WASHINGTON (AFP) - World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim on Tuesday called for a global drive to wipe out extreme poverty by 2030, acknowledging that reaching the goal will require extraordinary efforts.

"A world free of poverty is within our grasp. It is time to help everyone across the globe secure a one-way ticket out of poverty and stay on the path toward prosperity," Dr Kim said in a speech in Washington, according to the prepared text.

The World Bank president said that in practical terms, the goal would be to lower the number of people living on less than US$1.25 (S$1.55) a day from 21 per cent of the world's population in 2010 to just 3 per cent by 2030.

"Below 3.0 per cent, the nature of the poverty challenge will change fundamentally in most parts of the world. The focus will shift from broad structural measures to tackling sporadic poverty among specific vulnerable groups," Dr Kim said in a speech at Georgetown University.

"Though we will continue to reach out to those who suffer from sporadic and occasional poverty, the fight against mass poverty that countries have waged for centuries will be won."