ABSTRACT
The world at the beginning of the twenty-first century is characterised by extreme differences in living conditions in different areas, by extremes of poverty and wealth, of scarcity and abundance. In Africa chronic malnutrition and hunger is widespread and people struggle to buy a decent pair of shoes. In Europe and North America the consumption of ready-chopped and washed salad vegetables is routine, child obesity is now recognised as a societal problem, video-recorders and walkmans are abandoned for DVD and I-Pods. There are significant differences in living conditions within countries and regions – poverty exists in the West and extremes of wealth exist in Africa. However some insight into the major extent of global inequality can be gained from briefly considering some social indicators from the UK and Mozambique.
