An African boy is chopping wood. [File Photo: China Daily]

The World Bank has forecasted that the number of people living in extreme poverty around the world may fall to below 10 percent of the global population this year.

The forecast uses a new international poverty line of 1.9 U.S. dollars a day, an upgrade from the previous line of 1.25 U.S. dollars a day, which was set 10 years ago.

The upgraded poverty line incorporates new information on differences in the cost of living across countries.

It has also preserved the real purchasing power of the previous line.

The World Bank has projected that global poverty will fall from 12.8 percent of the global population in 2012 to 9.6 percent of that this year.

This is due to strong growth rates in developing countries in recent years, and investments in education, health and social safety.

So far, poverty has still remained concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.