Poverty has intensified: the number of poor people worldwide has risen.

According to a UN report, the number of people suffering from poverty worldwide has reached 1.2 billion. This marks the first increase since the UN's global poverty index was introduced in 2010.

Data from the UN Development Programme and the Oxford research center indicate that the number of people living in extreme poverty has risen by 51.5 million. More than half of them are children. However, population growth has also contributed to this increase.

Poverty is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. At the same time, 33 countries have succeeded in halving their poverty rates over the past 15 years; these include China and Vietnam.

The report assesses poverty not only based on income but also on the lack of access to housing, clean water, sanitation, electricity, food, and education.