The 2015 UN Human Development report reports major progress has been made over the last 25 years with 2 billion people lifted out of low human development levels. Between 1990 and 2014, the number of people living in countries with very high values of human development index more than doubled from 0.5 billion to 1.2 billion people, as 34 countries moved up to this category. Likewise, the number of people living in countries with low levels of human development fell by more than 60 percent from 3.2 billion to 1.2 billion as 19 countries moved up and out of the low human development category including Congo, Ghana and Namibia.
The HDI for developing countries grew by 1.2 percent annually between 2000 and 2010, but by only 0.7 percent annually for the period 2010-2014.
In 2015, 81 percent of households in developed countries have internet access, but only 34 percent in developing regions and 7 percent in the least developed countries have that access.
Many types of routine work, such as clerical jobs, are predicted to disappear or be replaced by computers, or have already disappeared, the report warns, while many more workers face other insecurities. According to the International Labour Organization, 61 percent of employed people in the world work without a contract, and only 27 percent of the world’s population is covered by comprehensive social protection.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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