1.2 bil. people living in extreme poverty worldwide

Of the world`s 6 billion population, 1.2 billion are eking out a scanty existence based on a dollar (or 1,350 won) a day, according to the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2001 report released by the World Bank Monday.

The report showed that each year the world sees the deaths of 10 million children aged five and under, and currently 113 million children worldwide do not receive any schooling.

African countries such as Ethiopia, Burundi and Sierra Leone were cited as the world’s poorest countries, in which the per-capita average annual income is less than $130.

Following the publication of the report, World Bank president James Wolfensohn urged rich countries to raise donations for the development of poor countries to 0.7 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP). In that case, the bank would be able to secure more than 100 billion won a year in development funds, he said.

However, the report found that the level of world poverty had eased compared with a decade ago as the destitute population living on a dollar a day had fallen to 23 percent of the total population in 2000 from 29 percent in 1990.