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Poverty is a situation where you can't have access to basic needs. Poverty results from numerous complex and interrelated factors that affect people differently depending on their geographical, social, and political environments.

APA: Kagel, L. (2024, 16, October). What is poverty: Understanding the global challenge. TechnoServe. https://www.technoserve.org/blog/what-is-poverty-understanding-the-global-challenge/

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What is Poverty: Understanding the Global Challenge %

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What is poverty? Learn about its causes, such as lack of food, healthcare, and education, and explore solutions to combat poverty globally.

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Over the last few decades, many countries around the world have successfully managed to tackle poverty, with millions of people escaping it for good and yet many other nations continue to lack basic needs such as access to clean water, education, and proper healthcare.

https://www.developmentaid.org/news-stream/post/189538/global-poverty-statistics-trends-and-analysis

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The World Vs Poverty: statistics and trends

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The percentage of people in the world who face poverty is slowly decreasing. However, due to long-lasting conflicts and instabilities, millions of people still lack basic needs and are being pushed into extreme poverty. Which regions have shown the best results in fighting poverty? What are the major causes of poverty? Learn more in our latest article.

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There are many factors that affects society like gender inequality, lack of hygiene, physical and mental health and others for example cause to gender inequality women lose $9 trillion a year, which is money that would go back into the economy. There are many aspects and consequences of poverty around the world that till today have an influence on our daily life.

APA: Soken-Huberty, E. (n.d.). 12 Ways Poverty Affects Society. Human Rights Careers.

https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/ways-poverty-affects-society/

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The lack of education limits employment to low-skilled and low-paying jobs, which reduces a person's income. Not being able to generate sufficient resources makes it difficult to access basic services such as healthcare, financial services, or other necessary support. Furthermore, without education, people lose the critical capacity to make decisions about their health, finances, or family, which perpetuates unfavorable situations. This problem is passed down from generation to generation: parents with low education have fewer means to support their children's learning, and they, in turn, face the same obstacles.Fikrah. (2023, September). Vicious cycle: Lack of education vs poverty. Fikrah. https://fikrah.org/2023/09/vicious-cycle-lack-of-education-vs-poverty/

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Education is a powerful tool that opens doors to opportunities, economic growth, and social mobility. Conversely, the lack of education can trap individuals and communities in a cycle of poverty that is challenging to break free from. In this blog post of Fikrah, we delve into how the absence of education contributes to and perpetuates poverty. Thus outlining the key factors that create this complex interplay.

How the absence of education contributes to and perpetuates poverty:

1. Limited Employment Opportunities

Education equips individuals with skills that are essential for securing better employment opportunities. Without education, individuals are often limited to low-skilled, low-paying jobs. That offers little chance for economic advancement.

2. Reduced Earning Potential

A lack of education correlates with reduced earning potential. Individuals with higher levels of education tend to earn more throughout their lives. Which contributes to higher living standards and the ability to invest in health, housing, and other necessities.

3. Inadequate Access to Resources

Education provides individuals with the knowledge to access vital resources such as healthcare, financial services, and legal rights. Without education, individuals may struggle to navigate these essential systems. Thus leading to further vulnerability and poverty.

4. Limited Decision-Making Abilities

Education enhances critical thinking and decision-making skills. Lack of education can hinder individuals' ability to make informed choices. About family planning, health, and economic opportunities. Thus perpetuating a cycle of limited choices and outcomes.

5. Generational Transfer of Poverty

The lack of education can lead to a generational transfer of poverty. Parents with limited education may struggle to provide their children with the necessary support and resources for education. Thus perpetuating the cycle of limited opportunities.

6. Impact on Health and Well-being

Educated individuals are more likely to have better health outcomes. Due to their awareness of healthcare practices and access to information. Lack of education can lead to poor health. Thus resulting in higher medical expenses and further economic strain.

7. Reduced Social Mobility

Education is a powerful driver of social mobility. Without education, individuals are often confined to their current socio-economic status. Thus making it challenging to escape poverty and improve their circumstances.

Click here to know more about "The Lack of Education cause poverty"

Conclusion:

The lack of education is a significant factor contributing to the vicious cycle of poverty. Limited employment opportunities, reduced earning potential, inadequate access to resources, compromised decision-making abilities, generational poverty transfer, health impacts, and reduced social mobility all intertwine to create a challenging environment.

Breaking this cycle requires comprehensive efforts. Including investing in quality education, promoting equal access to educational opportunities, and addressing systemic barriers that perpetuate educational inequality.

By addressing the root causes of education deprivation, societies can begin to unravel the complex web of poverty and provide individuals with a path toward empowerment, economic stability, and a brighter future.

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Vicious Cycle: Lack of Education vs Poverty

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Vicious Cycle: Lack of education perpetuates poverty. Discover the profound impact of education on breaking this cycle.

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Covid-19, which almost certainly sprang to humans from animals, offers a glimpse of our future, in which the strain on our planet mirrors the strain facing societies. It took Covid-19 very little time to expose and exploit overlapping inequalities, as well as weaknesses in social, economic.

APA: (2020, December 15). Human Development Report 2020. Human Development Report. https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2020

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With opening remarks by HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, and statements by Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden, co-host of the launch event, Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, and Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.

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The 2020 Human Development Report (HDR) doubles down on the belief that people's agency and empowerment can bring about the action we need if we are to live in balance with the planet in a fairer world. It shows that we are at an unprecedented moment in history, in which human activity has become a dominant force shaping the planet.

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There are many consequences of poverty that affects poor people. Poor children are more likely to have inadequate nutrition and to experience health, behavioral, and cognitive problems. This can affect their future and oportunities.

APA: Pearce, E. B. (2020). The consequences of poverty. En Introduction to Human Services. Linn-Benton Community College. https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/humanservices/chapter/the-consequences-of-poverty/

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Learning Objectives

1. Describe the family and housing problems associated with poverty.

2. Explain how poverty affects health and educational attainment.

had completed two fewer years of schooling on the average;

had incomes that were less than half of those earned by adults who had wealthier childhoods;

received $826 more annually in food stamps on the average;

were almost three times more likely to report being in poor health;

were twice as likely to have been arrested (males only); and

were five times as likely to have borne a child (females only).

Family Problems

The poor are at greater risk for family problems, including divorce and domestic violence. A major reason for many of the problems families experience is stress. Even in families that are not poor, running a household can cause stress, children can cause stress, and paying the bills can cause stress. Families that are poor have more stress because of their poverty, and the ordinary stresses of family life become even more intense in poor families. The various kinds of family problems thus happen more commonly in poor families than in wealthier families. Compounding this situation, when these problems occur, poor families have fewer resources than wealthier families to deal with these problems.

Children and Our Future

Getting under Children's Skin: The Biological Effects of Childhood Poverty

As the text discusses, childhood poverty often has lifelong consequences. Poor children are more likely to be poor when they become adults, and they are at greater risk for antisocial behavior when young, and for unemployment, criminal behavior, and other problems when they reach adolescence and young adulthood.

According to growing evidence, one reason poverty has these consequences is that it has certain neural effects on poor children that impair their cognitive abilities and thus their behavior and learning potential. As Greg J. Duncan and Katherine Magnuson (Duncan & Magnuson, 2011, p. 23) observe, "Emerging research in neuroscience and developmental psychology suggests that poverty early in a child's life may be particularly harmful because the astonishingly rapid development of young children's brains leaves them sensitive (and vulnerable) to environmental conditions."

In short, poverty can change the way the brain develops in young children. The major reason for this effect is stress. Children growing up in poverty experience multiple stressful events: neighborhood crime and drug use; divorce, parental conflict, and other family problems, including abuse and neglect by their parents; parental financial problems and unemployment; physical and mental health problems of one or more family members; and so forth. Their great levels of stress in turn affect their bodies in certain harmful ways. As two poverty scholars note, "It's not just that poverty-induced stress is mentally taxing. If it's experienced early enough in childhood, it can in fact get 'under the skin' and change the way in which the body copes with the environment and the way in which the brain develops. These deep, enduring, and sometimes irreversible physiological changes are the very human price of running a high-poverty society" (Grusky & Wimer, 2011, p. 2).

One way poverty gets "under children's skin" is as follows (Evans, et. al., 2011). Poor children's high levels of stress produce unusually high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and higher levels of blood pressure. Because these high levels impair their neural development, their memory and language development skills suffer. This result in turn affects their behavior and learning potential. For other physiological reasons, high levels of stress also affect the immune system, so that poor children are more likely to develop various illnesses during childhood and to have high blood pressure and other health problems when they grow older, and cause other biological changes that make poor children more likely to end up being obese and to have drug and alcohol problems.

The policy implications of the scientific research on childhood poverty are clear. As public health scholar Jack P. Shonkoff (Shonkoff, 2011) explains, "Viewing this scientific evidence within a biodevelopmental framework points to the particular importance of addressing the needs of our most disadvantaged children at the earliest ages." Duncan and Magnuson (Duncan & Magnuson, 2011) agree that "greater policy attention should be given to remediating situations involving deep and persistent poverty occurring early in childhood." To reduce poverty's harmful physiological effects on children, Skonkoff advocates efforts to promote strong, stable relationships among all members of poor families; to improve the quality of the home and neighborhood physical environments in which poor children grow; and to improve the nutrition of poor children. Duncan and Magnuson call for more generous income transfers to poor families with young children and note that many European democracies provide many kinds of support to such families. The recent scientific evidence on early childhood poverty underscores the importance of doing everything possible to reduce the harmful effects of poverty during the first few years of life.

Health, Illness, and Medical Care

The poor are also more likely to have many kinds of health problems, including infant mortality, earlier adulthood mortality, and mental illness, and they are also more likely to receive inadequate medical care. Poor children are more likely to have inadequate nutrition and, partly for this reason, to suffer health, behavioral, and cognitive problems. These problems in turn impair their ability to do well in school and land stable employment as adults, helping to ensure that poverty will persist across generations. Many poor people are uninsured or underinsured, at least until the US health-care reform legislation of 2010 takes full effect a few years from now, and many have to visit health clinics that are overcrowded and understaffed.

It is unclear how much of poor people's worse health stems from their lack of money and lack of good health care versus behavior such as smoking and eating unhealthy diets. It is also true that lack of wealth and health care can contribute to less health lifestyles such as less exercise or living in food deserts where there is less access to healthy food. Regardless of the exact reasons, however, the fact remains that poor health is a major consequence of poverty. According to recent research, this fact means that poverty is responsible for almost 150,000 deaths annually, a figure about equal to the number of deaths from lung cancer (Bakalar, 2011).

Education

Poor children typically go to rundown schools with inadequate facilities where they receive inadequate schooling. They are much less likely than wealthier children to graduate from high school or to go to college. Their lack of education in turn restricts them and their own children to poverty, once again helping to ensure a vicious cycle of continuing poverty across generations. As the chapter about families explains, scholars debate whether the poor school performance of poor children stems more from the inadequacy of their schools and schooling versus their own poverty. Regardless of exactly why poor children are more likely to do poorly in school and to have low educational attainment, these educational problems are another major consequence of poverty.

Housing and Homelessness

The poor are, not surprisingly, more likely to be homeless than the nonpoor but also more likely to live in dilapidated housing and unable to buy their own homes. Many poor families spend more than half their income on rent, and they tend to live in poor neighborhoods that lack job opportunities, good schools, and other features of modern life that wealthier people take for granted. The lack of adequate housing for the poor remains a major national problem. Even worse is outright homelessness. An estimated 1.6 million people, including more than 300,000 children, are homeless at least part of the year (Lee, et. al., 2010).

Crime and Victimization

The poor (and near poor) people account for the bulk of street crime perpetrators (homicide, robbery, burglary, etc.), and bulk of victims. That chapter will outline several reasons for this dual connection between poverty and street crime, but they include the deep frustration and stress of living in poverty and the fact that many poor people live in high-crime neighborhoods. In such neighborhoods, children are more likely to grow up under the influence of older peers who are already in gangs or otherwise committing crime, and people of any age are more likely to become crime victims. Moreover, because poor and near-poor people are more likely to commit street crime, they also comprise most of the people arrested for street crimes, convicted of street crime, and imprisoned for street crime. Most of the more than 2 million people now in the nation's prisons and jails come from poor or near-poor backgrounds. Criminal behavior and criminal victimization, then, are other major consequences of poverty.

Lessons from Other Societies

Poverty and Poverty Policy in Other Western Democracies

To compare international poverty rates, scholars commonly use a measure of the percentage of households in a nation that receive less than half of the nation's median household income after taxes and cash transfers from the government. In data from the late 2000s, 17.3 percent of US households lived in poverty as defined by this measure. By comparison, other Western democracies had the rates depicted in the figure that follows. The average poverty rate of the nations in the figure excluding the United States is 9.5 percent. The US rate is thus almost twice as high as the average for all the other democracies.

Why is there so much more poverty in the United States than in its Western counterparts? Several differences between the United States and the other nations stand out (Brady, 2009; Russell, 2011). First, other Western nations have higher minimum wages and stronger labor unions than the United States has, and these lead to incomes that help push people above poverty. Second, these other nations spend a much greater proportion of their gross domestic product on social expenditures (income support and social services such as child-care subsidies and housing allowances) than does the United States. As sociologist John Iceland (Iceland, 2006) notes, "Such countries often invest heavily in both universal benefits, such as maternity leave, child care, and medical care, and in promoting work among [poor] families...The United States, in comparison with other advanced nations, lacks national health insurance, provides less publicly supported housing, and spends less on job training and job creation." Block and colleagues agree: "These other countries all take a more comprehensive government approach to combating poverty, and they assume that it is caused by economic and structural factors rather than bad behavior" (Block et, al., 2006).

The experience of the United Kingdom provides a striking contrast between the effectiveness of the expansive approach used in other wealthy democracies and the inadequacy of the American approach. In 1994, about 30 percent of British children lived in poverty; by 2009, that figure had fallen by more than half to 12 percent. Meanwhile, the US 2009 child poverty rate, was almost 21 percent.

Britain used three strategies to reduce its child poverty rate and to help poor children and their families in other ways. First, it induced more poor parents to work through a series of new measures, including a national minimum wage higher than its US counterpart and various tax savings for low-income workers. Because of these measures, the percentage of single parents who worked rose from 45 percent in 1997 to 57 percent in 2008. Second, Britain increased child welfare benefits regardless of whether a parent worked. Third, it increased paid maternity leave from four months to nine months, implemented two weeks of paid paternity leave, established universal preschool (which both helps children's cognitive abilities and makes it easier for parents to afford to work), increased child-care aid, and made it possible for parents of young children to adjust their working hours to their parental responsibilities (Waldfogel, 2010). While the British child poverty rate fell dramatically because of these strategies, the US child poverty rate stagnated.

In short, the United States has so much more poverty than other democracies in part because it spends so much less than they do on helping the poor. The United States certainly has the wealth to follow their example, but it has chosen not to do so, and a high poverty rate is the unfortunate result. As the Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman (2006, p. A25) summarizes this lesson, "Government truly can be a force for good. Decades of propaganda have conditioned many Americans to assume that government is always incompetent...But the [British experience has] shown that a government that seriously tries to reduce poverty can achieve a lot."

Key Takeaways

Poor people are more likely to have several kinds of family problems, including divorce and family conflict.

Poor people are more likely to have several kinds of health problems.

Children growing up in poverty are less likely to graduate high school or go to college, and they are more likely to commit street crime.

For Your Review

1. Write a brief essay that summarizes the consequences of poverty.

2. Why do you think poor children are more likely to develop health problems?

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The Consequences of Poverty - Introduction to Human Services

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An openly licensed text for the Introduction to Human Services class at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Oregon.

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The last 30 years have seen dramatic reductions in global poverty, spurred by strong catch-up growth in developing countries, especially in Asia. By 2015, some 729 million people, 10% of the population, lived under the $1.90 a day poverty line, greatly exceeding the Millennium Development Goal target of halving poverty. From 2012 to 2013, at the peak of global poverty reduction, the global poverty headcount fell by 130 million poor people.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-evolution-of-global-poverty-1990-2030/

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The evolution of global poverty, 1990-2030

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Homi Kharas and Meagan Dooley examine the evolution of global poverty from 1990 to 2030.

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The struggle with global poverty affects millions of people every day. Those living in poor conditions face emotional and physical stresses that impact the entire family and community. Those affected have fewer resources and opportunities

APA: Forgeard, V. (2022, January 14). The Social Impacts of Poverty (And What We Can Do). Brilliantio. https://brilliantio.com/what-are-the-social-impacts-of-poverty/

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The Social Impacts of Poverty (And What We Can Do)

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The struggle with global poverty affects millions of people every day. Those living in poor conditions face emotional and physical stresses that impact the entire family and community. Those affected have fewer resources and opportunities

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Education is key to combating poverty, as it improves the economy, health, and social equity. It reduces mortality, malnutrition, HIV, violence, and gender inequality. Furthermore, organizations like Concern USA promote access to inclusive education in vulnerable communities.

Concern USA. (2023, August 10). How does education affect poverty? It can help end it. Concern USA. https://concernusa.org/news/how-does-education-affect-poverty/

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How does education affect poverty? It can help end it.

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A high-quality primary education is a globally-recognized solution to the cycle of poverty. Here are 7 reasons why.

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The gap between rich and poor widens every year, creating enormous differences in life chances. It exacerbates existing inequalities in other areas, such as those based on gender, geography, ethnicity, race, caste, or religion. It harms our economies, fuels global public outrage, and hinders the eradication of global poverty.

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The gap between rich and poor grows wider every year and leads to huge differences in life chances. It exacerbates existing inequalities in other areas, such as those based on gender, geography, ethnicity, race, caste or religion. It damages our economies, fuels public anger across the globe and stands in the way of eliminating global poverty.

The race to the bottom on personal income and corporate tax is a large part of the problem. While public services are suffering from chronic underfunding or being outsourced to private companies, many governments are under-taxing corporations and wealthy individuals, loosing significant amounts of money that could be invested in schools, hospitals and roads. Corporate tax dodging costs poor countries at least $100 billion every year.

From campaigning to end the financial secrecy that shelters trillions hidden in tax havens, to encouraging investment in universal education and healthcare - Oxfam is working to make sure that the poor get a share of the power and resources that will help to reduce poverty and inequality. We have extensive experience of delivering programs and campaigns that advance people's rights through work on tax, budget and social accountability.

Invest in work on tax justice and domestic resources mobilization and advocate fairer, pro-poor taxation policies

Support civil society to monitor public finance and to hold governments accountable for delivery of free quality services

Support campaigns for health and education and support organizations that work with governments on innovative ways to reach women and girls

Extreme inequality is not inevitable or accidental. It is the result of deliberate political and economic choices, and it can be reversed.

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Extreme inequality and essential services | Oxfam International

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The gap between rich and poor grows wider every year and leads to huge differences in life chances. It exacerbates existing inequalities in other areas, such as those based on gender, geography, ethnicity, race, caste or religion. It damages our economies, fuels public anger across the globe and stands in the way of eliminating global poverty.

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#1. Jobs with low pay

#2. Inadequate education

#3. War and conflict

#4. Natural disasters and climate change

#5. High healthcare costs

#6. Food insecurity

#7. High housing costs

#8. Gender discrimination

#9. Racial discrimination

#10. No reliable water and sanitation

11. No affordable electricity

#12. Government failure

APA: Soken-Huberty, E. (s. f.). 12 common root causes of poverty. Human Rights Careers. https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/root-causes-of-poverty/

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Widespread Effects Of Poverty On Society: Help End Poverty Now

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There are several aspects in which poverty affects society. The consequences of poverty are multiple, impacting health, education, economic stability, and social cohesion. For example, inequality in education affects the performance of children in society or the community.

APA: (2021, December 10). Top 25 Effects Of Poverty On Society. End poverty Now. https://endpovertynowinc.org/blog/top-25-effects-of-poverty-on-society/

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Widespread Effects Of Poverty On Society: Help End Poverty Now

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Delve into the profound impact of poverty on society as we shed light on the top 25 effects that permeate various aspects of our lives. Join us in exploring the consequences of poverty and discover actionable solutions to put an end to this pressing issue. Together, let’s pave the path towards a more equitable future. #EndPoverty #SocietalImpact #TakeActionNow #EndPovertyNow

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Lack of education prevents people from obtaining well-paying jobs, which limits their income and perpetuates poor living conditions. Furthermore, low-income families often face barriers such as high costs, poor school infrastructure, or gender discrimination, which prevent children from accessing or completing education. This creates a cycle: poverty limits education, and lack of education, in turn, reinforces poverty generation after generation Padiyar, S. (2022, May 4). How does the lack of education cause poverty? Ecole Globale. https://www.ecoleglobale.com/blog/the-lack-of-education-cause-poverty/ ecoleglobale.com.

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How does the lack of education cause poverty?

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Lack of education perpetuates poverty cycles. Explore the link between education and poverty reduction. Learn more here.

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Since 1990, more than 1 billion people have been lifted out of poverty. From around 2013, however, progress in reducing global poverty started to slow, on the back of sluggish economic growth.

APA: World Bank Group. (2025, April 7). Poverty. World Bank Group. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview

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The World Bank Group's goals are to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. This mission underpins our analytical, operational, and convening work in about 140 client countries.

For three decades, the number of people living in extreme poverty- defined as those who live on less than $2.15 per person per day at 2017 purchasing power parity-was declining. But the trend was interrupted in 2020, when poverty rose due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis. The number of people in extreme poverty rose by 70 million to more than 700 million people. The global extreme poverty rate reached 9.3 percent, up from 8.4 percent in 2019.

The world's poorest people bore the steepest costs of the pandemic. Their income losses were twice as high as the world's richest, and global inequality rose for the first time in decades. The poorest also faced large setbacks in health and education which, if left unaddressed by policy action, will have lasting consequences for their lifetime income prospects.

The recovery since then has been uneven. Rising food and energy prices-fueled in part by the war in Ukraine and by climate shocks and conflict-have hindered a swift recovery. By the end of 2022, as many as 685 million people could still be living in extreme poverty.

The recent setbacks took place when the speed of progress toward poverty reduction was already slowing, in tandem with subdued global economic growth.

The recent crises have pushed the world further off track from the global goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030. Given current trends, 574 million people-nearly 7 percent of the world's population-will still be living on less than $2.15 a day in 2030. And the challenge is made harder by the fact that extreme poverty is concentrated in parts of the world where it will be hardest to eradicate: in Sub-Saharan Africa, in conflict-affected areas, and in rural areas.

Last Updated: Nov 30, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt the biggest setback to global poverty in decades. The economic recovery has been uneven, affected by rising food and energy prices-due to the war in Ukraine and climate change, among other factors-and high indebtedness in many countries. In addition, extreme poverty is now more concentrated in places where it will be hardest to eradicate, including in conflict-affected and rural areas.

Strategies to reach the least well-off must be tailored to each country's context, considering the latest data and analysis, and the needs of the population. How the world responds to these major challenges today will have a direct bearing on whether the current reversals in global poverty reduction can be turned around.

The World Bank provides recommendations for a complementary two-track approach: responding effectively to the urgent crisis in the short run, while continuing to focus on foundational development problems, including conflict and climate change.
Closing the gaps between policy aspiration and attainment
Too often, there is a wide gap between policies as articulated and their attainment in practice-between what citizens rightfully expect, and what they experience daily. Policy aspirations can be laudable, but there is likely to be considerable variation in the extent to which they can be realized, and in which groups benefit from them. For example, at the local level, those who have the least influence in a community might not be able to access basic services. It is critical to forge implementation strategies that can rapidly and flexibly respond to close the gaps.
Enhancing learning, improving data
From information gathered in household surveys to pixels captured by satellite images, data can inform policies and spur economic activity, serving as a powerful weapon in the fight against poverty. More data is available today than ever before, yet its value is largely untapped. Data is also a double-edged sword, requiring a social contract that builds trust by protecting people against misuse and harm, and works toward equal access and representation.
Investing in preparedness and prevention
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that years of progress in reducing poverty can quickly disappear when a crisis strikes. Prevention measures often have low political payoff, with little credit given for disasters averted. Over time, populations with no lived experience of calamity can become complacent, presuming that such risks have been eliminated or can readily be addressed if they happen. COVID-19, together with climate change and enduring conflicts, is reminding us of the importance of investing in preparedness and prevention measures comprehensively and proactively.
Expanding cooperation and coordination
Contributing to and maintaining public goods require extensive cooperation and coordination. This is crucial for promoting widespread learning and improving the data-driven foundations of policymaking. It is also important for forming a sense of shared solidarity during crises and ensuring that the difficult policy choices by officials are both trusted and trustworthy.

Overall, with more than 60 percent of the world's extreme poor living in middle-income countries, we cannot focus solely on low-income countries if we want to end extreme poverty. We need to focus on the poorest people, regardless of where they live, and work with countries at all income levels to invest in their well-being and their future.

The goal to end extreme poverty works hand in hand with the World Bank Group's goal to promote shared prosperity, focused on increasing income growth among the bottom 40 percent in every country. Boosting shared prosperity broadly translates into improving the welfare of the least well-off in each country and includes a strong emphasis on tackling persistent inequalities that keep people in poverty from generation to generation.

Our work at the World Bank Group is based on strong country-led programs to improve living conditions-to drive growth, raise median incomes, create jobs, fully incorporate women and young people into economies, address environmental and climate challenges, and support stronger, more stable economies for everyone.

We continue to work closely with countries to help them find the best ways to improve the lives of their least advantaged citizens.

Last Updated: Nov 30, 2022

The World Bank Group works to end poverty in several ways:

Funding projects that can have transformational impacts on communities.

Collecting and analyzing the critical data and evidence needed to target these programs to reach the poorest and most vulnerable.

Helping governments create more inclusive, effective policies that can benefit entire populations and lay the groundwork for prosperity for future generations.

Some examples:

Cambodia has achieved remarkable progress in reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity, but key reforms are needed to sustain pro-poor growth. The World Bank is supporting Cambodia to help address the country's challenges of limited economic diversification, rapidly increasing urbanization, human capital deficiencies, and infrastructure gaps.

Mexico has experienced high income inequality and concentration of poverty in a few states. The World Bank Group has supported Mexico's efforts to develop a more inclusive, effective, and integrated social protection system including relaunching a conditional cash transfer program to help improve access to higher education and formal employment.

In one of India's poorest states, Bihar, a program financed by the World Bank has transformed livelihoods by mobilizing almost 10 million rural women into self-help groups and granting them access to finance and markets to start and expand their businesses.

A pilot program in Ecuador used text messages to relay information and encouragement to caregivers in an impoverished region of the country and saw a significant improvement in the nutrition and health of children.

Since 2007, a team of experts from the World Bank has been helping Kenya strengthen statistical capacity by reshaping its National Bureau of Statistics. With World Bank's support, the bureau implemented a range of surveys to update key indicators of official statistics and improved the data ecosystem. The project is funded by $50 million from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA).

In-depth maps in countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Croatia, Republic of Serbia, and Vietnam show where economic diversity and gaps in services exist within a country. This, as part of the poverty assessment process, helps policymakers better target policies and programs to reach and benefit the poor.

Yemen's high malnutrition rates have drawn global attention, highlighting the impact the country's five-and-half-year civil war has had on its population. The Emergency Crisis Response Project gives pregnant women and women with children under the age of five money to buy food and teaches them about child nutrition. It has been able to reach more than 165,000 pregnant or lactating women and 175,000 children so far.

Conflict-affected communities in Mindanao are among the poorest in the Philippines, suffering from poor infrastructure and lack of basic services. The World Bank along with other partners have aimed to enhance access to services and economic opportunities and build social cohesion. These projects have help build water systems, community centers, sanitation facilities, access roads, post-harvest facilities, and farming and fishing equipment, benefiting 650,000 people in 284 villages in a decade.

An innovative series of rapid survey methodologies were pioneered in Somalia, one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The surveys overcame significant security and implementation obstacles to yield the most comprehensive analysis of the welfare of the Somali people in decades and is now being used in other countries.

Last Updated: Nov 30, 2022

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Fighting poverty in all of its dimensions lies at the core of the World Bank's work. We work closely with governments to develop sound policies so that poor people can improve their livelihoods, and access social and infrastructure services and good jobs.

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CAUSATION: How does lack of access to education cause cycles of poverty? - Andres

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CAUSATION: How does lack of access to education cause cycles of poverty? - Andres

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RESPONSIBILITY: Do people have any influence on the causes of poverty? - Estefania

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RESPONSIBILITY: Do people have any influence on the causes of poverty? - Estefania

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There are many causes of poverty such as: lack of employment and conflict. Also the consequences can be very disastrous for the future, like the lack of education, who can make them repeat the cycle of poverty.

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The causes and consequences of poverty have changed too much. Nowadays more than 100M of people are poor people because of the economy of the families or the government.

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Poverty has very significative effects on society, that affects health, economic opportunities, and social stability. This creates challenges and we need to solve it for a better future.

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Lack of education generates poverty by limiting access to well-paying jobs and basic services. This creates a cycle that repeats itself from generation to generation. Ensuring inclusive, quality education is key to breaking this cycle and improving living conditions.

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Yes, people can have an influence in causes of poverty, such as when they like when they make them work a lot and pay them little.

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CONNECTION: How consequences of poverty affects the life of all of us? - Fabiana

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CONNECTION: How consequences of poverty affects the life of all of us? - Fabiana

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Causes and consequences of poverty💸

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CHANGE: How did the causes and consequences of poverty change over time? -​ Alejandro

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CHANGE: How did the causes and consequences of poverty change over time? -​ Alejandro

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FORM: What are the causes and consequences of poverty?​ - Alejandra Li

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FORM: What are the causes and consequences of poverty?​ - Alejandra Li