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    Global poverty data explained: the $3 line, 824 million and SDG 1

    The World Bank counts people as extremely poor if they live on less than $3.00 a day in 2021 prices, a line set in June 2025.[1] Its September 2026 update puts extreme poverty at 10.1% of the world, more than 824 million people, in 2024, with a projected 9.8% in 2026.[2][3] The UN says the world is off track to end extreme poverty by 2030.[4]

    Editor reviewedStrict sourcingUpdated ExplainerSocial welfare, World affairs, Tech policy

    Global poverty figures come mainly from the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP), which feeds the UN’s tracking of Sustainable Development Goal 1.[2][5] This page explains the line, the latest numbers, why they get revised, and what other measures add. Numbers here are estimates with margins of error, and later updates will change them.[6]

    The poverty lines

    The international poverty line is $3.00 per person per day. It is adjusted for inflation and for differences in prices between countries, so it is meant to buy the same amount everywhere.[1][7] The line reflects what the poorest countries themselves count as poverty.[8] For richer countries the World Bank also uses $4.20 and $8.30 a day.[9]

    The June 2025 revision moved from 2017 to 2021 purchasing power parities (PPPs), raising the line from $2.15 to $3.00. The World Bank attributes the rise to new International Comparison Program prices and better data on basic needs in low-income countries, with the method unchanged.[1][8] The $4.20 and $8.30 lines are typical of lower- and upper-middle-income countries.[9] The World Bank’s own target of under 3% extreme poverty by 2030 is unchanged.[10] For judging a single country, it says that country’s national poverty line is the right standard.[11]

    How the numbers are built

    The data start with household surveys run by national statistics offices. They ask families about their income or what they consume.[7] Poorer countries usually measure consumption, while rich countries usually measure income.[12] Where there is no recent survey, the World Bank fills the gap with statistical models.[7]

    Welfare aggregates are deflated with national CPIs and converted with PPPs, then compared with the line. Missing country-years are nowcast, extrapolated or interpolated using growth in GDP per capita and similar series.[7] This is why figures move between vintages. The September 2026 update cut it by 22.5 million people after a new South Asian survey replaced an extrapolation.[6] The 2025 and 2026 figures are nowcasts based on June 2026 national accounts projections.[3]

    The latest picture

    As of the September 2026 update, more than 824 million people, about one in ten, lived in extreme poverty in 2024.[2] The rate is projected to fall only marginally, from 10.1% in 2024 to 9.8% in 2026.[3] Extreme poverty is rising in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan region and remains high in Sub-Saharan Africa.[13]

    Having a job is no guarantee of escaping poverty. In 2025, 284 million workers, 7.9% of the employed, lived in extreme poverty, down from 11% in 2015.[14]

    SDG 1 progress

    SDG target 1.1 commits countries to eradicate extreme poverty everywhere by 2030.[5] The UN’s 2026 report says progress has stalled at about 10%, only three points below 2015. On current trends about 9% of the world would still be extremely poor in 2030, four in five of them in sub-Saharan Africa or fragile and conflict-affected countries.[4] Social protection now covers more than half the world’s people, 52.4% in 2023.[15] Aid grants aimed at poverty fell 8.7% between 2023 and 2024, to $19.1 billion.[16]

    Beyond income

    Income lines miss deprivations such as poor schooling, unsafe water or no electricity, which multidimensional measures try to capture.[17] The 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index counted 1.1 billion people in multidimensional poverty across 109 countries.[17] About 740 million of them live in middle-income countries.[18] The UN’s 2026 poverty day highlights housing: more than 2.8 billion people face some form of housing inadequacy.[19]

    For what works against poverty, see the cash transfers analysis. For hunger, which affected an estimated 645 million people in 2025, see the food insecurity explainer.[20]

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    Questions readers ask

    Why did the poverty line change from $2.15 to $3.00?

    The World Bank moved to 2021 purchasing power parities and used better data on the cost of basic food, clothing and shelter in low-income countries. It says the method did not change.[1][8]

    Why do global poverty numbers keep changing?

    New household surveys and revised data change past estimates. In September 2026 the 2024 figure was revised from about 846.8 million to 824.3 million, mostly because a new survey replaced an extrapolation for South Asia.[6]

    Where is extreme poverty concentrated?

    The UN says 71% of the world's extremely poor live in sub-Saharan Africa. Rates are below 5% in all World Bank regions except Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan.[21][13]

    Is the world on track for SDG 1?

    No. The UN's 2026 SDG report says progress has stalled at about 10% and projects about 9% of people will still be extremely poor in 2030.[4]

    Is there a measure of poverty beyond income?

    Yes. The 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index found 1.1 billion of 6.3 billion people in 109 countries in multidimensional poverty.[17]

    Sources

    · 21 claims from 7 publishers

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Tap a number in the text to see its sources in place.

    1. [1]

      In June 2025 the World Bank raised the international poverty line, used to measure extreme poverty, to $3.00 per person per day in 2021 purchasing power parity terms, replacing the $2.15 line based on 2017 prices. confirmedas of 2025-06-05

    2. [2]

      In its September 2026 update, the World Bank estimated that more than 824 million people, about one in ten worldwide, lived in extreme poverty (under $3.00 a day) in 2024. confirmedas of 2026-09-22

    3. [3]

      The World Bank projects global extreme poverty to fall marginally from 10.1% in 2024 to 9.8% in 2026, based on nowcasts from June 2026 economic projections. reportedas of 2026-09-22· forecast

    4. [4]

      The UN's Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 says progress on extreme poverty has stalled, with the rate at 10% in 2026, only three percentage points below 2015, and about 9% of the world projected to remain in extreme poverty in 2030. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    5. [5]

      SDG target 1.1 commits countries to eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    6. [6]

      Compared with its March 2026 estimates, the World Bank revised the 2024 global extreme poverty rate down from about 10.4% (846.8 million people) to 10.1% (824.3 million), mainly because a new survey replaced an extrapolation for South Asia. confirmedas of 2026-09-22

    7. [7]

      World Bank global poverty estimates start from national household surveys of income or consumption, converted to a common currency with consumer price indices and purchasing power parities, with models filling years and countries without surveys. confirmedas of 2025-10-17

    8. [8]

      The World Bank says the line reflects the poverty standard used in the poorest countries, and that the higher value reflects new 2021 price data and better data on the cost of basic food, clothing and shelter in low-income countries, not a change in method. confirmedas of 2025-06-05

    9. [9]

      The World Bank's poverty line for lower-middle-income countries is $4.20 a day and for upper-middle-income countries $8.30 a day. confirmedas of 2025-06-05

    10. [10]

      The World Bank's goal of reducing extreme poverty to less than 3% of the world's population by 2030 did not change with the new line. confirmedas of 2025-06-05

    11. [11]

      The World Bank says a country's own national poverty line, not the international line, is the appropriate standard for judging that country's poverty level and trend. confirmedas of 2025-06-05

    12. [12]

      Most low- and middle-income countries measure what households consume, while most high-income countries measure household income. confirmedas of 2025-10-17

    13. [13]

      Extreme poverty rates are below 5% in every World Bank region except Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan region, where poverty is rising. confirmedas of 2026-09-22

    14. [14]

      In 2025, 284 million workers, 7.9% of employed people worldwide, lived in extreme poverty, down from 11% in 2015. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    15. [15]

      In 2023, for the first time, more than half of the world's population (52.4%) was covered by at least one social protection benefit, but about 3.8 billion people had none. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    16. [16]

      Official development assistance grants focused on poverty reduction fell 8.7% between 2023 and 2024, to $19.1 billion, returning to 2015 levels. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    17. [17]

      The 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index found 1.1 billion of 6.3 billion people in 109 countries living in multidimensional poverty, which counts deprivations such as schooling, health and living standards rather than income alone. confirmedas of 2025-10-17

    18. [18]

      About 740 million (64.5%) of the multidimensionally poor live in middle-income countries. confirmedas of 2025-10-17

    19. [19]

      The UN says more than 2.8 billion people worldwide face some form of housing inadequacy. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    20. [20]

      An estimated 645 million people, 7.8% of the world's population, were chronically undernourished in 2025, down from 8.6% in 2022 and slightly below the 2015 level of 8.0%. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    21. [21]

      According to the UN, 71% of the world's people in extreme poverty now live in sub-Saharan Africa. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    Revision history (1)
    1. Page created.

    Created Oct 11, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 11, 2026. Next scheduled review: Mar 31, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "Global poverty data explained: the $3 line, 824 million and SDG 1." ContentLora, updated Oct 11, 2026. https://contentlora.com/explain/global-poverty-data-explained

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