The news is depressing. Washington dysfunction, conflict in the Middle East, immigration frictions in western nations and global terrorism can make anyone feel like the world is coming apart. The reality, though, is that the world has never been in better shape, lending itself overall to a much more optimistic world view.

Five News Headlines You Won’t See

Here is some news that didn’t get reported…

1. The Population of the Extremely Poor Fell by 130,000 Yesterday

Since 1990, an average of 130,000 people have moved out of extreme poverty every day, amounting to 1.2 billion people in the last 15 years. In fact, there are fewer people living in extreme poverty today than there were in 1820, which had just 25 percent of today’s population.

2. More Babies are Living Longer

Forty-three percent of babies born in 1800 died before their fifth birthday, regardless of the nation’s wealth. Pause here to ponder that statistic. Today, child mortality is 4.3 percent.

3. Global Conflict Drops—Again

It may be hard to believe, but the world is safer than ever. Deaths due to state-based conflicts have declined from more than 20 per 100,000 lives to 1.2 per 100,000 since its near peak in the 1990s. Current conflicts, such as Syria, are tragedies, but they do not approach the levels of the recent past (e.g., Indochina with  500,000 deaths from 1946-54; and Angola with 1 million deaths from 1975-2002).

4. Thousands Fewer Murders This Year

Among some of the most violent nations in the world, the homicide rates have declined precipitously. The murder rate per 100,000 declined from 60 to 31 in South Africa (from 1995-2012), and from 79 to 26 in Colombia (1991-2015). Of the 88 countries with reliable data, 67 have seen a decline in murders over the last 15 years.

5. We’re Better Off Than Our Parents

On nearly every measure, from health to purchasing power, today’s working Americans are doing far better than the working generations of the 1970s.

When comparing the retail cost of consumer goods to average wages, using 1973 and 2013 as the comparative periods, the purchasing power of today’s consumers is not only stronger, but the products we buy today are far superior in capabilities and quality.

The perfect example of the lower price and better product combo might be the color TV, which took more than 100 hours of work to afford in 1973 and less than 21 hours to buy in 2013.

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