It feels as though the world is a pretty rough place right now and heading downhill fast but this is a feeling lacking perspective. In the US, where I am right now, 94% of people think the world is getting worse so it is not just us Brits.  

There are some short-term issues with our economy and politics but we at Altor are fond of both evidence and the long-term view. 

The long view is actually very encouraging and it makes us wonder if we focus too much sometimes on the here and now. The news doesn’t help as it is relentlessly concerned with what has just happened and often lacks broader context and deeper analysis. 

So to cheer everyone up we thought that we would point you to an excellent source of facts about how much better off we are compared to those that have gone before and one that is mostly pictures which makes it an easy read. 

These statistics are incredibly important and fascinating as the context to the lifestyle we live now compared with the other 22billion people from the last 200 years. 

Enjoy.