In the early 2000s, 63 countries were home to more than 60% of the 1.8 billion people who lived in extreme poverty.
Of those nations, 39 have advanced to middle-income rank since then.
However, the pace at which LICs are moving up the income ladder has significantly slowed in recent years, due to worsening internal and international circumstances, according to a report from the World Bank.
As of 2023, twenty-four nations that were LICs at the beginning of the century still have yearly per capita incomes below $1,145.
“Across a wide spectrum of development indicators, today’s LICs are worse off than LICs in 2000 that subsequently attained middle-income status,” the report states.
“In 2024, these 26 countries, concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, comprised more than 40 percent of people living in extreme poverty globally. Making progress on eliminating extreme poverty, therefore, depends crucially on accelerating progress in LICs,” it adds.
This is because the economic challenges that LICs face have worsened in the past 15 years, as a result of deadly wars and violence, climatic shocks, debt crises, and weak development.
Continue reading with Eandel
Subscribe to unlock the complete story and receive your subscriber benefits.
