Human Development Facts

Did you know?… Facts culled from UN Human Development 2002 report .A sampling…

• There have been great improvements in human political and civil rights: since 1980, 81 countries have taken significant steps in democratization, with 33 military regimes replaced by civilian governments. 81 countries have taken steps toward democratization in the last quarter century, but only 47 of these are considered full democracies today.
• Gallup International’s Millennium Survey asked more than 50,000 people in 60 countries, “Would you say that your country is governed by the will of the people?” Less than a third said yes. The survey also asked, “Does government respond to the will of the people?” Only 10% said that it did.
• 106 governments still restrict many civil and political freedoms.
• Freedom House’s Freedom of the Press Index shows that press freedom has been increasing in most regions.
• Conflict continues to blight the lives of millions: since 1990, 3.6 million people have died as a result of civil wars and ethnic violence, more than 16 times the number killed in wars between states.
• Civilians have accounted for more than 90% of the casualties—either injured or killed—in post-cold war conflicts.
• At the end of 2000 more than 12 million people were refugees, 6 million were internally displaced and nearly 4 million were returning refugees and asylum seekers—in all, an increase of 50% from 1990.
• Most of the world’s publishing media are privately owned, although the public sector still accounts for 60% of television station ownership worldwide.
• With just two exceptions, all the richest countries of the world—countries with per capita income above $20,000 (in 2000 purchasing power parity US$)—have democratic regimes, and 42 of the 48 high human development countries are democracies.
• The number of international NGOs grew from 1,083 in 1914 to more than 37,000 in 2000. Nearly a fifth of today’s international NGOS were formed after 1990.
• Dictatorships are more prone to violent upheavals than democracies, experiencing a war every 12 years, on average, compared with every 21 years in democracies.

Find the full report at http://www.undp.org/hdr2002/facts.html