Thursday, December 26, 2013

Over one fifth of the global population living in extreme poverty


A new study indicates that more than one in five people across the globe, more than half of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa, live on $1.25 a day or less.

These meagre earnings mark them as living under the World Bank's definition of 'extreme poverty'.

US-based research organisation Gallup studied data taken from 131 countries and also found that 34 per cent, roughly one in three, live on less than $2 a day.

The statistics show that Africa is by far the poorest continent. The 10 countries with the highest proportion of people living in extreme poverty are all in sub-Saharan Africa, each with at least two-thirds of the population living on $1.25 a day or less, rising to nearer 90 per cent in such countries as Burundi and Liberia.

In fact, a total of 54 per cent of residents across 27 sub-Saharan African countries are currently living in extreme poverty, which is the highest proportion among global regions worldwide by far. Keep reading

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