It was the last 200 years that changed the world … so begins the video by Hans Rosling, described as a “global health expert and data visionary”. (Read his profile here).

For the first time Gapminder can visualise the change in life expectancy and income per person over the last two centuries. Rosling shows how all the countries of the world have developed since 1809 - 200 years ago. And how countries will perform in the ongoing economic crisis.

According to Rosling, “In the last 200 years the world has become healthier and richer, but the difference is enormous between the richest countries and the poorest countries.”

He then proceeds to show how the changes came about, taking the United States and China as examples and comparing their economies in 1809 and in the present-day scenario.

And this is Rosling’s observation: “200 years ago the economy was growing in the US whereas it was declining in China that was dominated by foreign powers. Then health started to improve in the United States but nothing happened in China.

“And in fact it was not until modern China emerged in 1950 that China really started to improve. There was, of course, the Great Leap forward. That was what Mao Zedong called it. In fact, it meant a leap downwards, but eventually China got a better health and then started with a fast economy growth and is catching up with the United States…”

For the detailed report go to Gapminder, which has as its headline: “Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact based world view”. The site also features videos on a variety of topics including Influenza A/H1N1 outbreak.