Poverty

Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse <a href="/facts/Biophysical_environment/PNzMrGrz">environmental</a>, <a href="/facts/Legal/luzxWkg0">legal</a>, <a href="/facts/Social/twVnad19">social</a>, <a href="/facts/Economic/okLWSsEY">economic</a>, and <a href="/facts/Political/1gDNy3RP">political</a> causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in statistics or economics there are two main measures: <a href="/facts/Absolute_poverty/603F4wQd">absolute poverty</a> which compares income against the amount needed to meet <a href="/facts/Basic_needs/UWhz2Ham">basic personal needs</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Food/RgNq6NAK">food</a>, <a href="/facts/Clothing/5J5RhkYY">clothing</a>, and <a href="/facts/Shelter_(building)/t4VFFX1V">shelter</a>; secondly, <a href="/facts/Relative_poverty/VdgLbwUk">relative poverty</a> measures when a person cannot meet a minimum level of <a href="/facts/Living_standards/oKRuG57a">living standards</a>, compared to others in the same time and place. The definition of relative poverty varies from one country to another, or from one <a href="/facts/Society/PulvrYfa">society</a> to another.
Statistically, as of 2019, most of the world's population live in poverty: in <a href="/facts/Purchasing_Power_Parity/qpRMGaXG">PPP</a> dollars, 85% of people live on less than $30 per day, two-thirds live on less than $10 per day, and 10% live on less than $1.90 per day. According to the World Bank Group in 2020, more than 40% of the poor live in conflict-affected countries. Even when countries experience <a href="/facts/Economic_development/4KRrMBaM">economic development</a>, the poorest citizens of middle-income countries frequently do not gain an adequate share of their countries' increased wealth to leave poverty. Governments and non-governmental organizations have experimented with a number of different policies and programs for <a href="/facts/Poverty_alleviation/qTXfx5c1">poverty alleviation</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Rural_electrification/A4XRzq8m">electrification in rural areas</a> or <a href="/facts/Housing_First/lhERBUHh">housing first policies</a> in urban areas. The international policy frameworks for poverty alleviation, established by the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a> in 2015, are summarized in <a href="/facts/Sustainable_Development_Goal_1/6UDN0qFy">Sustainable Development Goal 1: "No Poverty"</a>.
Social forces, such as <a href="/facts/Feminization_of_poverty/3G8DwJtF">gender</a>, <a href="/facts/Disability_and_poverty/Ls9rdCaV">disability</a>, <a href="/facts/Racial_inequality/mSlMBETI">race and ethnicity</a>, can exacerbate issues of poverty—with women, <a href="/facts/Child_poverty/rzWjx4Q8">children</a> and minorities frequently bearing unequal burdens of poverty. Moreover, impoverished individuals are more vulnerable to the effects of other social issues, such as the <a href="/facts/Environmental_justice/et7xtoQv">environmental effects of industry</a> or the <a href="/facts/Climate_change_and_poverty/n12PQxsw">impacts of climate change</a> or other <a href="/facts/Natural_disaster/cCSK2uH0">natural disasters</a> or <a href="/facts/Extreme_weather/gzcNR4BC">extreme weather events</a>. Poverty can also make other <a href="/facts/Social_problems/JLBMz1sm">social problems</a> worse; economic pressures on impoverished communities frequently play a part in <a href="/facts/Deforestation/L1TNhN9p">deforestation</a>, <a href="/facts/Causes_of_biodiversity_loss/p7xI1P0G">biodiversity loss</a> and <a href="/facts/Ethnic_conflict/UD5v1e8r">ethnic conflict</a>. For this reason, the UN's <a href="/facts/Sustainable_Development_Goals/b7lVYvFN">Sustainable Development Goals</a> and other international policy programs, such as the international recovery from COVID-19, emphasize the connection of poverty alleviation with other societal goals.

Poverty open-in-new

Poverty