Why half the world is now middle class

HALF the global population can be ranked as middle class for the first time, according to economists.

They say 3.8billion of the world’s 7.5billion inhabitants are in this category, or rich – with five extra people making the grade every second.

The estimate is based on household income – the ability to buy fridges and washing machines, travel abroad and go out for entertainment. A further middleclass trait is to have enough cash to survive a stint of unemployment or illness .

The researchers at World Data Lab, in Vienna, collected data from 188 countries and identified two further categories of household. These were the financially vulnerable (3.1billion) and the poor (630million).

Researchers said the long-term reduction in extreme poverty was not the whole picture.

‘We believe another story relates to the rapid emergence of the global middle class,’ they said. ‘This middle-class story is probably bigger in terms of the number affected.’

The study said rising incomes in Asia had helped see the surge in growth of the middle classes, which passed the 50 per cent point on September 18.