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Virus could push millions into poverty infographic
Graphic shows number of people pushed into poverty under most serious scenario – 20% contraction in income.
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ECONOMY

Coronavirus could plunge half a billion into poverty

By Jordi Bou

April 9, 2020 - More than half a billion more people could be pushed into poverty by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

A report released by the Nairobi-based charity Oxfam ahead of the virtual meetings of finance ministers of the G20 group of leading developed and developing nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, calculated the impact of the crisis on global poverty due to shrinking household incomes or consumption.

The research – conducted by King’s College London and the Australian National University – said that a 20% drop in income as a result of a recession caused by Covid-19 would push an additional 548 million people below $5.50 a day – one of the World Bank’s definitions of poverty.

By the time the pandemic is over half of the world's population of 7.8 billion people could be living in poverty. About 40% of the new poor could be concentrated in East Asia and the Pacific, with about one third in both Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 09/04/2020; STORY: Graphic News
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