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    Poverty explained: how it is measured and what reduces it (2026)

    About one in ten people worldwide, more than 824 million, lived in extreme poverty (under $3.00 a day) in 2024, and the UN says progress has stalled since 2015.[1][2] In the United States the official poverty rate fell to 10.2% in 2025, while the broader Supplemental Poverty Measure stayed at 13.1%.[3][4] This hub explains how poverty is counted, which programmes reduce it, and where the debates are.

    Editor reviewedStrict sourcingUpdated ExplainerSocial welfare, Tech policy, World affairs

    Poverty means not having enough resources to meet basic needs, but every count of it depends on where the line is drawn and what is counted as resources. In 2026 the two headline numbers are the World Bank’s global extreme poverty estimate and, in the United States, the Census Bureau’s official and supplemental rates.[1][5] This page is the starting point for a short course. It is general information, not financial or legal advice. Benefit rules vary by place and change often, so check with the official agency before you act.

    Global poverty in one paragraph

    The World Bank counts someone as extremely poor if they live on less than $3.00 a day, adjusted for local prices.[6] By that line, more than 824 million people were extremely poor in 2024, about one person in ten.[1] The UN says the share has fallen only three percentage points since 2015, and about 9% of the world may still be extremely poor in 2030.[2] Most of the world’s extremely poor people, 71%, now live in sub-Saharan Africa.[7]

    The $3.00 line, in 2021 PPP terms, replaced the $2.15 line (2017 PPPs) in June 2025. The World Bank says the change reflects new price data and better measurement of basic needs in low-income countries, not a new method.[6][8] The September 2026 Poverty and Inequality Platform update revised the 2024 rate down to 10.1% (824.3 million) from 10.4% in March, mainly because of new South Asian survey data.[9] Rates are below 5% in every region except Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan.[10] Higher lines of $4.20 and $8.30 a day apply to lower- and upper-middle-income countries.[11] More detail is in the global poverty data explainer.

    Poverty in the United States

    The US official poverty rate fell to 10.2% in 2025, with 34.5 million people below the line.[3] Child poverty on the official measure reached a record low of 13.4%.[12] A second measure, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), counts things like tax credits and food aid but also subtracts costs like medical bills. It stayed at 13.1%.[4][13]

    The official measure compares pretax cash income with thresholds set in the 1960s and indexed to inflation. It ignores taxes, refundable credits and noncash benefits such as SNAP.[14] The SPM includes them, deducts work and medical expenses, and adjusts thresholds for local housing costs. It is a research measure and is not used to decide eligibility.[13] SPM thresholds rose 4.4% to 6.3% in 2025, against 2.6% CPI-U inflation, which helps explain why the two measures diverged.[15] See the US poverty data explainer.

    What reduces poverty

    In the US data, Social Security moves the most people above the line: it lifted 28.8 million people out of SPM poverty in 2025.[16] Refundable tax credits lifted 6.1 million, including 3.3 million children.[17] Globally, 52.4% of people had at least one social protection benefit in 2023, the first time coverage passed half, but about 3.8 billion had none.[18]

    Randomized trials of cash transfers in Kenya found large gains in recipients’ consumption and spillovers to their neighbours.[19][20] US guaranteed-income and baby-bonus trials found smaller or no effects on work and health outcomes.[21][22] The cash transfers analysis weighs this evidence. For other US safety-net programmes, see the social assistance explainer, TANF and the debate over benefits and work incentives.

    Hunger and food assistance

    Poverty and hunger overlap but are measured separately. FAO and the UN estimate that 645 million people were chronically undernourished in 2025.[23] In the US, 13.7% of households were food insecure in 2024, in the last annual report USDA will publish.[24][25] The federal food benefit for low-income US households is SNAP, which reached 41.7 million people a month in FY2024 and which the 2025 reconciliation law changed substantially.[26][27] See the food insecurity explainer, the SNAP changes explainer and the guide to benefit-finder tools. For health coverage changes in the same law, see the Medicaid changes explainer.

    What to watch

    The UN marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October; the 2026 focus is “Safe Homes for All”.[28] States begin paying 75% of SNAP administrative costs from 1 October 2026, and the farm bill debate may change when states start sharing benefit costs.[29][30] The hunger and poverty tracker follows these dates.

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    Developing in World & Policy

    Questions readers ask

    How many people live in extreme poverty?

    The World Bank estimated that more than 824 million people, about one in ten worldwide, lived on less than $3.00 a day in 2024. It projects the rate to fall from 10.1% to 9.8% by 2026.[1][31]

    What is the international poverty line?

    Since June 2025 it is $3.00 per person per day in 2021 purchasing power parity terms. It replaced the $2.15 line based on 2017 prices.[6]

    What is the US poverty rate?

    The official rate was 10.2% in 2025, or 34.5 million people. The Supplemental Poverty Measure, which counts taxes, tax credits and noncash benefits, was 13.1%.[3][4]

    Which US programme reduces poverty the most?

    Census found that Social Security moved 28.8 million people out of SPM poverty in 2025. Refundable tax credits came second, lifting 6.1 million people, including 3.3 million children.[16][17]

    When is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty?

    The UN observes it every year on 17 October. The 2026 observance focuses on "Safe Homes for All".[28]

    Sources

    · 31 claims from 16 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 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

    2. [2]

      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

    3. [3]

      The official US poverty rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 10.2% in 2025, with 34.5 million people in poverty, down 1.5 million from 2024. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    4. [4]

      The Supplemental Poverty Measure rate was 13.1% in 2025, not statistically different from 2024 and 2.9 percentage points above the comparable official rate. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    5. [5]

      The Census Bureau released "Poverty in the United States - 2025" on 15 September 2026, with estimates from the official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure based on the 2026 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    6. [6]

      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

    7. [7]

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

    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]

      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

    10. [10]

      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

    11. [11]

      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

    12. [12]

      The official child poverty rate fell 1.0 percentage point to a historic low of 13.4% in 2025, and the rate for Hispanic people fell to a historic low of 13.9%. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    13. [13]

      The Supplemental Poverty Measure, first published in 2011, counts taxes, refundable tax credits and noncash benefits, subtracts work and medical expenses, and adjusts thresholds for local housing costs; it is a research measure not used for program eligibility. confirmedas of 2026-09-16

    14. [14]

      The official poverty measure compares pretax cash income with national thresholds that vary by family size and are updated for inflation; it excludes taxes, refundable tax credits and noncash benefits such as SNAP and housing subsidies. confirmedas of 2026-09-16

    15. [15]

      SPM thresholds are based on five years of spending on food, clothing, shelter and utilities, while official thresholds rise with the CPI-U; in 2025 SPM thresholds rose 4.4% to 6.3% depending on housing tenure, against 2.6% CPI-U inflation. confirmedas of 2026-09-18

    16. [16]

      Social Security was the largest antipoverty program in 2025, moving 28.8 million people out of SPM poverty. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    17. [17]

      Refundable tax credits (the Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable part of the Child Tax Credit) lifted 6.1 million people, including 3.3 million children, above the SPM poverty line in 2025. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    18. [18]

      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

    19. [19]

      In a randomized study in rural Kenya, one-time transfers of about $1,000 to more than 10,500 poor households in 653 villages raised recipients' consumption and assets, produced positive spillovers for non-recipients and firms with minimal inflation, and implied a local transfer multiplier of 2.4. confirmedas of 2022-11-01

    20. [20]

      A randomized trial of GiveDirectly's unconditional transfers in rural Kenya found household monthly consumption rose from $158 PPP to $193 PPP nine months after transfers began, with large gains in psychological well-being. confirmedas of 2016-11-01

    21. [21]

      In a US experiment where 1,000 low-income people received $1,000 a month for three years (controls got $50), recipients' earned income fell about $1,900 a year, labor force participation fell 4.2 percentage points and work hours fell by 1-2 hours a week. confirmedas of 2024-07-01

    22. [22]

      In the Baby's First Years randomized trial, $333 a month (versus $20) to low-income US mothers for four years did not improve maternal mental health, maternal or child body mass index, or mothers' reports of children's health. confirmedas of 2025-08-01

    23. [23]

      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

    24. [24]

      USDA estimated that 13.7% of US households (18.3 million) were food insecure at some time during 2024, not statistically different from 13.5% in 2023. confirmedas of 2026-01-05

    25. [25]

      In September 2025 USDA announced it would end its annual Household Food Security reports, calling them "redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous"; the report on 2024 is the last. confirmedas of 2026-01-05

    26. [26]

      In FY2024 an average of 41.7 million people in 22.2 million households received SNAP each month; benefits averaged $187.17 per person a month, and federal spending was $100.3 billion. confirmedas of 2025-09-29

    27. [27]

      The FY2025 budget reconciliation law (Public Law 119-21, sometimes called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) was enacted on 4 July 2025; CBO estimated its nutrition provisions would cut federal spending by almost $187 billion over FY2025-FY2034. confirmedas of 2025-08-15

    28. [28]

      The UN observes the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty each year on 17 October; the 2026 observance focuses on "Safe Homes for All" under the 2026-2028 theme "United for Peace and Human Rights". confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    29. [29]

      SNAP benefits have historically been fully federally funded and administrative costs split about 50-50; the 2025 law raised states' share of administrative costs to 75% from 1 October 2026, and the Senate committee's farm bill would not change that. confirmedas of 2026-10-05

    30. [30]

      The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced a 2026 farm bill (S. 5526) on 16 September 2026 that would delay state SNAP benefit cost-sharing by one year, to 1 October 2028, and raise the top state share from 15% to 20% from FY2031; the House-passed farm bill (H.R. 7567) keeps current law. confirmedas of 2026-10-05

    31. [31]

      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

    Revision history (1)
    1. Page created.

    Created Oct 11, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 11, 2026. Next scheduled review: Dec 15, 2026.

    Cite this page

    "Poverty explained: how it is measured and what reduces it (2026)." ContentLora, updated Oct 11, 2026. https://contentlora.com/explain/poverty-explained

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