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"Over 2.8 million Ghanaians are extremely poor"

The data compiled by World Poverty Clock indicates that about 28 Ghanaians escape extreme poverty every hour.

The figure represents about 10 percent of the Ghanaian population.

According to the report, Ghana has steadily experienced increasing growth following the attainment of middle-income country status in 2010 and discovery of offshore oil reserves, per capita growth in the country has remained relatively high.

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The data compiled by World Poverty Clock indicates that about 28 Ghanaians escape extreme poverty every hour.

Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than GH¢10 a day, the report added.

Despite the fact that the global poverty rate has been halved since 2000, intensified efforts are required to boost the incomes, alleviate the suffering and build the resilience of those individuals still living in extreme poverty, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa.

Between 1991 and 2014, poverty levels had dropped by over 50%.

As of 2014, 24% of Ghana's population, representing 6.4 million people, were considered poor.

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Nigeria has been marked red as being in danger of not meeting the SDG target as the number of persons living in extreme poverty keeps rising.

87 million are reported to be living in extreme poverty out of the country's population growth of 197 million.

Other countries according to report which shows rising level of extreme poverty are Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, South Sudan, Chad, Niger, Angola, Central African Republic and Zambia.

The data, however, found that South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Benin, Togo, Guinea and Guinea Bissau don't work towards the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) their extreme poverty rate.

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The report also indicated that in Gabon, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, less than 3% of their respective populations lived in extreme poverty.

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