Globally, the number of people living in extreme poverty declined from 36 per cent in 1990 to 10 per cent in 2015. But the pace of change is decelerating and the COVID-19 crisis risks reversing decades of progress in the fight against poverty. New research published by the UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research warns that the economic fallout from the global pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion people, or 8% of the total human population. This would be the first time that poverty has increased globally in thirty years, since 1990.
More than 700 million people, or 10 per cent of the world population, still live in extreme poverty today, struggling to fulfil the most basic needs like health, education, and access to water and sanitation, to name a few. The majority of people living on less than $1.90 a day live in sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, the poverty rate in rural areas is 17.2 per cent—more than three times higher than in urban areas.
For those who work, having a job does not guarantee a decent living. In fact, 8 per cent of employed workers and their families worldwide lived in extreme poverty in 2018. One out of five children live in extreme poverty. Ensuring social protection for all children and other vulnerable groups is critical to reduce poverty.
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Country or Area | ISO-alpha2 Code | ISO-alpha3 Code | Developed / Developing regions |
Algeria | DZ | DZA | Developing |
Egypt | EG | EGY | Developing |
Libya | LY | LBY | Developing |
Morocco | MA | MAR | Developing |
Sudan | SD | SDN | Developing |
Tunisia | TN | TUN | Developing |
Western Sahara | EH | ESH | Developing |
British Indian Ocean Territory | IO | IOT | Developing |
Burundi | BI | BDI | Developing |
Comoros | KM | COM | Developing |
Djibouti | DJ | DJI | Developing |
Eritrea | ER | ERI | Developing |
Ethiopia | ET | ETH | Developing |
French Southern Territories | TF | ATF | Developing |
Kenya | KE | KEN | Developing |
Madagascar | MG | MDG | Developing |
Malawi | MW | MWI | Developing |
Mauritius | MU | MUS | Developing |
Mayotte | YT | MYT | Developing |
Mozambique | MZ | MOZ | Developing |
Réunion | RE | REU | Developing |
Rwanda | RW | RWA | Developing |
Seychelles | SC | SYC | Developing |
Somalia | SO | SOM | Developing |
South Sudan | SS | SSD | Developing |
Uganda | UG | UGA | Developing |
United Republic of Tanzania | TZ | TZA | Developing |
Zambia | ZM | ZMB | Developing |
Zimbabwe | ZW | ZWE | Developing |
Angola | AO | AGO | Developing |
Cameroon | CM | CMR | Developing |
Central African Republic | CF | CAF | Developing |
Chad | TD | TCD | Developing |
Congo | CG | COG | Developing |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | CD | COD | Developing |
Equatorial Guinea | GQ | GNQ | Developing |
Gabon | GA | GAB | Developing |
Sao Tome and Principe | ST | STP | Developing |
Botswana | BW | BWA | Developing |
Eswatini | SZ | SWZ | Developing |
Lesotho | LS | LSO | Developing |
Namibia | NA | NAM | Developing |
South Africa | ZA | ZAF | Developing |
Benin | BJ | BEN | Developing |
Burkina Faso | BF | BFA | Developing |
Cabo Verde | CV | CPV | Developing |
Côte d’Ivoire | CI | CIV | Developing |
Gambia | GM | GMB | Developing |
Ghana | GH | GHA | Developing |
Guinea | GN | GIN | Developing |
Guinea-Bissau | GW | GNB | Developing |
Liberia | LR | LBR | Developing |
Mali | ML | MLI | Developing |
Mauritania | MR | MRT | Developing |
Niger | NE | NER | Developing |
Nigeria | NG | NGA | Developing |
Saint Helena | SH | SHN | Developing |
Senegal | SN | SEN | Developing |
Sierra Leone | SL | SLE | Developing |
Togo | TG | TGO | Developing |
Anguilla | AI | AIA | Developing |
Antigua and Barbuda | AG | ATG | Developing |
Aruba | AW | ABW | Developing |
Bahamas | BS | BHS | Developing |
Barbados | BB | BRB | Developing |
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | BQ | BES | Developing |
British Virgin Islands | VG | VGB | Developing |
Cayman Islands | KY | CYM | Developing |
Cuba | CU | CUB | Developing |
Curaçao | CW | CUW | Developing |
Dominica | DM | DMA | Developing |
Dominican Republic | DO | DOM | Developing |
Grenada | GD | GRD | Developing |
Guadeloupe | GP | GLP | Developing |
Haiti | HT | HTI | Developing |
Jamaica | JM | JAM | Developing |
Martinique | MQ | MTQ | Developing |
Montserrat | MS | MSR | Developing |
Puerto Rico | PR | PRI | Developing |
Saint Barthélemy | BL | BLM | Developing |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | KN | KNA | Developing |
Saint Lucia | LC | LCA | Developing |
Saint Martin (French Part) | MF | MAF | Developing |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | VC | VCT | Developing |
Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | SX | SXM | Developing |
Trinidad and Tobago | TT | TTO | Developing |
Turks and Caicos Islands | TC | TCA | Developing |
United States Virgin Islands | VI | VIR | Developing |
Belize | BZ | BLZ | Developing |
Costa Rica | CR | CRI | Developing |
El Salvador | SV | SLV | Developing |
Guatemala | GT | GTM | Developing |
Honduras | HN | HND | Developing |
Mexico | MX | MEX | Developing |
Nicaragua | NI | NIC | Developing |
Panama | PA | PAN | Developing |
Argentina | AR | ARG | Developing |
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | BO | BOL | Developing |
Bouvet Island | BV | BVT | Developing |
Brazil | BR | BRA | Developing |
Chile | CL | CHL | Developing |
Colombia | CO | COL | Developing |
Ecuador | EC | ECU | Developing |
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | FK | FLK | Developing |
French Guiana | GF | GUF | Developing |
Guyana | GY | GUY | Developing |
Paraguay | PY | PRY | Developing |
Peru | PE | PER | Developing |
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | GS | SGS | Developing |
Suriname | SR | SUR | Developing |
Uruguay | UY | URY | Developing |
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | VE | VEN | Developing |
Kazakhstan | KZ | KAZ | Developing |
Kyrgyzstan | KG | KGZ | Developing |
Tajikistan | TJ | TJK | Developing |
Turkmenistan | TM | TKM | Developing |
Uzbekistan | UZ | UZB | Developing |
China | CN | CHN | Developing |
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | HK | HKG | Developing |
China, Macao Special Administrative Region | MO | MAC | Developing |
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | KP | PRK | Developing |
Mongolia | MN | MNG | Developing |
Brunei Darussalam | BN | BRN | Developing |
Cambodia | KH | KHM | Developing |
Indonesia | ID | IDN | Developing |
Lao People’s Democratic Republic | LA | LAO | Developing |
Malaysia | MY | MYS | Developing |
Myanmar | MM | MMR | Developing |
Philippines | PH | PHL | Developing |
Singapore | SG | SGP | Developing |
Thailand | TH | THA | Developing |
Timor-Leste | TL | TLS | Developing |
Viet Nam | VN | VNM | Developing |
Afghanistan | AF | AFG | Developing |
Bangladesh | BD | BGD | Developing |
Bhutan | BT | BTN | Developing |
India | IN | IND | Developing |
Iran (Islamic Republic of) | IR | IRN | Developing |
Maldives | MV | MDV | Developing |
Nepal | NP | NPL | Developing |
Pakistan | PK | PAK | Developing |
Sri Lanka | LK | LKA | Developing |
Armenia | AM | ARM | Developing |
Azerbaijan | AZ | AZE | Developing |
Bahrain | BH | BHR | Developing |
Georgia | GE | GEO | Developing |
Iraq | IQ | IRQ | Developing |
Jordan | JO | JOR | Developing |
Kuwait | KW | KWT | Developing |
Lebanon | LB | LBN | Developing |
Oman | OM | OMN | Developing |
Qatar | QA | QAT | Developing |
Saudi Arabia | SA | SAU | Developing |
State of Palestine | PS | PSE | Developing |
Syrian Arab Republic | SY | SYR | Developing |
Turkey | TR | TUR | Developing |
United Arab Emirates | AE | ARE | Developing |
Yemen | YE | YEM | Developing |
Fiji | FJ | FJI | Developing |
New Caledonia | NC | NCL | Developing |
Papua New Guinea | PG | PNG | Developing |
Solomon Islands | SB | SLB | Developing |
Vanuatu | VU | VUT | Developing |
Guam | GU | GUM | Developing |
Kiribati | KI | KIR | Developing |
Marshall Islands | MH | MHL | Developing |
Micronesia (Federated States of) | FM | FSM | Developing |
Nauru | NR | NRU | Developing |
Northern Mariana Islands | MP | MNP | Developing |
Palau | PW | PLW | Developing |
United States Minor Outlying Islands | UM | UMI | Developing |
American Samoa | AS | ASM | Developing |
Cook Islands | CK | COK | Developing |
French Polynesia | PF | PYF | Developing |
Niue | NU | NIU | Developing |
Pitcairn | PN | PCN | Developing |
Samoa | WS | WSM | Developing |
Tokelau | TK | TKL | Developing |
Tonga | TO | TON | Developing |
Tuvalu | TV | TUV | Developing |
Wallis and Futuna Islands | WF | WLF | Developing |
New membership are not allowed.