The COVID-19 pandemic pushed an additional 93 million people into extreme poverty in 2020. By 2022, children represented 58 percent of all people living in extreme poverty.
Key Takeaways
- Based on World Bank estimates, about 93 million more people entered extreme poverty in 2020 than would have been expected without COVID-19
- The World Bank estimated that in 2022 extreme poverty rates were 8.9%
- The global poverty gap (the depth of poverty) for those below $2.15/day was estimated at 1.5 percentage points of consumption in 2019
- In 2019, South Asia accounted for 26% of the world’s extreme poor (under $2.15/day)
- In 2022, 58% of people living in extreme poverty were children under 18 (global estimate from UNICEF/World Bank sources)
- In 2021, 24.2% of the population in Yemen was living below $6.85/day (2017 PPP), indicating severe poverty levels
- 147 million people were projected to face acute hunger in 2022 (IPC/CH phases 3–5), which is strongly associated with poverty and deprivation
- Globally, 659 million people lacked access to electricity in 2022
- Globally, 2.3 billion people still cooked with traditional fuels in 2021
- The OECD reported that ODA reached 0.37% of donors’ gross national income in 2023
- In FY2024, the World Bank Group approved $64.0 billion in financing (policy, development and poverty-related operations including social protection)
- UNICEF reported that 2.1 billion children lacked adequate social protection in 2021 (global estimate)
- The Global Partnership for Education reported that $1.0 billion financed education programs in 2022 to improve learning and reduce dropout, an indirect anti-poverty impact
- A systematic review reported that conditional cash transfers improved child health outcomes with effect sizes typically ranging from small to moderate compared with controls
- A WHO systematic review reported that insecticide-treated bed nets reduced child mortality by about 20% in malaria-endemic settings
COVID deepened extreme poverty, leaving 585 million projected to remain under $2.15 a day by 2030.
Related reading
01 · Category
Poverty Trends4 stats
01
Based on World Bank estimates, about 93 million more people entered extreme poverty in 2020 than would have been expected without COVID-19
02
The World Bank estimated that in 2022 extreme poverty rates were 8.9%
03
The global poverty gap (the depth of poverty) for those below $2.15/day was estimated at 1.5 percentage points of consumption in 2019
04
The World Bank projected that by 2030, 585 million people could still be living in extreme poverty (under $2.15/day)
Interpretation
Poverty Trends Interpretation
Under the Poverty Trends lens, the World Bank estimates that 93 million more people fell into extreme poverty in 2020 than expected because of COVID 19, and even with progress an estimated 585 million people could still be living under $2.15 a day by 2030.
02 · Category
Geography & Groups9 stats
01
In 2019, South Asia accounted for 26% of the world’s extreme poor (under $2.15/day)
02
In 2022, 58% of people living in extreme poverty were children under 18 (global estimate from UNICEF/World Bank sources)
03
In 2021, 24.2% of the population in Yemen was living below $6.85/day (2017 PPP), indicating severe poverty levels
04
In 2021, 18.7% of the population in Madagascar lived below $3.65/day (2017 PPP)
05
In 2021, 16.9% of the population in Haiti lived below $3.65/day (2017 PPP)
06
In 2021, 7.6% of the population in Nigeria lived below $3.65/day (2017 PPP)
07
In 2021, 20.8% of the population in Pakistan lived below $6.85/day (2017 PPP)
08
In 2021, 5.4% of the population in Brazil lived below $6.85/day (2017 PPP)
09
In 2021, 14.0% of the population in Kenya lived below $3.65/day (2017 PPP)
Interpretation
Geography & Groups Interpretation
From a geography and groups perspective, extreme poverty is concentrated in certain regions and age groups, with South Asia accounting for 26% of the world’s extreme poor in 2019 and children making up 58% of people living in extreme poverty in 2022.
03 · Category
Drivers & Impacts7 stats
01
147 million people were projected to face acute hunger in 2022 (IPC/CH phases 3–5), which is strongly associated with poverty and deprivation
02
Globally, 659 million people lacked access to electricity in 2022
03
Globally, 2.3 billion people still cooked with traditional fuels in 2021
04
The Global Findex database (World Bank) reported that 71% of adults in the poorest 40% did not have an account at a financial institution in 2021
05
In 2022, the number of people facing severe food insecurity (IPC/CH phase 4) was 153 million
06
In 2023, 21.5 million people were internally displaced due to disasters and conflict (global estimate)
07
By mid-2023, more than 117 million people were forcibly displaced globally
Interpretation
Drivers & Impacts Interpretation
The drivers and impacts of poverty remain deeply interconnected, as in 2022 147 million people faced acute hunger and 153 million were in severe food insecurity while 2.3 billion people still relied on traditional fuels and 71% of adults in the poorest 40% lacked a bank account.
More related reading
04 · Category
Policy & Funding3 stats
01
The OECD reported that ODA reached 0.37% of donors’ gross national income in 2023
02
In FY2024, the World Bank Group approved $64.0 billion in financing (policy, development and poverty-related operations including social protection)
03
UNICEF reported that 2.1 billion children lacked adequate social protection in 2021 (global estimate)
Interpretation
Policy & Funding Interpretation
In 2023 donors increased ODA only to 0.37% of gross national income while the World Bank approved $64.0 billion in FY2024 for poverty-related policy and social protection, yet UNICEF still estimated 2.1 billion children lacked adequate social protection in 2021, showing funding scale has not been enough to close the protection gap.
05 · Category
Interventions & Outcomes4 stats
01
The Global Partnership for Education reported that $1.0 billion financed education programs in 2022 to improve learning and reduce dropout, an indirect anti-poverty impact
02
A systematic review reported that conditional cash transfers improved child health outcomes with effect sizes typically ranging from small to moderate compared with controls
03
A WHO systematic review reported that insecticide-treated bed nets reduced child mortality by about 20% in malaria-endemic settings
04
The WHO reported that improved water and sanitation interventions reduced diarrheal disease by an estimated 21% on average
Interpretation
Interventions & Outcomes Interpretation
Across interventions, the biggest poverty-reducing outcomes show up in measurable health gains, including bed nets cutting child mortality by about 20%, water and sanitation lowering diarrheal disease by an estimated 21%, and conditional cash transfers improving child health outcomes with effect sizes typically small to moderate.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
David Kowalski. (2026, February 13). Poverty In The World Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/poverty-in-the-world-statistics
MLA
David Kowalski. "Poverty In The World Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/poverty-in-the-world-statistics.
Chicago
David Kowalski. 2026. "Poverty In The World Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/poverty-in-the-world-statistics.
Sources & references
27 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+14 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)