The Great Convergence: Life & Wealth
An animated exploration of the relationship between economic development and life expectancy across 200+ countries from 1960 to present. Watch the global "convergence" unfold as developing nations catch up in health outcomes—and the persistent North-South divide.
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How to read
- X-axis (log): GDP per capita.
- Y-axis: Life expectancy.
- Size: Population.
Preston Curve
Wealth vs health is logarithmic: moving from $1K to $10K has a larger effect than $50K to $100K.
Data Source
World Bank WDI
- SP.DYN.LE00.IN
- NY.GDP.PCAP.KD
- SP.POP.TOTL
Tech Stack
Next.js 16 & D3.js for rendering.
Azure Functions (TypeScript) for the API backend.
The Story of Convergence
Watch as countries animate through time. Notice how the entire curve has shifted upwardover decades: even at the same income level, countries today have higher life expectancies than they did in 1960. This is the power of medical advances, sanitation, and public health spreading globally.
Yet the visualization also reveals a persistent truth: the North-South divide endures. The green bubbles of North America and Europe cluster in the upper-right quadrant—high wealth, high life expectancy. The orange bubbles of Sub-Saharan Africa remain in the lower-left, despite decades of progress.
"The convergence in life expectancy is one of humanity's great success stories—yet the persistent gap between Global North and Global South reminds us how much work remains."
Key Observations
- 1960: Life expectancy ranged from ~35 years (poorest nations) to ~70 years (richest). A 35-year gap.
- 2023: The range has compressed: ~55 to ~85 years. But a 30-year gap persists.
- China & India: Watch the world's two largest bubbles migrate rightward—one of history's greatest mass improvements in living standards.
- HIV/AIDS Crisis: Notice the downward dip for many African nations in the 1990s-2000s.