5:54 pm, Wed October 7, 2020

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Extreme poverty is set to rise this year for the first time in more than two decades, with coronavirus expected to push up to 115 million people into that category.

The World Bank says the pandemic is compounding the forces of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing poverty reduction.

By 2021, this could rise to as many as 150 million people.

Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than US$1.90 a day.

The projected increase would be the first since 1998, when the Asian financial crisis shook the global economy.