Poverty · People & Poverty
Global population living in extreme poverty
Living on less than the international extreme poverty line
688,500,000 people
Current total · Example period
What this number is
The estimated number of people living below the international extreme poverty line.
A headcount derived from household-survey shares of the world population. It is converted to a full number so the scale is unmistakable.
Why it matters
Extreme poverty is the single clearest measure of whether global growth is reaching the people furthest from it.
How it is produced
Survey-based consumption data, adjusted to purchasing power parity and projected to the current year.
Plato's Cave classifies this figure as ESTIMATED. Estimated figures are built from samples and surveys, then scaled up. They carry a margin that is rarely printed alongside the headline.
How to read it carefully
This entry is still showing an example figure while research reaches it. Do not cite the number — use the sources below and the framing above.
Reference period: Example period. Last checked: Placeholder.
Plato's Cave commentary
Poverty lines are decisions, not discoveries. Move the threshold by a small amount and hundreds of millions of people cross it without anything changing in their lives.
This is why Plato's Cave shows both the share and the headcount. A falling percentage and a rising number of people can be true at the same time.