poverty meaning and definition, types and causes

 

The state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material is called as poverty. Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs.

What is poverty?

  The state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material is called as poverty. Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs. They don’t have enough food

, access to education, lacks job, etc. poverty refers to the condition having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country or compared to worldwide averages. In 2015, about 10% of the world’s population was experiencing extreme poverty. Now the Covid-19 Pandemic has increased this number.

Things to be covered

v  Poverty

v  Definition of poverty

v  Types of poverty

v  Poverty in Pakistan

v  Causes of Poverty

Types of poverty

Poverty can be majorly divided into two main types

Absolute poverty

Absolute poverty is when household income is below a certain level. This makes it impossible for the person or family to meet basic needs of life including food, shelter, safe drinking water, education, healthcare, etc. In this state of poverty, even if the country is growing economically it has no effect on people   fgliving below the poverty line.

Relative poverty

Relative poverty is the condition in which people lack the minimum amount of income needed in order to maintain the average standard of living in the society in which they live. Relative poverty can also be permanent that means they will never get chance of improvement in their condition.

Poverty in Pakistan

Poverty is the lack of basic human needs such as home and clean water. Pakistan is a country with too many people and few resources. The import is greater than export. It is estimated that almost 55 million people live below poverty line and from them 40 million live in rural areas.

It is one of the most important and sensitive issue not only in Pakistan but for the whole world. Poverty can cause other issues like theft, bribe, corruption, injustice etc.

Causes of poverty

According to Asian development bank Report poverty is spreading in Pakistan due to rising population, Pakistan’s internal situation, agricultural backwardness, unequal distribution, defiance expenditure, lack of jobs, conflicts, lack of education, climate change, corruption, large scale imports, privatization of government institutions and many more.

1)    Overpopulation

The major cause of poverty is overpopulation. Pakistan is 3^rd large most populated country in the world. Large population requires a number of resources, and lack of resources through people in poverty.Health care

 

2)     Lack of good education

The root cause of poverty is a lack of education. Poverty is a cycle and without education, people aren’t able to better their situations. According to UNESCO, over 170 million people could be free of extreme poverty if they only had basic reading skills. However, in many areas of the world, people aren’t getting educated. This causes poverty.

 

3)    Warfare/conflict

Conflict has a huge impact on poverty. In times of war, everything stops. It’s very difficult to get things going again as foreign businesses and countries don’t want to invest in a conflicted country so the people living there went in extreme poverty.

4)    Climate change

We know climate change causes drought, floods, and severe storms, and that can take down successful countries while pulling poor ones down even further. Recovering is extremely difficult, as well, especially for agricultural communities where they have less income.Climate change

5)    Lack of food and water
Without access to basic essentials like food and water, it’s impossible to get out of poverty’s cycle. Everything a person does will be about getting food and water. They can’t save any money because it all goes towards their daily needs. When there isn’t enough sustenance, they won’t have the energy to work. They are also way more likely to get sick, which makes their financial situation even worse.

6)    Lack of government support
To solve many of the issues the government needs to be involved. However, many governments are either unable or unwilling to serve the poor. If a government fails to meet the needs of the poor, the poor will most likely stay that way.

7)    High costs
Another root of poverty is simple: stuff costs too much. Even the basics can be too expensive. According to stats from the World Food Programme, the poorest households in the world are spending 60-80% of their incomes on food. Food prices are also very high in some areas, so when they rise, the poor have to keep cutting out other essentials. For instance, in Pakistan fuel price are increasing day by day with the increase in other items as well such as cooking oil, vegetables, etc

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