A Look at Poverty in the World - Compassion International

Billions of people around the world live in extreme poverty. Nearly 1 out of every 10 people in the world lives below the international poverty line. Children&Poverty ALookatGlobalPoverty ChildrenandPoverty ALookatPovertyintheWorld WhoeveriskindtothepoorlendstotheLORD,andhewillberepaidinfull.—Proverbs19:17,NIV WorldPovertyIsaDisaster Billionsofpeoplearoundtheworldliveinextremepoverty.Nearly1outofevery10peopleintheworldlivesbelowtheinternationalpovertyline.That’s689millionpeoplestrugglingtosurviveonlessthan$1.90aday.1 Andnearly2billionpeople,or26.2%oftheworld’spopulation,liveonlessthan$3.20aday.2 Theextremelypoorlivewithoutsupport,onthesidelines,watchingeconomicgrowthandprosperitypassthemby.Theyareshunnedbytheworldeconomy.Theylivelivesabundantinscarcity.Withoutenoughfood,accesstocleanwaterorpropersanitation.Withoutaccesstosafeshelter,healthcareoreducation. WhatDoesItMeantoLiveinPoverty? AlthoughtheWorldBankestablishedthemostwidelyheldandunderstooddefinitionofpoverty,theyhavealsodescribedpovertyas:3 Hunger. Lackofshelter. Beingsickandnotbeingabletoseeadoctor. Nothavingaccesstoschoolandnotknowinghowtoread. Nothavingajob. Fearforthefuture. Livingonedayatatime. Losingachildtoillnessbroughtaboutbyuncleanwater. Powerlessness. Lackofrepresentationandfreedom. Thisunderstandinganddescriptionofpovertyshowsabroadeningoftheglobaldefinitionofpoverty,butitdoesn'treplacetheWorldBank’s$1.90perdaystandardforextremepovertyusedtomeasuretheglobalpovertyrate. TheWorldBankhasalsodevelopedindicatorstoassessnon-incomedimensionsofpoverty.Theseindicatorsincludeeducation,health,accesstosocialservices,vulnerability,socialexclusionandaccesstosocialcapital.4Indicatorssuchastheseofferkeyideasintowhatglobalpovertyisandremindusthatpovertyisacomplexissuewithcomplexsolutionsdependingonregion,country,communityandfamily. TheEnvironmentalInequalityofPovertyintheWorld Eventheenvironmentattackspoorpeople.Whennaturestrikes,theworld’spoorsufferthemost.Povertyandtheenvironmentarecloselyconnected,andthoselivingbelowthepovertylinearedeeplyimpactedbydeforestation,lackofsafewaterandnaturaldisasters. Eachyear26millionpeoplefallintopovertyduetonaturaldisasters.Earthquakes,alongwiththetsunamistheyspawned,killedmorepeoplethanallothertypesofdisasterscombined,claimingnearly750,000livesbetween1994and2013.Hurricaneshaveadevastatingeffectonpovertyastheyslowdevelopmentandcauseadropinemployment.Inparticular,hurricanescauseadecreaseindevelopmentandalossofGDP.In1998,HurricaneMitchcaused30yearsofdecreaseddevelopmentinHondurasandNicaragua.HurricaneIvanledtolossesofmorethan200%ofGrenada’sGDPin2004.5 Droughtaffectedmorethan1billionpeoplebetween1994and2013,or25%oftheglobalpopulation.Morethan40%ofdroughtswereinAfrica,indicatingthatlower-incomecountriesarestillbeingoverwhelmedbydroughtdespiteeffectiveearlywarningsbeinginplace.6 50%OFTHEWORLD'SREFUGEES arechildren7 2MillionHAITIANSWERELEFTHOMELESS afterthe2010earthquake8 218MillionPEOPLEWORLDWIDE areaffectedbynaturaldisasterseveryyear6 GlobalPovertyandtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals TheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDG),adoptedin2015bytheUnitedNations,isthemostcomprehensiveandambitiouspovertyreductionplantheworldhasembarkedupon. Itexpandsthescopeoftheworldcommunity’spreviouseffortstoendextremepovertyanderadicatestheburdenpovertyplacesontheworldpopulation—childmalnutrition,genderinequality,uncleanwater,impropersanitation,poorhealthandwell-being,andinequalitiesineducation,economics,energy,justiceandsustainability. Thisburden,theburdenofpoverty,isliterallycarriedontheheadsandonthebacksofthepoor. Buttheburdenpovertyplacesonsocietyandindividualsisn’tjusteconomicorphysical.Measuringpovertythiswayoverlookstheothertypesofpovertyoppressingthemarginalized.Povertycausesthepoortosufferemotionallyandspirituallyaswell. That’swhytheSDGisn’tjustaboutendingpovertyaroundtheworld.It’saboutprotectingtheplanetandensuringallpeopleenjoypeaceandprosperity. Buildingasustainablefuturemeansfindingwaystomeettheneedsofthepresentwithoutsacrificingtheabilityoffuturegenerationstomeettheirownneeds.Itrequiresaunified,collaborativeandglobalapproachthatisn’tboundbycultures,conditionsorcontinents. Becausealifeofpovertymeansthepoorcarryashadeofpovertyintheirheartsandwearitetchedontheirfaces.Theybecomeshellsofunfulfilledpotentialandpossibility. Effortstoeliminateinequalityandextremepovertyintheworldhavegraduallyloweredpovertyratesinmanylow-andmiddle-incomecountriesinSouthAsiaandLatinAmerica.Butnoteveryonehasbeenhelped. AccordingtotheWorldDataLab,povertyinAfricaisincreasingin16countries.Additionally,27oftheworld’s28poorestcountriesareinsub-SaharanAfrica,andeachhasapovertyrateofover30%.9Whiletheabsolutenumberofpeoplelivinginglobalpovertyhasdecreasedoverthelastseveraldecades,insub-SaharanAfrica,thenumberhasincreased,andsubstantiallyso. ExtremepovertythroughouttheworldisalsorisingduetotheCOVID-19pandemic.AccordingtotheUnitedNationsSustainableDevelopmentGoalsReport2020,theglobalpovertyratehasrisento8.8%in2020from8.2%in2019.Thisisthefirstincreasesince1998. Inworkingwithkidsinpovertyallaroundtheworld,weseepovertytryingtostealjoy,destroydignityandputhopetodeath.Weseepovertytryingtoenslavechildrenandsustainhelplessnessforgenerations.Andweseetheshellsofthepeopleitconquers. Butpovertydoesn’talwayswin. Notevenclose. IsPovertyIncreasingorDecreasingAroundtheWorld? Thegoodnewsis1.1billionpeoplehavemovedoutofextremepovertysince1990,and15countrieshavemaderapidprogressinextremepoverty.SeveralcountriesinAsia,includingChina,MoldovaandVietnam,effectivelyendedextremepovertyin2015.Tanzania,oneofsevensub-Saharancountriesonthelist,almosthalveditsextremepovertyinjustoveradecade! Althoughtheworldhasmadehugeprogressonextremepovertyreduction,progresshasn’tbeeneven.Themajorityofthe689millionpeoplestilllivingonlessthan$1.90adayareinsub-SaharanAfrica.Evenamongsub-Saharanhigh-performerssuchasTanzania,ratesofextremepovertyremainabove40%. Inaddition,thepaceofdeclineintheoverallextremepovertyratehasslowedsince2013,andtheworldisn’tontracktohitthetargetofendingpovertyby2030.Thepandemichasalsodramaticallyslowedthereductionofpovertyacrosstheglobe.10 3/5OFTHEWORLD'SEXTREMELYPOOR areconcentratedinjustfivecountries 70%OFTHEWORLD'SPOORESTPEOPLE liveinAfrica 79%OFTHEWORLDWIDEPOOR liveinruralareas Source:WorldBankandTheBrookingsInstitution Povertycannotanddoesnotsnuffoutlife—unlessweletit.Pleasedon'tletit. HELPACHILDCASTOFFTHEBURDENOFPOVERTY.SPONSORACHILDTODAY! Childsponsorshipisoneofthemostcost-effectivemethodsforhelpingpeopleescapepoverty.Apolloftopdevelopmenteconomistsratedchildsponsorshipthemosteffectivelong-termdevelopmentinterventionforhelpingthepoor11,andourprogramistheonlychildsponsorshipprogramtobeindependentlyandempiricallyvalidatedaseffective. Showingresultsfor (childrenfound): SortBy: Priority Age(Youngest) Age(Oldest) LongestWaiting BirthdayToday Choose Priority Age(Youngest) Age(Oldest) LongestWaiting BirthdayToday Loading Prev Prev 11 ... 1 ... Next Next Showing–ofchildren 24perpage 48perpage 72perpage Sorry,therewasaproblemretrievingthechildrenforthispage.Pleasetryagain. Sorry,therewerenochildrenfound.Pleaseusethesearchformtofindachildtosponsor. SimilarChildren: ViewAll> SuggestedSearches Whenyousponsorachildinpoverty,yoursponsoredchildwillbelinkeddirectlytoyou.Yoursponsoredchildwillknowyournameandyouwillbeabletowriteletterstoeachother. ViewMoreChildren SearchforChildren   Close SearchforaChildtoSponsor WhereinTheWorld NoPreference Africa    BurkinaFaso    Ethiopia    Ghana    Kenya    Rwanda    Tanzania    Togo    Uganda Asia    Bangladesh    Indonesia    Philippines    SriLanka    Thailand CentralAmericaandCaribbean    DominicanRepublic    ElSalvador    Guatemala    Haiti    Honduras    Mexico    Nicaragua SouthAmerica    Bolivia    Brazil    Colombia    Ecuador    Peru Gender NoPreference Male Female AgeRange: Birthday SelectToday Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Year 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 Showmoresearchoptions(childname,specialneedsandmore) LongestWaiting NoPreference Yes OrphanedChild NoPreference Yes VulnerabletoExploitation NoPreference Yes AffectedbyHIV/AIDS NoPreference Yes Mentally/PhysicallyChallenged NoPreference Yes ChildFirstName ChildCenterName/ID Showfewersearchoptions Cancel GiveWithConfidence WithCompassion,yourdonationisusedwiselytohelpchildrenaroundtheworld. Weuseindustry-standardcommunicationprotocolstoensureyourpersonalinformationisencryptedandtransmittedwithoutrisk. TrustedCharitySince1952 HaveQuestionsAboutCompassionandHowWeWork? Donatingtoacharityisanimportantdecision.Sowhenyou’repassionateaboutacauseandwanttomakeadifference,weencourageyoutodoyourresearch.Compassionis100%committedtofinancialintegrity,stewardshipandusingeachdollarwisely.IfyouhaveanyquestionsaboutCompassionorexactlyhowyourdonationwillbeused,pleasedon’thesitatetocontactus. Questions? Pleasecallusat800-336-7676,MondaythroughFriday,7a.m.to5:30p.m.MTtospeakwithaCompassionrepresentative. Sources: 1MeasuringPoverty.WorldBank,https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/measuringpoverty. 2NearlyHalftheWorldLivesonLessthan$5.50aday.WorldBank,https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/17/nearly-half-the-world-lives-on-less-than-550-a-day 3Overview:Understanding,measuringandovercomingpoverty.TheWorldBank,http://go.worldbank.org/RQBDCTUXW0. 4Worlddevelopmentreport2000-2001:Attackingpoverty.TheWorldBank,http://go.worldbank.org/L8RGH3WLI0. 5HowHurricanesAffectPovertyAroundtheWorld.TheBorgenProject,https://borgenproject.org/how-hurricanes-affect-global-poverty/. 6Thehumancostofnaturaldisasters:aglobalperspective.CentreForResearchontheEpidemiologyofDisasters,https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/42895 7Worldwide,early33millionchildrenhavebeenforciblydisplacedattheendof2019.UNICEF,https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-migration-and-displacement/displacement/ 8TenfactsaboutHaiti’shousingcrisis.AmnestyInternational,https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/01/ten-facts-about-haiti-s-housing-crisis/ 9Patel,Nirav.“FigureoftheWeek:UnderstandingPovertyinAfrica.”Brookings,Brookings,21Nov.2018,www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2018/11/21/figure-of-the-week-understanding-poverty-in-africa/. 10Thesecountrieshaveseenthebiggestfallsinextremepoverty.WorldEconomicForum,https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/chart-of-the-day-these-countries-have-seen-the-biggest-falls-in-extreme-poverty/ 11Wydick,Bruce.“Cost-EffectiveCompassion:The10MostPopularStrategiesforHelpingthePoor.”ChristianityToday.www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/february/popular-strategies-helping-the-poor.htmlaccessed17February2012. *In2015,theWorldBankbeganphasingouttheterm“developingworld”initspublicationsanddatabases.Theuseofthedevelopedcountriesanddevelopingcountriescategorieswas“becominglessrelevant”withtheadoptionoftheSDGanditsfocusontargetsfortheentireworld.