WASHINGTON, February 29, 2012—In every region of the developing world, the percentage of people living on less than $1.25 a day and the number of poor declined between 2005-2008, according to estimates released today by the World Bank. This across-the-board reduction over a three-year monitoring cycle marks a first since the Bank began monitoring extreme poverty.

An estimated 1.29 billion people in 2008 lived below $1.25 a day, equivalent to 22 percent of the population of the developing world. By contrast, in 1981, 1.94 billion people were living in extreme poverty. The update draws on over 850 household surveys in 126 countries. 2008 is the latest date for which a global figure can be calculated. This is because, while more recent statistics for middle income countries are available, for low-income countries newer data are either scarce or not comparable with previous estimates.        >> PovcalNet