The ongoing war in Ukraine has been a disaster for the world economy.
It comes on the heels of a two-year COVID lockdown that already plunged many governments into reckless overspending and inflation.
Now, the true cost of inflation is being felt here in America and worldwide.
New statistics out today show the true impact is much worse than previously believed, with a staggering amount of people plunged into poverty as a result of increasing inflation.
In The Eye of the Storm
According to the United Nations, 71 million people have become poor since the end of February when Russia invaded Ukraine. This crossover into the poverty line includes over 51 million living on less the $2 USD per day.
At this time, 9% of the global population is officially poor on a scale that is hard for many of us to imagine.
There are 51 million living on less than $2 USD per day, as mentioned, and around 20 million living on less than $3.30 USD per day.
The western sanctions on Russia have jacked up prices of flour, wheat, and other basics, making many families unable to afford even the very basics.
UN Development Program researcher Achim Steiner said this is the worst situation in a “generation” and is extremely serious, due to the speed with which it’s happened.
In the pandemic, poverty increased by 125 million people, but it took several years. After only a few months since Russia’s invasion, we’re already reaching an increase of half of that, which has experts very worried.
🚨NEW https://t.co/zN6ZWL3xui Inflation has pushed 71 million people into poverty since Ukraine war – report: Some of the countries hardest hit by inflation include Haiti, Argentina, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sudan, Kenya and Sri Lanka. VIA @breakingnewsie
— BRK HEADLINES â„¢ (@BRKHEADLINES) July 7, 2022
Who’s Been Worst Hit?
The countries which have been worst hit by inflation are generally among the Global South: Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Argentina, Haiti, Kenya, Sudan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia.
Poor nations in South America, Asia, and Africa are having a very hard time coping with the rising cost of food, as their wages have not kept pace.
Even before this war against Ukraine, 2.3 billion of the global population was facing significant difficulty finding enough to eat every day. That is a huge number; these increasing statistics are very worrisome for the future well-being of people around the world.
At this point, short of the war ending as soon as possible, governments need to begin acting rapidly to try to reduce spending on green energy, other programs, and start putting it more towards food and subsidization of essentials.
We see many countries, even developed nations like South Korea, are really struggling right now. The world has entered something of a perfect storm with a pandemic and now war doubling the negative effects of inflation and economic tension.
Bloomberg markets and finance: South Korea's inflation hit its fastest clip since late 1998 in June. The Philippines' consumer prices rose more than economists expected, accelerating to the fastest since late 2018. Thailand's retail inflation accelerated to a new 14-year high. pic.twitter.com/IQcVyd7IFa
— cherrycat (@cherryfatcat) July 7, 2022
The Bottom Line
The situation being faced by the world is very serious.
It’s partly caused by the reckless overspending of our own government and others. Let’s hope the world’s governments wake up before it’s too late.
