You might think things are bad: economic crisis, hunger, Israel versus Iran, Vladimir Putin, Joseph Kony, etcetera. Viewed through the prism of daily news, things do indeed suck. But if you imagined an annual “state of the world” report, the audience would be dancing the conga in the aisles. These are the best times in history, even though it won’t look that way if you’re reading this in a slum in Mogadishu. Here are some key measures of life on earth:

● Life expectancy is surging, especially in “l(fā)ess developed regions”, says the United Nations. In the period 1950-1955, the average person’s life expectancy at birth was 46.6 years. From 2005 through 2010, it was 67.6 years.

Aids and malaria are finally in retreat. After South Africa began taking Aids seriously, its life expectancy rebounded from 54 to 58 between 2005 and 2010 alone.