27 per cent of the world’s population live in absolute poverty, down from 46 per cent in 1990

In 2000, the world’s leaders made a promise to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015 compared with 1990. Today, the world is on track to meet that target. In 1990, 46 per cent of the world’s population lived in absolute poverty. In 2005, this had fallen to 27 per cent, and is projected to be below 15 per cent in 2015, putting the world comfortably on track to beat the Millennium Development Goal of halving global poverty. In China and India combined, the number of people living in extreme poverty between 1990 and 2005 declined by about 455 million, and an additional 320 million people are expected to join their ranks by 2015.

In sub-Saharan Africa, progress against poverty appears to be accelerating, with poverty now forecast to fall to 36 per cent by 2015 — a level approaching, but still significantly above, the Millennium Development Goal target of 29 per cent.