A year ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The microscopic coronavirus has changed, in one way or another, the lives of all 7.8 billion people on Earth.
While the long-term impact of this global health crisis may take years to understand, its immediate effect has already changed the world as we know it. In the following infographic, we break down the latest figures and reports to help you understand the global repercussions of the pandemic.
For each topic, we examined the most complete and reliable data sets available worldwide. Figures are often presented as averages from one country to another, so it is important to remember that averages can mask inequalities, especially when it comes to areas or populations at risk of low information.
Main causes of death
At least 2.7 million people worldwide have died from COVID-19. Although the world’s leading causes of death by 2020 have not yet been published, compared to 2019, COVID ranks among the top five most important killers.
In 2019, 55.4 million people died worldwide. Heart disease killed more people (8.9 million), followed by stroke (6.2 million) and lung disease (3.2 million). Together, they are known as non-communicable diseases, that is, they are not transmitted between people. In contrast, highly contagious coronavirus is a communicable disease.
The following graph shows how a year of coronavirus deaths compares to the leading causes of death in 2019.
In the United States, the country with the highest number of deaths from COVID-19, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the coronavirus has killed more Americans in one year (540,000) than the flu in the last 10 years together (368,000).
Mental health
The WHO estimates that nearly a billion people worldwide live with a mental disorder. In 2019, 703,000 people ended their lives, making suicide the 17th most common cause of death. Despite this, countries only spend about 2% of their national budgets on mental health.
The UN has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to lead to a long-term increase in the number and severity of mental health problems. Evidence on the mental health consequences of blockages and social distancing is still being studied. Although we do not have large-scale data on the effect that COVID-19 has had on mental health globally, several smaller studies (PDF) indicate higher rates of anxiety and depression.
Below are five tips from Dra. Devora Kestel, director of the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, on the protection of our mental health.
Locks around the world
By definition, a pandemic is a worldwide spread of a disease. It is estimated that more than two-thirds of the world’s population has experienced blockade measures, which last from weeks to months.
According to data collected by the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, by 2021 more than 100 countries and territories have reintroduced home stay orders with a few exceptions, such as essential travel, daily exercise or grocery shopping.
The following graph summarizes the duration of the national blockades for 12 months (January 16, 2020 – January 15, 2021).
Billions ended
According to World Bank estimates, the world economy shrank by 4.3 percent in 2020 and ended with billions of dollars. Countries already in economic difficulties sank even further into debt. An Oxfam International report estimates that it could be more than a decade before the world’s poorest people recover from the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the rise, the World Bank expects the global economy to expand by 4 percent by 2021 with the deployment of vaccines and investments leading to recovery.
The following graph shows the effect that COVID-19 had on the world economy. All major economies except China shrank during 2020. Other countries that saw their gross domestic product (GDP) grow are Bangladesh (2%), Benin (2%), Burundi (0, 3%), Egypt (3.6%), Ethiopia (6.1%), Ghana (1.1%), Guinea (5.2%), Guyana (23.2%), Ivory Coast (1 , 8%), Myanmar (1.7%), Nepal (0.2%), Niger (1%), South Sudan (9.3%), Tajikistan (2.2%), Tanzania (2.5% ), Turkey (0.5%), Uzbekistan (0.6%) and Vietnam (2.8%).
This in no way suggests that these countries were better off after the coronavirus. Rather, it was projected that several of these countries would achieve even higher growth before the pandemic, while others relied on loans to boost their economies.
Global poverty and unemployment
The coronavirus has disproportionately affected the poor. For the first time in 20 years, world poverty is likely to increase significantly. The World Bank estimates that the coronavirus has pushed between 119 and 124 million more people into extreme poverty. This brings the total number of people living on less than $ 1.90 a day to 730 million, accounting for about 10 percent of the world’s population.
In 2020, 114 million people lost their jobs, according to the latest unemployment figures from the International Labor Organization (ILO). But looking only at official unemployment figures is not enough to measure unemployment. As the ILO points out, many more workers have fallen into “economic inactivity”. This means that they were forced to retire from the workforce. It is possible that many more are still being worked on, but that they are working part-time or with salary cuts.
Younger women and workers have been the hardest hit, leading to concerns about widening gender inequality and the loss of worker generation.
In addition, the United Nations Development Program has warned that nearly half of all jobs in Africa could end the pandemic.
The rich became richer
A report (PDF) published by Oxfam International, a UK-based charity, said the pandemic has hurt people living in poverty far more than the rich. The people most affected are women, blacks, African descent, indigenous peoples and historically marginalized and oppressed communities around the world, according to the report.
To put this income inequality into perspective, a report by Swiss Bank UBS found that the richest people in the world saw their wealth increase by $ 3.9 trillion between March and December 2020. The ten richest billionaires they increased their wealth by $ 540 billion during that time.
Many of the world’s richest men, including Elon Musk (USA), Zhong Shanshan (China) and Mukesh Ambani (India), have seen their wealth more than double since the pandemic was declared.
1.7 billion students out of school
In 2020, school and university closures disrupted the education of more than 1.7 billion students in 188 countries, or approximately 99% of the world’s student population, according to UNESCO.
Today, nearly 900 million students, more than half of the world’s student population, continue to suffer from severe educational disorders, ranging from school closures in 29 countries to part-time or part-time classes in 68 others. according to the latest data from UNESCO.
Although online schooling was allowed to allow classes to continue virtually, the UN estimates that nearly 500 million children, especially in poorer countries or rural areas, have been excluded from remote learning for lack of of technology or policies.
Oxfam estimates that the pandemic will reverse the last 20 years of global progress in girls ’education, further increasing poverty and inequality.
The worst year for air travel
In 2019, more than 4.5 billion passengers made 38 million flights worldwide. With closures and quarantines for most of 2020, many travel plans canceled or postponed.
International passenger demand in 2020 fell by 75.6 percent compared to 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association.
The global flight tracking service Flightradar24 also saw a 42% drop in commercial flights from 2019. Many airlines were forced to operate cargo-only flights to keep supermarket shelves and fulfill online orders.
Locks from space
On the left are images taken prior to the blockade, contrasted with images of blockade taken in March 2020 to show the effect of the pandemic on cities around the world. Unprecedented blockades emptied the streets, interrupted travel and slowed economic activity, temporarily reducing air pollution.
Below we see how Mecca, Wuhan and Venice experienced a sharp drop in visitors within a few weeks of the pandemic. See satellite images of more cities here.
Pollution levels
During the first few weeks of COVID blocking, clearer and less polluted skies were reported. For example, residents of Venice, Italy, first reported in years of clear clean water in normally boiling canals.
Still, it seems to have been short-lived. A recent report by the International Energy Agency found that while global energy-related CO2 emissions fell overall by 5.8 percent in 2020, the largest annual decline rate since of World War II, the latest data show that global CO2 pollution returned to pre-COVID levels.
Professor Ralph Keeling, head of the Scripps CO2 program, explained the situation in May 2020: “People might be surprised to learn that the response to the coronavirus outbreak has no longer affected CO2 levels. The accumulation of CO2 resembles the garbage of a landfill. As we broadcast, it accumulates.
