The World Bank has released revised global poverty estimates up to 2024. The data reveal that while global extreme poverty has now returned to pre-pandemic levels, low-income countries (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) remain facing additional shocks from inflationary pressures.

The September 2024 update to the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) shows that in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reversed the historic gains in poverty reduction in all regions, except Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) where fiscal stimulus helped alleviate some of the economic hardship faced by low-income households. The largest regression in extreme poverty was observed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, also before the pandemic, mainly attributable to fragility in the region.

According to the ‘What’s New’ document, in 2022, the global poverty headcount ratio at the International Poverty Line (USD 2.15 per person per day, 2017 purchasing power parity (PPP)) remained around 9%. The total number of extreme poor was revised marginally upward, from 712 million to 713 million. The World Bank anticipates that by 2024, this number will decline to about 692 million. 

The September 2024 revision introduces several changes to the data underlying the global poverty estimates. The database now includes 16 new country-years. The total number of surveys has increased to nearly 2,400. The update includes new methodologies for measuring global poverty and introduces new indicators of shared prosperity – the Prosperity Gap and the number of economies with high income inequality.

The update also features two new analytical dashboards: growth incidence curves; and poverty decompositions. Depending on data availability, global and regional poverty estimates are reported up to 2022. For the first time, the Poverty and Inequality Platform also includes country-level, regional, and global estimates up to 2024. The September 2024 update incorporates the poverty and inequality measures and trends that will be discussed in greater detail in the forthcoming World Bank’s Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024.

The revised estimates were published on 20 September 2024. [Publication: September 2024 Update to the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP): What’s New] [Publication Landing Page] [World Bank Data Blog]