Over 50% of the world's population is now middle class

For the first time in history, over half of the world’s population (3.8bn people) are now considered to be middle class or rich, marking a global tipping point in which poor and vulnerable people are no longer a majority in the world.

According to a survey by Brookings, around one person per second escapes from extreme poverty and five people enter middle class each second.

People are considered middle class in the survey when they can afford consumer durables such as washing machines and have money to spare to indulge in entertainment and know that although they may suffer an economic shock they will not fall into extreme poverty.

This increase in the middle class means that society can rely on more people to drive demand in the global economy and be more demanding of their governments.

"Two-thirds of household consumption comes from the middle class. The rich spend more per person, but are too few in number to drive the global economy. The poor and vulnerable are numerous, but have too little income to spend," said the survey.

It explained that those households spending $1.90 per person per day were classed as being in "extreme poverty" while those in the middle class were spending about $11 to $110 per person per day in 2011 (£8.45 to £85).

According to the study, the middle class will grow to reach around 4bn people by the end of 2020 and 5.3bn people by 2030.