Half of the energy is used by one seventh of the world’s population.

The line highlights the extreme global inequality in energy consumption: a relatively small share of humanity—roughly the richest countries—accounts for a disproportionately large share of total energy use. In Rosling’s work, such comparisons are typically used to replace vague moralizing with measurable proportions, prompting audiences to think in terms of distributions rather than stereotypes about “the West” and “the developing world.” The implication is twofold: (1) high-consumption societies drive much of the world’s energy demand and associated emissions, and (2) billions of people still use comparatively little energy, so development goals and climate goals must be reconciled through efficiency, cleaner energy, and fairer access.