Nearly half the world’s 1.1 billion poor live in conflict settings

This article is published in association with United Nations.

More than a billion people worldwide live in acute poverty and 40 per cent are in countries exposed to violent conflict, according to a UN-backed study published on Thursday. 

The finding comes in the latest update to the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), jointly published by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Conflict disrupting lives

The MPI was launched in 2010 and this year’s edition features research across 112 countries and 6.3 billion people.

It found that 1.1 billion are living in acute poverty and a staggering 455 million are in countries experiencing war or fragility.

“Conflicts have intensified and multiplied in recent years, reaching new highs in casualties, displacing record millions of people, and causing widespread disruption to lives and livelihoods,” said Achim Steiner, the UNDP Administrator.

Deprived of basic needs

Poverty reduction tends to be the slowest in countries most affected by conflict, where poverty is often the highest.

Countries at war have higher deprivations across all indicators of multidimensional poverty, such as lack of access to electricity, adequate water and sanitation, education, and nutritious food.  

For example, over one in four people in conflict-affected countries lacks access to electricity, compared to just over one in 20 in more stable regions. Similar disparities are evident in areas such as education, nutrition and child mortality. 

Furthermore, deprivations are markedly more severe in nutrition, access to electricity and access to water and sanitation, for poor people caught in conflict, relative to those who are impoverished in more peaceful settings.

© WFP/Rana Deraz

Women and children hold bread in Baghlan, northern Afghanistan.

Focus on Afghanistan

The MPI also revealed that over half of the world’s 1.1 billion poor are children under the age of 18, or 584 million. Globally, nearly 28 per cent of children live in poverty, compared with 13.5 percent of adults.

It also includes an in-depth case study on Afghanistan, where 5.3 million more people fell into multidimensional poverty during the turbulent period from 2015-2016 and 2022-2023. Furthermore, data from last year shows that nearly two-thirds of Afghans were poor.

Mr. Steiner called for more action to support people living in multidimensional poverty. 

“We need resources and access for specialized development and early recovery interventions to help break the cycle of poverty and crisis,” he said.

Eradicate poverty, end discrimination

The MPI was published as the world marked the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, observed annually on 17 October.

This year’s theme focuses on ending social and institutional discrimination against people living in poverty.

“Eradicating poverty is an essential foundation for humane, dignified societies that leave no one behind,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message to mark the day.

Although poverty is “a global plague” affecting millions, he stressed that it is not inevitable but “the direct result of the choices that societies and governments make – or fail to make.” 

Volando alto

The NGO Volando Alto helps children to learn in Concordia, Entre Ríos, Argentina, aiming to break the cycle of poverty.

Put people first

The Secretary-General said ending global poverty and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires governments shaping institutions and systems that put people first. 

“It demands that we prioritize investments in decent work, learning opportunities and social protection that offer ladders out of poverty,” he said.

“And it calls on us to fully implement the new Pact for the Future by supporting an SDG Stimulus and reforming the global financial architecture to help developing countries invest in their people.”

UN Member States adopted the Pact for the Future in September, which covers sustainable development, international peace and security, science and technology, youth and future generations, and transforming global governance. 

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