Global poverty

Hundreds of millions still live in extreme poverty

Society

Extreme poverty means not being able to meet basic needs for food, water, shelter, health and education.

The situation

Extreme poverty fell greatly over the past decades, especially in China and India, but hundreds of millions of people remain extremely poor, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Causes

Conflict, poor governance, lack of education and health care, unemployment, climate disasters and inequality all keep people trapped in poverty.

Solutions

Education, especially for girls, social protection such as cash transfers, jobs, access to small loans (microfinance), and peace and good governance help people escape poverty.