Over one billion individuals are enduring acute poverty worldwide, according to a report by the UN Development Programme released on Thursday. Children constitute more than half of those affected. The report, in collaboration with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), underscores that poverty levels are three times higher in war-torn countries. 2023 marked the highest number of global conflicts since World War II.
The UNDP and OPHI have been publishing the Multidimensional Poverty Index annually since 2010, gathering data from 112 countries with a combined population of 6.3 billion people. The index evaluates factors such as inadequate housing, sanitation, electricity, cooking fuel, nutrition, and school attendance.
"The 2024 MPI presents a stark reality: 1.1 billion people suffer from multidimensional poverty, with 455 million living in conflict zones," stated Yanchun Zhang, the UNDP's chief statistician. "For the impoverished in conflict-affected nations, the fight for basic necessities is far more arduous and desperate," Zhang explained to AFP.
The report mirrored last year's findings, revealing that 1.1 billion out of 6.1 billion people across 110 countries were grappling with extreme multidimensional poverty. The latest data indicated that approximately 584 million children under 18 were experiencing extreme poverty, representing 27.9% of the global child population, compared to 13.5% of adults.
Moreover, 83.2% of the world's poorest individuals reside in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Sabina Alkire, director of the OPHI, highlighted that conflicts are significantly impeding poverty reduction efforts. "While these findings may seem intuitive, what astounded us was the immense number of people struggling to lead a decent life while fearing for their safety – 455 million," she said.
"This underscores a profound yet inescapable challenge for the international community to focus on both poverty alleviation and peacebuilding, ensuring that any resulting peace is lasting," Alkire added. India tops the list with the highest number of people in extreme poverty, affecting 234 million out of its 1.4 billion population. Following India are Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which together account for nearly half of the 1.1 billion impoverished people.
