Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016 is the first of an annual flagship report that will inform a global audience comprising development practitioners, policy makers, researchers, advocates, and citizens in general with the latest and most accurate estimates on trends in global poverty and shared prosperity. This edition will also document trends in inequality and identify recent country experiences that have been successful in reducing inequalities, provide key lessons from those experiences, and synthesize the rigorous evidence on public policies that can shift inequality in a way that bolsters poverty reduction and shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. Specifically, the report will address the following questions: • What is the latest evidence on the levels and evolution of extreme poverty and shared prosperity? • Which countries and regions have been more successful in terms of progress toward the twin goals and which are lagging behind? • What does the global context of lower economic growth mean for achieving the twin goals? • How can inequality reduction contribute to achieving the twin goals? • What does the evidence show concerning global and between- and within-country inequality trends? • Which interventions and countries have used the most innovative approaches to achieving the twin goals through reductions in inequality? The report will make four main contributions. First, it will present the most recent numbers on poverty, shared prosperity, and inequality. Second, it will stress the importance of inequality reduction in ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity by 2030 in a context of weaker growth. Third, it will highlight the diversity of within-country inequality reduction experiences and will synthesize experiences of successful countries and policies, addressing the roots of inequality without compromising economic growth. In doing so, the report will shatter some myths and sharpen our knowledge of what works in reducing inequalities. Finally, it will also advocate for the need to expand and improve data collection—for example, data availability, comparability, and quality—and rigorous evidence on inequality impacts in order to deliver high-quality poverty and shared prosperity monitoring.

Dans la conférence prononcée comme récipiendaire de la médaille Symons en 2013, le très honorable Paul Martin, vingt-et-unième premier ministre du Canada, s’appuie sur tout le savoir et le vécu de sa remarquable carrière publique, afin d’expliquer le défi d’obtenir justice pour les peuples autochtones du Canada. Se penchant sur les racines historiques des enjeux actuels ainsi que les priorités contemporaines, monsieur Martin affirme que le progrès futur des peuples autochtones du Canada dépend de l’atteinte d’une forme de gouvernement autochtone autonome, accompagné d’un financement adéquat. Mais par-dessus tout, il lance un appel éloquent et urgent à l’action : les Canadiens et les Canadiennes doivent faire aujourd’hui preuve du même type d’imagination, de générosité et de courage qu’ont démontré les Pères de la Confédération lors de la Conférence de Charlottetown en 1864. Le Canada et le Canada Autochtone aujourd’hui. Changer le cours de l’histoire est une contribution vitale au débat canadien sur le rôle des peuples autochtones au Canada d’aujourd’hui et de demain. C’est une lecture incontournable pour tous ceux et celles qui veulent mieux connaître les racines historiques des défis actuels et réfléchir sur les questions de justice et d’égalité pour les Autochtones du Canada aujourd’hui. L’une des distinctions les plus prestigieuses au Canada, la médaille Symons est présentée chaque année par le Centre des arts de la Confédération, l’institution commémorative nationale établie en l’honneur des Pères de la Confédération, à un lauréat ayant contribué de façon exceptionnelle à la société canadienne. Ce livre est bilingue.

The World Bank Group has two overarching goals: End extreme poverty by 2030 and promote shared prosperity by boosting the incomes of the bottom 40 percent of the population in each economy. As this year’s Poverty and Shared Prosperity report documents, the world continues to make progress toward these goals. In 2015, approximately one-tenth of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty, and the incomes of the bottom 40 percent rose in 77 percent of economies studied. But success cannot be taken for granted. Poverty remains high in Sub- Saharan Africa, as well as in fragile and conflict-affected states. At the same time, most of the world’s poor now live in middle-income countries, which tend to have higher national poverty lines. This year’s report tracks poverty comparisons at two higher poverty thresholds—$3.20 and $5.50 per day—which are typical of standards in lower- and upper-middle-income countries. In addition, the report introduces a societal poverty line based on each economy’s median income or consumption. Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle also recognizes that poverty is not only about income and consumption—and it introduces a multidimensional poverty measure that adds other factors, such as access to education, electricity, drinking water, and sanitation. It also explores how inequality within households could affect the global profile of the poor. All these additional pieces enrich our understanding of the poverty puzzle, bringing us closer to solving it. For more information, please visit worldbank.org/PSP