Poverty facts for kids
Poverty means not having enough money or resources to meet basic needs like food, clothes, and a safe home. It can be caused by many things, including problems with the environment, laws, society, economy, or politics. Poverty also makes people more vulnerable to other challenges, like the effects of climate change or natural disasters.
Experts measure poverty in two main ways. Absolute poverty looks at whether someone has enough to cover their most basic needs. Relative poverty compares a person's living standard to others in their country or community. This means what is considered "poor" can be different in various places.
As of 2019, a large part of the world's population lived in poverty. For example, 10% of people lived on less than $1.90 per day. Many organizations, like the United Nations and the World Bank Group, work to reduce poverty. They have set goals, such as Sustainable Development Goal 1: "No Poverty," to help everyone have a better life.
What is Poverty?
The word poverty comes from an old French word, poverté, which means "poor." It describes a situation where a person or community lacks the money and basic things needed for a decent life.
The United Nations explains that poverty takes away choices and opportunities. It means not having enough food or clothes, no school or clinic nearby, and no job to earn a living. It can also mean feeling unsafe, powerless, and left out of society.
The World Bank describes poverty as a serious lack of well-being. This includes low incomes and not being able to get basic goods and services. It also means having limited access to health, education, clean water, and safety.
Different Ways to Measure Poverty
There are different ways to understand and measure poverty around the world. These methods help us see how many people are struggling and what kind of help they might need.
Absolute Poverty: Basic Needs
Absolute poverty means not having enough to meet basic human needs. This includes food, safe drinking water, a place to live, healthcare, and education. It's often called "extreme poverty" or "deep poverty."
The "dollar a day" poverty line was created in 1990 to measure this. It's not just about the exact dollar amount. It's about how much local money is needed to buy the same basic things a dollar would buy in the United States.
The World Bank updated this line over time. In 2015, it was set at living on less than US$1.90 per day. This helps compare poverty levels across different countries.
Relative Poverty: Compared to Others
Relative poverty looks at poverty based on the society someone lives in. It means a person cannot meet the minimum living standards compared to others in the same place. For example, if most people have modern homes, living in a small tent might be considered relative poverty.
This measure is often used in wealthier countries. It helps show how income is distributed within a country. Usually, relative poverty is measured by how many people have an income below a certain percentage of the average income in their country.
Other Ways to Look at Poverty
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| ≥ 0.900 0.850–0.899 0.800–0.849 0.750–0.799 0.700–0.749 | 0.650–0.699 0.600–0.649 0.550–0.599 0.500–0.549 0.450–0.499 | 0.400–0.449 ≤ 0.399 Data unavailable |
Poverty can also be understood as a lack of social connections and opportunities. This means people might feel left out or unable to participate fully in society. It can involve not having access to information, education, healthcare, or a voice in their community.
Some people might have enough money but spend it on non-essential items. This can lead to them living in a state of poverty in practice. Factors like this can include spending on things that don't help their long-term well-being.
How Many People Live in Poverty?
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The number of people living in extreme poverty has decreased significantly over the past few decades. In 1981, about 1.9 billion people lived on less than $1.25 per day. By 2005, this number had fallen to 1.4 billion.
The percentage of the world's population in absolute poverty dropped from 43% in 1981 to 14% in 2011. This improvement was largely due to progress in East and South Asia, especially in China.
However, poverty remains a major challenge. In 2012, about 1.2 billion people lived in poverty using the $1.25 a day line. The World Bank reported in 2015 that 702.1 million people were in extreme poverty. This was a decrease from 1.75 billion in 1990.
Most people living in extreme poverty in 2015 were in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. While the global rate of extreme poverty fell below 10% for the first time in 2015, the rate of decline has slowed. This is partly due to population growth and economic challenges in some regions.
In 2024, Oxfam reported that roughly five billion people had become poorer since 2020. They warned that current trends could delay global poverty eradication for many years.
| Region | $2.15 per day | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| East Asia and Pacific | 83.5% | 65.8% | 39.5% | 13.3% | 1.6% | 1.2% |
| Europe and Central Asia | — | — | 9.1% | 4.1% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 15.1% | 16.8% | 13.5% | 6.4% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Middle East and North Africa | — | 6.5% | 3.5% | 1.9% | 9.6% | — |
| South Asia | 58% | 49.8% | — | 26% | 10.1% | 8.6% |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | — | 53.8% | 56.5% | 42.2% | 35.4% | 34.9% |
| World | 43.6% | 37.9% | 29.3% | 16.3% | 9% | 8.5% |
How Poverty Affects People's Lives
Poverty creates a cycle of challenges that can affect many parts of a person's life. These effects can also become causes of more poverty, making it hard to break free.
Health and Well-being
Poverty is linked to many health problems. About 18 million people die each year from causes related to poverty. People in developing nations, especially women and children, are most affected. They often suffer from hunger, serious illnesses, and have shorter lives.
Serious illnesses like malaria can keep people in poverty. They take away health and economic resources that could be used for growth. Studies show that poverty can also affect how people think and solve problems. Financial worries can make it harder to focus and make good decisions.
Poor people often get sick more easily because they lack good healthcare. Girls in poor families can suffer even more due to unfair treatment. When someone in a poor family gets sick, other family members might have to stop working or going to school to care for them. This makes it harder for the family to earn money and improve their lives.
Hunger and Nutrition
It is estimated that over a billion people go to bed hungry every night. Hunger and malnutrition are major threats to public health worldwide. They are the biggest cause of child deaths.
Poor families spend a larger part of their money on food. This makes them very vulnerable when food prices go up. Threats to food supply can also come from droughts and water shortages. Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals aims to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
Mental Health and Stress
Living in poverty can cause a lot of stress and affect mental health. Financial worries, lack of healthcare, and unsafe environments can contribute to mental health challenges. Children growing up in poverty may have slower cognitive development.
For children to grow up emotionally healthy, they need stable and loving care. They also need safe environments and opportunities to learn and play. Studies have shown that increased family income can lead to fewer behavioral problems in children.
Education and Learning
Children from low-income families often face challenges in school. They are at a higher risk of falling behind or dropping out. Schools in poor areas may lack resources and safe learning environments.
Children in poverty often have less access to healthcare. This can lead to more absences from school due to illness. Hunger, tiredness, and other health issues can also make it hard for them to focus in class.
In some countries, girls in poorer areas might face more barriers to education. This is due to social expectations that they marry early. In richer countries, boys might leave school early to start working.
Homes and Living Conditions
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Poverty increases the risk of homelessness. Many people in cities live in slums, which are often crowded and lack basic services. These conditions can be as bad as, or worse than, poverty in rural areas.
There are over 100 million street children worldwide. Many children end up in orphanages not because they have no parents, but because their families are too poor to care for them. Helping relatives care for these children is often more effective and kinder.
When wealthier people move into poorer neighborhoods, it can raise rents. This can force low-income families to leave their homes to find affordable housing elsewhere.
Access to Basic Services
Poor people often pay more for essential services. Ensuring access to water, sanitation, energy, and internet can help reduce poverty.
Clean Water and Toilets
Many people around the world lack access to proper toilets and clean water. This can lead to serious health problems. Providing affordable toilets and promoting good hygiene can greatly reduce diseases like diarrhea.
Water services are often more available to richer, urban populations. Poor people who are not connected to water systems often have to buy water from vendors. They pay much higher prices for it.
Electricity and Other Utilities
Access to reliable electricity is also a challenge in many poor areas. This affects everything from lighting homes to powering schools and businesses. Efforts to bring electricity to rural areas are important for development.
Fairness and Opportunities
Social factors like unfair treatment can make poverty worse. This includes discrimination based on age, physical ability, gender, or background.
Children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty as adults. Women also face higher rates of poverty, often called the "feminization of poverty." This is partly because women often take on more caregiving roles.
People experiencing poverty are more likely to develop a disability. This can create a cycle where disability and poverty reinforce each other.
Working Towards a World Without Poverty
Many strategies are used to reduce poverty. Some focus on making basic needs more available. Others aim to increase people's income so they can buy what they need.
Reducing poverty also means reducing inequality. Organizations like Oxfam suggest that too much wealth in the hands of a few can harm the economy. They believe that sharing resources more fairly can help everyone, especially those struggling the most.
Helping People Get What They Need
New Ideas and Technology
New farming technologies, like better fertilizers and seeds, have greatly increased food production. This has helped reduce food shortages. The Industrial Revolution also led to economic growth and reduced widespread poverty in many parts of the world.
Advances in medicine also help. For example, simple and cheap solutions like water filters and hand washing can prevent many deaths from diseases. Providing essential nutrients in food, like iodized salt, is also a very effective way to improve health.
Government Support and Fair Rules
Some basic needs are best provided by governments. Universal healthcare systems can make healthcare more affordable for everyone. However, government funds can be lost due to corruption. This means money meant for services for the poor might not reach them.
Many developing countries have large debts to richer countries and banks. Repaying these debts can limit how much money governments can spend on their citizens. Debt relief programs can free up funds for essential services like healthcare and education.
Making Services Accessible
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Even with new products, people need to be able to get them. Better roads and transportation help connect remote areas to markets and services. This makes it easier for farmers to sell their goods and for people to access healthcare.
The loss of skilled workers, like doctors, from poorer countries can be damaging. This is when professionals move to wealthier countries for better opportunities. Solutions include encouraging medical tourism to create more jobs at home.
Better education for both men and women can help reduce population growth. When people have more control over their lives and futures, they often choose to have smaller families. This can reduce pressure on local economies and resources.
Helping People Earn More Money
Increasing people's income is key to reducing poverty. Most poor people are farmers, so helping them earn more is very important.
Direct Financial Help
A guaranteed minimum income ensures everyone can afford basic needs. This can be done through a basic income, where every citizen receives a regular sum of money. Studies show that giving cash directly to people can increase their spending, schooling, and nutrition.
Direct cash transfers are often more efficient than giving out subsidized goods. This is because subsidies can sometimes benefit wealthier people more. Digital currencies could make it easier to send money directly to people, even in remote areas.
Fair Chances to Start Businesses
Corruption can make it hard to start a business in some countries. This favors large companies and makes it difficult for small businesses, which create many jobs, to grow. Reducing these barriers helps more people become entrepreneurs.
Giving poor people legal rights to the land they live on can greatly increase their wealth. This encourages them to improve their land and homes. It also protects them from having their land unfairly taken away.
Greater access to markets helps people earn more. Improved roads connect farmers to buyers, increasing their income. Money sent home by people working in other countries also significantly boosts incomes in poorer nations.
Learning and Job Skills
Free education from preschool to high school gives children from low-income families better job prospects. It helps them earn more and move up in society. Job training programs that teach in-demand skills also help reduce poverty.
Simple and cost-effective strategies can improve education. For example, providing school meals can increase enrollment and attendance. Giving children deworming medicine can reduce absences due to illness.
Programs that offer cash to families if their children go to school or get vaccinated are also effective. These "conditional cash transfers" encourage positive behaviors and improve children's health and education.
Antipoverty Institutions
Intergovernmental Organizations
In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals aim to create a better future for everyone by 2030. Sustainable Development Goal 1 is to "end poverty in all its forms everywhere." This includes eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring everyone has access to basic resources.
Development Banks
Development banks, like the World Bank, provide money for economic development projects. They help finance projects that might not get funding from regular banks. These institutions play a big role in supporting growth in developing countries.
Nongovernmental Organizations
Many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) work to fight poverty. They often have local expertise and can deliver aid efficiently. However, sometimes there are too many small projects, which can make coordination difficult.
A lot of aid from richer countries is "tied aid." This means the receiving country must spend the money on products or services from the donor country. This can sometimes make aid less effective.
Causes
The causes of poverty are complex. Some believe poverty comes from problems with how wealth is shared in society. They suggest that resources should be distributed more fairly. Others think that creating good conditions for businesses to grow is the best solution.
Poverty can be a cycle, where one problem leads to another. For example, lack of education can lead to low-paying jobs, which then makes it hard to afford good healthcare. This cycle can continue for generations.
Most historians believe that extreme poverty was common for most of human history. It was only with the rise of industry in the 19th century that many people were lifted out of it. However, some scholars argue that widespread poverty increased after 1500 with colonialism and the start of capitalism. They believe that poverty continues because many working people do not own or control the resources they need.
Ethics
Human Rights
Many people argue that poverty is a violation of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to social security. This means having access to basic support from society.
Environmentalism
Poor people often suffer the most from environmental damage. This damage can be caused by the overuse of natural resources by wealthier groups. For example, developing countries experience most of the harm from climate change, even though richer countries have produced most of the greenhouse gas emissions.
Poverty can also lead to environmental problems, as people might have to use resources unsustainably to survive. However, some believe that poor communities can also be important leaders in protecting the environment. Climate change is expected to make poverty worse, pushing millions more people into extreme poverty by 2030.
Images for kids
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A Japanese Buddhist pilgrim on alms round (during Shikoku Pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan)
See also
In Spanish: Pobreza para niños
