Extreme Poverty Expected to Fall Below 10% of Global Population for First Time

Fewer than 10% of the world’s population will live in extreme poverty for the first time by the end of 2015, according to the World Bank, moving one step closer to the body’s stated goal of global extreme poverty eradication by 2030.

Using a new poverty line, the World Bank estimates that the global population living in poverty will fall to 702 million people in 2015, which is approximately 9.6% of the population. In 2012, 12.8% or around 902 million people lived in extreme poverty globally.

The international financial institution updated its global poverty line from $1.25 to $1.90 to reflect inflation and changes in purchasing power around the world.

“This is the best story in the world today — these projections show us that we are the first generation in human history that can end extreme poverty,” Jim Yong Kim, the president of the World Bank, said in a statement.

Yong credited investments into education and social safety nets for the dramatic reduction in poverty around the world. However, he acknowledged that certain difficult hurdles need to be overcome before this ambitious goal is reached.

He warned that poverty is becoming more deeply entrenched in conflict zones and countries dependent on commodity exports. He also said that poverty remains a pressing issue in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, although rates are expected to decline in both regions.