Conflicts are now the biggest engine driving global poverty, the World Bank said in a new report released Friday. The report reveals that the number of people living in extreme poverty in conflict-hit countries has tripled since the early 2000s.
In 2024 alone, 421 million people are living on less than $3 per day in areas affected by violence or instability. That number is expected to grow to 435 million by 2030 if current trends continue.
Poverty Grows as Conflict Zones Widen
According to the report, many conflict-affected economies are stuck in long-term crises. Over half of the countries facing instability today have remained in conflict for more than 15 years, said World Bank Group Chief Economist Indermit Gill.
“The world is watching Ukraine and the Middle East,” he noted. “But long-running conflicts in Africa and other parts of the world are just as severe.”
Poverty Grows as Growth Stops
Conflicts are now the biggest engine driving global poverty, the World Bank said in a new report released Friday. The report reveals that the number of people living in extreme poverty in conflict-hit countries has tripled since the early 2000s.
In 2024 alone, 421 million people are living on less than $3 per day in areas affected by violence or instability. That number is expected to grow to 435 million by 2030 if current trends continue.
Poverty Grows as Conflict Zones Widen
According to the report, many conflict-affected economies are stuck in long-term crises. Over half of the countries facing instability today have remained in conflict for more than 15 years, said World Bank Group Chief Economist Indermit Gill.
“The world is watching Ukraine and the Middle East,” he noted. “But long-running conflicts in Africa and other parts of the world are just as severe.”
Poverty Grows as Growth Stops
The deputy chief economist, Ayhan Kose, said conflict kills more than just people—it destroys entire economies.
“Economic stagnation — rather than growth — has been the norm in these places,” he explained. After five years of conflict, a country’s GDP per capita typically drops by 20%.
This decline hits basic services, jobs, and food security—making escape from poverty nearly impossible.
Poverty Grows Despite Natural Wealth
The Bank noted that countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and DR Congo have major reserves of lithium and cobalt—minerals needed for electric cars and solar panels. Yet poverty grows because these resources are trapped in war zones.
Even with clean energy demand rising, these nations can’t profit without peace. Their people remain hungry, displaced, and stuck in economic limbo.
Poverty Grows Where Conflict Stays
The World Bank’s report leaves no room for doubt: poverty grows where conflict stays. Without long-term peace, no amount of aid or natural wealth can fix the growing crisis.
Unless wars end, more people will fall below the poverty line, while the world keeps watching from a distance.
