Nearly 70 percent of Sudan’s population is now living in poverty, almost double the rate before the country was plunged into war, the United Nations has warned, describing a nation sliding rapidly into destitution.

Luca Renda of the United Nations Development Programme said poverty has surged from about 38 percent before the conflict to an estimated 70 percent, based on a threshold of roughly four dollars a day. At least a quarter of Sudanese are believed to be surviving on less than half that amount, leaving millions unable to meet even the most basic needs.

The collapse is most visible in regions already scarred by years of unrest. In South Kordofan and North Darfur, up to three-quarters of residents face extreme deprivation, with markets shattered, farms abandoned and public services barely functioning. These areas remain among the hardest hit by ongoing clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The war, now in its fourth year, has killed tens of thousands and forced more than 11 million people from their homes, one of the largest displacement crises in the world. Hunger and near-famine conditions have spread across multiple regions, with more than 21 million people facing severe food insecurity as supply routes are cut and prices soar beyond the reach of ordinary families.

UN assessments indicate that average incomes have fallen to levels not seen since the early 1990s, while extreme poverty is now worse than during the economic crises of the 1980s. Renda stressed that the statistics conceal a deeper human catastrophe, speaking of families torn apart, children out of school and a generation at risk of losing its future.

Diplomats and aid officials are preparing for a high-level donor conference in Berlin aimed at reviving stalled peace efforts and mobilising emergency funding. Humanitarian agencies say they are struggling to keep pace with the scale of need, hampered by insecurity, bureaucratic restrictions and chronic underfunding.

Fighting continues to intensify in Kordofan and Blue Nile, where recent drone strikes and artillery attacks have killed hundreds of civilians and destroyed vital infrastructure. Analysts warn there is little sign that hostilities will ease, raising fears that Sudan’s economic freefall and deepening poverty could lock the country into a prolonged humanitarian disaster.