According to UN report

Over half a billion children live in extreme poverty

(Bild: Caritas)

According to a UN report, 1.1 billion people on earth live in extreme poverty, more than half of whom are children. 40 percent of people affected by extreme poverty live in conflict areas. That is 455 million people.

"The overall poverty rate in conflict areas is three times higher than in non-conflict areas," said Sabina Alkire from Oxford University, who was involved in the study. In view of the large number of armed conflicts, of which there are currently more than at any time since the Second World War, the international community must not only eradicate poverty, but also promote peace.

According to the authors of the report, which has been published annually since 2010, they examine data from 112 countries in which 6.3 billion people live. The current report refers to the year 2023. The study quantifies so-called multidimensional poverty based on criteria such as lack of adequate housing, sanitation, electricity, food and education.

Almost 28 percent of all children affected by severe poverty
According to the report, more than half of those affected by this particularly severe poverty - 584 million people - are minors. That is 27.9 percent of children and young people worldwide. Among adults worldwide, the poverty rate is 13.5 percent.

Situation worst in Africa and South Asia
According to the study, the majority of the 1.1 billion people affected, 83.2 percent, live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. India is the worst affected country. According to the report, 234 million of the country's 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty. According to the report, poverty is also particularly high in Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.