“2022 in Nine Charts” report

December 23, 2022

The report titled “2022 in Nine Charts” was released recently by the World Bank.

What are the key findings of the “2022 in Nine Charts” report?

Global Poverty: At the end of 2022, the world is experiencing the “steepest slowdown” since 1970. Currently, 685 million people are living in extreme poverty. This makes 2022 the second-worst year for poverty reduction in the past 20 years after the year 2020. Around 7 percent of the global population (574 million people) will live in extreme poverty by 2030.
The recovery efforts are challenged by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, food inflation and energy inflation, which are exacerbated by shocks like climate crisis and conflicts like the war in Ukraine.
Debt Crisis: In the last one year, the debt crises have exacerbated in the developed countries. Currently, 60 percent of the world’s poorest countries are either in debt distress or at risk of it. Private players are having a significant influence on the countries’ debt situation. As poorest countries are facing huge debt crises, they are unable to make critical investments in economic reforms, health, climate response, and education.
Energy Crisis: The global progress towards achieving universal access to affordable energy by 2030 has slowed down because of the shocks in the energy market in the first half of 2022. Currently, 733 million people do not have access to electricity. By the end of this decade, over 670 million people will remain without access to electricity. This figure is 10 million higher than the 660 million predicted by the World Bank in 2021.
Learning Poverty: The progress made in learning poverty since the year 2000 have been reversed, especially in low and middle-income countries. According to the World Bank’s report, of every 100 children in low and middle-income countries, 60 are “learning deprived” and 10 are deprived of schools. This is expected to severely affect the productivity and lifetime incomes of children and youth. This will not only adversely affect the economic prospects of the low and middle income countries, but also increase inequality and risk social unrest. To address this, the report recommended keeping schools open, increasing instructional time, equipping teachers to match the learning requirements of the students, streamlining the curriculum and focusing on the foundational education.

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