Over 1 billion people worldwide living in poverty, UN report reveals

Experts from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) have assessed the number of poor people worldwide. According to the study, published on the official OPHI website, a staggering 1.1 billion people globally are living in poverty.

Some 40% of the poor (455 million people) reside in countries plagued by wars, instability, and/or low levels of peacefulness. The report highlights that poverty levels in conflict-affected areas are significantly higher. In war-torn countries, more than one in three people (34.8%) are poor, compared to one in nine (10.9%) in countries not affected by conflict, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program.

The authors of the report added that more than half of the 1.1 billion poor people are children under the age of 18 (584 million). Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of the poor lack basic necessities, with 828 million lacking sanitation, 886 million lacking adequate housing, and 998 million lacking fuel for cooking.