Kids At Every Income Level Were Asked To Show Their Favorite Toys, And The Result Will Make You Think
Anna Rosling Rönnlund has spent the last 15 years making global public data easier to understand and use. Trying to come up with an idea that would connect with people better than colorful charts, she started Dollar Street. The initiative had a team of photographers documenting over 264 homes in 50 countries. In each home, the photographer spent a day taking pictures of up to 135 objects, like the family’s shoes, toothbrushes, or… children’s toys.
Turns out, you can paint a pretty accurate picture of how people at every income live if you pay attention to the things that their kids play with. From $45 a month households to more than $3,000, these intimate glimpses into the everyday lives of hundreds of families are eye-opening and more vivid than any graph will ever be.
“People in other cultures are often portrayed as scary or exotic,” Anna said. “This has to change. We want to show how people really live. It seemed natural to use photos as data so people can see for themselves what life looks like on different income levels. Dollar Street lets you visit many, many homes all over the world. Without traveling.” Scroll down to visit those who participated!
More info: gapminder.org (h/t businessinsider)
In a Burkinabe home living on $29/month per adult, the favorite toy is an old tire
In a Burundian home living on $29/month per adult, the favorite toy is dried maize
In an Indian home living on $31/month per adult holding his favorite toy
In a Zimbabwean home living on $34/month per adult, the favorite toy is a home-made ball
In a Haitian home living on $39/month per adult, the favorite toy car made out of recycled plastic items
In a Zimbabwean home living on $41/month per adult, the favorite toy is a car
In a Haitian home living on $43/month per adult, the favorite toy is a hoop
In a Burkinabe home living on $45/month per adult, the favorite toy is a broken plastic doll
In a Burkinabe home living on $54/month per adult, the favorite toy is a tire
In an Ivorian home (Cote d’Ivoire) living on $61/month per adult, the favorite toy is a shoe
In an Indian home living on $65/month per adult, the favorite toy is a home-made cricket bat
In a Rwandan home living on $72/month per adult, the favorite toys are leaves
In a Haitian home living on $102/month per adult, the favorite toy is a handheld video game
In a Palestinian home living on $112/month per adult, the favorite toy is a plastic bottle
In a Colombian home living on $123/month per adult, the favorite toy is a volleyball ball
In a Nigerian home living on $124/month per adult, the favorite toys are wooden poles
In a Colombian home living on $163/month per adult, the favorite toy is a cat
In an Indian home living on $245/month per adult, the favorite toy is a toy truck
In a Jordanian home living on $249/month per adult, the favorite toys are stuffed animals
In a Rwandan home living on $251/month per adult, the favorite toy is a stick
In a Bolivian home living on $254/month per adult, the favorite toy is a stuffed toy
In a Indian home living on $369/month per adult, the favorite toy is a cell phone
In a Latvian home living on $480/month per adult, the favorite toy is a stuffed animal
In a Jordanian home living on $583/month per adult, the favorite toy is a table computer
In a American home living on $855/month per adult, the favorite toy is Lego
In a Chinese home living on $2,235/month per adult, the favorite toy is a military tank model
In a South African home living on $2,862/month per adult, the favorite toy is a stuffed animal
In a Kenyan home living on $3,268/month per adult, the favorite toy is a tablet computer
In an American home living on $4,650/month per adult, the favorite toy is baseball gear
In a Jordanian home living on $7,433/month per adult, the favorite toy is a large stuffed animal
In a Ukrainian home living on $10,090/month per adult, the favorite toy is a large stuffed animal
In a Chinese home living on $10,098/month per adult, the favorite toy is stuffed animal
Are you sure about the incomes? Ukraine with 10000 bucks per person? The girl would be living a dream.
Why not? Or did you think everyone outside of America and Western Europe lives with dirt floors and outdoor toilets?
Of course not but 10k in Ukraina.. you could live a year on that and you would not be poor.
Yes, some people in Eastern Europe live on that kind of income, but not that many. $10k/month is a lot of money in local currency. But I think they're commenting more on the fact that the girl's room doesn't appear to match the quoted income.
Well, I am from Poland and trust me, I know how people live in Ukraine. It's third world even for us, Ukrainians come to Poland to work for 500 bucks, whereas they can earn something like 100-200 bucks back at home.
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we live in the USofA and get by on a lot less than some of these people AND have a bunch of cats...... that that makes us very happy !!
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Bitter much?
It's actualy 10.000$ purchasing power parity. Or simpler said: They can buy what you could buy with $10000 in the US.
thanks jasper for your succinct statement
So.. this post only applies to US residents (and those with knowledge of living costs in the US)?
It is very hard to tell by just looking at that part of her room. It seems plausible though.
I guess they have rich people in Ukraine too. If a country has a lot of poor people, it usually follows that a small group of people have a lot of wealth.
Much of the contradictory statements of facts that are so misleading only adding to confusion in this pursuit seems to generally point out specific errors laying within the piece's own presentation. As all the various countries data are stated only use U.S. dollar amounts w/o any other pertinent info. such as: Countries' currency in $U.S.D., Exchange rates, Cost of living in particular locations of pics., etc...
Totally agree, some of these income levels did not match the picture
It's not that this little girl in the Ukraine is living in a wantin situation, nor it seems her parents though she's likely bit better off than others in Ukraine; likely they live in Kiev earning higher wages than most there. 1 Ukraine Hryvnia = only about 4 cents in the U.S.. Thus the one adult cited would earn $121,080 (U.S.D.) the equivalent their to having to earn 3,162185.82 in Ukraine's Hryvnia! Huge disparity.
One word: oligarchy
Shit 10k in Ukraine... I'm like moving there right now. I don't understand why Ukrainians move to Poland for work if one does earn 10k USD a month in their country ;). 10k PLN would be shtload but 10k USD...
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Maybe it was 10$ and 9 cent?
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10k in Ukraine is like 400 bucks in America
the medium monthly salary in ukraine is actually around $200-250 usd.
In some of the cases, the furniture and inside of houses don't seem to be like 10k$ income per person, like author suggests
It's hard to tell from the pictures, they don't show very much of the houses.
The incomes are purchasing power parity. They take into account the cost of living. Or simpler said: When it says $800, they can buy what you could buy with $800 in the US.
I also wonder how much higher the cost of living is in those areas...at least in the US someone working in CA could be making $19/hr and renting a room however on the east coast (in certain areas) someone making that same amount could be in a 3 bedroom 2 story house...
cuddly toys, no matter the income, seemed to be popular among some of the children, at least they all have their imaginations.
Are you sure about the incomes? Ukraine with 10000 bucks per person? The girl would be living a dream.
Why not? Or did you think everyone outside of America and Western Europe lives with dirt floors and outdoor toilets?
Of course not but 10k in Ukraina.. you could live a year on that and you would not be poor.
Yes, some people in Eastern Europe live on that kind of income, but not that many. $10k/month is a lot of money in local currency. But I think they're commenting more on the fact that the girl's room doesn't appear to match the quoted income.
Well, I am from Poland and trust me, I know how people live in Ukraine. It's third world even for us, Ukrainians come to Poland to work for 500 bucks, whereas they can earn something like 100-200 bucks back at home.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
we live in the USofA and get by on a lot less than some of these people AND have a bunch of cats...... that that makes us very happy !!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Bitter much?
It's actualy 10.000$ purchasing power parity. Or simpler said: They can buy what you could buy with $10000 in the US.
thanks jasper for your succinct statement
So.. this post only applies to US residents (and those with knowledge of living costs in the US)?
It is very hard to tell by just looking at that part of her room. It seems plausible though.
I guess they have rich people in Ukraine too. If a country has a lot of poor people, it usually follows that a small group of people have a lot of wealth.
Much of the contradictory statements of facts that are so misleading only adding to confusion in this pursuit seems to generally point out specific errors laying within the piece's own presentation. As all the various countries data are stated only use U.S. dollar amounts w/o any other pertinent info. such as: Countries' currency in $U.S.D., Exchange rates, Cost of living in particular locations of pics., etc...
Totally agree, some of these income levels did not match the picture
It's not that this little girl in the Ukraine is living in a wantin situation, nor it seems her parents though she's likely bit better off than others in Ukraine; likely they live in Kiev earning higher wages than most there. 1 Ukraine Hryvnia = only about 4 cents in the U.S.. Thus the one adult cited would earn $121,080 (U.S.D.) the equivalent their to having to earn 3,162185.82 in Ukraine's Hryvnia! Huge disparity.
One word: oligarchy
Shit 10k in Ukraine... I'm like moving there right now. I don't understand why Ukrainians move to Poland for work if one does earn 10k USD a month in their country ;). 10k PLN would be shtload but 10k USD...
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Maybe it was 10$ and 9 cent?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
10k in Ukraine is like 400 bucks in America
the medium monthly salary in ukraine is actually around $200-250 usd.
In some of the cases, the furniture and inside of houses don't seem to be like 10k$ income per person, like author suggests
It's hard to tell from the pictures, they don't show very much of the houses.
The incomes are purchasing power parity. They take into account the cost of living. Or simpler said: When it says $800, they can buy what you could buy with $800 in the US.
I also wonder how much higher the cost of living is in those areas...at least in the US someone working in CA could be making $19/hr and renting a room however on the east coast (in certain areas) someone making that same amount could be in a 3 bedroom 2 story house...
cuddly toys, no matter the income, seemed to be popular among some of the children, at least they all have their imaginations.