During the 180 years from 1820 to 2000, world output per person increased roughly eleven times, leading to an equally dramatic fall in the global rate of extreme poverty—from around 90 percent in 1820 to roughly 10 percent as of 2015.

There are still a few regions with very high fertility rates—notably in sub-Saharan Africa—and as a result, living standards are not yet rising at the rates needed to end poverty in those places. The expectation is that with more urbanization and longer years of schooling, especially for girls, fertility rates will decline in those places as well.