Telling an Old Story with New Maps - Geographic Visualization: Concepts, Tools and Applications - page 89

almost 100 years ago, which in current prices means living on around roughly US$2 a
day. Being a wretched definition of poverty due to setting such a low line, those people
living on such a small amount may also be considered to have lives that are wretched. The
term echoes the title of Franz Fanon's topic The Wretched of the Earth , from which the
accompanying quote is sourced. Another reason for using the term 'wretched' is because of
the inaccuracy inherent in this definition of poverty. The number used when the World Bank
counts is not actually a dollar anyway, it is US$1.08 according to 1993 purchasing power
parity.
Nevertheless, a map of those people who really do not have enough income to live on
represents approximately 17 per cent of the people of the world, that was just over a billion
people in 2002. Many of those living on more than US$1 a day are also living in abject
poverty.
5.2.18 Living on up to $2 a day
Compared with the map of those who survive on just one wretched dollar a day, this
map of those living on $2 a day has a very similar shape. Territories that have swollen
most to accommodate on the map many more people who live in absolute poverty at
this basic subsistence level include India, China, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt and Bangladesh.
Turkey and Indonesia have a larger proportion of all people living on $2 a day than
on $1 a day, and so appear to grow most in size when these two maps are contrasted.
Reading a map of people earning under a dollar a day misses the 1.625 billion people
whoearnbetween$1and2aday.Intotal there were 2.698 billion people living on less
than or equal to $2 a day when these estimates were made at the start of the current
millennium.
Figure 5.20 Territory size shows the proportion of all people living on less than or equal to US$2
in purchasing power parity a day (Worldmapper Map 180)