GENERATION Z are the most optimistic generation when it comes to believing that there could be an end to global poverty, a new survey suggests.
Twelve- to 27-year-olds are more confident than older generations that it is possible to end poverty. They are also likelier than older generations to say that its eradication is a critical issue.
Other surveys of the Generation Z cohort have also shown them to be among the most generous and philanthropic, giving regularly to charity.
The pollsters Savanta, on behalf of the Christian charity Compassion, surveyed 2213 over-18s for the survey. Sixty-one per cent of 18- to 34-year-olds said that they believed that it was possible to end extreme poverty, compared with 34 per cent of over-55s. Nearly half of the younger respondents rated ending poverty as one of the world’s top priorities, compared with 35 per cent of the older age group.
That figure was highest for 18- to 24-year-olds, of whom 54 per cent said that it was one of the world’s most important issues.
Overall, fewer than half of UK adults believed that it was possible to end poverty, but more proportionally more Christians believe this than others.
Compassion’s survey found that, by faith group, 46 per cent of Christians believed that ending poverty was possible. This figure was higher for Muslim (74 per cent), Hindu (62 per cent), and Buddhist (56 per cent) respondents, although the number of respondents from these faith groups was much smaller.
Other faith groups were also more likely to rate poverty as the most important issue that the world needed to tackle now: just 18 per cent of the Christians said this, compared with 30 per cent of the Muslim respondents.
The UN marked 17 October as a day to raise awareness about the need to end global poverty. The Covid pandemic, war in Ukraine, and climate change are reversing years of progress against poverty, although progress towards the goal had already slowed in recent years. Nearly nine per cent of the world’s population now live on less than $2.15 a day, which classifies them as in extreme poverty.
The UN Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating poverty by 2030 is expected to fail: predictions suggest that an estimated seven per cent of the global population will still be in extreme poverty in six years.
Compassion UK said that people of all generations needed to work together on eradicating poverty.
Compassion UK’s head of partnerships UK north, Luke Gratton, said: “These findings are a testament to the hopeful spirit and global awareness of younger generations. To truly eradicate poverty, it is essential for everyone — young and old — to continue engaging with these realities. Optimism must be paired with strategic, long-term action that understands the depth and complexity of the issue.
“Together, we can address not only extreme poverty, but its underlying causes,” which included a lack of education, of health care, and of access to economic opportunities, he said. “Every generation has a role to play in this fight.”
