Who are considered as the middle class? Those who earn or spend $10 to $100 per day are counted as middle class according to the UN and OECD. We are now witnessing a historic shift not seen for the last 150 years, described by UN as the new middle class revolution. The economies of the middle class in China, India and Brazil now equal the size of the industrialized countries of Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, United States and United Kingdom, or the G7. By the end of the decade, the estimated 1.8 billion middle class at present, almost entirely in Asia, will grow to 3.2 billion according to the Brookings Institution. By 2030, the middle class people in Asia would be 10 times more than North America and five times more than Europe.

The cause of growth in economy is motivated by industrialization. Moving from agrarian to industrial societies produced income rises that created the middle class in Asia. These investment funds helped to generate the savings needed for emerging economies to industrialize. In Indonesia investment now surpasses 30% of GDP because of more manufacturing. If the industrialization trend continues, this century in Asia, could witness the rapid improvements in living standards like the West during the 19th century. With these projections, the dream which many hope is attainable, global poverty could be entirely removed in the near future. The new global middle class should go forward with the challenge to demand better environmental protection and more transparency in how our governments operate.

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Tidbits:

A new research at Southampton Solent University in the UK recognizes the South China Sea, Mediterranean and North Sea as the world's most dangerous waters for shipping. The report, published by the environmental charity WWF, says that accidents are likely to rise with the expected growth in shipping, posing a danger to some of the world's most ecologically important areas.