World Bank Poverty Report

Context

Recently, the World Bank has released the report titled Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2022: Correcting Course.

Slowing poverty reduction rate: The rate of poverty reduction was slowing since 2015 but the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine has reversed the outcomes.
- Poverty reduction has slowed because of subdued global economic growth.
- At this rate, the global goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 would not be achieved.
Increase in extreme poverty: The number of people living below the extreme poverty line rose by over 70 million in 2020.
- This was the largest one-year increase since the start of monitoring of global poverty in 1990.
Inequality: The income losses of the poorest 40 percent averaged 4 per cent. It was double the losses of the wealthiest 20 percent. This resulted in the rise of global inequality.
Decline in median income: The global median income has declined by 4 per cent in 2020.
- This was the first decline since measurements of median income began in 1990.
Learning poverty: Simulations suggest that poverty due to the learning losses will exceed the economic poverty shock for many countries.
Food inflation: High food price inflation can have detrimental impacts on poorer households, which spend a larger share of their income on food.
- However, for many poor rural households engaged in agriculture, higher food prices can be a source of income growth.

Individuals or households that fall below a minimum level are designated to be Below the Poverty Line and are considered poor.
The Poverty Line calculation in India is now carried out by the NITI Aayog based on the data collected by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).