Dipo Olowookere
The World Bank has said half of the poor people in the world live in Nigeria and four other countries, including two other African nations and the two others in Asia.
In a tweet on Christmas day, the global financial institution said apart from the giant of Africa, the four other countries accommodating those in extreme poverty are India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“Half of the world’s poor live in these 5 countries: India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Bangladesh,” the lender posted on its verified Twitter page.
According to the World Bank, the five countries account for 85 percent (629 million) of the world’s poor, saying to make significant continued progress towards the global target of reducing extreme poverty (those living on less than $1.90 a day) to less than 3 percent by 2030, large reductions in poverty in these five countries will be crucial.
Wikipedia defined poverty, which is associated with the poor, as not having enough material possessions or income for a person’s needs. Poverty may include social, economic, and political elements.
In 2012 it was estimated that, using a poverty line of $1.25 a day, 1.2 billion people lived in poverty. Given the current economic model, built on GDP, it would take 100 years to bring the world’s poorest up to the poverty line of $1.25 a day. UNICEF estimates half the world’s children (or 1.1 billion) live in poverty.
The World Bank forecasted in 2015 that 702.1 million people were living in extreme poverty, down from 1.75 billion in 1990. Extreme poverty is observed in all parts of the world, including developed economies. Of the 2015 population, about 347.1 million people (35.2%) lived in Sub-Saharan Africa and 231.3 million (13.5%) lived in South Asia.
According to the World Bank, between 1990 and 2015, the percentage of the world’s population living in extreme poverty fell from 37.1% to 9.6%, falling below 10% for the first time. The People’s Republic of China accounts for over three quarters of global poverty reduction from 1990 to 2005. Though, as noted, China accounted for nearly half of all extreme poverty in 1990. In public opinion around the world people surveyed tend to incorrectly think extreme poverty has not decreased.
