UNDERSTANDING POVERTY

The pandemic has caused unprecedented reversals in poverty reduction that are exacerbated by rising inflation and the effects of the war in Ukraine. We estimate that these combined crises will lead to an additional 75 million to 95 million people living in extreme poverty in 2022, compared to pre-pandemic projections. Read more

Note on global poverty lines: These estimates (from early 2022) are calculated using the US$1.90 per person per day poverty line, which was updated in September 2022 to US$2.15 per person per day. Poverty data are now expressed in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) prices, versus 2011 PPP in previous editions. The new global poverty lines of $2.15, $3.65, and $6.85 reflect the typical national poverty lines of low-income, lower-middle-income, and upper-middle-income countries in 2017 prices. New nowcast estimates at the US$2.15 poverty line will be available in October 2022. Read more. 

For almost 25 years, extreme poverty was steadily declining. Now, for the first time in a generation, the quest to end poverty has suffered its worst setback. This setback is largely due to major challenges — COVID 19, conflict, and climate change — facing all countries, but in particular those with large poor populations. The increase in extreme poverty from 2019 to 2020 is projected to be larger than any time since the World Bank started tracking poverty globally in a consistent manner. While COVID-19 is a new obstacle, conflicts and climate change have been increasing extreme poverty for years in parts of the world. Explore Data

Globally, extreme poverty has rapidly declined. New poverty estimates by the World Bank suggest that the number of extremely poor people — those who live on $1.90 a day or less — has fallen from 1.9 billion in 1990 to about 736 million in 2015. Read More.