85 Richest People Wealthier than Planet's 3.5 Billion Poorest

The 85 richest people globally have as much wealth as the 3.5 billion poorest in the world, the United Nations said, citing Oxfam figures, in a report that highlights ways to help the 1.2 billion people who live on less than $1.25 a day.

The UN’s annual Human Development Report notes that overall poverty is declining throughout the world, but says worsening inequality risks reversing the trend to improvements in life span and income.

Nearly one-third of people are poor or vulnerable to poverty, meaning they are not resilient in the face of natural or human-induced disasters and can slip further behind, according to the report.

Eradicating poverty is not just about "getting to zero, but about staying there," said UN human development head Helen Clark.

"Most problems are due to inadequate policies and poor institutions," Malik said. "It's not innate that people have to suffer so much."

He points to the insecurity of employment in most of the developed world, amid a global "race to the bottom" by big corporations seeking the lowest wages in the poorest countries.

Nearly half of all workers worldwide are in insecure or informal employment, while 842 million, or about 12 per cent, of all people go hungry, he said.

Government budgets are shrinking, affecting their ability to provide social structures, as the rich evade taxes and the poor have little to give, he said.

The issue of inequality applies even to countries in the very high development index group, when their score is adjusted for internal inequalities in health, education and income.

The U.S. falls from five to 28 on that list, South Korea drops from 15 to 35, and Japan falls from 17 to 23.

Top 10 on the UN Human Development Index

1. Norway
2. Australia
3. Switzerland
4. Netherlands
5. United States
6. Germany
7. New Zealand
8. ​Canada
9. Singapore
10. Denmark

Bottom 10 on the list

1. Mozambique
2. Guinea
3. Burundi
4. Burkina Faso
5. Eritrea
6. Sierra Leone
7. Chad
8. Central African Republic
9. Democratic Republic of Congo
10. Niger

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