A quarter of the world lives in ‘societal poverty’ – here’s what that means
“One of the twin goals of the World Bank, as well as SDG 1.1, is to reduce extreme poverty by 2030. Measures of absolute poverty, such as poverty at the US$1.90, US$3.20 and the US$5.50 international poverty lines, have the advantage of remaining fixed (in constant dollars), allowing one to measure poverty against the same benchmark over time and across countries. However, when countries set their own national poverty lines, they typically increase the real value of these lines as their economies evolve. This increase in the value of poverty lines reflects in part that the definition of basic needs changes as economies grow. Essentially, the ability to participate in society is costlier in richer countries. The European Union uses 60% of median income to capture the share of the population that is at risk of poverty. SDG 10.2.1 tracks the proportion of the population below 50% of median income.”