Global Extreme Poverty Rate Now At Record Low of 8 Percent

New World Bank figures show extreme poverty has fallen from 36 percent in 1990 to 8.4 percent today — the largest drop in recorded history.

New World Bank data show that the share of the world's population living in extreme poverty — defined as living on less than 2.15 dollars a day — has fallen to a record low of 8.4 percent.

In 1990, more than one in three people lived below the extreme poverty line. Today, that figure is roughly one in twelve. The drop represents the fastest and largest reduction of extreme poverty in recorded history.

Much of the change is driven by decades of sustained economic growth in East Asia, particularly China and Vietnam, but sub-Saharan Africa has also seen meaningful reductions since 2015.

Progress has slowed since the pandemic, and economists note that global poverty targets set for 2030 will likely be missed. But the direction of travel remains, in the words of the report, "unmistakable."

The report highlights that education access — particularly for girls — is the strongest single predictor of continued poverty reduction over the coming two decades.

"We do not tell this story enough," a lead author of the report said in a call with journalists. "It is one of the few areas where the numbers have gotten dramatically better, not worse."