Poverty · People & Poverty
People in extreme poverty
Estimated headcount worldwide
847,000,000
Current total · 2024
What this number is
The estimated number of people living below the extreme poverty line.
World Bank estimate of the global population living below the extreme poverty line. A headcount converted from the share of population estimate.
Why it matters
Percentages hide scale. The headcount does not.
How it is produced
Share of population applied to current UN population estimates.
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
Only one credible source currently supports this figure. It is reported here as a single-source claim, not a settled fact.
Reference period: 2024. Last checked: Sep 8, 2026.
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.