We live in a world that is witnessing remarkable progress in multiple fields, such as technology, commerce, and medicine. On a global level, societies have declared shared aspirations and common goals, such as eradicating poverty and achieving equality. However, despite various achievements, there still remains a complex wave of social issues that could shatter the very foundation of society as a whole.
It is therefore important to shed light on these issues and how they could affect society. For instance, among multiple social issues, one of the most serious is inequality. The gap that divides the wealthy and the poor is widening, posing a threat to both social cohesion and economic stability while also limiting access to opportunities, quality healthcare, and education for some.
Furthermore, among the many global social issues, violence holds one of the top spots in various countries worldwide (not just developing nations but high-income countries as well), disrupting normal daily living and thus fracturing social unity. Homelessness and unemployment are other problems that affect societies.
But before we explore the most pressing social issues and analyze these multifaceted challenges, it is important to define what a social issue is.
What is a social issue?
A social issue or social problem is an unfavorable condition that has a negative impact on people’s personal or social lives or on various societal groups.
People may have different views about these issues and how they can be tackled more effectively. For example, a social problem might be best resolved by actions being applied to the issue as a whole as opposed to addressing each person as an individual case.
The list of major social issues is long, but we will focus on those that affect most people around the world.
Violence – one of the biggest social problems in the world today
In a nutshell, violence is the use of force that is intended to cause harm which can be either physical, psychological, or both (including gender-based violence). According to The Borgen Project, a popular non-profit organization aiming to eradicate poverty, violence represents one of the most significant social issues with the potential to seriously affect both people and entire societies. Violence has far-reaching effects; it can destabilize regions and be the cause of humanitarian catastrophes in areas with vulnerable communities.
Furthermore, when affected by violence, key elements of any society, no matter how prosperous, are weakened. For example, the business environment and schools become less safe, while instability hampers humanitarian efforts, undermines education, and perpetuates a cycle of crisis.
Brief statistics on violence, from the United Nations
- About 80% of all homicide victims in the world are male, while about 60% of girls and women fall victim to violence and intimidation by intimate partners or family members.
- In 2021, there were around 320 fatal assaults in 35 nations against human rights defenders and journalists.
- Experts forecast that by 2030, the global homicide rate will fall by 19% compared to 2015, reaching 4.8% per 100,000 citizens.
- Gender-based violence saw a significant increase during COVID-19 as many women had to remain within the same four walls as their abusers. The post-pandemic period has done little to address this issue, according to the OECD since globally, it is estimated that one in three girls and women over the age of 15 report experiencing at least one violent act in their lifetime.
Child abuse
One of the most pressing issues remains violence against children. Experts from the United Nations highlight that of the 2.2 billion children in the world today, about one billion may be facing some form of abuse.
Najat Maalla M’Jid, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, stated that millions of children fall victim to physical, sexual, and psychological violence which includes both offline and online spaces.
The types of violence children are exposed to are numerous, including child labor, child marriage, gender-based violence, bullying, and cyberbullying.
Mental health
The World Health Organization claims that one of the most underestimated aspects of public health is mental health. Around one billion people around the globe have a mental disorder, with three million passing away due to alcohol addiction annually and one person committing suicide every 40 seconds.
The impact of mental health goes beyond the person who suffers from a certain mental issue – it can disrupt communication, making it much more difficult for people to share their thoughts and feelings which may lead to social isolation – another major problem that affects older people.
Suggested reading: How important is mental health for society and the global economy?
If a person does not attempt to deal with their mental health, the consequences can be tragic with the mental issue worsening leading to a weaker physical condition and even death. This is why mental health features on the list of major social issues and has been included in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Mental health statistics
- Suicide is among the leading causes of death among individuals aged between 15 and 29. According to the World Health Organization, 73% of all suicides were registered in low- and middle-income countries.
- People suffering from mental health lose their lives prematurely, mainly as a result of preventable physical causes.
- Schizophrenia affects 24 million people worldwide, depressive disorders affect 280 million people, and over 300 million suffer from anxiety disorders.
Source: World mental health report, WHO
Inequality
Social inequality is a situation whereby specific groups of people lack access to financial and other various opportunities because of their gender, race, and other characteristics.
The unfair lack of opportunities, which includes lack of adequate healthcare access, has a serious impact on life expectancy, especially considering the fact that this can lead to an increase in poverty and crime rates, as well as lower education rates and environmental degradation.
This social issue undermines the feeling of fulfillment and self-worth, jeopardizes long-term social and economic progress, and hinders the fight against poverty.
Wealth inequality
Data within a 2023 Oxfam report shows that just 1% of the world’s wealthiest people hold two-thirds of all the new wealth generated since the beginning of the decade. Around 1.7 billion employees reside in regions where the rate of inflation increases faster than their wages while the wealth of billionaires increases by 2.7 billion on a daily basis.
In the latest Pew Research Center survey, 54% of respondents reported that the gap between the rich and the poor is a major issue in their home country, while 30% consider it to be a moderately significant issue.
Both the environment and society are suffering as a result of growing wealth disparity. Modifying the discourse surrounding wealth inequality may contribute to increasing public awareness and creating political pressure to take action.
This social issue is like an iceberg – it is larger than it first appears to be, with most of the problem hiding beneath the surface. This is primarily due to two factors:
- Inequality increases poverty rates and insecurity, which makes life more difficult for those at the bottom. In addition, it exacerbates the disparities between other groups of people, such as those between men and women or between races and ethnicities.
- Inequality undermines the principles of democracy and justice. Wealthy people can use their wealth to keep it secure and have an influence on certain institutions and people. This starts a vicious circle perpetuates and widens inequity.
Gender inequality
In low- and middle-income nations, maternal fatalities rose by 8 to 39% as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and, as a result, 47 million women and girls faced extreme poverty. Furthermore, women have witnessed less progress even in those countries that managed to handle the pandemic reasonably well.
Avoidable mortality
Avoidable (preventable and treatable) mortality refers to deaths that could have been otherwise avoided if certain actions had been taken. The best examples are the administration of vaccines or lifestyle changes such as avoiding excessive alcohol consumption and quitting smoking, as well as the prevention of injuries.
Did you know that 74% of all annual deaths worldwide that could have been avoided are due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases and cancer? Most of these (86%) occurred in low- and middle-income countries.
Brief statistics on preventable deaths
- Timely healthcare can help to avoid more than 3 million premature deaths among people under the age of 75, according to 2019 data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
- Timely and effective cancer treatment (including for colorectal and breast cancers) could have helped to avoid 27% of deaths.
- Annually 41 million people fall victim to NCDs (nearly 18 million from cardiovascular diseases, and over 9 million from cancers).
Homelessness
This social issue negatively affects people’s lives, forcing them to deal with a variety of issues every day, many more than a normal individual would face. When people do not have adequate living conditions, they are overwhelmed by obstacles that prevent them from accessing education and employment.
Only a handful of nations are an exception to the general trend of an annual increase in the number of homeless people but living in a rich country or healthy economy is no guarantee of being “homelessness immune”.
Did you know that there are over 100 million homeless people around the globe? Furthermore, today the world houses around 1.6 billion people who live in substandard housing such as slums.
Suggested reading: Homelessness statistics in the world: causes and facts report can be accessed.
Water scarcity
Despite the fact that water is vital for all life on Earth, UNICEF states that around four billion people worldwide (more than half of the planet’s population) endure acute water shortages for at least one month each year with the majority residing in locations with insufficient water sources.
Lack of water restricts people’s ability to practice basic hygiene procedures at home, at school, and in medical facilities. In addition, when there is a lack of water, sewage systems may malfunction, which in turn can lead to the spread of deadly diseases such as cholera.
According to UNICEF, by 2040 around 25% of all children in the world will be residing in regions that face extreme water scarcity.
Suggested reading: Water scarcity in rural Africa: who’s to blame? | Experts’ Opinions
Refugee crisis
In 2022, the number of people who were forced to flee their homes exceeded 100 million, with over 35 million being refugees (around 40% of whom were under 18 years of age). At the same time, the number of internally displaced people reached 62.5 million.
Around 76% of all refugees and people who require international protection found shelter in low- and middle-income nations.
Syria still has the biggest refugee issue in the world, even after more than 10 years of strife. Since 2011, over 14 million Syrians have been forced to leave their homes in pursuit of safety.
More than 7.4 million Syrians remain internally displaced in their own country, where 90% of people live below the poverty line and 70% of people require humanitarian aid.
Around 71% of all those who required international protection found shelter in low- and middle-income nations. Around 22% of the total were granted asylum by least developed countries.
Among all the refugees in the world under UNHCR’s mandate, and those requiring international protection, 65% come from just four nations:
A third of refugees are hosted in five nations – Colombia, Germany, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey, and Uganda.
Another shocking statistic is that two million children were born as refugees. Each year, according to estimates carried out between 2018 and 2023, the average annual number of children born as refugees reached 339,000.
Final word
The number of social issues that the world faces today is huge. Besides those mentioned in this article, there are other problems such as child marriage and child labor, limited access to technology and digital privacy issues, lack of affordable housing, and lack of employment and all of these have arisen in the digital age when the world is witnessing great technological advances. Shedding light on social issues can make people more aware of what is happening around the world and understand how to take action to make the world a better place.
