Interactive: Rise of middle class in developing world’s workforce

The middle classes in the developing world’s labour market have more than doubled in size in the past decade. The proportion of people in the workforce defined as middle class – those living on $4 or more a day – leapt from 23% in 2001 to 42% in 2011, and the proportion is expected to reach more than half the developing world’s workforce by 2017.

But behind that rising class, the proportion defined as ‘near poor’ – living on between $2 and $4 a day – has crept up, from 24% in 2001 to more than 25% in 2011. Almost all that growth has come from outside east Asia, in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia and south Asia.

In east Asia – dominated by China – the proportion of the workforce defined as extremely poor – living on less than $1.25 a day – has fallen from 29% to 6% in the same period.

Click on the dates to see the proportions change, and roll over the grid to see the values for each social class

Definitions

Middle class and above: living on more than US$13 per day

Emerging middle class: living on between US$4 and US$13 per day

Near poor: living on between US$2 and US$4 per day

Moderately poor: living on between US$1.25 and US$2 per day

Extremely poor: living on less than US $1.25 per day

Source: International Labour Organization: Global Employment Trends 2013

Table A15a page 145