New Norad report: 839 million people live in extreme poverty

– The fact that nearly 840 million people live on the absolute minimum is extremely serious. The picture is bleak, but not hopeless. The eradication of poverty is at the core of all aid. We are constantly working to ensure that the most vulnerable people are able to live full lives, says Norad Director General Gunn Jorid Roset.  

Read the report (in Norwegian only)

In recent years, the challenges associated with poverty have worsened. The decline has come to an almost complete halt. Most of those living in extreme poverty live in the poorest and most unstable countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Here, 2 in 3 people live on less than NOK 30 per day. 21 of the world’s 25 low-income countries are situated in this region.   

– Unfortunately, progress has slowed considerably in recent years due to the pandemic, inflation, more expensive loans, climate crises, war and increasing numbers of conflicts, says Roset. 

More than half the population of sub-Saharan Africa are under the age of 20. By 2050, young workers between the ages of 15 and 24 is projected to increase by more than 70 million.  

Economic growth has historically been by far the most important engine in reducing poverty. 

– Growth is just as necessary as before, but it is less effective in countries where there are now high levels of poverty. Future growth must result in better business development and more job creation and, not least, the poor need to receive an education that enables them to get the new jobs. In today’s world, this is financially challenging. But it will have an enormous upside for sub-Saharan Africa, with its large youth population in an otherwise aging world, says Lars Loe, Development Economist at Norad and one of the authors of the report. 

The report also shows that poverty has the greatest impact on girls.  

– Girls from poor rural families are the most disadvantaged – they are more likely to marry early, leave education and have children before the age of 18. Poverty is passed on from one generation to the next. This is why it is important to ensure that aid benefits girls, says Gunn Jorid Roset.  

Norad manages most of the Norwegian aid budget. Many countries have drastically cut their budgets.  

– In a world where aid budgets are under pressure, it is even more important to innovate to get more out of every penny. We need to establish new partnerships and collaborate with private sector stakeholders, Gunn Jorid Roset says.    

The fact that there are more people living in poverty now compared to last year and the years before is mainly due to a change in how poverty is measured, not necessarily people’s living conditions having suddenly become worse. The threshold for extreme poverty has been raised from USD 2.15 to USD 3 per day.  

More figures from the report:  

• According to the latest official figures from the World Bank, 839 million people or 10.3 per cent of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty in 2024. This corresponds to a decrease of 9 million from 2023. The number is expected to fall by around 8 million in 2025.   
• The number of people living in extreme poverty has increased by around 150 million in recent years compared to last year’s figures.   
• The upward adjustment in the number of people living in poverty is mainly due to improved measurement methods that better capture consumption. As part of this revision and partlyto inflation, the extreme poverty threshold has been raised from USD 2.15 to USD 3 per day.  
• The number of people living in extreme poverty has decreased by nearly 1.5 billion since 1990. Poverty is now declining more slowly than before, especially compared to the first decade of the millennium.  
• If it was possible to transfer the amount needed to raise all the more than 800 million people living in extreme poverty up to the poverty line of USD 3 per day, it would correspond to less than 0.2 per cent of the world’s total gross domestic product.    
• Poverty does not end at the extreme poverty line: The World Bank’s threshold for upper middle-income countries is USD 8.3 per day and the number of people below this threshold is 3.8 billion. The number of people living in poverty below this threshold has remained virtually unchanged since 1990, but has since declined as a proportion of the world’s population from around 70 to 47 per cent.  
• Most of the countries with the greatest challenges are in sub-Saharan Africa, where around 45 per cent of the population is believed to live in extreme poverty. Without increased scope for growth and development, there is a risk that poverty will remain at a high level for several decades to come.  
• Trends indicate that only 8 of 25 low-income countries will become middle-income countries in the next 25 years, compared to 42 countries in the 25-year period since the turn of the millennium. 
• In 2025, more than 70 million young people in Africa (23.2%) were not in employment, education or training. This means that more than one in five young people do not have a job, attend school or participate in skills training. 
• The OECD estimates total aid cuts of 16-28 per cent for sub-Saharan Africa in 2025. Of these projected cuts, the US is the largest, but cuts are also expected from major donor countries such as the UK, Germany and France.