Poverty has increased in the world: the number of people in need has reached 1.2 billion
More than half of those living in poverty are children. The study covered 108 developing countries.
The number of people living in severe conditions in the world, whose basic needs such as food, education, and medical care are not fully met, has reached 1.2 billion. This is the first recorded increase since 2010, and is 51.5 million more people compared to the previous estimate. This was announced in the 2026 Multidimensional Poverty Index prepared by the UN Development Programme and the University of Oxford.
According to the report, 617 million of those living in poverty are children, and 83 percent of representatives of this segment of the population live in rural areas.
In the study, poverty was assessed not only by income level, but also based on people's access to food, education, medical care, clean drinking water, electricity, and decent housing.
The report covered 108 developing countries where 78 percent of the world's population lives. Population growth also contributed to the increase in the number of people living in poverty. In 95 countries for which new data was not obtained, the number of people living in poverty increased by another 15.8 million due to population growth.
The head of the UN Development Programme, Alexander De Croo, emphasized that the rise in poverty is a serious warning for the international community. According to him, 1.2 billion people are facing problems such as hunger, limited access to education, and a lack of clean water and electricity.
In some countries, however, the situation has improved. Among the 13 countries with updated data, both the poverty rate and the number of poor people decreased in Egypt, Nepal, and Tajikistan. In Angola and Zambia, although the poverty rate declined, the number of poor people increased due to population growth.
In Nigeria, the positive changes observed in the 2010s have reversed in the 2020s. China, meanwhile, has achieved significant results: in 2010–2014, the share of people living in poverty in the country decreased from 9.5 percent to 4.2 percent.
It was previously reported that the UN had requested 23 billion dollars for humanitarian aid for 2026. This is significantly less than the 47 billion dollars requested for 2025. According to Reuters, the organization received only 12 billion dollars in funding in 2025. This is the lowest figure in the last ten years. The reduction in funding has also been affected by the United States cutting international aid.
