The development of global poverty and areas for improvement

Global rates of extreme poverty have declined since 1990, but nearly 700 million people are still affected. The biggest problem child remains Africa.

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A can of beer, a pack of gum or a bar of chocolate – you can’t buy much for around two francs in Switzerland. Taking the bus usually costs more, and Zweifränkler is not enough to buy snacks at the kiosks.

Why these examples? It’s about measuring poverty. This is tricky because everyone’s experience is different. Hunger, sickness, or fear are difficult to measure. This is why there are internationally recognized standards to help determine what poverty is and who is considered poor.

According to the World Bank's definition, people live in absolute poverty if their income is less than US$2.15 per day. This method converts U.S. dollar purchasing power into local purchasing power. This means that people in extreme poverty cannot buy goods that cost $2.15 in the United States or about 2 francs in Switzerland every day.

The $2.15 limit is considered the minimum financial limit a person needs to survive. By converting this into local purchasing power, poverty rates can be compared internationally and the poorest countries in the world can be identified.

Since the World Bank began collecting global poverty data in 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty has dropped significantly. Thirty-four years ago, approximately 2 billion people lived in extreme poverty; in 2019, this number reached 648 million. The coronavirus pandemic in 2020 caused setbacks. The number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide has increased by approximately 70 million.

Things are looking better now. By 2024, 692 million people are expected to live in absolute poverty. Pre-pandemic levels have been reached again, but extreme poverty still affects 8.4% to 8.5% of the world's population.

Africa still has big problem children

However, not all regions of the world have benefited equally from the sharp decline in poverty rates. Development is more likely to follow the motto: where there is something, there must be something. In high- and middle-income countries, poverty has decreased due to extensive social assistance programs, while in low-income countries it has even increased in some cases.

India and China have achieved great success in recent years. Since 1990, more than 500 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty in the Middle Kingdom alone, thanks to market liberalization and sustained economic growth. But all that glitters is not gold: on the one hand, it is still unclear how reliable China’s data is, and on the other hand, many Chinese people now have three or four yuan on hand every day, which is barely enough. Survive.

However, the situation remains the same in Africa: between 1990 and 2019, extreme poverty rates in the second-largest continent fell from 50% to 23%. But due to population growth, the absolute number of poor people in Africa is still higher than in 1990. Rankings of the world's poorest countries show that the situation is particularly bad in sub-Saharan countries.

Tailor-made solutions

The reasons are diverse: In many sub-Saharan African countries, agriculture accounts for a large portion of economic income. At the same time, extreme natural disasters such as hurricanes and droughts increasingly threaten this. In addition, the political situation in many places is extremely unstable. If a country can achieve economic growth with sufficient stability, it will often only benefit a few privileged groups.

Consequences: Many people are unable to provide enough food for themselves, with children being the main victims. In Madagascar, for example, almost one in two children is malnourished. Additionally, access to clean water, sanitation and education is often limited. Although many promising development aid projects have emerged in recent years, only a handful have achieved truly sustainable development.

According to the World Bank, extreme poverty rates will continue to decline in the coming years. However, the stated goal of completely ignoring them by 2030 cannot be achieved. If current trends continue, more than 600 million people will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030.

So what areas need improvement? Unfortunately, it's impossible to get a comprehensive answer to this question. Different regions and countries need to develop tailor-made solutions to tackle global poverty, UN experts say. The protection and guarantee of all human rights, effective healthcare, an efficient economy, fair trade, a stable political situation and a strong civil society are essential.

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