Regional Training Course on Poverty Measurement and Statistics (SDG 1.2)

Effective measurement of poverty is essential for understanding the scale, depth and distribution of deprivation, and for designing policies that respond to the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable. Accurate, timely, and comparable poverty statistics enable governments to better target interventions, monitor progress, and assess the impact of economic and social shocks.  In the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), robust poverty measurement is indispensable for ensuring that policy responses are evidence-based and effective. Consistent methodologies and measurements across countries and population groups are critical for producing reliable poverty estimates and for SDG monitoring. In this regard, the World Bank’s revision of the international poverty line in 2025, from USD 2.15 to USD 3.00 per person per day, to align with the 2021 purchasing power parities (PPP) and updated global price data represented an important development. While this update improved the relevance of the global poverty benchmark1, it introduced significant challenges for comparability, trend analysis, and the communication of results.  It also requires that countries recalibrate poverty estimates and reassess historical series.