Introduction: The Persistent Challenge of Global Poverty
Poverty is more than a lack of money; it is a denial of dignity, opportunity, and choice. While the international community vowed to eradicate poverty through the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals, shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic exposed how fragile progress can be. This article delves into both monetary and non-monetary poverty, shining a light on populations and workers who remain left behind as the world strives for sustainable development.
Monetary Poverty: A Tale of Progress and Setbacks
Global poverty has fallen dramatically over decades. In 1981, 47.1% of the world lived in extreme poverty (less than $3 a day). By 1995, the share declined to 39.2%, eventually reaching 11.2% in 2018. The Covid-19 shock reversed some of this hard-won progress, with the global extreme-poverty rate rising to 11.4% in 2020 and adding roughly 35.1 million people to extreme poverty. By 2024, the rate had fallen again to 10.3%, corresponding to about 839.2 million people living in extreme poverty.
At higher poverty lines, the story remains nuanced. Under $4.2 per day, 1.5 billion people were living in poverty in 2024, and 3.8 billion under $8.3 per day. The pandemic interrupted a long downward trend at these thresholds, highlighting how the poorest are most vulnerable to shocks and how the effects can linger long after the crisis passes.
Regional Realities: Why Geography Still Shapes Poverty
Poverty is not evenly distributed. Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate burden: in 2024, its extreme poverty rate reached 46.0% by the extreme measure, while Europe and Central Asia and North America stayed well below 1%. When using the $8.3-per-day threshold, 89.0% of Sub-Saharan Africans lived in poverty at that line, underscoring a stark regional divergence.
Geography also dictates who bears the brunt of extreme poverty. Although Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only about 15.9% of the world’s population, it housing 70.7% of the world’s extremely poor and 30.5% of those living under $8.3 per day. This geographic concentration reveals why targeted, region-specific strategies are essential within global poverty reduction efforts.
Left Behind: The 22 Persistently Low-Income Countries
The SDGs emphasize leaving no one behind. Yet, 22 countries have remained low-income since at least the late 1980s. While many peers have advanced to lower-middle or upper-middle-income status, these 22 countries show stalled GDP per capita growth. Their persistent poverty is a stark reminder that development is uneven and that global progress is not guaranteed without sustained, focused investment in these lagging economies.
Monetary Working Poverty: Employment Is Not a Guaranteed Shield
Working poverty—where employed individuals still live in poverty—illustrates the limits of job creation as a panacea. The latest indicators show a global decline in working poverty, from 37.4% in 1991 to 6.9% in 2024 using an extreme threshold of $2.15 per day, and from 56.6% to 17.5% using a $3.65-per-day line. However, job quality matters. In many contexts, a single low-wage job will not lift a family out of poverty, and households with larger numbers of dependents relative to active workers remain vulnerable.
Regionally, Africa remains disproportionately affected by working poverty. Although it accounts for a smaller share of the global workforce, it hosts a large share of those in extreme poverty. This reality reinforces the need for policies that create decent work, fair wages, and social protection, especially for the most vulnerable workers.
Beyond Money: A Multidimensional View of Poverty
Monetary poverty is a crucial indicator, but it does not capture the full human experience. Access to education, health services, clean water, electricity, sanitation, and safe housing all interact with income to shape well-being. Conversely, some households may report low income but benefit from free or affordable public services that mitigate some monetary poverty effects. Thus, a robust poverty analysis combines multiple measures to reflect the multidimensional nature of deprivation.
National poverty lines can provide sharper insight than international standards, as they reflect cost of living and consumption patterns specific to a country. By integrating national strategies with global benchmarks, policymakers can craft more effective, targeted interventions that reach the most vulnerable communities.
Conclusion: Reaching the Last Mile
The goal of eliminating poverty is achievable, but it requires a relentless focus on the most vulnerable—those at the bottom of the ladder and those in regions where growth has lagged for decades. By strengthening social protection, improving job quality, investing in education and health, and using a multidimensional set of indicators, the international community can ensure that progress lifts everyone, not just the few, and that no one is left behind in the pursuit of sustainable development.
