Updated Estimates of the Impact of COVID-19 on Global Poverty

More than a year into the pandemic, much is still unknown concerning its impact on global poverty. Though high-frequency phone surveys have helped gain a broad understanding of the economic consequences of the pandemic, the collection of detailed, household surveys needed to understand its impact on poverty has largely been put on hold.

In this blog published on World Bank Blogs, those numbers are revised based on updates to global poverty data that occurred in March and June and based on the recently launched growth forecasts from the June 2021 version of GEP. The aim is to provide preliminary answers to two questions: Is global poverty turning the corner on the pandemic in 2021, and if so, is this happening in a similar way across countries?