Lockdowns will throw 100 million people into extreme poverty across the world.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to push an additional 88 million to 115 million people into extreme poverty in 2020.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to push an additional 88 million to 115 million people into extreme poverty in 2020.A report published by World Bank on Oct. 7, 2020, revealed that the pandemic is estimated to push an additional 88 million to 115 million people into extreme poverty this year, with the total rising to approximately 150 million by 2021, depending on the severity of the economic contraction. Extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.90 a day, is likely to affect between 9.1 percent and 9.4 percent of the world’s population in 2020, according to the biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report, the World Bank said.

The report also stated that many of the new poor would be in countries with high poverty rates. Several middle-income countries will see significant numbers of people slip below the extreme poverty line. About 82 percent of the total will be in middle-income countries, the report estimates.

It also highlighted that the COVID-19 crisis has also diminished shared prosperity – defined as the growth in the income of the poorest 40 percent of a country’s population. "Average global shared prosperity is estimated to stagnate or even contract over 2019-2021 due to the reduced growth in average incomes. The deceleration in economic activity intensified by the pandemic is likely to hit the poorest people, especially hard, and this could lead to even lower shared prosperity indicators in the coming years," it said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.