Poverty Reduction in Asia
- Rural poverty in China fell by more than 200 million between 1978 and 2004. This decline has been largely uneven across the country, particularly in rural western China which accounts for 13 million poor. By comparison, the eastern costal region, endowed with favorable geographical and natural conditions, accounts for 4 million poor. (Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, 2004)
- Over the past two decades, India has achieved significant poverty reduction, although it has not been as far-reaching as China. Between 1980 and 2000, rural poverty in India declined by nearly 25 percent. (IFPRI, Agricultural and Economic Development Strategies and the Transformation of China and India, 2005)
- IFPRI research has found that targeted public investments in rural areas led to a substantial decrease in poverty. In China, for every 10,000 yuan invested in education, 9 people were lifted out of poverty. The same level of investment in agricultural research and roads resulted in improved livelihoods for 7 and 3 people, respectively. (IFPRI, Sound Choices for Development: The Impact of Public Investments in Rural India and China, 2002)
- Public investments in roads, agricultural research, and education in India reduced poverty more than any other type of investment. For every million rupees invested in these three areas, 124, 85 and 41 people, respectively, were lifted out of poverty. (IFPRI, Sound Choices for Development: The Impact of Public Investments in Rural India and China, 2002)
- India's neighbors have had varying experiences with poverty reduction within the last fifteen years. Pakistan has seen poverty increase, rising from approximately 25 percent in 1990-91 to 30 percent in 2000-01. Bangladesh, by contrast, reduced poverty, but the overall percentage of poor people remains higher than in Pakistan, at about 50 percent, as of 2000-02. (United Nations Development Program, Bangladesh Millennium Development Goals Report, 2005; Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Report, 2005)
- Thailand succeeded in reducing its poverty rate to roughly 10 percent by 2003. As in other Asian countries, poverty in Thailand is regionally concentrated with almost nine out of ten poor people living in rural areas. (United Nations Development Program, Thailand Millennium Development Goals Report, 2003)
- Cambodia reduced urban poverty by an estimated 50 percent over the past decade, but achieved only a 20 percent reduction in rural areas-where the vast majority of its citizens live-during the same period. Limited access to roads, markets, and services has hampered rural poverty reduction. (World Bank, Cambodia: Halving Poverty by 2015, 2006)