{"id":6366,"date":"2023-04-13T11:13:57","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T09:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/?page_id=6366"},"modified":"2024-06-17T15:14:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T13:14:15","slug":"creating-jobs-improving-lives","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.norfund.no\/annualreport-2023\/development-mandate\/creating-jobs-improving-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating jobs, improving lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The share of the world\u2019s population living in poverty has fallen substantially in the past 30 years. Covid-19 reversed the trend, increasing the number of people living in extreme poverty by 70 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, an estimated 700 million people (around 8% of the world\u00b4s population) still live in extreme poverty<\/a>. The global macroeconomic effects of the war in Ukraine are further worsening the situation in developing markets with the combination of these two crises hitting hard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Key figures clearly show the need for creating jobs, improving access to energy and finance as well as strengthening infrastructure: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Covid the funding gap to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals for developing countries was USD 2.5 trillion, however the global economic contraction caused by the pandemic is estimated to have increased the gap by at least 50%, putting the annual funding gap at USD 4.0<\/a> trillion.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A significant increase in private capital inflows is required to bridge the gap. Norfund is the Norwegian government\u2019s main instrument for strengthening the private sector in developing countries and therefore an important tool to help close this gap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n