The World Bank has said that extreme poverty this year will fall to less than 10 percent of the global population for the first time. According to World Bank projections, about 702 million people, or 9.6 percent of the world population, will live below the poverty line this year.
In 2012, the number was 902 million people, or 12.8 percent of the world population. The bank said global poverty rates are improving thanks to investments in education, health, and social safety nets that help keep people from falling back into poverty.
And it forecasts the world is moving closer to the "historic goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030." Sub-Saharan Africa remains the global poverty hotspot, with roughly a half of the global poor living in the region. Reducing poverty in the East Asia and Pacific region was highlighted as being key to global progress.
The World Bank defines living in poverty as anything less than 1.90 US dollars a day.
