Poverty means lacking basic needs like food, clothing and shelter. Poverty lines vary significantly among nations. Rich nations generally use more generous poverty standards
In 2020, 37.9 million Americans lived in poverty. The poverty rate was 11.6% according to the Official Poverty Measure. The poverty threshold for a single person was $13,800 in 2021. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) showed 16% poverty in 2011
736 million people still live on less than $1.90 daily. Women earn only 77 cents for every dollar men get. Top 10% earn up to 40% of global income. 1.3 billion people live in multidimensional poverty
Social problems affect communities through economic, political, environmental, and cultural factors. Poverty affects 9% of global population earning less than $2 daily. Homelessness and unemployment create barriers to basic needs. Discrimination limits opportunities based on race, gender, age, religion, or beliefs
Development status is determined by GDP, industrialization, and quality of life. UN uses Human Development Index (HDI) to assess social and economic development. No single metric is universally correct for developing vs developed countries
Current population is 10,668,049 (July 2024 UN estimate). Population growth rate from 2019 to 2020 was 2.32%. Fertility rate is 3.61 births per woman. Median age is 22.4 years