The world poverty rate is dropping pretty drastically: though about 52% of people in the developing world lived on less than $1.25 US Dollars (USD) a day in 1981, about 22% did as of 2008. By 2015, it's estimated that this percentage will further drop to about 15%. The improvement is thought to be due to improved economies (especially in Asia); better education (particularly in sub-Saharan Africa); and increased funding and interventions in diseases (like malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV).
More about poverty:
- The median poverty rate for developing countries is $2 USD a day.
- Despite improvements, about a quarter of children in the developing world remain underweight.
- East Asia has had the greatest improvement in terms of poverty since the 1980s, when 77% of people were living on less than $1.25 a day. By 2008, that percentage had dropped to 14%.
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More Info: www.un.org
Discussion Comments
I am surprised about the reasons you found for dropping the poverty rate in developing countries. In India, family planning is the main reason for the increase in the per capita income in the recent past, especially among Hindus and Christians.
What about birth control? I can't imagine that doesn't factor into this.
They are citing the UN as a source. It is likely that they would have adjusted for inflation for this analysis.
How about tying these $1.25/day figures in with the rate of inflation since 1981? That was 32 years ago. I don't know how inflation compares between the third world and the U.S. but the apartment I had in 1983 in California was $250./mo and now is $1000/mo. Food also is at least three to five times as much now.
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