About half of the world's population is living on less than $5.50 a day, according to new research from the World Bank.

A report published Wednesday found that 46 percent of people worldwide, 3.4 billion people, struggle to meet basic needs. The percentage of people living on less than $1.90 a day dropped from 11 percent in 2013 to 10 percent in 2015, according to the most recent available data. But that means 736 million people around the world were still living in what the report describes as extreme poverty.

In addition to those living in extreme poverty, 26.2 percent, or 1.9 billion people, were living on less than $3.20 per day.

Although the extreme poverty rate declined, the report said the pace of extreme poverty reduction has slowed. However, a greater proportion of the world's poverty-stricken populations now live in wealthier countries due to economic growth. This disconnect, the report states, indicates that a better understanding of poverty is crucial to remedy the problem.

Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, said in a press release that there needs to be broader examination of poverty.

"At the same time, we can take a broader view of poverty at different levels and dimensions around the world," Kim said. "This view reveals that poverty is more widespread and entrenched, underlining the importance of investing in people."

Although the report painted a grim picture, it also found progress was occurring in some places. The incomes of the poorest 40 percent of people worldwide increased in 70 of the 191 economies analyzed, and in more than half of the economies, people's incomes increased faster than the average. However, growth is still lagging in some regions and the information needed to analyze those struggling economies is unavailable.

According to the study, only 1 in 4 low-income countries and 4 of 35 countries recognized as fragile or conflict-affected have shared the economic data necessary to track progress.

Of the six regions analyzed in the report, East Asia and the Pacific was one of the best. The incomes of its poorest increased by 40 percent from 2010 to 2015 and East Asia had the largest reduction in extreme poverty rates. The Middle East and North Africa experienced an increase in the number of people living in extreme poverty, and the region had more people living on less than $5.50 a day in 2015 than in 1990.

The sub-Saharan Africa region had the largest number of people living in extreme poverty. One-third of the countries in the region experienced negative income growth for the bottom 40 percent of their populations. From 1990 to 2015, Africa's population almost doubled, researchers noted. As a result, it experienced the largest increase in people living on less than $3.20 but more than $1.90 a day.