More than 1 billion people live in acute poverty, over half are children, and nearly 40% live in conflict-torn and fragile countries, according to a report released Thursday. The report by the UN Development Program and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative at the University of Oxford also said that more than 83% of poor people live in rural areas—and the same percentage live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The index included data from 112 countries with a combined population of 6.3 billion people, the AP reports.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index uses 10 indicators including health, education, and standard of living. According to the index, 1.1 billion people live in acute poverty, with nearly half in five countries: India with 234 million impoverished people, Pakistan with 93 million, Ethiopia with 86 million, Nigeria with 74 million, and Congo with 66 million. Over half of the people living in poverty—584 million—are children under 18, with 317 million in sub-Saharan Africa and 184 million in South Asia, it said. In Afghanistan, where poverty has increased, the proportion of impoverished children is even higher—nearly 59%.
UNDP and Oxford said this year's report focused on poverty amid conflict because 2023 saw more conflicts than any time since World War II, and an all-time high of 117 million people were forced to flee their homes due to conflict, disasters, and other factors. Sabina Alkire, director of the Oxford initiative, said it's intuitive that reducing poverty is easier in peaceful settings than for these 455 million people, representing nearly 40% of the 1.1 billion poor. "But the sheer proportions of the populations in our study also fearing for their safety is staggering and points to a real need for fostering and investing in peace," she said in a statement to the AP.
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