The world has made huge progress in reducing extreme poverty; could this be coming to an end?

In the last three decades, the world has made progress against extreme poverty faster than ever before. But unless the poorest economies start growing, this period of progress against the worst form of poverty is over.

Can we expect this rapid progress to continue?

Unfortunately, we cannot. Based on current trends, progress against extreme poverty will come to a halt. As we’ll see, the number of people in extreme poverty is projected to decline, from 831 million people in 2025 to 793 million people in 2030. After 2030, the number of extremely poor people is expected to increase.

To understand why the rapid progress against deep poverty will not continue into the future, we need to...

The world has made huge progress in reducing extreme poverty; could this be coming to an end?

In the last three decades, the world has made progress against extreme poverty faster than ever before. But unless the poorest economies start growing, this period of progress against the worst form of poverty is over.

Can we expect this rapid progress to continue?

Unfortunately, we cannot. Based on current trends, progress against extreme poverty will come to a halt. As we’ll see, the number of people in extreme poverty is projected to decline, from 831 million people in 2025 to 793 million people in 2030. After 2030, the number of extremely poor people is expected to increase.

To understand why the rapid progress against deep poverty will not continue into the future, we need to know why the world made progress in the past.