Vital Signs Facts
by Worldwatch Institute on December 22, 2003 In 1992, only one in 237 people worldwide used a mobile phone. A decade later, by 2002, this had soared to one in five.
by Worldwatch Institute on December 17, 2003 Foreign debt of developing and former Eastern Bloc nations dropped to $2.44 trillion in 2001, down from 2.59 trillion in 2000. Some 78 percent of the debt in 2001 was owed by middle-income nations.
by Worldwatch Institute on December 3, 2003 Global advertising expenditures hit $444 billion in 2002. The United States accounted for more than half of the total advertising market, or $235 billion.
by Worldwatch Institute on November 26, 2003 December 1 is World AIDS Day. In 2002, average life expectancy in 16 African nations was at least ten years lower than it would have been without the advent of AIDS. In sub-Saharan Africa, home to 70 percent of the world’s HIV-positive people, AIDS is now the leading cause of death.
by Worldwatch Institute on November 19, 2003 About 80 percent of the world depends on traditional and complementary/alternative medicine for treating and curing illness. According to the World Health Organization, traditional medicine (TM) refers to ways of protecting and restoring health that existed before the arrival of modern medicine.
by Worldwatch Institute on November 12, 2003 The global economy has grown sevenfold since 1950. Meanwhile, the disparity in per capita gross domestic product between the 20 richest and 20 poorest nations more than doubled between 1960 and 1995.
by Worldwatch Institute on November 5, 2003 Corruption—the misuse of public power for private benefit—is difficult to measure because officials who take bribes try to hide such activity. Yet those nations perceived by business people and risk analysts as most corrupt in 2002 are geographically widespread, and include Bangladesh, Nigeria, Angola, Madagascar, Paraguay, Indonesia, and Kenya.
by Worldwatch Institute on October 29, 2003 With less than five percent of the world’s population, the United States is responsible for a large share of the world’s fossil fuel burden, accounting for 26 percent of global oil use, 25 percent of coal consumption, and 27 percent of natural gas use.
by Worldwatch Institute on October 22, 2003 The year 2002 was the second hottest since record keeping began in the 1880s. The global average temperature climbed to 14.52 degrees Celsius. The nine warmest years on record have occurred since 1990, and scientists expect that the temperature record set in 1998 will be surpassed by a new high in 2003.
by Worldwatch Institute on October 15, 2003 On July 1, 2002, the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court (ICC) entered into force, creating the first permanent and independent court capable of investigating the most serious violations of international humanitarian law, such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
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