Around 426 million women and girls worldwide are projected to be living in extreme poverty in 2026, according to figures cited by UN Women, which is urging governments and international institutions to increase investment in social protection, healthcare and education.
In a message marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the UN agency warned that women face a double burden: they are disproportionately affected by poverty while remaining underrepresented in decisions about how to eliminate it.
Data cited in the report show that global extreme poverty declined between 2014 and 2024. The reduction was greater among children and adolescents, whose poverty rates fell by between five and eight percentage points among those aged 0 to 14. Among adults, the decline ranged from four to six percentage points.
Despite this progress, extreme poverty continued to affect women at a higher rate than men in 2024. The report put the figures at 9.9 percent for women and 9.5 percent for men. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 295 million women and girls living in poverty.
The largest gender gap was recorded among people aged 15 to 34, with the poverty rate for women nearly two percentage points higher than that for men.
UN Women cautioned that conventional poverty measurements may fail to capture the full extent of deprivation experienced by women. Some calculations assume that household resources are distributed equally among family members, while unequal power relations and social practices that give men greater control over money and other resources can leave women worse off.
The agency warned that, if current trends continue, ending extreme poverty by 2030 will remain difficult. Using a higher poverty threshold of $8.30 per person per day, it estimated that more than 40 percent of the global population would fall below that line.
Women’s representation in decision-making also remains limited. According to the figures cited in the report, women account for only 19 percent of ministers responsible for economic affairs and 40 percent of ministers overseeing social protection and welfare.
The report also links women’s political representation with better public outcomes. Countries where women hold more than 20 percent of parliamentary seats have vaccination rates up to 12 percentage points higher than countries where women’s representation is lower. Women’s leadership in financial and political institutions is also associated with higher public spending on healthcare and education and lower child mortality.
At household level, the report says, when women have greater control over spending, more resources tend to be allocated to food, children’s education and healthcare. UN Women therefore identifies public investment in social protection, healthcare and education as important tools for reducing poverty among women and girls.
Afghanistan faces particularly severe economic challenges. According to the United Nations Development Programme’s 2026 socioeconomic review, around 28 million people—approximately three-quarters of the country’s population—were unable to meet their basic needs in 2025. The report identified restrictions on women’s education and employment, declining international assistance and climate pressures, including drought, as factors worsening the crisis.
UN Women’s 2024 gender assessment of Afghanistan found that only 24 percent of Afghan women participated in the labour force, compared with 89 percent of men. Restrictions on women’s access to employment and education limit their economic independence and their ability to help support their families.
Poverty is not simply a matter of household income. When women are excluded from education, employment and economic decision-making, families lose opportunities to improve their livelihoods, while communities and the wider economy lose valuable skills and productive capacity.
The figures cited by UN Women highlight the close connection between gender equality and poverty reduction. Without stronger social protection, access to essential services and meaningful participation by women in economic and political decisions, progress towards ending poverty will remain uneven—particularly in countries such as Afghanistan, where women face extensive restrictions on their public and economic lives.
