UNITED NATIONS: According to a UN Development Program report released Thursday, more than one billion people worldwide are living in acute poverty, with children comprising over half of those affected.
India has the highest number of individuals living in extreme poverty, with 234 million out of its 1.4 billion population impacted. Following India are Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which together account for nearly half of the total 1.1 billion impoverished individuals.
The report, produced in collaboration with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), noted that poverty rates are three times higher in countries experiencing conflict, highlighting that 2023 witnessed the highest number of conflicts globally since World War II.
Since 2010, the UNDP and OPHI have annually published the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), analyzing data from 112 countries with a combined population of 6.3 billion. The MPI assesses various indicators, including inadequate housing, lack of sanitation and electricity, insufficient cooking fuel, poor nutrition, and school attendance.
“The 2024 MPI presents a sobering reality: 1.1 billion people are experiencing multidimensional poverty, with 455 million living in areas affected by conflict,” stated Yanchun Zhang, chief statistician at the UNDP. “For the impoverished in conflict-affected nations, the fight for basic necessities is an even more desperate struggle,” Zhang told AFP.
The findings align with last year’s report, which indicated that 1.1 billion out of 6.1 billion people across 110 countries were living in extreme multidimensionalpoverty.