ABSTRACT  

According to the World Bank, in 2011, 415 million, that is 41.5 percent of the world’s extremely poor, living on less than $1.25 a day, live in Saharan Africa. This situation persists in spite of local and international efforts to combat extreme poverty in this region. A situation where more than 415 million people in a sub region of the world still live in abject poverty should be of global concern not only because of the moral imperative but also because of the lost economic contributions. It should therefore be relevant for micro and public finance, and economic development discussion. This paper examines the decline or increase in extreme poverty situation in 34 countries in Sub Sahara Africa during the period 1992 and 2012 or for the years in the period where data is available. It also attempts to identify and evaluate the factors that lead to decrease or increase in extreme poverty in selected countries. We find that three of the countries achieved fifty percent or more reduction in extreme poverty and that six experienced increase in extreme poverty during the period. The factors that led to extreme poverty reduction and increases for these countries were identified. Recommendations were made for effective poverty reduction in Sub-Sahara Africa.