Ending extreme poverty by 2030 out of reach.

 It is unlikely the world can meet the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030, a World Bank report found.

According to the World Bank report called the coronavirus pandemic a historic turning point that halted decades of poverty reduction , 2020 saw 71 million more people living on $2.15 (€2.18) a day or less (the new standard benchmark for extreme poverty), bringing the overall total to 719 million people — about 9.3% of the global population — and signaling the biggest single-year leap in more than 30 years. Though the report cited the coronavirus pandemic as the "biggest setback" to decades of global poverty reduction, it noted that progress had slowed considerably in the five years leading up to it — with income losses in poor countries twice as high as in wealthy ones, further increasing global financial inequality.

The situation has now become even bleaker as Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as China's flagging economy, inflation, and rising food and energy prices further threaten to impede progress into the future.

The report noted that without a massive hike in economic growth, some 574 million people — roughly 7% of the global population — would still be living in extreme poverty in 2030.

 60% of all extreme poverty was to be found in sub-Saharan Africa, which has an overall poverty rate of 35%.

World Bank: Extreme poverty here to stay | News | DW | 05.10.2022