‘Wake-up call for the world’: Global poverty rises for first time since 2010

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has reported that the global poverty index has increased for the first time since its inception in 2010, affecting 1.2 billion people, according to a report released today. The UNDP and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative counted 51.5 million additional people in "acute" poverty compared to the previous year.

UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo called the rise in poverty a "wake-up call for the world," highlighting that the 1.2 billion individuals affected face overlapping hardships, including hunger, missed schooling, and a lack of access to clean water or electricity. Over half of those suffering from acute poverty are children.

A significant factor in the recorded increase was population growth, with new data available for only 13 of the 108 developing countries covered. Despite the overall rise in poverty, the report reveals a mixed picture. Thirty-three nations have halved the percentage of their population living in poverty over the past 15 years, including six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, China and Vietnam have made the most rapid progress among Asian countries.

Most of the poorest people continue to reside in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent, the world's most densely populated region. In Egypt, Nepal, and Tajikistan, both the poverty rate and the number of people experiencing multidimensional poverty have significantly decreased. In Angola and Zambia, the poverty rate has dropped, but population growth has more than offset this decline, leading to an increase in the number of people living in poverty.

The poverty index incorporates factors such as inadequate housing, sanitation, electricity, cooking fuel, food, and education.