What fraction of people in the world do you think would view you as wealthy?
The world? A lot… What fraction of the world isn’t the U.S.? Hang on, I’ll ask Google…
According to Google (via Wikipedia), the United States makes up approximately 4.23% of the world’s population. But I don’t think I could say that 95ish% of the world would see me as wealthy. Because… you know… there are other wealthy nations like Canada, the UK, a lot of western Europe…
I would still assume that the majority of the world would view me, personally, as wealthy.
If that question were strictly about a fraction of the U.S. population, it would be much lower. I don’t consider myself wealthy. In fact, I don’t consider anyone who gets by from paycheck to paycheck to be wealthy. At the same time, I really don’t want for any of our basic needs. I have a roof over my head. I have food enough to the point where I have to decide what to eat before each meal. I have clothes that occasionally fit. I get by just fine. There are a lot of people in the U.S. who don’t. But I don’t think the percentage would be too high. Less than half, for sure.
Pretty much, if you’re able to spend more than a dollar a day on the usual necessities, you’re doing pretty well in the eyes of most of the world.
But what about you? Where do you land in a fraction of the world’s wealth? Let me know in the comments!
*The Question of the Week can be found in The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.
The Confusing Middle 
Like you said, I don’t consider us as wealthy by a long shot. We have the necessities needed, and we ready don’t want for anything. Would it be nice to have more money (a nest egg) for a rainy day, sure. We could take a nice vacation. Paid to have someone to clean our house. More importantly we’d love to move to a different location. But as of today, we are thankful for what we do have.
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Compared to the truly wealthy of our land, the majority of us aren’t, I agree. Compared to most of the rest of the world (third world countries especially) even our poor are wealthy. Primitive basics are out of reach to many around the world. A sobering thought that reminds me to be grateful for every blessing I enjoy. Especially indoor plumbing and clean water.
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It’s all relative of course – and I’m definitely not anywhere near the great whites of the wealthy world, but considering I make double the ‘average’ income on my own in a country that’s already in the top 10 of highest income countries I’d say I’m well into the 80s, maybe 90s….
Which is an obscene idea because I still often feel like I’m struggling, moneywise….
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