691m people live in extreme poverty in 2023: World Bank

December 01, 2023 (MLN): In 2023, 691 million people are estimated to live on less than $2.15, the international extreme poverty line, according to a report by the World Bank.

As global temperatures continue to rise, leading to worse living conditions for millions of people worldwide, the poorest are the most vulnerable and will be the most severely impacted.

One recent study of subnational data in 134 countries found that a one-degree increase in temperature leads to a 9.1% increase in extreme poverty and a 0.8% increase in inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, the report noted.

Another study estimated the number of people falling into poverty due to climate change by 2030 to be between 32m and 132m in most scenarios.

Yet, poor countries and poor people contribute the least to global warming.

“By comparing countries’ emissions with their extreme poverty rates, we can see the disconnect between the global extreme poor and the countries behind the highest levels of emissions.” it added.

World Bank uses poverty projections to 2023 from the recently updated Macro Poverty Outlook (MPO).

This is derived by combining the most recent household survey data with additional information, such as nowcasts of economic growth, and using a range of tools including microsimulation models.

These nowcasts reflect the most up-to-date information they have on poverty trends.

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