Defining what constitutes poverty is central to this question. For instance, the Labor Government in the UK came out with a study that said 45% of British children lived in poverty. Of course, the instant reaction on hearing that is, “We must do something about that.” We tend to think of poverty as meaning not enough to eat, shabby clothes and worn out, hand-me-down shoes, clapboard housing thrown together of refuse. But in the UK, social programs make sure that even the unemployed and the unemployable have enough to eat, adequate hosing, healthcare, free education and a stipend for clothing and necessities. Labor meant that 45% of British children were in homes making only 60% of the national average income. But is that poverty? Not by what I think of when I hear the word.
Different income levels and poverty standards, country to country make it difficult to compare statistics broadly around the world. What passes for poverty in the USA and most of Europe would be considered life on easy street in the Third World.