Absolute and relative poverty

Absolute poverty, where people lack the necessary food, clothing, or shelter to survive, can be distinguished from relative poverty, which has been defined as the inability of a citizen to participate fully in economic terms in the society in which he or she lives. In many countries, absolute poverty is common and persistent, being reflected in poor nutrition, short life expectancy, and high levels of infant mortality. It may result from a country's complete lack of resources, or from unequal distribution of wealth.

Inequality on the increase

During the 1980s, the world's poorest 20% of people saw their share of global income reduced from 1.7% to 1.4%. In 1994, at least 1.1 billion people were subsisting on a cash income of less than $1 a day. Their total assets came to no more than $400 billion, compared with the $200 billion assets of the world's 160 billionaires.

UK statistics

Poverty is often defined in the UK as below 50% of average income after housing costs. By this measure, in 1996 the Child Poverty Action Group reported that a quarter of the UK population - 13 to 14 million people - were living in poverty; the figure is more than double the number in 1979. One in three children were growing up in poverty, and inequality in living standards of the poor and the rich was increasing sharply. In June 1997 a UN report revealed that poverty was rising faster in Britain than in any other major industrialized country. In line with the report's criteria, Britain's child poverty was second only to the USA, and nearly a quarter of old people in the UK lived in poverty.

World Summit 1995

A plan for eradicating global poverty, creating full employment, and countering social injustice was approved at a United Nations World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen, Denmark, in March 1995. It urged industrialized nations to reduce the debt burdens of developing countries and to allocate 20% of foreign aid to basic social needs.

Cancellation of debt in low-income countries

The British government announced in late December 1999 that it would write off hundreds of millions of pounds owed to Britain by the world's poorest countries, in a move to relieve debt and poverty in the developing world.

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Causes and consequences of poverty

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Zwelitsha, Eastern Cape, South Africa