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Troubling data show the unequal toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is pushing tens of millions of people into poverty and imposing the biggest burden on already-disadvantaged groups.
The shock waves of the COVID-19 pandemic have reverberated throughout the world. But the latest data reveal that the burden of COVID and its aftermath does not rest equally. In six graphics, Nature details how the pandemic has worsened existing inequalities and exposed others in terms of income, health, safety and more.
The global picture
The past two years have been particularly challenging for the world's poorest people, and this is just the beginning. By the end of this year, at least 75 million more people will have been pushed into poverty (living on less than US$1.90 a day) than was expected before the pandemic. The war in Ukraine and rising inflation have exacerbated the effects of the pandemic, as prices for food, fuel and nearly everything else have skyrocketed.
Researchers at the World Bank have estimated how the number of people in poverty has changed over the past few years, assuming that everyone's income rose and fell in proportion with the variation in income of an average person in their country. 'Baseline' estimates assume that inflation affects all demographics equally, whereas the pessimistic projections reflect the expectation that...