A new World Bank report predicts that 87 percent of the world’s extremely poor people by 2030 will be in sub-Saharan Africa.
Also striking is the forecast that sometime in 2018 Nigeria would take over from India as the country with the most poor people,
This shift is a result of South Asia’s economic growth, and a constant regional decline in the number of poor and in the extreme-poverty rate.
Turning these trends around by 2030 would require an unprecedented — and more inclusive — annual growth rate for the sub-Saharan region; more effective peacemaking; increased resilience to natural disasters; and a stronger focus on increasing the productive capacity of the poor.
The latter includes improved educational opportunities, and improved energy, communication and transportation infrastructure.
Yet Nigeria was at the bottom of a list of 157 nations ranked according to their commitment to reducing poverty.
Unlike the rest of the world, the total number of people living in poverty is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa, from an estimated 278 million in 1990 to 413 million in 2015.
“Of the world’s 28 poorest countries, 27 are in sub-Saharan Africa, all with poverty rates above 30 percent. In short, extreme poverty is increasingly becoming a sub-Saharan African problem,” the report noted.
Sources: The Guardian (Africa), Quartz