With all the moaning and angst in the media around Trump, Brexit, Party Conferences, Khashoggi – it’s not always easy to remain optimistic and positive.  It seems fashionable to be a finger pointing, aggressive BMW (Bitcher, Moaner, Whinger) instead of the Perpetual Optimist pursuing hope, change and ambition.  The world needs positive leadership – it needs people with Ambition, Belief and Courage.

And recently I was heartened to read that, despite all odds, all distractions, and all second-hand commentary, we are actually making progress in the global battle against poverty.

For the first time, more than half the world’s population is now middle-class – 3.6 billion vs 630 million who live in poverty (3.1 billion are considered ‘economically vulnerable’ with 200 million classified as rich).

By 2030 the outlook is even more positive.

•                                             June 2018           Forecast 2030 *
• Poor                                  630 million               450 million
• Financially Vulnerable     3.1 billion                 2.3 billion
• Middle Class                      3.6 billion                 5.3 billion
• Rich                                  200 million              300 million

Rising incomes in China, India and South Asia are the major contributors to the rise.

Much still needs to be done in Africa.

This is the first time in history that the majority of the world’s population does not live in considerable poverty.

Hope Springs Eternal.

KR

* Source – World Data Lab, Austria.