Brasília – A survey conducted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) points out that within ten years, the poverty rate in Latin America dropped by 17 percentage points. The rate decreased from 48.4% to 31.4%. There was also a reduction in indigence levels – i.e. the share of the population living below subsistence level –, which dropped from 22.6% to 12.4%.
The rates are the lowest of the last 20 years. The Eclac expects the poverty rate to decline even further in 2011, down to 30.4%, meaning that 101 million will be in poverty conditions. The indigence level will see a slight increase and should end the year at 12.8%, i.e. 73 million people living in extreme poverty.
The document ascribes the reduction of poverty to increased income and labour. The reduction of inequality was also a factor. On the other hand, the food price hike caused a minor increase in indigence levels.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
