News & Features - World Bank revises poverty numbers upward

ArcaMax Publishing > Current News

Your email address is safe with us. View our Privacy policy.

The Funnies:

Get free jokes, comics, and more! See them all on
our funnies page

Games:

Fun online games, quizzes, hangman and more on the games page

World Bank revises poverty numbers upward

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- More people are living in poverty in developing countries around world than previously thought, the World Bank in Washington said Wednesday.

The World Bank revised upward the number of the world's poor from nearly 1 billion to 1.4 billion, the United Nations said in a news release.

However, the bank said its information indicates progress being made in the fight against poverty.

"The new data confirm that the world will likely reach the first Millennium Development Goal of halving the 1990 level of poverty by 2015 and that poverty has fallen by about 1 percentage point a year since 1981," said Justin Lin, the World Bank's chief economist and senior vice president of development economics.

Despite the positive movement, "the sobering news that poverty is more pervasive than we thought means we must redouble our efforts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa," he warned.

The revised figures are based on 2005 measures of purchasing power but don't reflect the impact of recent jumps in food and fuel prices.

The World Bank is made up of two institutions -- the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association -- and provides developing countries financial and technical assistance.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 08/27/2008

Share this Story