Standard of living

Standards of living describe the goods and services desired by a particular person or group of people, and they are dependent on levels of national development. To the residents of the forty-five countries on the United Nation’s list of least-developed countries, the most important factors in having an acceptable standard of living are access to food, clean water, proper sanitation, health care, and education. The World Bank estimated that nearly 700 million people around the world, or 8.5 percent of the global population, lived in extreme poverty—defined as living on less than $2.15 per day—in 2024. In developed countries, in addition to basic survival standards, the standard of living is based on components such as homeownership; the value of housing; the number of individuals living within a household; access to indoor plumbing, heating, and air conditioning; ownership of appliances such as refrigerators and telephones; the number of vehicles available for use; and the availability of disposable income. Standards of living account for both privately owned items and public infrastructure and services, such as education, law enforcement, and national security.

As technology becomes more interwoven with the ability to function in the modern world, access to the internet is also a significant factor in determining the standard of living. In the United States, with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $71,056, approximately 90 percent of all households had access to the internet in 2021, according to the US Census Bureau. By contrast, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a per-capita GDP of $577, just 26 percent of households had internet access in 2021.

Background

On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25 of that document states that every individual has "the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control." Special note was also taken of the needs of mothers and children.

In 1964, US president Lyndon B. Johnson declared a war on poverty in the United States, sponsoring critical civil rights legislation and establishing social programs to serve as a safety net for the poorest Americans, such as the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. At that time, 23 percent of American children were living in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, which is set to ensure that individuals and families who cannot afford to cover basic expenses for an adequate standard of living are eligible for state and federal benefits. That number remained relatively stable over the subsequent five decades. By 2023, however, the rate of child poverty in the US had fallen to approximately 16 percent of all children, or 11.4 million children total.

Standard of Living Today

In the early 2020s, an estimated 700 million people worldwide lived on less than $2.15 a day, leading to standards of living that are below basic standards necessary for survival. Populations living in extreme poverty are increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, though poverty can be found in most countries across the globe, including middle- and high-income countries. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that children living in poverty are twice as likely to die compared to those who live above poverty levels. Due to inadequate standards of living, those living in poverty lack adequate housing, access to safe drinking water, and proper health care.

Standards of living vary widely between countries as well as within countries. In large developed countries such as the United States, the standard of living can vary greatly from one region to another. Variations are based in part on the consumer price index and average wages. The consumer price index is based on average prices for housing, utilities, groceries, health care, transportation, and other essential expenses. The inability to aspire to what is considered the acceptable standard of living within a community may contribute to stress within families. It may also negatively affect educational performance, health, self-esteem, and social interactions.

The average standard of living can quickly drop in times of national crisis such as wars, depressions, and recessions. For individuals, the standard of living is closely related to employment and a steady income; a wage cut or job loss can dramatically decrease an individual’s standard of living in the near term. Aging also has a significant impact on the standard of living. Even though most countries now provide a safety net for older adults, it may be inadequate for those who do not have other retirement funds.

Considerable attention has been given to improving biological standards of living, which, instead of focusing on monetary measures, examine factors such as life expectancy and morbidity. Experts have noted that the dietary habits of a country are strong indicators of overall standards of living. The quality of food consumed is particularly important for growing children. According to the United Nations Millennium Project, 6 million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, and approximately 842 million people worldwide suffered from chronic hunger worldwide in 2013. Literacy levels and education are significantly related to higher biological standards of living because they provide access to information on nutrition, child care, and disease prevention.

In addition to tangible goods such as housing, food, and disposable income and biological factors such as life expectancy, many measures of standards of living account for factors such as exposure to pollution, employment, crime levels, and rates of income inequality. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were a set of goals set by the UN that aimed to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger worldwide between 2000 and 2015. The Millennium Development Goals sought to improve standards of living by targeting particular areas of development, including eradicating poverty; achieving universal primary education; reducing child mortality; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development. Thanks to coordinated international efforts, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day in developing regions fell from 47 percent in 1990 to 22 percent in 2010.

After the target date of 2015 for the MDGs was reached, the UN transitioned to a new set of objectives called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on the success of the MDGs, the SDGs aimed to address ongoing issues like poverty and inequality, while adding new challenges such as climate change. The UN aimed to achieve these seventeen goals by 2030.

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