Upper middle for the world tops out at $12k a year. That puts a lot into perspective.

What an incredible map - I am looking for information how the figure for the Upper Middle tops at 12K a year came about?   just curious where it states  

Source is National Geographic:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/age-of-man/map-interactive

Perhaps they have an explanation there?

See also: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/7-billion

For more, see: http://www.worldof7billion.org/

On a global percentage basis, if you're reading this, you're probably a lucky outlier in the "High" income level and should forevermore forego any whining, complaining and bitching about your lottery winning existence...you made the lucky sperm club already, now get on with it.

I also like the rest of the maps offering additional demographic data visually sorted and displayed by these income groupings, (what Adam referenced above) located at:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/age-of-man/map-interactive

Well done.

4 billion people in the lower middle really sticks with me.

Those will be the next people to join the Internet, too.

Agreed.

So the Internet grows from 2 billion people now to 5 billion people ten years from now.

And that accelerates the change of the world with almost everyone interconnected.

The means of change (internet, schminternet) are less interesting to me than are the evolving revelations and inevitable integration of 5 billion peoples' perception of humanistic values in everyday life.  It's clear many already share such unevenly distributed, compassionate intelligence and wish to express it together more widely.  

So ten years from now perhaps with everyone interconnected we will experience that greater acceptance.  A point where every person's agency animates humanistic values aligned with a pervasively positive presence.  I'd be just as happy if that began virtually online as offline in physical relationships with others.  Either way it's inevitable, I mean if the troglodytes among us don't kill us all first.

I imagine another point after such inevitability to the time when people will achieve broader behavioral perceptions beyond our highest anthropocentric values.  You know, really get us playing in the possible futures game.  

Look around: it's a big multiverse out there.  We need all the diversity of life on earth to ride along with us.

Everything in its due time I guess.  Again.

Will it be harder to commit atrocities if everyone has a camera and can upload anything for the world to see?

Probably not harder to commit them.  Just harder to get away with them...

That sounds like progress to me.

Agreed, to me too!