Living as an American college student it is often easy to overlook the tribulations of the outside world. We hear about starving children in Africa, we see commercials pleading to assist them, and most of us choose to ignore all of it. World poverty is not something that we can ignore for much longer. The World Bank set an international poverty level in 2005, which is anyone living at or under $1.25 a day. Most people living under this level are residents of Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.
Many more live at only $2.00 a day, which is consider above the international poverty level. However, those living at this level are still in extreme poverty.
The World Bank and the United Nations categorize a nation's wealth by its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per Capita. The definition of GDP is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period, though GDP is usually calculated on an annual basis. It includes all of private and public consumption, government outlays, investments and exports less imports that occur within a defined territory.
Many of the poorest nations in the world have GDP's lower than what most Americans make in a year. If you add up the GDP's of the 20 poorest nations it totals $20,321.42 for 2013. In 2012 the median annual income for an American was $51,017.
The difference between the GDP's of the wealthiest nation(Qatar) and the poorest(Democratic Republic of Congo) is $104,697.17.
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