Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
Poverty - statistics & facts
Over the past decades, poverty reduction around the world has been remarkable. This is especially down to the reduction of poverty in East Asia, where the economic growth of China has contributed to lifting millions out of poverty. Despite these positive developments, there are still an estimated 711 million people living on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars a day. In some countries, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, millions do not have enough income to feed their families.
Furthermore, measuring the share of people living below the poverty line has some limitations as it does not take the sheer depth of poverty into account. Hence, if the 79 percent of the population in the Democratic Republic of Congo currently living on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars a day becomes even poorer, the share will remain the same. Here, the poverty gap comes into account. It measures how far below the poverty line the average poor person in a country is, thus taking the depth of poverty into account.
Defining Poverty
Poverty refers to the lack of money or material possessions needed to meet basic needs and/or an adequate living standard. The definition of poverty varies over time; whereas up until recently, the global poverty line was set at 1.90 U.S. dollars a day in terms of Purchasing Power Parities, it reached 2.15 U.S. dollars in September 2022 due to rising inflation. Moreover, the national poverty levels vary greatly. For instance, a person residing in the United States needs a far higher level of income to afford a certain standard of living than a person living in Nigeria.Furthermore, measuring the share of people living below the poverty line has some limitations as it does not take the sheer depth of poverty into account. Hence, if the 79 percent of the population in the Democratic Republic of Congo currently living on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars a day becomes even poorer, the share will remain the same. Here, the poverty gap comes into account. It measures how far below the poverty line the average poor person in a country is, thus taking the depth of poverty into account.
Dimensions of poverty
Poverty is usually divided into absolute and relative poverty. The first concerns basic human needs such as food, water, sanitation, and shelter. Relative poverty, on the other hand, relates to whether a person can afford a certain standard of living and participate in social life. The many different dimensions of poverty are interrelated. For instance, poor sanitary conditions and no access to clean drinking water can impact the nutrition of a person and, in the worst cases, even result in mortality. Moreover, a lack of access to electricity, a lack of access to education, and a lack of access to certain assets and social life are all different dimensions of poverty. Researchers have found that to fight global poverty effectively, the many dimensions of the phenomenon must be addressed simultaneously.Poverty and wealth inequalities
Finally, poverty is interrelated with wealth inequalities. In 2022 more than 40 percent of the world’s collected net personal wealth belonged to the richest one percent. Moreover, among the 20 most unequal countries in the world, more than one-third were also among the 20 poorest.
