Statistics from the World Bank as of June indicate that compared to pre-crisis projections, the pandemic could push as many as 100 million people into extreme poverty — defined as living on less than $1.90 a day — by the end of 2020.
- That would represent the first increase in extreme global poverty since 1998, wiping out all progress made since 2017.
- For lower and upper middle-income countries — where the poverty line is $3.20 and $5.50 a day, respectively — hundreds of millions are expected to fall into the ranks of the poor.