Economy

In 2017, the global GDP per capita was $17,500, and the worldwide GDP was $127.8 trillion. Agriculture accounted for 6.4 percent of the global GDP, industry for 30 percent and services account for 63 percent.¹ It is estimated that the worldwide workforce is 3.432 billion people, and the global unemployment rate of 7.7 percent.² Fair trade products provide fair pay, increased access to healthcare and education, and a sustainable environmental model for both workers and their communities around the world.¹ Since 1998, fair trade products have produced a cumulative $551 million of revenue internationally, and safeguarded the quality of land and water in communities across 45 different nations.³ There are 2 billion people around the world who do not have a bank account, or lack the technology they need to access a financial institution, over 50 percent of which cite that their primary reason for not having a bank account is not having enough money.³ Microfinance institutions grant small business loans to individuals who would otherwise be unable to utilize a traditional bank services.⁴ The average American ages 35–44 has $133,100 in debt, and the average citizen under 35 years old has $67,400 in debt.⁵ Nearly 800,000 people filed for bankruptcy in the United States federal courts in 2017.⁶