Question

brief description of the global poverty trends ?

Answer 1

 The percentage of people living below poverty line has fallen from 28% in 1991 to 21% in 2001; in the developing countries. 
Poverty declined substantially in China and some South Asian countries because of rapid economic development. On the other hand, reduction was not as sharp in countries; like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc. 
In Sub Saharan Africa, poverty increased from 41% in 1981 to 48% in 2001. The poverty level has remained the same in Latin America. Poverty has resurfaced in Russia and some of the former communist countries.

Answer 2

The increased prevalence of poverty in middle-income countries is in many ways a trend of success. Over the past decade, the number of countries classified as low-income has fallen by two fifths, from 66 to 40, while the number of middle-income countries has ballooned to over 100. This means 26 poor countries have grown sufficiently rich to surpass the middle-income threshold. Among those countries that have recently made the leap into middle-income status are a group of countries - India, Nigeria and Pakistan - containing large populations of poor people. It is their “graduation” which has brought about the apparent shift in poverty from the low-income to middle-income country category.