Poverty has existed for a very long time, and to different extents remains worldwide even now in this 21st century. In primitive societies it was most often the case that everybody was equally poor, but more modern societies have generally tended to involve poverty being confined to an often substantial minority only - though this can often harm those concerned even more than universal poverty does.
One measure of world poverty is given in the FAO poverty map below - but this is a somewhat dated measure, compare it with the less dated FAO world poverty map in our Poor in a Rich World section ;
Absolute poverty involves people and their children having extreme difficulty in merely surviving. Such poverty at its worst can involve hunger amounting to starvation, often combined with inadequate shelter or housing and clothing. Absolute poverty has been common in more primitive societies, and is still common in many Third World countries in Africa, Asia and South America especially where it can afflict the majority of the population.
But many of today's richer societies like the USA and UK have a poor who are a minority and suffer relative poverty - which generally involves the inability to obtain social necessities available to the majority and is often intensified by social exclusion. In a society where 90% rely on their own computer and car, then those who cannot afford these things may function badly and are poor and may well be ostracised or socially excluded (unlike someone rich who chooses to not have such things and may merely be considered eccentric).
Hence poverty does come in different forms and extents, alowing different definitions of poverty, but it is always harmful to those concerned and especially harmful to children whose biological development and survival chances can be greatly harmed. Poverty itself means misery to the poor and it also greatly limits their freedom of life choices and makes them vulnerable to various nasty forms of exploitation including child exploitation. Poverty can also be very harmful to society as a whole, insofar as it can maintain a divided conflict society where the poorer conflict with the richer and acceptance of poverty generally encourages social badness rather than goodness.
As well as looking at the existance of poverty worldwide, including poverty maps, this website also seeks to seriously consider the various real causes of poverty and the various real possible solutions to poverty.
The menu on the left clicks to give our Poor in a Rich World, Environment Poverty, Biological Poverty, Economic Poverty, Exploitation Poverty, Social Poverty, Poverty in Africa, Poverty in Asia, Poverty in Latin America, Solutions to World Poverty and other sections - and each carries further poverty information and informative links to give a wider picture of poverty worldwide.
OR do a good search of this site, or of our sister site or of the web, below ;