money & economicsanalysisOur World in Data2000s–present
Extreme poverty fell sharply this century, but progress may be stalling
At the turn of the millennium about 2.2 billion people lived in extreme poverty, defined as surviving on less than $3 a day in today's money. Since then the number has fallen dramatically, one of the largest reductions in human history, driven mostly by rapid growth in China, India and other fast-growing economies. Progress has slowed in recent years, and many of the remaining poor live in sub-Saharan Africa, where conflict, climate shocks and debt make gains harder to sustain. Whether the decline continues depends on how growth reaches the poorest places.
Extreme poverty is measured by comparing incomes across countries with purchasing-power adjustments, so a dollar buys a comparable bundle of goods everywhere. Rising incomes move people above the line, while slow growth or shocks can push people back below it.
Extreme poverty measures the share of people unable to meet basic needs, and its decline is one of the defining trends of recent decades, so any reversal would be a major shift.
background
Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services". Historically, other definitions have been proposed within the United Nations.
Extreme poverty mainly refers to an income below the international poverty line of $3 per day in 2025 ($2.99 in 2025 dollars), set by the World Bank. This is the equivalent of $1.00 a day in 1985 US prices, hence the widely used expression "living on less than a dollar a day". The vast majority of those in extreme poverty reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. As of 2026, it is estimated that the country with the most people living in extreme poverty is the DRC, at 76.2 million.
In the past, the vast majority of the world population lived in conditions of extreme poverty.
From Wikipedia: Extreme poverty (CC BY-SA 4.0) ↗
