Shoes for the upper crust

[snopes]

Comment: is it true that if you have more than one pair of shoes, you are
in the 99th percentile of the world population?

(i've heard several variations on this. Basically, the rumor is that only
1% of the earth's population has more than 1 pair of shoes.)

[BluesScale]

Imelda, what have I told you about posting on the internet using false names?

[Plurabelle]

Originally Posted by snopes

Comment: is it true that if you have more than one pair of shoes, you are
in the 99th percentile of the world population?

(i've heard several variations on this. Basically, the rumor is that only
1% of the earth's population has more than 1 pair of shoes.)

1% of the world's population is 65 million. Even if we assume only 25% of the US population had more than 1 pair of shoes (and I am certain the percentage is MUCH higher than that), this wouldn't be true. That's without even having to consider all the people in the other multitudes of countries where it's quite likely that ownership of 1+ pair of shoes is common.

[Tantei Kid]

I wonder how people with no shoes at all figure into this?

Well at the moment I have internet, 2 game consoles, dvd recorder, mobile phone and only one pair of shoes. I don't know how I fit into those figures.

[snapdragonfly]

That sounds like it's derived from a saying I heard that was SOMETHING like this: (I cannot remember it exactly)

That if you have a roof over your head, something to eat in the house, a change of clothes, and access to transportation (not a car necessarily, but maybe a bike or living close to a bus line or something) that you are among the richest 5 % (I think) of the people in the world.

I have no idea where that came from or how accurate it is.

There are a lot of people in the world who do not have all of those things, though.

eta Here is something similar though not exactly like the saying I heard.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep ...
you are more comfortable than 75% of the people in this world.


If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, spare change in a drawer, a pocket or somewhere ...
you are among the top 8% of the world's most wealthy people."

From this site http://www.geography-site.co.uk/page...l_village.html

It doesn't mention access to transportation and that would change the percentage, I suppose.

[Brad from Georgia]

Shoes for industry! Shoes for defense!

Brad "when you're talkin' shoes, you're talkin' Guy's" from Georgia

[Cervus]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

eta Here is something similar though not exactly like the saying I heard.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep ...
you are more comfortable than 75% of the people in this world.

I guess that depends on your definition of "comfortable". Prisoners generally get meals, clothes, and a cot to sleep on indoors, but I wouldn't exactly call them comfortable.

Many indigineous (and modern Western) people live quite comfortably with minimum clothing. And there's not an animal I can think of that isn't able to find a place to sleep.

[snapdragonfly]

Originally Posted by Cervus

I guess that depends on your definition of "comfortable". Prisoners generally get meals, clothes, and a cot to sleep on indoors, but I wouldn't exactly call them comfortable.

Many indigineous (and modern Western) people live quite comfortably with minimum clothing. And there's not an animal I can think of that isn't able to find a place to sleep.

Minimum clothing is still clothes on your back. May not be a lot of clothes, but I assume the sort of minimum clothing you are referring to is probably a matter of choice, not hardship.

Animals aren't part of the equation here, I don't think.

Prisoners are also a red herring - they do have their basic (and sometimes more) needs met but they are an exceptional population that I don't think fit the intent of these little...sayings, or whatever they are. I am not sure they are exactly facts. Illustrations, I guess.

[DawnStorm]

Originally Posted by Tantei Kid

I wonder how people with no shoes at all figure into this?

They're in church, charming the socks off of cute kids with dimples.

[Banrion]

This link is similar, ranking people in a percentile of how much you make in a year, trying to guilt trip you into donating to charity.

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

Per this site, making $850 USD/year puts you in the top 50% of the worlds richest people.

"Shoes for the upper crust"

Upper crust of what? The Earth?

[High Eight]

Can't resist quoting Terry pratchett:

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socio-economic unfairness.

[Pseudo_Croat]

I think the stats listed in the OP may have been true in the 60's or 70's, but they're probably not true today. Bear in mind that China and India, which collectively contain half the world's population, are some of the fastest growing economies on Earth. In fact some economic mavens predict that these two countries will possess the largest economies in the world by the middle of next century. So I'm skeptical of the current validity of the commonly quoted stats in the OP.

- Pseudo_Croat

[Richard W]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep ...
you are more comfortable than 75% of the people in this world.

That was in this glurge. If it is true, then it'll be the mention of a refrigerator that does it. I'm pretty sure more than 25% of the world's population have clothes, food and a place to sleep. I don't get why they include clothes at all, unless they're trying to imply that a substantial portion of the world population is naked.

I tried to find figures for worldwide refrigerator ownership - this page includes a graph for the Phillipines showing about 39% in 1998, and there's a paper here (pdf) showing 71% for Mexico, 54% for Panama, 76% for Brazil, 38% for Peru, 40% for South Africa and 18% for Nicaragua - the surveys were done in different years from 1993 - 2001. It's hard to get a global average from that... none of those countries are in the poorest 20 but I guess they're mostly mid-table.

[imjustasteph]

Originally Posted by lazerus the duck

Well at the moment I have internet, 2 game consoles, dvd recorder, mobile phone and only one pair of shoes. I don't know how I fit into those figures.

And, what if you have like five pairs, but two are unwearable (ripped soles, etc) that you only keep in case you have a shoe emergency (Don't know what that'd be but I'm terrified of it)? What if two pairs are flip-flops from Dollar Tree? What if you have a few pairs but they don't fit?

Although I watched a movie on IFC a couple of months ago about a little boy who accidentally lost his sister's only pair of shoes, and she and he had to share a pair after.

[snopes]

Comment: If your two pairs of shoes, you are richer than ninety-five
percent of the world.

This is a statistic that I heard a while ago. just wondering if it is true
or what is the real statistic.

[lyra_silvertongue]

If my two pairs of shoes what?

[Altered Statesman]

I though I was rich because I had 2 pairs of shoes, until I met the man with 2 pairs of feet.

[geminilee]

Originally Posted by Richard W

That was in this glurge. If it is true, then it'll be the mention of a refrigerator that does it. I'm pretty sure more than 25% of the world's population have clothes, food and a place to sleep.

Clothes and food are pretty ridiculous add ons. Yes, a lot of the population is under-fed, and many go hungry for periods. But if they had no food at all then the world's population would drop by 75% in short order. And I have never heard of a culture so poor that few of its members wear clothes. I can think of a few that live in mild climes and so wear very little in the way of clothes (in some cases just a sort of loincloth that is almost more cosmetic than functional), but none who just plain can't afford even one single outfit to wear (and lack access to materials to make clothing.)