The Third Word and International Economic Structure 1976

The Third Word and International Economic Structure 1976

Mr. Chairman, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

We are often told that riches are not synonymous with happiness; that life is more than economics. I do not disagree; nor do I challenge the statement that the Gross National Product of a country fails to indicate the quality of life there. But it is the well-off who can make such statements. To the starving, good and assured food is the quality of life. For a woman who now has to walk miles for water, a village tap might mean life itself.

The United Nations has estimated that in 1972 the per capita G.N.P. in Germany was in the region of $3,390; that of Tanzania was about $120. Taking the rich countries as a whole, the average per capita G.N.P. was $2,790 in 1970. For those classified as very poor, the average was the same figure as that given for Tanzania two years later 8120.