World population in 1950 was around 2.5 billion and global output of final goods and services, at 2011 prices, a little over 9.2 trillion international dollars (dollars at purchasing price parity, PPP) (Figures 4.1 and 4.2). As noted in Chapter 0, the average person’s annual income was about 3,300 dollars PPP, a high figure by historical standards (Maddison, 2018) (Figure 4.3). Since then the world has prospered beyond recognition. Life expectancy at birth in 1950 was 46; today it is above 72. The proportion of the world’s population living in absolute poverty (currently 1.90 dollars PPP a day) has fallen from nearly 60% in 1950 to less than 10% today (World Bank, 2020a). In 2019, the global population had grown to over 7.7 billion even while global income per capita had risen to 15,000 dollars PPP (at 2011 prices).