HOME > AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL > Article
UN report says 1.1 billion people in acute poverty
More than one billion people are living in acute poverty across the globe, a UN Development Program report said Thursday, with children accounting for over half of those affected.
The paper published with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) highlighted that poverty rates were three times higher in countries at war, as 2023 saw the most conflicts around the world since the Second World War.
The UNDP and the OPHI have published their Multidimensional Poverty Index annually since 2010, harvesting data from 112 countries with a combined population of 6.3 billion people.
It uses indicators such as a lack of adequate housing, sanitation, electricity, cooking fuel, nutrition and school attendance.
The 2024 MPI paints a sobering picture: 1.1 billion people endure multidimensional poverty, of which 455 million live in the shadow of conflict, said Yanchun Zhang, chief statistician at the UNDP.
For the poor in conflict-affected countries, the struggle for basic needs is a far harsher and more desperate battle, Zhang told AFP.
The report echoed last year's findings that 1.1 billion out of 6.1 billion people across 110 countries were facing extreme multidimensional poverty.
Thursday's paper showed that some 584 million people under 18 were experiencing extreme poverty, accounting for 27.9 percent of children worldwide, compared with 13.5 percent of adults.
It also showed that 83.2 percent of the world's poorest people live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Sabina Alkire, director of the OPHI, told AFP that conflicts were hindering efforts for poverty reduction.
At some level, these findings are intuitive. But what shocked us was the sheer magnitude of people who are struggling to live a decent life and at the same time fearing for their safety ?- 455 million, she said.
This points to a stark but unavoidable challenge to the international community to both zero in on poverty reduction and foster peace, so that any ensuing peace actually endures, Alkire added.
India was the country with the largest number of people in extreme poverty, which impacts 234 million of its 1.4 billion population.
It was followed by Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The five countries accounted for nearly half of the 1.1 billion poor people.
(2024/10/17 16:59)
Click Here for Japanese TranslationAFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL
- 10/17 17:04 'Nowhere is safe'-- Lebanon Christian villiage reels from Israel strike
- 10/17 17:01 Bondi beach 'closed' as Sydney shores hit by 'tar balls'
- 10/17 16:59 UN report says 1.1 billion people in acute poverty
- 10/17 16:57 Three US presidents join Kennedy clan at Ethel Kennedy funeral
- 10/17 16:55 South Korea's Hwang Ui-jo faces four years in jail for sex video
- 10/17 16:54 Israeli minister criticises Macron over France defence show ban
- 10/16 17:22 Portrait by humanoid robot to sell at auction in art world first
- 10/16 17:16 'Mysterious black balls' close Sydney beaches
- 10/16 16:32 North Korea claims more than a million people joined army this week
- 10/16 16:31 Harris mocks Trump after rally turns into bizarre dance-a-thon
- 10/16 16:30 Kylian Mbappe 'shocked' to see name linked to Swedish rape investigation
- 10/16 16:29 Russia working to undermine Moldova vote-- US
- 10/15 19:26 Biden's back (not) and Kamala sips a brewsky
- 10/15 19:24 K-pop star tells South Korea lawmakers of workplace bullying
- 10/15 17:35 Mbappe 'investigated for rape' in Sweden-- report
- 10/15 17:28 US, Philippines launch war games a day after China's Taiwan drills
- 10/15 17:24 Trump says could support using US military against Americans
- 10/15 17:23 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic
- 10/11 17:33 Harry's Bar in Paris drinks to US straw-poll centenary
- 10/11 17:27 MLB Twins up for sale after 40 years
- 10/11 15:26 Erdogan says Gaza 'shame of humanity', calls for permanent ceasfire
- 10/11 15:16 A very stiff breeze-- BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- 10/11 15:15 Federer lauds retiring Nadal's 'incredible achievements'
- 10/11 15:13 UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- 10/10 18:12 As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- 10/10 18:09 Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970-- WWF
- 10/10 18:07 McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- 10/10 18:05 Biden slams Trump for 'onslaught of lies' over hurricanes
- 10/10 16:55 Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales
- 10/10 16:53 Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool-- state agency
- 10/09 21:59 Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- 10/09 21:53 Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- 10/09 21:45 Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- 10/09 17:03 Syria says seven civilians killed in Israel Damascus strike
- 10/09 17:00 Osama bin Laden's son Omar banned from returning to France
- 10/08 20:26 Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- 10/08 18:23 Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- 10/08 18:21 Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- 10/08 18:08 Harris-- 'Of course' I've fired my Glock
- 10/08 18:06 Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- 10/08 17:02 Trump-- immigrants bringing 'bad genes' into US