Poverty

WHAT'S NEXT?: Due to a deteriorating global economic outlook, more than 130 out of 189 countries will experience reduced income growth, with the average global GDP growth rate falling from 4.1 percent to 3.1 percent between 2011 and 2030. Almost all of the countries with large numbers remaining in extreme poverty in 2030 will be in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.

• [New] After making significant gains in poverty reduction in the past few years, South Asia is projected to experience a resurgence in extreme poverty.
• [New] The impact on global poverty is expected to be severe, with the World Bank projecting 71 million additional people falling into extreme poverty.
• [New] The female poverty rate in South Asia will increase in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and more women than men in the 25-34 age group will be poorer in the next decade.
• On current trends, Africa remains off track to meet the target of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030.
• By 2030, drug-resistant diseases could force up to 24 million people into extreme poverty and cause catastrophic damage to the world economy.
• The world could see its first increase in extreme poverty in 22 years, further sharpening social inequities.
• Limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, compared with 2 °C, could reduce the number of people both exposed to climate - related risks and susceptible to poverty by up to several hundred million by 2050.
• COVID-19 poses a real challenge to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty by 2030.
• A 10% contraction in global GDP would push 170 million more people into extreme poverty and India will account for half the additional poor.
• In a scenario where consumption falls by a fifth, the number of people living in extreme poverty could increase in 2020 by between 420 million and 580 million.
• Some 50 million people risk falling into extreme poverty in 2020 owing to the pandemic.
• 6% of the global population would still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, missing the target of ending poverty.
• An estimated 71 million people are expected to be pushed back into extreme poverty in 2020, the first rise in global poverty since 1998, and by the year 2030, more than 100 million people would have relapsed into poverty.
• The UN remains committed to the existing timeline of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end global poverty in all its forms and to reduce inequality within every country by 2030.
• As many as 100 million people are expected to be pushed back into extreme poverty in 2020 - the first rise in global poverty since 1998.
• In Pakistan, poverty is expected to rise from 50 million to 125 million people, while in Lebanon poverty levels may reach 50% and extreme poverty double from 10 to 20% in 2020.
• The IMF is projecting an economic contraction in Latin America of 9.3% for 2020, the greatest on record, while the UN projects 10 million more people in poverty and 14 million more hungry in 2020.
• Global poverty can be brought down to about 3% of the world's population by 2030 if an average annual global economic growth rate of nearly 10% in GDP per capita is achieved, and if income inequality is reduced by half.
• As many as half a billion people could be pushed into poverty and three dozen countries could experience famines in 2020, pushing an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation.
• The World Bank has projected a significant rise to the number of people living below the poverty level - up to 52% by end of 2020.
• The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting recession are set to trigger the first increase in global poverty in three decades, pushing 265 million people to the point of starvation by the end of the year.
• An additional 10 million people in fragile and conflict-affected settings will be pushed into extreme poverty just in 2020, with large countries such as Nigeria and DRC particularly affected.
• The World Bank predicts the first rise in extreme poverty in two decades, with an additional 71-100 million people living on less than $1.90 per day.

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Last updated: 18 September 2020