Nigeria Overtakes India To Become World’s Poorest Country

Which is the World’s Poorest Country? India is no longer the home to the largest population dwelling in extreme poverty. As per latest data, Nigeria has gone past India to become the nation with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty. After remaining on top for decades, India has been displaced by Nigeria to take the embarrassing spot. While India has 70.6 million people living in extreme poverty, the number in Nigeria goes up to 87 million.

This report was carried The Washington Post based on findings of the Brookings Institution. This analysis is based on per day income of citizens. People living in extreme poverty are defined as those who earn less than $ 1.90 day. This covers those who strive for even the most basic of things like food, shelter and clothing. The analysis also takes into account the parity in the purchasing power of citizens of different nations.

While the number of those living in extreme poverty in India is decreasing, however in Nigeria the number is quickly escalating. As per the estimations of the World Poverty Clock, the number of extremely poor people in India is going down by 44 per minute while in Nigeria it is shooting up by 6 people per minute.

Alarms Ringing For Africa

While this report of Brooking Institution brings a good news for India, it raises alarms for Nigeria at the same time as well as other African nations. Africans at present account for two-thirds of the world’s extremely poor population. If these trends are to continue then Africa will be home to nine-tenths of the world’s extremely poor population as noted by the Brookings.

Asia, on the other hand, has seen improvements. Asian nations including China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and others have done well as per the findings of the Brookings Institution. This brings cheer for Asia as this hints at improved standards of living.

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