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] In 2020, humanitarian partners in Somalia will aim to assist 3 million people with access to essential services, food and livelihood support.
• [New] Even if Africa were to halve extreme poverty from its current levels by 2030, that would be a significant achievement based on current projections.
• [New] The burden of poverty is not only expected to be concentrated in Africa, but the number of people living in poverty in Africa is also forecast to rise over the next 10 years.
• Under business - as - usual scenarios, many countries in Africa would not achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030.
• Infectious diseases are among a few key trends - along with climate change and debt in low-income countries - that could drive humanitarian needs in the coming years.
• Since 2015, the pace of poverty reduction has slowed down, with baseline projections suggesting that the target of ending poverty by 2030 will be missed.
• After the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in 2020 has been achieved, China will eliminate absolute poverty under current standards, but relative poverty will continue to exist for a long time.
• ADB will administer a $2 million cofinancing grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, which has supported projects in Mongolia in poverty alleviation, improving livelihoods, and safeguarding the environment over the past 20 years.
• Global Citizen works to build a movement of 100 million people who take actions like making pledges, signing peitions, and contacting elected officials - all for the vision of ending extreme poverty by 2030.
• Approximately 4.1 million people across Somalia will continue to face acute food insecurity through mid-2020, including 1.3 million people who need urgent humanitarian assistance.
• While a dynamic economy is projected to create around 7,500 millionaires over the next 10 years, Kenya currently features the eighth highest number of people living in extreme poverty in the world.
• Cutting extreme poverty to 14 per cent was a massive achievement, but with the global population expected to reach 8.5 billion in 2030, it leaves the prospect of 1.19 billion people living on less than $1.25 a day.
• The United Nations estimates that achieving its sustainable development goals for issues including poverty, clean water and gender equality by 2030 will require as much as $7 trillion a year, with an annual funding shortfall of $2.5 trillion in developing countries.
• While people in poverty are responsible for just a fraction of global emissions, they will bear the brunt of climate change and have the least capacity to protect themselves.
• Poverty is likely to endure in much of sub-Saharan Africa: Although absolute poverty will reduce, there are still likely to be substantial numbers of people who are very poor.
• The combined impact of the Desert Flower scenario drives a €416 billion (US$460 billion) cumulative increase in economic growth, and more than 29 million fewer people living in extreme poverty by 2040 in the G5..
• In next year, a record 168 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 53 countries from Afghanistan to Zambia.
• 100 million people are already at risk of being pushed into poverty by climate change by 2030; particularly in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia.
• Implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests by 2030 will reverse the loss of forests and increase them by 3% globally and will help eradicate extreme poverty for forest-dependent people.
• Throughout the year, UN and humanitarian partners have assisted about 900,000 people with food assistance and in 2020, the Humanitarian Response Plan seeks $365.6 million to assist nearly three million in urgent need.
• Poverty and vulnerability are especially pronounced in Northern and Eastern Uganda, which are home to the majority of people living in poverty.

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Last updated: 27 March 2020