The Importance Of Living In A Third World

Economic well-being in many instances should be viewed as a human right. Unfortunately, when living in a third world or underprivileged area many of those suffering from poverty go unnoticed. It is an appalling reality that there are many going without vital human needs such as food, shelter, health care and also education. ”Economic well-being is closely related not only to human rights and freedom, but also to peace” (Riemer 398). Unfortunately this right has not been granted in certain African and Asian countries. Places like Afghanistan, Burma, and Nepal all have a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate of less than $2,000 per capita. In Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, and Zimbabwe live with an average GDP of less than

“Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day (3,600 dollars a year). More than 80 percent of the world 's population lives in countries where income differentials are widening” (Shah). Many of these poverty-stricken areas are in Africa and Asia. 19.7% of Kenya’s population lives on less than two dollars a day. Their life expectancy is only 57.1 years. Even worse, 49.6% of the population of Bangladesh lives on less than two dollars a day. There are many reasons these countries are easily recognized as least developed countries. Kenya has an extremely high rate of population growth (in fact, one of the highest in the world). Its population has almost tripled in the last thirty-five years alone, which has increased pressure on the country’s resources and has left the people susceptible to poverty. With the rising rate of urbanization in Bangladesh, the farmland is shrinking—44 percent of the labor force is made up of farmers, and the decline of the farmland is leaving most rural households with very