For the World's Poorest Country, The Award Goes To...

“ How many countries are there in the world?” is a trick question, because it depends who or which country is doing the counting. Though the United Nations has 192 member countries, the International Standard Organization (ISO) recognizes 239 different two-letter country codes, while the Universal Postal Union lists 139 countries. WikiAnswers has 196 countries, and with Sudan in the process of becoming two countries, split between the Christian South and the Muslim North, may put the total estimate of countries at 197. How about we tentatively guess 200 as the number of countries in the world?

Another question: Which of the world's however many countries is the poorest one (in terms of economics, of course)? The answer is not straightforward either, for it depends on the expert or organization you ask. The World Factbook by America's CIA crowns Zimbabwe as earth's poorest nation with a per capita income less than $100 yearly. That's like earning roughly 27 cents daily, $1.92 weekly, or $8.33 per month.

Let's put this in perspective: Earlier this week I pumped $40 worth of regular unleaded gasoline into my vehicle. That's like nearly 5 months wages for a fellow human being in the Zimbabwean economy. Even more strikingly, my tank wasn't even full; that would have pushed me up to $50!

Zimbabwe as the world's poorest country...

• Population: 11.7 million
• Life expectancy: 48 years
• Primary religions: African Traditional Religion mixed with Christianity, 50%; Christianity, 25%
• Literacy rate (ages 15 and over who can read/write English): 91% (ages 15 and over)
• Type of government: parliamentary democracy
• Unemployment rate: 95%
• Percentage of population below absolute poverty line ($1 per day): 68% (as of 2004)
• Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

Zimbabwe is not without competition for that bottom spot. Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank give the distinction of world's poorest country to the Democratic Republic Of The Congo (DRC for short). The IMF estimates that country's “... purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita ” at $340 per year, while the World bank puts the yearly purchasing power at $320 (source: wikipedia). A verage the figures from both sources, and you have the DRC's per capita at $330 per year, which is about 90 cents per day.

Democratic Republic Of The Congo as the world's poorest nation...

• Population: 71 million
• Life expectancy: 55 years
• Primary religions: Christianity, 70% (Roman Catholics 50%, Protestants 20%)
• Literacy rate (ages 15 and over who can read/write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba ): 67% (81% for male, 54% for female)
• Type of government: republic
• Percentage of population below absolute poverty line ($1 per day): NA
• Natural resources: cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber

What do these two countries have in common apart from being Sub-Saharan African nations? Zimbabwe and the DRC have seen lengthy regimes by dictators that included a steep and steady decline in standard of living. And both nations have endured brutal civil wars that lasted for years. Interestingly, from 1998 to 2002 Zimbabwe got tangled up in the Democratic Republic's war, thus draining millions from the Zimbabwean economy, not to mention the human toll of the 5-year war. It should be no surprise that prolonged dictatorship plus lingering blood baths yield a prescription for nation-wide poverty strangling the vast majority of citizens.

Note the difference between a poor nation and a poor person. By definition a poor person has little or nothing. That is not true of a poor country; as you can see, both Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic have much wealth in the form natural resources. Their poverty is rooted in ignorance, conflict, brutal leadership, and other factors that make it almost impossible to develop the natural resources in ways that can provide employment and lift the masses out of poverty. Given the right leadership, freedom, opportunities for human potential and national development, either Zimbabwe or the DRC could actually pass on the poverty crown and feed its own people.

How blessed some of us humans are! And I often wonder how I should modify my attitude or behavior in light of knowing how less fortunate my fellow humans are...