Global Inequalities: Who is Developing Who?

By Dr. Ahmed Adamu

Do you know that the total world’s wealth is approximately $223 Trillion, and 43% of this wealth ($95.89 Trillion) is accumulated by only 1% of the total world population (70 million people out of the 7 billion people in the world)? About 80% of the world population (5.6 billion people) share only 6% of the total world wealth ( $13.38 trillion) who struggle to pay for child medical and education bills. We can also say that 300 richest people on earth have the same wealth as a poorest population of 3 billion (which is the same as the combined population of China, India, USA and Brazil). 

That was looking at the individual inequalities, now looking at the geographical inequalities where we have the rich countries (mainly Europe and America) and the poor countries (Africa and most parts of Asian countries). Two hundred years ago, the rich countries were only three times richer than the poor countries, but in 1960 (after the so called colonialism) the rich countries became thirty five times richer, and in fact today they are eighty times richer. 

This was the justification why these rich countries give assistance and loans to the poor countries as a compensation, which is about $130 billion a year, but the fundamental question to ask is why is the gap keeps expanding despite these injections. 

Here are some possible reasons: There are companies that operate in poor countries, who take close to $900 billion out of these poor nations inform of Tax Avoidance-Trade Mispricing, this is a leakage from the poor countries. Another leakage is the $600 billion debt services that these poor nations pay annually to the rich nations on loans that have already been paid off many times ago. Another leakage is the money that the poor countries loose from trade rules imposed by the rich countries to enable them get access their resources and cheap labour, this lost is estimated to be around $500 billion. 

So, the total leakage from the poor countries to the rich countries is $2 trillion annually, now compare it with the annual injection of $130 billion and ask yourself this question: WHO IS DEVELOPING WHO? You can now start to question the basic rules of the global economy as the wealth is continuously concentrating in the hands of tiny number of people, and turning the world to a quasi slavery. Do you think the rules of the economy shall change?

Dr. Ahmed Adamu
Petroleum Economist, Leadership and Personal Development Expert,

Brain Coach,

Lecturer at Economics Department of Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja,

First Global President of the Commonwealth Youth Council.
ahmadadamu1@gmail.com

@AhmedAdamu

08188949144.