Question

Describe global poverty trends?

Answer 1

1)  The proportion of people in developing countries living in extreme economic poverty are defined by the World Bank as living on less than $1.25 per day and this estimate has fallen from 43% in 1990 to 22% in 2008.

2)  Though there has been a reduction in poverty level globally, it is marked with regional differences

3)  Poverty declined in China and South East Asian countries due to rapid economic growth, massive investments in human resources development etc

4)  Number of poor in China has come down from 85% in 1981 to 14% in 2008. In countries of South Asia like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka etc, the decline has not been so rapid as that in China and it has shown very marginal percentage of poor, i.e., from 61% in 1981 to 36% in 2008

5)  This is because defining poverty line is not clear in India and hence, it is higher when compared to national poverty estimates

6)  In Latin America, the ratio of poverty remained the same, i.e., it has declined from 11% in 1981 to 6.4% in 2008

Answer 2

We are living through a period of rapid global poverty reduction. ... While the overall prevalence of poverty is in retreat, the global poverty landscape is changing. This transformation is captured by two distinct trends: poor people are increasingly found in middle-income countries and in fragile states