Poverty

The course of the pandemic in India and China will have a substantial effect on changes in the distribution of income at the global level.

The $7.25 federal minimum wage is used in just 21 states, which collectively account for about 40% of all U.S. wage and salary workers.

In 2019, the share of American children living in poverty was on a downward trajectory, reaching record lows across racial and ethnic groups.

On the fundamental question of why some people are rich and others are poor, more Americans point to the advantages they possess – or the obstacles they face – rather than their work ethic. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) say the main reason some people are rich is because they have had more advantages […]

Three-in-four Republicans give the economy positive ratings, while a majority of Democrats rate it negatively. But within parties, views differ widely by income.

The U.S. has more foreign students enrolled in its colleges and universities than any other country in the world. Explore data about foreign students in the U.S. higher education system.

The official poverty rate last year was close to its pre-Great Recession level, but the share of the U.S. poor in severe poverty increased.

As the UN looks to adopt new goals for the next 15 years, sub-Saharan Africa still lags behind other developing regions in the areas of poverty, health care and education.

The urgency expressed by Pope Francis on global poverty and inequality is grounded in harsh reality. 4.4 billion people – 71% of the global population of 6.2 billion – lived on $10 or less per day in 2011, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the most recently available data.

The South continues to be home to many of America’s poor, though to a lesser degree than a half-century ago. In 1960, half (49%) of impoverished Americans lived in the South. By 2010, that share had dropped to 41%.