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The World Bank's latest report on poverty showed that 769 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day in 2013. Of these, 3.2 million live in the United States, and 3.3 million in other high-income countries (most in Italy, Japan and Spain).

However, the Bank adjusts its poverty estimates for differences in prices across countries, but it ignores differences in needs. Looking at needs, Angus Deaton, a Nobel Laureate in Economics, concludes that while people in undeveloped countries can squeeze by on $1.90 a day, the squeeze point for the very poor in advanced countries is $4. The following chart shows where nations stand.

Percentage of total population that is poorest:

Netherlands 0.2% 

Britain 0.2 

Belgium 0.3 

France 0.3 

Norway 0.3 

Denmark 0.4 

Austria 0.5 

South Korea 0.7 

Australia 0.7 

Canada 0.7 

Japan 0.7 

Sweden 0.7 

Ireland 1.0 

United States 1.7 

Spain 2.0 

Italy 2.3 

Portugal 2.5 

Greece 3.7