Being poor is a combination of primarily dire economic circumstances that have to do with lack or the inability to afford a decent life. All over the world, much has been said about poverty and the most effective ways of reducing it to an acceptable level.
While some efforts have yielded positive results, others have not.
Poorest Man in The World Net Worth
In light of the above, we will focus on defining the poorest man in the World. This is an unenviable position that no one would want to recognize.
However, the fact remains that chronic poverty exists, especially in developing countries.
Here is a list of the wealthiest in the world.
Ranking Poverty
The topic used for this article suggests a personalized ranking system for poverty.
Although it may seem so, there is no person whose poverty can be said to be worst than another, as there is currently no ranking system similar to the list of the wealthiest individuals for which Forbes Magazine is well known.
Ranking individuals according to their level of poverty is not possible as only a general categorization can be achieved using specific primary indices of measuring poverty such as access to healthcare, three square meals per day, quality of shelter, and clothing, as well as the primary living standards as regards income.
Here you get to compare in dollar terms how much dollars or less such a person lives on per day.
There are several other yardsticks for measuring the general poverty level, but none for measuring the poorest person on the face of the earth.
According to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO, the general economic definition of poverty is explained as when a family’s income fails to meet a federally established threshold which differs from country to country.
List Of The Poorest People In The World
There is always a strong correlation between a country’s level of development and how poor its citizens are.
For instance, the poorest Americans would be considered much better off than those in a country like Somalia.
This is because when comparing both countries, the two are worlds apart in terms of development.
Development essentially has to do with the level of welfare of citizens of a state.
A large part of the responsibility to provide better living conditions lies with those in policy-making decisions and those saddled with implementing these decisions. This is part of the reasons governments exist.
With this explanation, it is little wonder that most of the world’s poorest people are in developing countries.
Who Is The Poorest Person in the World?
After having explained that there is no standard measurement for the poorest person on earth, a possible way you may make a comparison of poverty is to pick a poor person from each continent and compare their patterns of living.
This method is only a crude way of comparing poverty as different people within the same country will experience different poverty levels.
Hence the best approach is a generalized view of poverty. It should also be noted that these views or methods are those of the writer and not standard poverty measurement procedures.
Relative and Absolute Poverty
What is the difference between these two terms? Relative poverty has to do with the set standards of the society one lives in.
Here, there can be significant differences from society to society. Hence when talking about income, for instance, relative poverty will be explained as living below a certain percentage of a country’s average income.
In an earlier example used between America and Somalia, the average income of Americans is much higher than that of Somalia.
Hence when a person is considered to be poor in the U.S. using this basis, their living conditions are much better than the poor in Somalia.
On the other hand, absolute poverty has to do with a standard that is obtainable anywhere. Therefore when comparing it in terms of income, living below a dollar a day is used. This standard is the same everywhere.
However, the only distinction will be that more people living below a dollar a day are found in a particular society or country, which in most cases are underdeveloped or developing countries.
Without adequate income, one will not be able to afford the necessities of life. The most important include a decent shelter, three square meals of acceptable quality, and clothing.
Referring to an earlier definition of absolute poverty, it also means that the income of such an individual is below $1 a day.
Conclusion
The greater the percentage of a country’s poor population, the more glaring the failures of its leadership are.
Hence to effectively curb this negative trend, concerted efforts should ensure that policies adequately address the root causes of poverty. Also, proper and full implementation of these policies should be considered.
Without these, the poverty level will remain stagnant with no apparent progress.
There you have it, the poorest man in the world has been discussed here, and distinctions given regarding absolute and relative poverty.
Absolute poverty is the baseline from which there is a universal measurement of poverty, while relative poverty differs according to societies/countries.
