The enormous disparity in global health, visualized

If there's one guy we love here at SmartPlanet, it's Hans Rosling.

Rosling, who studies at the intersection of medicine and statistics, is a master at bringing enormous amounts of numbers to life, using the power of the infographic to visualize health trends and help people like you and me understand what's happening in our world.

In a short video for BBC Four's "Joy of Stats" program, Rosling takes us through recent historical milestones -- the Industrial Revolution, the first and second World Wars, and so forth -- and shows us how they impacted the health of nations across all continents.

The result? Over the past two centuries, nearly all nations have gotten healthier and wealthier, but the gap has widened immensely between the best -- Western nations -- and the worst, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Here's an amazing look at the health and wealth of 200 nations in 200 years, in just four minutes:

Related on SmartPlanet:

• Hans Rosling: India, China will economically surpass U.S., U.K. in 2048

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com