More than 1 billion people live in acute poverty. Half are children and many in conflict zones

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A new report says more than 1 billion people in the world live in acute poverty, over half are children and nearly 40% live in conflict-torn and fragile countries. The report released Thursday by the U.N. Development Program and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative says more than 83% of poor people live in rural areas and the same percentage live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Their index measuring acute poverty included data from 112 countries with a combined population of 6.3 billion people. It says 1.1 billion people live in acute poverty, with nearly half in five countries: India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Congo.