Global middle class is 'more promise than reality', with 13 per cent of population qualifying, study finds

The study highlighted the disparity between the middle classes in developing, emerging and developed nations

Kashmira Gander

A truly global middle class is “more promise than reality”, according to a new study exploring how middle income populations have changed since the start of the century.

Experts at the Pew Research Center found that while the middle-classes amounted for just over a tenth of the global population, most barely reached above the official US poverty marker.