Global poverty: Facts, FAQs, and how to help – World Vision
As of February 2023, over 649,000 internally displaced people were living in displacement camps in Baidoa, Somalia, having fled ongoing armed conflict and drought at home. Conflict and extreme weather events such as drought exacerbate poverty by driving displacement, disrupting livelihoods, and impacting food access. In response to the escalating food insecurity in Somalia, World Vision and its partners have delivered vital aid, including monthly food vouchers and cash assistance. (© 2023 World Vision/photo by Jon Warren)
Poverty is one of the most urgent challenges of our time. According to the World Bank, 712 million people (nearly 9% of the world’s population) live in extreme poverty, defined as surviving on less than $2.15 per day. While progress has been made in reducing poverty levels in certain regions, the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts, and extreme weather events have caused major setbacks, and the world is not on track to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating poverty in all its forms by 2030.
Despite these challenges, World Vision believes that we can still make meaningful progress toward ending extreme poverty on a global scale, even in unstable and hard-to-reach places. To that end, we partner with communities around the world to identify and target root causes and implement sustainable solutions.
Our work is motivated by the conviction that God desires all people to experience life in all its fullness (John 10:10). Ultimately, we believe that poverty is both physical and spiritual. It’s rooted in broken relationships with God, self, others, and the rest of creation. The cycle of poverty ends when these relationships are restored.
Learn what the Bible says about poverty.
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Poverty is a condition of deprivation characterized by a lack of access to essential resources and basic necessities required for a healthy and dignified life.
Historically, poverty has been defined based on a person’s income and how much they can buy (monetary poverty). However, poverty can also be assessed using multidimensional measures that consider holistic factors impacting people’s quality of life.
Improper nutrition resulting from poverty can cause stunting and wasting, permanently impacting children’s development. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation in impoverished regions can lead to the spread of preventable diseases and unnecessary deaths, especially among children. And children living in poverty often face obstacles to accessing quality education, which can perpetuate the cycle of poverty from one generation to the next.
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Extreme poverty is the most severe form of poverty, involving the acute deprivation of basic human needs. The World Bank classifies anyone living on less than $2.15 a day as living in extreme poverty.
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Multidimensional poverty refers to a broader understanding of poverty that goes beyond income. It takes into account various factors such as access to education, healthcare, clean water, and sanitation.
The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, developed in 2010 by the U.N. Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, offers a comprehensive framework for assessing poverty. This index evaluates people across 10 key indicators, including nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, and assets. If a person lacks access to three or more of these standards, they’re identified as multidimensionally poor. The index offers insights into specific interventions needed to address poverty effectively in each country.
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Poverty is measured by each country’s government, which gathers data through household surveys of their population. While entities like the World Bank may provide support and conduct their own surveys, the primary responsibility lies with each country. However, traditional data collection methods can be slow and time-consuming. To overcome this, high-frequency surveys are using estimates and mobile phone technology to quickly gather data and provide insights.
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A poverty line, also called a poverty threshold, is a set amount of income below which it becomes difficult, if not impossible, for people to afford essentials like food and shelter. Each country determines its poverty line by calculating the cost of meeting minimum needs. Households with incomes below this line are considered to be living in poverty.
The international poverty line serves as a standard for measuring extreme global poverty and was recently adjusted to $2.15 a day to reflect the rising cost of necessities and adjust for inflation. Since 1990, it has increased from $1 to $2.15, reflecting the rising cost of living.
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A poverty line, also called a poverty threshold, is a set amount of income below which it becomes difficult, if not impossible, for people to afford essentials like food and shelter. Each country determines its poverty line by calculating the cost of meeting minimum needs. Households with incomes below this line are considered to be living in poverty.
The international poverty line serves as a standard for measuring extreme global poverty and was recently adjusted to $2.15 a day to reflect the rising cost of necessities and adjust for inflation. Since 1990, it has increased from $1 to $2.15, reflecting the rising cost of living.
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No, countries calculate their poverty lines based on their unique economic and social circumstances.
For example, the poverty line in the United States is determined based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and is updated using the Consumer Price Index to reflect recent price changes. As of 2024, the poverty line stands at $31,200 (annual income) for a family of four, and $15,060 for one person.
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Poverty has multiple root causes beyond just a lack of basic necessities like food, shelter, education, or healthcare. Discrimination based on gender or ethnicity, poor governance, conflict, exploitation, and domestic violence are all factors that contribute. These inequities trap people and communities in poverty, and limit access to social services that could help people overcome it.
Poverty tends to be most entrenched in fragile contexts, which are regions or entire countries where political instability, past or present conflicts, corrupt leaders, and poor infrastructure limit access to the basic resources people need to thrive.
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Poverty can be difficult to escape because it is cyclical. Without access to essentials like clean water, healthcare, education, and financial resources, people living in poverty have few opportunities to change their circumstances, creating a cycle that persists for generations.
When families lack the means to send their children to school, those children struggle to earn an income as adults — and therefore can have a hard time sending their own kids to school. In communities lacking access to clean water, women and girls are often forced to spend many hours each day gathering water, leaving little time for school or a livelihood, limiting their prospects for the future. In communities without nearby medical facilities, families lose income when parents take time off work due to their own illness or to care for sick loved ones. Each aspect of poverty can impact the others, perpetuating the cycle indefinitely.
Natural disasters and conflict can exacerbate this cycle, putting vulnerable communities at greater risk. When these crises strike in areas without strong public institutions, families may lack the resources to recover, thus further entrenching them in poverty.
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Read more about a Haitian doctor’s investment in his community and the role World Vision sponsorship played.
To break the cycle of poverty, we need to tackle its root causes, including economic inequality; lack of access to education, healthcare, and infrastructure; and discrimination. Identifying what’s causing poverty in a particular community can equip people to determine what needs to change. Because it looks different in various places and is caused by different factors, the work to eradicate extreme poverty varies depending on the context.
When World Vision begins working in a community, our expert local staff partner with leaders and other members of the community to understand and help identify its unique needs and work together to develop sustainable solutions that address poverty’s root causes. This work is largely made possible through child sponsorship, which gives donors the opportunity to come alongside vulnerable children and their families, equipping them with pathways to education, access to healthcare, and other essentials. We also work with communities to build resilience and implement effective strategies for coping with economic shocks, climate crises, and other factors that drive poverty in the world’s toughest places.
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Read how pigs are helping transform a family’s future in Guatemala.
The COVID-19 pandemic represented a critical challenge to the goal of eliminating global poverty, pushing nearly 70 million more people into extreme poverty — the largest one-year increase since global poverty monitoring began in 1990, according to the World Bank. Since then, rising costs, new and ongoing conflicts, and climate shocks have all hindered progress in reducing extreme poverty. As of the end of 2020, about 719 million people (9.2% of the global population) were living in extreme poverty. If current patterns persist, the U.N. has warned, “an estimated 7% of the global population — around 575 million people — could still find themselves trapped in extreme poverty by 2030, with a significant concentration in sub-Saharan Africa.”
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World Vision works toward ending extreme poverty by addressing its root causes and implementing sustainable solutions. Recognizing the complex nature of poverty, we take a holistic approach, focusing on several key areas such as access to nutritious food, clean water, healthcare, quality education, economic empowerment, gender equality, disability inclusion, spiritual nurture, disaster relief, and child protection.
World Vision’s integrated community development model allows us to address the root causes of poverty and empower communities to create meaningful change. As a child-focused organization, we understand that children play a crucial role in their own futures, so we work to equip them, their families, and their communities with the tools they need to address poverty’s underlying causes and create lasting change.
As one of the world’s largest Christian humanitarian organizations, World Vision works closely with communities and partners to identify unique solutions for each context. We have nearly 75 years of experience and staff in nearly 100 countries. Most of our staff work in the regions where they’re from, contributing valuable local knowledge and helping to build trusting, long-term relationships.
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Beth Gallick and Sevil Omer of World Vision’s U.S. staff contributed to this article.
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