pg_2021.03.18_global-middle-class_featured-1 | Pew Research Center

August 20, 2026

The Pandemic Stalls Growth in the Global Middle Class, Pushes Poverty Up Sharply

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The Pandemic Stalls Growth in the Global Middle Class, Pushes Poverty Up Sharply
The COVID-19 downturn curbed growth in the global middle class, increased poverty sharply in 2020
Globally, most are either poor or low income, and the pandemic likely drove the numbers higher in 2020
The global middle class expanded rapidly from 2011 to 2019, and poverty fell sharply
Prior to the pandemic, most of the global middle class lived in East Asia and the Pacific, the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa, high-income earners in advanced economies
South Asia estimated to have seen the sharpest drop in output growth in 2020, East Asia and the Pacific the least
South Asia is estimated to have experienced the largest decrease in the middle class and the greatest increase in poverty due to the COVID-19 downturn in 2020