The number of people living in extreme poverty has hit a record low
Fewer people than ever before are living in extreme poverty, a new report from the World Bank has found.
The institution found more than 100 million people climbed above the poverty line between 2012 and 2013 as strong growth in China and Asia boosted incomes in some of the world's poorest people.
An estimated 767m people around the world live below the poverty line on less than $1.90 (£1.48) per day, the World Bank said. The latest progress takes the total number of people who have escaped extreme poverty since 1990 to around 1.1bn.
Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank said: "It is remarkable that countries have continued to reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity at a time when the global economy is underperforming.
"But still far too many people live with far too little. Unless we can resume faster global growth and reduce inequality, we risk missing our World Bank target of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030."
China, Indonesia and India made the biggest dent in the numbers of people struggling on less than $1.90 a day, with progress slower in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 40 per cent of people live below the poverty line, more than twice the level of any other region in the world.
The World Bank said reducing income inequality within countries can help lift "more people out of poverty faster." The group said tackling differences in opportunities for future generations was key to building a sustainable path of out poverty. It said policies such as universal access to education and healthcare, along with better rural infrastructure should be priorities.
"If families have vastly different economic resources, some children in some families will face an unfair start in life and policies have to make greater efforts to overcome these differences at a later stage."