Poverty

=== Global prevalence ===
{{See also|List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty}}[[File:Worlds regions by total wealth(in trillions USD), 2018.jpg|thumb|250px|Worlds regions by total wealth (in trillions USD), 2018]]

According to Chen and Ravallion, about 1.76 billion people in developing world lived ''above'' $1.25 per day and 1.9 billion people lived ''below'' $1.25 per day in 1981. In 2005, about 4.09 billion people in developing world lived above $1.25 per day and 1.4 billion people lived below $1.25 per day (both 1981 and 2005 data are on inflation adjusted basis).<ref>{{cite web|title=The Developing World Is Poorer Than We Thought, But No Less Successful in the Fight against Poverty|first1=Shaohua|last1=Chen|first2=Martin|last2=Ravallioniz|name-list-style=amp|date=August 2008|url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2010/01/21/000158349_20100121133109/Rendered/PDF/WPS4703.pdf|access-date=9 August 2012|archive-date=17 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417182722/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2010/01/21/000158349_20100121133109/Rendered/PDF/WPS4703.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Fighting poverty in emerging markets – the gloves go on; Lessons from Brazil, China and India|newspaper=The Economist|date=26 November 2009|url=http://www.economist.com/node/14979330|access-date=9 August 2012|archive-date=8 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908144911/http://www.economist.com/node/14979330|url-status=live}}</ref> The share of the world's population living in absolute poverty fell from 43% in 1981 to 14% in 2011.<ref name="worldbank-Poverty">{{cite web |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,contentMDK:20153855~menuPK:373757~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:336992,00.html |title=The World Bank, 2007, Understanding Poverty |website=Web.worldbank.org |date=19 April 2005 |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-date=7 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107161906/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,contentMDK:20153855~menuPK:373757~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:336992,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The absolute number of people in poverty fell from 1.95 billion in 1981 to 1.01 billion in 2011.<ref name="PovertyRoser">{{cite journal|first=Max|last=Roser|title=World Poverty|url=http://ourworldindata.org/data/growth-and-distribution-of-prosperity/world-poverty/|journal=Our World in Data|date=2015|access-date=26 September 2015|archive-date=27 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927201601/http://ourworldindata.org/data/growth-and-distribution-of-prosperity/world-poverty/|url-status=live}}</ref>  The economist [[Max Roser]] estimates that the number of people in poverty is therefore roughly the same as 200 years ago.<ref name="PovertyRoser" /> This is the case since the world population was just little more than 1 billion in 1820 and the majority (84% to 94%)<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=François |last1=Bourguignon |first2=Christian |last2=Morrisson |year=2002 |title=Inequality Among World Citizens: 1820–1992 |url=http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/BourguignonMorrisson2002.pdf |journal=American Economic Review |volume=92 |issue=4 |pages=727–744 |doi=10.1257/00028280260344443 |citeseerx=10.1.1.5.7307 |access-date=19 February 2016 |archive-date=18 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218184001/http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/BourguignonMorrisson2002.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> of the world population was living in poverty. According to one study, the percentage of the world population in hunger and poverty fell in absolute percentage terms from 50% in 1950 to 30% in 1970.<ref>Origins of the Organic Agriculture Debate By Thomas R. DeGregori,  2008, P.128</ref> According to another study the number of people worldwide living in absolute poverty fell from 1.18 billion in 1950 to 1.04 billion in 1977.<ref>Economic Inequality and Poverty International Perspectives Edited by Lars Osberg, 2017, P.71</ref> According to another study, the number of people worldwide estimated to be starving fell from almost 920 million in 1971 to below 797 million in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Bank Group – International Development, Poverty, & Sustainability |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/home |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=World Bank |language=en}}</ref> The proportion of the [[developing world]]'s population living in extreme economic poverty fell from 28% in 1990 to 21% in 2001.<ref name="worldbank-Poverty" /> Most of this improvement has occurred in [[East Asia|East]] and [[South Asia]].<ref name="1980s">{{cite web|url=http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?ImgPagePK=64202990&entityID=000112742_20040722172047&menuPK=64168175&pagePK=64210502&theSitePK=477894&piPK=64210520|title=How Have the World's Poorest Fared Since the Early 1980s?" Table 3, p. 28|publisher=worldbank.org|access-date=28 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310150255/http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?ImgPagePK=64202990&entityID=000112742_20040722172047&menuPK=64168175&pagePK=64210502&theSitePK=477894&piPK=64210520|archive-date=10 March 2007}}</ref>

In 2012 it was estimated that, using a poverty line of $1.25 a day, 1.2 billion people lived in poverty.<ref>Ravallion, Martin. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170123164200/https://academic.oup.com/wbro/article-abstract/28/2/139/1675043/How-Long-Will-It-Take-to-Lift-One-Billion-People#cited-by "How long will it take to lift one billion people out of poverty?."] ''The World Bank Research Observer'' 28.2 (2013): 139.</ref> Given the current economic model, built on [[gross domestic product|GDP]], it would take 100 years to bring the world's poorest up to the poverty line of $1.25 a day.<ref>[[Jason Hickel]] (30 March 2015). [https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/30/it-will-take-100-years-for-the-worlds-poorest-people-to-earn-125-a-day It will take 100 years for the world's poorest people to earn $1.25 a day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424014546/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/30/it-will-take-100-years-for-the-worlds-poorest-people-to-earn-125-a-day |date=24 April 2021 }}. ''[[The Guardian]].'' Retrieved 31 March 2015.</ref> [[UNICEF]] estimates half the world's children (or 1.1 billion) live in poverty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unicef.org/rightsite/364_617.htm|first=Ernest C.|last=Madu|title=Investment and Development Will Secure the Rights of the Child|access-date=12 April 2014|archive-date=13 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413144118/http://www.unicef.org/rightsite/364_617.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The World Bank forecasted in 2015 that [[Global Monitoring Report (World Bank)|702.1 million people]] were living in extreme poverty, down from 1.75 billion in 1990.<ref>{{Cite report|url=http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/pubdocs/publicdoc/2015/10/503001444058224597/Global-Monitoring-Report-2015.pdf|title=Global Monitoring Report 2015/2016: Development Goals in an Era of Demographic Change|pages=1–9|publisher=World Bank|location=Washington, DC|author=The World Bank|date=2016|access-date=4 November 2015|archive-date=7 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607170318/http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/pubdocs/publicdoc/2015/10/503001444058224597/Global-Monitoring-Report-2015.pdf|url-status=live|doi=10.1596/978-1-4648-0669-8|isbn=978-1-4648-0669-8}}</ref> Extreme poverty is observed in all parts of the world, including developed economies.<ref>{{cite web|title=World Bank Sees Progress Against Extreme Poverty, But Flags Vulnerabilities|publisher=The World bank|date=29 February 2012|url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2012/02/29/world-bank-sees-progress-against-extreme-poverty-but-flags-vulnerabilities|access-date=8 August 2012|archive-date=23 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123050607/http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2012/02/29/world-bank-sees-progress-against-extreme-poverty-but-flags-vulnerabilities|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/country/IND |title=Poverty and Equity – India, 2010 World Bank Country Profile |publisher=Povertydata.worldbank.org |date=30 March 2012 |access-date=26 July 2013 |archive-date=25 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125073110/http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/country/IND |url-status=live }}</ref> Of the 2015 population, about 347.1 million people (35.2%) lived in [[Global Monitoring Report (World Bank)|Sub-Saharan Africa]] and 231.3 million (13.5%) lived in [[Global Monitoring Report (World Bank)|South Asia]]. According to the World Bank, between 1990 and 2015, the percentage of the world's population living in extreme poverty fell from 37.1% to 9.6%, falling below 10% for the first time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/10/04/world-bank-forecasts-global-poverty-to-fall-below-10-for-first-time-major-hurdles-remain-in-goal-to-end-poverty-by-2030 |title=World Bank Forecasts Global Poverty to Fall Below 10% for First Time; Major Hurdles Remain in Goal to End Poverty by 2030 |publisher=Worldbank.org |date=4 October 2015 |access-date=6 January 2016 |archive-date=3 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103202525/http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/10/04/world-bank-forecasts-global-poverty-to-fall-below-10-for-first-time-major-hurdles-remain-in-goal-to-end-poverty-by-2030 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the 2013 to 2015 period, the [[World Bank Group|World Bank]] reported that extreme poverty fell from 11% to 10%, however they also noted that the rate of decline had slowed by nearly half from the 25 year average with parts of sub-saharan Africa returning to early 2000 levels.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ending Extreme Poverty: Progress, but Uneven and Slowing |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/30418/9781464813306_Ch01.pdf |work=The world Bank |access-date=31 January 2019 |archive-date=1 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201013412/https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/30418/9781464813306_Ch01.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Elliott|first=Larry|date=20 January 2019|title=World's 26 richest people own as much as poorest 50%, says Oxfam|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/21/world-26-richest-people-own-as-much-as-poorest-50-per-cent-oxfam-report|work=The Guardian|access-date=31 January 2019|archive-date=15 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215040535/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/21/world-26-richest-people-own-as-much-as-poorest-50-per-cent-oxfam-report|url-status=live}}</ref> The World Bank attributed this to increasing violence following the [[Arab Spring]], [[Population growth|population increases]] in Sub-Saharan Africa, and general African inflationary pressures and economic malaise were the primary drivers for this slow down.<ref>{{cite news |last=Inman |first=Phillip |date=19 September 2018 |title=World Bank reports slower progress on extreme poverty |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/19/world-bank-reports-slower-progress-on-extreme-poverty |work=The Guardian |access-date=31 January 2019 |archive-date=1 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201013708/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/19/world-bank-reports-slower-progress-on-extreme-poverty |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Müller-Jung|first=Friederike|date=17 October 2018|title=World Bank report: Poverty rates remain high in Africa|url=https://www.dw.com/en/world-bank-report-poverty-rates-remain-high-in-africa/a-45926382|work=[[Deutsche Welle]]|access-date=31 January 2019|archive-date=1 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201013201/https://www.dw.com/en/world-bank-report-poverty-rates-remain-high-in-africa/a-45926382|url-status=live}}</ref> Many wealthy nations have seen an increase in relative poverty rates ever since the [[Great Recession]], in particular among children from impoverished families who often reside in substandard housing and find educational opportunities out of reach.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/why-rich-countries-are-seeing-more-poverty|title=Why rich countries are seeing more poverty|last=Charlton|first=Emma|date=20 November 2018|website=[[World Economic Forum]]|access-date=17 February 2019|archive-date=18 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218021433/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/why-rich-countries-are-seeing-more-poverty|url-status=live}}</ref> It has been argued by some academics that the [[neoliberal]] policies promoted by global financial institutions such as the [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]] and the World Bank are actually exacerbating both inequality and poverty.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last= Haymes|editor1-first= Stephen|editor2-last= Vidal de Haymes|editor2-first= Maria|editor3-last= Miller|editor3-first= Reuben|title= The Routledge Handbook of Poverty in the United States|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qnHfBQAAQBAJ&q=microcredit&pg=PA1|location= London|publisher= [[Routledge]]|date= 2015|isbn= 978-0-415-67344-0|pages= 1–2|access-date= 18 December 2020|archive-date= 24 July 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210724225952/https://books.google.com/books?id=qnHfBQAAQBAJ&q=microcredit&pg=PA1|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones|first1=Campbell|last2=Parker|first2=Martin |last3=  Ten Bos |first3=Rene|date=2005 |title=For Business Ethics |publisher=Routledge|page=101|isbn=978-0-415-31135-9|quote=Critics of neoliberalism have therefore looked at the evidence that documents the results of this great experiment of the past 30 years, in which many markets have been set free. Looking at the evidence, we can see that the total amount of global trade has increased significantly, but that global poverty has increased, with more today living in abject poverty than before neoliberalism.}}</ref>

In East Asia the World Bank reported that "The poverty headcount rate at the $2-a-day level is estimated to have fallen to about 27 percent [in 2007], down from 29.5 percent in 2006 and 69 percent in 1990."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/0,,contentMDK:21550665~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:226301,00.html|title=East Asia Remains Robust Despite US Slow Down|publisher=worldbank.org|access-date=27 May 2011|archive-date=22 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322182301/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/0,,contentMDK:21550665~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:226301,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  The [[People's Republic of China]] accounts for over three quarters of global poverty reduction from 1990 to 2005, which according to the World Bank is "historically unprecedented".<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2022 |title=Four Decades of Poverty Reduction in China: Drivers, Insights for the World, and the Way Ahead|url= |location= |publisher=World Bank Publications|page=ix |isbn=978-1-4648-1878-3|quote=By any measure, the speed and scale of China's poverty reduction is historically unprecedented.}}</ref> China accounted for nearly half of all [[extreme poverty]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stuart|first=Elizabeth|date=19 August 2015|title=China has almost wiped out urban poverty. Now it must tackle inequality|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2015/aug/19/china-poverty-inequality-development-goals|work=The Guardian|access-date=22 January 2019|archive-date=10 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910040855/https://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2015/aug/19/china-poverty-inequality-development-goals|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Sub-Saharan Africa extreme poverty went up from 41% in 1981 to 46% in 2001,<ref>{{cite book|author=Perry|title=Contemporary Society: An Introduction to Social Science, 12/e|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8sa8RCA8VYQC&pg=PA548|publisher=Pearson Education|isbn=978-81-317-3066-9|page=548|year=1972|access-date=14 October 2015|archive-date=5 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505092949/https://books.google.com/books?id=8sa8RCA8VYQC&pg=PA548|url-status=live}}</ref> which combined with growing population increased the number of people living in extreme poverty from 231 million to 318 million.<ref name="birthrates">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/birth-rates-must-be-curbed-to-win-war-on-global-poverty-434387.html|title=Birth rates must be curbed to win war on global poverty|work=The Independent|location=London|access-date=11 June 2012|date=31 January 2007|archive-date=15 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215163037/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/birth-rates-must-be-curbed-to-win-war-on-global-poverty-434387.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Statistics of 2018 shows population living in extreme conditions has declined by more than 1 billion in the last 25 years. As per the report published by the world bank on 19 September 2018 world poverty falls below 750 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/world-poverty-falls-below-750-million-report-says-1537366273|title=World Poverty Falls Below 750 Million, Report Says|last=Zumbrun|first=Josh|date=19 September 2018|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=20 September 2018|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=19 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919230436/https://www.wsj.com/articles/world-poverty-falls-below-750-million-report-says-1537366273|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the early 1990s some of the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia experienced a sharp drop in income.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,contentMDK:20153855~menuPK:373757~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:336992,00.html |title=Worldbank.org reference |publisher=Web.worldbank.org |date=19 April 2005 |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-date=7 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107161906/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,contentMDK:20153855~menuPK:373757~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:336992,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[collapse of the Soviet Union]] resulted in large declines in GDP per capita, of about 30 to 35% between 1990 and the through year of 1998 (when it was at its minimum). As a result, poverty rates tripled,<ref>{{cite book |last=Scheidel |first=Walter |author-link=Walter Scheidel |title=The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-691-16502-8 |page=222 }}</ref> excess mortality increased,<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Rosefielde|first1=Steven|date=2001 |title=Premature Deaths: Russia's Radical Economic Transition in Soviet Perspective|journal=[[Europe-Asia Studies]]|volume=53 |issue=8 |pages=1159–1176|doi= 10.1080/09668130120093174|s2cid=145733112|author-link=Steven Rosefielde}}</ref> and life expectancy declined.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ghodsee|first=Kristen|date=2017|title=Red Hangover: Legacies of Twentieth-Century Communism|url=https://www.dukeupress.edu/red-hangover|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|pages=63–64|isbn=978-0-8223-6949-3|author-link=Kristen Ghodsee|access-date=14 February 2019|archive-date=7 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207032254/https://www.dukeupress.edu/red-hangover|url-status=live}}</ref> Russian President [[Boris Yeltsin]]'s [[IMF]]-backed rapid [[privatization]] and [[austerity]] policies resulted in unemployment rising to double digits and half the Russian population falling into destitution by the early to mid 1990s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mattei|first=Clara E.|date=2022 |title=The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism|pages=301–303|url=https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo181707138.html|location= |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|isbn=978-0-226-81839-9|quote="If, in 1987–1988, 2 percent of the Russian people lived in poverty (i.e., survived on less than $4 a day), by 1993–1995 the number reached 50 percent: in just seven years half the Russian population became destitute.}}</ref> By 1999, during the peak of the poverty crisis, 191 million people were living on less than $5.50 a day.<ref name=GhodseeOrenstein>{{cite book |last1=Ghodsee|first1=Kristen|last2=Orenstein|first2=Mitchell A.|date=2021|title=Taking Stock of Shock: Social Consequences of the 1989 Revolutions|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|page=43|doi=10.1093/oso/9780197549230.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-754924-7}}</ref> In subsequent years as per capita incomes recovered the poverty rate dropped from 31.4% of the population to 19.6%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20398986~menuPK:64133163~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html |title=World Bank, Data and Statistics, WDI, GDF, & ADI Online Databases |publisher=World Bank |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416035127/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0%2C%2CcontentMDK%3A20398986~menuPK%3A64133163~pagePK%3A64133150~piPK%3A64133175~theSitePK%3A239419%2C00.html |archive-date=16 April 2010 }}</ref><ref name="Soviet">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E0D8163FF931A25753C1A9669C8B63|title=Study Finds Poverty Deepening in Former Communist Countries|work=The New York Times|access-date=28 May 2011|date=12 October 2000|archive-date=28 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228105849/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E0D8163FF931A25753C1A9669C8B63|url-status=live}}</ref> The average post-communist country had returned to 1989 levels of per-capita GDP by 2005,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Appel|first1=Hilary|last2=Orenstein|first2=Mitchell A.|date=2018|title=From Triumph to Crisis: Neoliberal Economic Reform in Postcommunist Countries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PHhTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA36|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|page=36|isbn=978-1-108-43505-5|access-date=18 December 2020|archive-date=24 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724225952/https://books.google.com/books?id=PHhTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA36|url-status=live}}</ref> although as of 2015 some are still far behind that.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1080/05775132.2015.1012402| title =After the Wall Fell: The Poor Balance Sheet of the Transition to Capitalism| journal =[[Challenge (economics magazine)|Challenge]]| volume = 58| issue = 2| pages =135–138| year = 2015| last1 =  Milanović | first1 = Branko| s2cid =153398717|author-link=Branko Milanović|quote= So, what is the balance sheet of transition? Only three or at most five or six countries could be said to be on the road to becoming a part of the rich and (relatively) stable capitalist world. Many of the other countries are falling behind, and some are so far behind that they cannot aspire to go back to the point where they were when the Wall fell for several decades.}}</ref> According to the World Bank in 2014, around 80 million people were still living on less than $5.00 a day.<ref name=GhodseeOrenstein/>

World Bank data shows that the percentage of the population living in households with consumption or income per person below the poverty line has decreased in each region of the world except Middle East and North Africa since 1990:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/jsp/index.jsp |title=World Bank, 2007, Povcalnet Poverty Data |publisher=World Bank |access-date=24 October 2010 |archive-date=4 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204081829/http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/jsp/index.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>The data can be replicated using World Bank 2007 Human Development Indicator regional tables, and using the default poverty line of $32.74 per month at 1993 PPP.</ref>

In July 2023, a group of over 200 economists from 67 countries, including [[Jayati Ghosh]], [[Joseph Stiglitz]] and [[Thomas Piketty]], sent a letter to the United Nations secretary general [[António Guterres]] and World Bank president [[Ajay Banga]] warning that "extreme poverty and extreme wealth have risen sharply and simultaneously for the first time in 25 years."<ref>{{cite news |last= Elliott|first=Larry|date= |title=Top economists call for action on runaway global inequality|url=https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2023/jul/17/top-economists-call-for-action-global-inequality-rich-poor-poverty-climate-breakdown-un-world-bank|work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=August 22, 2023}}</ref> In 2024, Oxfam reported that roughly five billion people have become poorer since 2020 and warned that current trends could postpone global poverty eradication for 229 years.<ref>{{cite news |last=Neate|first=Rupert |date=January 14, 2024 |title=World's five richest men double their money as poorest get poorer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2024/jan/15/worlds-five-richest-men-double-their-money-as-poorest-get-poorer|work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |access-date=January 16, 2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|-
! rowspan="2" |'''Region'''
! colspan="6" |$2.15 per day<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (% of population) – East Asia & Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe & Central Asia, Middle East & North Africa, South Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, World |url=https://data.worldbank.org/ |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=World Bank Open Data}}</ref>
|-
!1981
!1990
!2000
!2010
!2018
!2019
|-
| East Asia and Pacific
|83.5%
|65.8%
|39.5%
|13.3%
|1.6%
|1.2%
|-
| Europe and Central Asia
|—
|—
|9.1%
|4.1%
|2.3%
|2.3%
|-
| Latin America and the Caribbean
|15.1%
|16.8%
|13.5%
|6.4%
|4.3%
|4.3%
|-
| Middle East and North Africa
|—
|6.5%
|3.5%
|1.9%
|9.6%
|—
|-
| South Asia
|58%
|49.8%
|—
|26%
|10.1%
|8.6%
|-
| Sub-Saharan Africa
|—
|53.8%
|56.5%
|42.2%
|35.4%
|34.9%
|-
! World
!43.6%
!37.9%
!29.3%
!16.3%
!9%
!8.5%
|}