HomeSDG TrackerGoal 1: No poverty

Sustainable Development Goal 1

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Sustainable Development Goal 1 is to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere”, according to the United Nations.

The visualizations and data below present the global perspective on where the world stands today and how it has changed.

Longer-term trends, research, and additional data on poverty can be found on Our World in Data, particularly our topic page on poverty.

The UN has defined 7 targets and 13 indicators for SDG 1. Targets specify the goals, and indicators represent the metrics by which the world tracks whether these targets are achieved. Below we quote the original text of all targets and show the data on the agreed indicators.

Target 1.1
Eradicate extreme poverty

SDG Indicator 1.1.1
Share below the international poverty line

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.1.1 is the “proportion of the population living below the international poverty line by sex, age, employment status and geographic location (urban/rural)” in the UN SDG framework.

The international poverty line is defined as living on $2.15 per day (updated from the previous poverty line of $1.90 in 2015).

This poverty line is measured in international dollars, a hypothetical currency that adjusts for price differences between countries (purchasing power parity). It is measured in prices of 2017 to adjust for price changes over time (inflation).

Data for this indicator on the proportion of the population below the international poverty line is shown in the interactive visualization. Breakdowns by sex, age, employment status, and geographical location are not available for all countries, but our topic page on poverty includes some relevant measures in this context.

Target: By 2030, “eradicate extreme poverty for all people, everywhere. This is defined by the UN based on the international poverty line.1

More research: Further data and research can be found on the Our World in Data topic page on poverty.

Additional charts

Target 1.2
Reduce poverty by at least 50%

SDG Indicator 1.2.1
Share below the national poverty line

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.2.1 is the “proportion of the population living below the national poverty line” in the UN SDG framework.

National poverty lines differ by country depending on country circumstances, living standards, and cost of living.

Data for this indicator on the share of a country's population which lives below each country's specific national poverty line is shown in the interactive visualization.

Target: By 2030, “reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.

More research: Further data and research can be found at the Our World in Data topic page on poverty.

SDG Indicator 1.2.2
Share in multidimensional poverty according to national definitions

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.2.2 is the “proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions” in the UN SDG framework.

This indicator is measured via related measures of multidimensional poverty, all of which are constructed according to national definitions. Multidimensional poverty refers to being deprived in a range of standard indicators related to health, education, and living standards.

Target: By 2030, “reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.

Related data: Data on multidimensional poverty, measured as the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), can be found in this chart. This data has much better coverage across countries and time, and is measured in a consistent way, making it comparable between countries.

Target 1.3
Implement social protection systems

SDG Indicator 1.3.1
Population covered by social protection floors/systems

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.3.1 is the “proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable” in the UN SDG framework.

This indicator is measured as the share of the population effectively covered by a social protection system. Such systems include child and maternity benefits, support for persons without a job, persons with disabilities, victims of work injuries, and older persons.

In our topic page on government spending, you can find additional data, including some of the breakdowns mentioned in the definition of indicator 1.3.1.

Target: The SDG target is to “implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.”

Additional charts

Target 1.4
Equal rights to ownership, basic services, technology, and economic resources

SDG Indicator 1.4.1
Access to basic services

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.4.1 is the “proportion of population living in households with access to basic services” in the UN SDG framework.

The UN defines basic services as “public service provision systems that meet human basic needs” and defines this indicator in terms of access to 9 components: drinking water, sanitation, hygiene facilities, clean fuels and technology, mobility, waste collection, health care, education, and information services. These components also appear elsewhere in the SDG framework as indicators.

Since internationally-comparable data on this indicator is currently unavailable, we show here the share of the world population with access to four basic services: improved drinking water, sanitation, electricity, and clean cooking fuels. You can view the data for different countries or regions using the “Change country” button at the top of the chart.

Target: By 2030, “ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have access to basic services.”2 This sets a target of universal access to basic services for all households.

More research: Further data and research can be found on the Our World in Data topic pages on clean water and sanitation, energy, and indoor air pollution.

Additional charts

SDG Indicator 1.4.2
Secure tenure rights to land

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.4.2 is the “proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, (a) with legally recognized documentation, and (b) who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and type of tenure” in the UN SDG framework.

Data for this indicator is shown in the interactive visualizations, with the first chart showing data on indicator 1.4.2(a) for the share of adults with legal documentation of their rights to land, and the second chart showing data on indicator 1.4.2(b) for the share of individuals who perceive their rights to land as secure.

Target: By 2030, “ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property.”2

Chart 1 of 2
Legal rights to land

Target 1.5
Build resilience to environmental, economic, and social disasters

SDG Indicator 1.5.1
Deaths and affected persons from natural disasters

Definition of the SDG indicators: Indicators 1.5.1 are the “number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population” in the UN SDG framework.

In the interactive visualizations, we show in the first chart a component of this indicator: the rate of deaths and missing persons from natural disasters, measured as the number of deaths and missing persons per 100,000 population per year. The other charts in the series include a range of metrics relevant to indicator 1.5.1.

Target: “By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters”

More research: Further data and research can be found on the Our World in Data topic page on natural disasters.

Chart 1 of 7
Deaths and missing persons due to natural disasters

SDG Indicator 1.5.2
Direct economic loss from natural disasters

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.5.2 is the “direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP)”in the UN SDG framework.

This indicator measures the ratio of direct economic loss from a disaster to gross domestic product, where direct economic loss is defined as the monetary value of totally or partially destroyed physical assets in the affected area. This includes losses in agriculture, all other productive assets, housing, critical infrastructure, and cultural heritage.

Target: “By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters”

More research: Further data and research can be found on the Our World in Data topic page on natural disasters.

Additional charts

SDG Indicator 1.5.3
Disaster risk reduction strategies

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.5.3 is the “number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030” in the UN SDG framework.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is an international agreement that aims to strengthen disaster preparedness to reduce risk and losses from disasters. Although the indicator definition is framed in terms of the number of countries adopting national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework, the United Nations tracks this measure in terms of country levels of implementation.

The interactive visualization shows data for this indicator in terms of levels of country implementation, on a scale from 0 to 1, based on an average score from 10 scored sub-indicators that collectively reflect progress towards implementation of the Sendai Framework.

Target: “By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters”

More research: Further data and research can be found on the Our World in Data topic page on natural disasters.

Additional charts

SDG Indicator 1.5.4
Local disaster risk reduction

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.5.4 is the “proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies” in the UN SDG framework.

In this context, “local governments” refers to sub-national administrative bodies responsible for developing disaster risk reduction strategies.

Data for this indicator is shown in the interactive visualization.

Target: By 2030, “build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other disasters.”3

More research: Further data and research can be found on the Our World in Data topic page on natural disasters.

Target 1.a
Mobilization of resources to end poverty

SDG Indicator 1.a.1
Development assistance for poverty reduction

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.a.1 is the “total official development assistance grants from all donors that focus on poverty reduction as a share of the recipient country’s gross national income” in the UN SDG framework.

Official development assistance refers to flows to countries and territories on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and to multilateral institutions which meet a set of criteria related to the source of the funding, the purpose of the transaction, and the concessional nature of the funding.

This indicator is measured differently for donor and recipient countries, and data is accordingly shown separately for donor and recipient countries in the interactive visualizations. For recipient countries, this is shown as official development assistance grants focused on poverty reduction from all donors as a share of the recipient country’s gross national income. For donor countries, this is shown as bilateral official development assistance grants focused on poverty reduction as a share of a donor country’s gross national income.

Target: By 2030, “ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions.”4

Chart 1 of 2
Poverty reduction grants received

SDG Indicator 1.a.2
Government spending on essential services

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.a.2 is the “proportion of total government spending on essential services (education, health and social protection)” in the UN SDG framework.

Since internationally comparable data on all components of this indicator is not currently available, data on the percentage of government spending on health and education are shown in the two interactive visualizations.

Target: By 2030, “ensure significant mobilization of resources to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions.”4

There is no defined target for this indicator.

More research: Further data and research can be found at the Our World in Data topic pages on financing healthcare, financing education, and public spending.

Additional charts

Chart 1 of 2
Health spending

Target 1.b
Policy frameworks for poverty eradication

SDG Indicator 1.b.1
Pro-poor public spending

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 1.b.1 is “pro-poor public social spending” in the UN SDG framework.

This indicator measures spending by country governments to benefit the poor in terms of health, education, and direct transfers. Data is not currently available for most countries and is not reported here.

Target: “Create sound policy frameworks to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions.”5

No data for this indicator

We are currently not aware of data for this indicator. You can notify us of available data for this indicator via our feedback form.

Endnotes

  1. The full text of the target reads: “By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day”. However, the poverty line has since been updated to $2.15 a day, and the UN tracks this measure accordingly.

  2. Full text: ”By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance.”

  3. Full text: “By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social, and environmental shocks and disasters.”

  4. Full text: “Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions”

  5. Full text: ”Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions”

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Our World in Data team (2023) - "End poverty in all its forms everywhere". Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://staging-owid.netlify.app/sdgs/no-poverty' [Online Resource]

BibTeX citation

@article{owid-sdgs-no-poverty,
    author = {Our World in Data team},
    title = {End poverty in all its forms everywhere},
    journal = {Our World in Data},
    year = {2023},
    note = {https://staging-owid.netlify.app/sdgs/no-poverty}
}
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