Consequences of poverty
Malnutrition
The most immediate consequence of poverty is not having enough nutritious food to eat. Over 2 billion people did not have access to enough safe and nutritious food in 2020.
Hunger and the risk of famine remain very high in sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly one child in five under the age of five in the developing world is underweight.
Poor housing
Today 900 million people are now estimated to be living in slums compared to 760 million in 2000 and 650 million in 1990.
Of the world's population, 11% or 783 million people remain without access to clean drinking water. In 2021 in Nigeria, 20% of the population does not have access to clean water and less than half the population have access to a decent toilet.
Lack of education
Children from the poorest households are three times as likely to be out of school as those from the richest households. Those who miss out on education are often unable to read or write, restricting their options in life and making it extremely difficult to escape poverty.
According to the World Bank, more than half of children living in low- and middle-income nations can鈥檛 read or understand a simple story by the end of primary school.
Poor health
Children born into poverty are almost twice as likely to die before the age of five as those from wealthier families.
For example, Somalia had a child mortality rate of 11.5% and had 71% of its population earning less than $1.90 a day in 2020.