MANILA -- The COVID-19 pandemic pushed another 75 million to 80 million people in emerging Asian economies into extreme poverty last year, the Asian Development Bank said in a report released Tuesday.
The latest estimates on extreme poverty, defined as living below $1.90 per day, spells a setback to the region's sustainable development agenda. The estimates cover 35 economies -- such as China, India, Bangladesh, and Papua New Guinea -- lower than the 46 ADB tracks in its Asian Development Outlook, the bank's widely followed publication.