How has the profile of extreme poverty changed over the last decade? Five key facts – World Bank Blogs

Global Poverty Trends and Progress Towards Sustainable Development Goal 1

Introduction: The Role of Data in Monitoring SDG 1 (No Poverty)

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1), which aims to end poverty in all its forms everywhere, requires precise and comprehensive data. An understanding of the characteristics of the over 830 million people living in extreme poverty is essential for designing effective policies aligned with SDG targets. The World Bank’s Global Monitoring Database (GMD) serves as a critical tool in this endeavor, supporting the monitoring of progress towards SDG 1.

• The GMD is the world’s largest compilation of harmonized household survey data, covering over 150 countries and representing 97% of the population in low- and middle-income economies.
• It provides the primary data for global poverty estimates, which are crucial for tracking progress on SDG Target 1.1 (eradicate extreme poverty).
• This data is fundamental for the biennial Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report, which assesses global progress on key development goals, including the SDGs.
• This commitment to data collection and analysis directly supports SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), particularly Target 17.18, which calls for enhancing the availability of high-quality, timely, and reliable data.

Key Finding: Geographic Concentration of Extreme Poverty and Implications for SDG 1

Recent analysis of GMD data reveals a significant shift in the geographic profile of extreme poverty over the last decade, with profound implications for achieving SDG 1. While global poverty has declined, it has become increasingly concentrated in low-income countries, presenting a major challenge to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

1. Shift in Poverty Concentration: The share of the global population living in extreme poverty that resides in low-income countries has nearly doubled, increasing from 23% in 2013 to 44% in 2023.
2. Contrasting Trends: A decade ago, the majority of the world’s extreme poor lived in lower-middle-income economies. These economies have been the primary drivers of global progress in poverty reduction.
3. Current Challenge for SDG 1: Today, poverty is increasingly entrenched in the world’s poorest nations. While the share of the global population in low-income countries only grew from 8% to 9% over the decade, their share of the extreme poor saw a dramatic increase. This highlights a critical challenge for the global community in its pursuit of leaving no one behind and achieving SDG 1.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • Explanation: The article’s primary focus is on “extreme poverty,” directly addressing the core mission of SDG 1. It opens by stating, “There are over 830 million people around the world living in extreme poverty today,” and proceeds to analyze the characteristics and geographical distribution of this population. The entire discussion revolves around understanding and measuring poverty to create “more effective policies,” which is central to SDG 1.

2. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Explanation: The article heavily emphasizes the importance of data for addressing poverty. It highlights the World Bank’s “Global Monitoring Database (GMD)” as the “largest compilation of harmonized household survey data in the world.” This focus on data collection, harmonization, and its use for policy-making directly connects to SDG 17, which includes targets for enhancing statistical capacity and data availability for monitoring development progress. The article states, “To gain those insights, we need key data,” underscoring the role of data systems in achieving other goals.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 1.1: By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere.

   • Explanation: This target is the central theme of the article. The text explicitly discusses the global status of “extreme poverty,” mentioning the “830 million people” affected. The analysis of where the “extreme poor” live and how this “geographic profile” has changed over the last decade is a direct examination of the progress and challenges related to achieving this target.

2. Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.

   • Explanation: While the article focuses on extreme poverty (Target 1.1), its analysis of poverty’s concentration and the call to “design more effective policies” based on a “deeper understanding of the characteristics of people and households” applies to reducing poverty in all its forms. The shift in poverty concentration to “low-income economies” is a critical insight for policies aimed at achieving Target 1.2.

3. Target 17.18: By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries… to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by… income, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts.

   • Explanation: The article showcases the result of achieving this target through its description of the Global Monitoring Database (GMD). The GMD is presented as a tool that provides “harmonized household survey data” covering “more than 150 countries” and allows for the disaggregation of poverty data by geographic location (income group classification). The article’s entire analysis, such as the fact that the share of the extreme poor in low-income countries “nearly doubled—from 23% to 44%,” is made possible by the type of data capacity this target aims to build.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Indicator 1.1.1: Proportion of the population living below the international poverty line, by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural).

   • Explanation: The article provides several data points that fall under this indicator. It gives the absolute number of people in extreme poverty (“over 830 million”) and, crucially, provides data disaggregated by geographical location and income classification. The key finding that the “share of the extreme poor” in low-income countries rose from “23% to 44%” is a direct measurement related to this indicator, showing a change in the proportion of the population in poverty based on their geographic location.

2. Indicator 17.18.1: Statistical capacity indicator for Sustainable Development Goal monitoring.

   • Explanation: The article implicitly refers to this indicator by describing the GMD as the “backbone of the World Bank’s poverty measurement work.” The database’s scope (“more than 150 countries,” “97% of the population in low- and middle-income economies”) and its function as the “largest compilation of harmonized household survey data” are qualitative measures of the statistical capacity available to monitor poverty (SDG 1). The existence and use of such a comprehensive database demonstrate a high level of statistical capacity for monitoring development goals.

4. SDGs, Targets and Indicators Table

Source: blogs.worldbank.org