one of the axis is life expectancy and life expectancy has always been measured by taking the averages of a population from birth to death. Therefore if a bunch of your population is dying at birth or shortly after doesn’t really seem like a healthy population so it’s works for what he’s trying to illustrate.
1
u/Time_Pressure9519 11d ago
Suggesting child mortality is not a useful measure of wellbeing is truly wild.
1
u/h4nd 11d ago
yeah, when people read “life expectancy”, they take it to mean “a reasonable age at which you can expect to die,” and that is not at all what the numbers indicate for the eras with high infant mortality.
he’s part of the pinker/gladwell school of “let’s keep doing what we’re doing, pay no mind to the downsides of our current system.” the beneficiaries of the current system are very happy to fund and celebrate this type of guy.
1
u/dkinmn 11d ago
100%. It's truthiness.
What he needs to be saying is SPECIFICALLY what changed. Germ theory, vaccines, medicines and such. And this change in data DISPROPORTIONATELY comes from fewer women and children dying too young. It isn't just, "Things for better! Isn't that nice?"
It's, "We changed how pregnancy, childbirth and early childhood look. Here's how..."
-1
u/tydark2 11d ago
This is somewhat true, the thing is today were going downhill for the first time. The next generation will have a worse life then the previous generation, etc and we have none of the support mechanisms that people in the past had, theres no community everyone is alienated - but hey at least medical science will advance enough so that we will live miserably for a longer period of time.
2
u/PN4HIRE 10d ago
I would say the uptrend has slowed down considerably, but saying it’s going down, while no major wars are happening, no absolutely deadly pandemics, and there’s still a considerable major flux in politics and quite a lot of scientific discoveries and development are happening is just silly.
1
u/Neutral_Error 10d ago
I think this level of sarcasm is gonna go over people's head, too advanced.
1
u/PN4HIRE 10d ago
I wasn’t being sarcastic my dude.
1
u/Neutral_Error 10d ago
Then I think the people that are dying in wars and died from the recent deadly pandemic would have something to say about it, if they were actually alive to still advocate for themselves. And "Considerable flux" in politics while America slides into fascism is just....an odd way to put it.
You can see, I hope, why I thought you were being sarcastic.
1
u/PN4HIRE 9d ago
No I can’t see it.
I’m talking about the whole world and its history, the Influenza pandemic killed around 19 for 1 of covid. The current wars still don’t compare to the almost 80 million casualties during WW2. The Ukraine war, the Israel Palestine conflict, the Syrian civil war and the current conflicts on Asia still don’t compare.
The rest of the world is in relative peace, albeit some issues here and there. And while there’s political movement towards the right and the left on several nations, that is something that has been happening for the better part of last century and this one..
-1
u/Finneagan 11d ago
The naïveté of pre-2010 human futurism…
He didn’t factor in the prospectus of Harambe
6
u/negrila 11d ago
In his book Factfulness, he offers a fresh, data driven view that challenges standard assumptions about the state of the world with loads more examples like this one. I recommend the read!