Adjusted for inflation, the total number of people in the world who live in extreme poverty (less than $1.90 per day) declined from 1.9 billion in 1981 to 731 million in 2015. These are the earliest and latest available data points from the World Bank. In 2003, the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund claimed that "we cannot confront the massive challenges of poverty ... unless we address issues of population and reproductive health." Yet, global population increased by 63% during the 3-fold global poverty decline from 1981 to 2015. For more facts about the correlates of poverty and income, visit the two documentations link below.