16.10.2020
COVID-19 Pandemic Pushes Up to 150 Million More People Into Extreme Poverty
The World Bank has warned up to 150 million people are set to fall into extreme poverty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the new extreme poor will be in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The pandemic has halted years of progress against global extreme poverty and is expected to rise this year for the first time in over two decades. Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than $1.90 (£1.50) a day. Before the pandemic struck, the extreme poverty rate was expected to drop to 7.9% in 2020. But now it is likely to affect between 9.1% and 9.4% of the world's population this year. The report found that many of the new extreme poor are in countries that have high poverty rates already, but around 82% of these are in middle-income countries, where the poverty line is defined as income of $3.20 a day for low-middle-income countries and $5.50 a day for upper-middle-income countries. The COVID-19 crisis could now reduce income for the poorest 40%, increasing income inequality and reducing social mobility, the bank said. Credit: World Bank
"1 in 10 people on earth with less than USD 1.90 a day"
"1 in 10 people on earth with less than USD 3.20 a day"
"2 in 10 people on earth with less than USD 5.50 a day"
"1 in 10 people on earth with less than USD 1.90 a day"
"1 in 10 people on earth with less than USD 3.20 a day"
"2 in 10 people on earth with less than USD 5.50 a day"
Poverty deprives people of adequate education, health care and of life's most basic necessities- safe living conditions (including clean air and clean drinking water) and an adequate food supply. The developed (industrialized) countries today account for roughly 20 percent of the world's population but control about 80 percent of the world's wealth.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
