The first of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for an end to poverty by 2030 and seeks to ensure social protection for the poor and supporting people affected by climate-related extreme events. As the decade that began in 2002, the percentage of the world's population living under the poverty line reduced by half, from 26 per cent to 13 per cent. If the growth rate during those 10 years had prevailed over the next 15 years, it would be possible to decrease the rate of extreme poverty in the world to 4 per cent by 2030, assuming the growth will benefit all income groups of the population on an equal footing. However, if the growth rate was over a longer period of 20 years, the rate of prevalent global poverty is likely to be about 6 per cent. In other words, the eradication of extreme poverty will require a significant change from its historical growth rates.
