Poverty matters

World leaders agreed in 2000 to halve the number of people living on less than a dollar a day by 2015. There has been some reported success in reducing global poverty levels. The number of people living on less than $1.25 a day in developing countries is said to have declined from 1.94 billion to 1.20 billion between 1981 and 2010 (figure 1.1). In addition, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty dropped from 52 to 21 per cent over the period 1981-2010. Thus, the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 2015 (MDG 1) is said to have been achieved well in advance of the target year.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development