The UK, one of the world’s most developed countries, has seen its extreme poverty rate reach its highest level in three decades. Around 6.8 million people are currently living in extreme poverty, with a relatively high proportion of people from the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities.
A recent report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said that households whose annual income after paying rent is well below the national average are considered to be extremely poor. By this standard, the majority of Bangladeshi households living in the UK have incomes below the average.
According to the report, while the overall poverty rate has declined slightly, the extreme poverty rate has increased to 10 percent. At the same time, child poverty has also increased; currently, about 4.5 million children are growing up in poverty.
The JRF says that children and the physically disabled are the biggest victims of poverty. Poverty rates are particularly alarmingly high among the Bangladeshi and Pakistani migrant populations, which further highlights the picture of social and economic inequality.