In the last 20 years, has the proportion of the world's population living in extreme poverty A. doubled, B. halved, or C. stayed the same?

Let's find out.

To help us, enter the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs.

In 2000, all member countries of the United Nations, that's almost the entire world, agreed to eight goals to reduce extreme poverty.

In a nutshell, the MDGs are the global promises to the world's poor.

Let's take a look at each one and see how we're tracking.

Number one, eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

In 1990, 36% of the world's population was living in extreme poverty.

In 2010, that proportion was down to 18%.

That means we've already halved extreme global poverty.

In 1990, 25% of children under five years old were underweight.

In 2012, that had reduced to 15.1%.

Number two, achieve universal primary education.

In 1990, 120 million children couldn't go to primary school.

In 2012, that number was 58 million.

We're more than halfway along the road to universal primary education.

Number three, promote gender equality and empower women.

The proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments has gone up from 12.8% in 1990 to 22.1% in 2014.

Number four, reduce child mortality.

In 1990, 90 kids in a global village of 1,000 children died before they turned five.

In 2012, that's down to 48 kids in every 1,000.

In some countries, like Malawi and Timor-Leste, under five mortality rates have been slashed by 75%.

That's a lot of young lives saved.

Number five, improve maternal health.

The goal here was to reduce the number of mothers dying during pregnancy and childbirth by 75%.

In 1990, for every 100,000 babies born, 380 mums died.

In 2013, for every 100,000 babies born, only 210 mums died.

So this goal hasn't been reached, but the situation is improving.

Number six, combat preventable diseases like HIV-AIDS and malaria.

By working together, the global community has made a lot of ground in the battle against these diseases.

For instance, better access to treatment for tuberculosis has saved 22 million lives in the last 20 years.

Number seven, ensure environmental sustainability.

Since 1990, 2.3 billion people who previously didn't have safe drinking water have gained access to clean water. 89% of the world's population now has clean, safe water to drink.

Number eight, develop a global partnership for development.

While there's more to be done in all these areas, some great progress has been made.

Some countries have made better progress than others.

Again, there is spatial inequality.

As the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, we're on our way to freeing the world from extreme poverty.

So even though time's up on the MDGs, the global community is preparing a new plan to improve human well-being.

In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, will be finalised, and the world will continue to address the symptoms and causes of extreme poverty.

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