Extreme poverty has not declined in these four Southern African countries

Globally, the share of the population living in extreme poverty has declined fast, from 38% in 1990 to 9% in 2024.

Some countries, however, have not made any progress against poverty. Four of them are in Southeast Africa, as shown in the chart. In Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar, most people still live in extreme poverty, and this hasn’t changed in decades.

Poverty has remained high because these economies have not achieved economic growth in recent decades.

In the 1990s, most extremely poor people lived in countries that went on to have strong economic growth. Today, however, a substantial share of the poorest people live in economies that have not grown in decades. Based on current trends, this means that the world cannot expect an end to extreme poverty.

Whether or not the economies that are home to the poorest people in the world start to grow will determine whether the world ends extreme poverty.