Poverty Rate by Country 2022

When a person does not have enough money to cover their fundamental human requirements, such as food, housing, and clothes, they are said to be in “poverty.”

There is poverty in every nation on Earth, yet some countries have a worse problem with poverty than others. This is the proportion of persons whose income falls below the poverty level in a certain demographic category.

Several factors might contribute to poverty, including a lack of clean water and fertile land, government policies, and even persistent armed war.

Calamities like the COVID epidemic or the 2020 earthquakes in Puerto Rico may burden already few resources in a poor region, as can natural disasters like these.

There are many ways poverty traps people. Poverty can only be overcome if individuals are educated, have access to clean water, have adequate health care, and can find work. Sadly, many individuals living in poverty reside in locations that lack these amenities.

They become stuck in an endless loop where they can’t acquire better employment without improving their position (education is especially important). Still, They can’t get better jobs without making improvements in their situation.

U.N., World Vision, and Global Citizen have worked with governments to ensure that disadvantaged people have access to clean water, enough food, inexpensive education, and other necessities.

One of two methods is often used to gauge poverty throughout a country. The first step determines how many individuals have a daily income of less than $10 per day. Because the starting points are the same in every nation, comparing one country to another is possible from a different vantage point.

The most common starting point is the 2011 PPP international dollar (INT) rate of $1.90 per day, a fictitious currency unit intended to facilitate country-to-country comparisons.

These people are deemed to be living in “severe poverty,” which means they are among the poorest people in society. To assist less impoverished count persons, it is common practice to use additional baselines, such as the hourly rate of $3.30/hour and $5.90/hour.

Poverty levels may also be gauged by looking at how many individuals or families in a country live below the “national poverty line” or poverty threshold, which is the yearly income below which a person or family is deemed destitute.

Because every country’s economy is unique, each country’s poverty line is computed differently. Those in the United States making $25,000 a year have different prospects than people in Somalia making the same amount of money.

According to the World Bank, [the OECD](Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), and the European Union, 50 percent of a given year’s median income is considered the national poverty line.

According to the United Nations, the national poverty line in the United States in 2020 would be $33,761 if the median income was $67,511.

Some nations, on the other hand, use a different methodology. First created in the 1960s, a method for calculating food prices for a year and multiplying by three is used by the United States, for example, to account for extra expenditures (housing, utilities, medical expenses, etc.).

This calculation determined the poverty line for a family of four at $26,246 (U.S.) in 2020, much lower than the World Bank’s more often used technique.

Many anti-poverty advocates and policy experts, including the Washington Post, argue that the U.S. formula is badly outdated and has failed to keep up with rising costs of housing and other expenses because of this discrepancy, as well as the fact that those living above the poverty threshold are often ineligible for aid programs.

According to the World Bank, since 1982, the number of people living in severe poverty has decreased from 1.94 billion to 696 million worldwide. When Earth’s population has increased from 4.5 billion in 1981 to over 7.8 billion in 2021, this drop is very heartening.

While the general poverty rate has decreased dramatically in the last several decades, certain nations have seen an increase in poverty.

As previously stated, there are still 696 million people who live on less than $1.90 (INT) a day in severe poverty. The poorest area on Earth, Sub-Saharan Africa, is home to about 430 million people.

In 2018, more than 40% of the people there lived in poverty. Poverty has increased in several nations because of political unrest or violence.

Others are impeded by climate change’s increasing frequency of natural catastrophes and continuing environmental pressures (such as drought). Both of these issues affect several nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The United States’ poverty rate varies based on the method of assessment. In 2017, the official poverty rate in the United States was 12.3 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Other publications, however, have it as high as 17.8%. Despite having the world’s most powerful economy, the United States has a wide disparity in wealth.

For a family of four, the poverty line in the United States will be $26,246 in 2021. A pre-tax income of less than $26,246 indicates that two adults and two children in a family are regarded as living in poverty.

More poor states have higher unemployment rates and fewer high-paying occupations, exacerbating poverty in such areas.

Also See: Poorest Countries in the World 2022

The following countries have the greatest rates of poverty in the world, according to the World Bank:

1. South Sudan – 82.30%
2. Equatorial Guinea – 76.80%
3. Madagascar – 70.70%
4. Guinea-Bissau – 69.30%
5. Eritrea – 69.00%
6. Sao Tome and Principe – 66.70%
7. Burundi – 64.90%
8. The Democratic Republic of the Congo – 63.90%
9. Central African Republic – 62.00%
10. Guatemala – 59.30%