MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The number of people living below the poverty line may be underestimated by a quarter, with 350 million missing from the statistics, a report published by UK-based think tank Overseas Development Institute suggested.
We don’t know how many people around the world are living in poverty. http://t.co/tbZsutzifm #data2015 pic.twitter.com/hHApJivxEj
— ODI (@ODIdev) April 21, 2015
Official poverty figure: 1.2bn people. Real number: up to 350 million more. We need to fill the data gap. #data2015 pic.twitter.com/AXs8INen8o
— ODI (@ODIdev) April 21, 2015
"To put it starkly, it is highly problematic that we set global targets to reduce poverty in all its forms without the ability to know whether or not those targets have been met," the report reads. The case applies both to global and national levels.
According to the report, 21 sub-Sahara countries did not carry out household surveys between 2006 and 2013 and this has led to major inaccuracies, including the number of women who die during childbirth. There is estimated to be between 133,000 and 256,000 such unreported cases.
To fill in statistic gaps, governments need to increase investment in national statistical offices and use alternative sources of information, the research stressed.
