As many as 25 percent of the population of the Philippines lived belowthe poverty line in 2012, slightly better than the 2009 rate of 26.3percent.
The poverty statistics announced bythe Philippines’ National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) onDecember 9 indicate that poverty is a serious challenge despite thecountry rapid economic growth.
NSCB said 19.7percent of the nation’s households lived below the poverty line in 2012,lower than the 20.5 percent three years before, despite the 6.8 percentexpansion of the national economy, which was one of the fastest growthrates in Asia.
The economic officials haveacknowledged that the pace of poverty reduction has remained slow,leading to the Philippines being one of the few countries to miss itsMillennium Development Goals ( MDG ) which requires each country to cutby half its poverty rate by 2015 compared to 1990. In order to meet thegoal, the Philippines must bring the rate down to 17.2 percent.
However, the Philippine government declared they will continue to strive for this goal.
The Philippines is vulnerable from natural disasters and disease,making it more difficult to reduce the poverty rate. Most recently,super typhoon Haiyan hit the island nation on November 8, killing5,796 people, injured 27,000 others and left 1,800 missing, according tostatistics on Dec. 7. Only weeks earlier, a 7.1-magnitude earthquakestruck the central islands of Cebu and Bohol on October 15 and took thelives of more than 220 people.-VNA
The poverty statistics announced bythe Philippines’ National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) onDecember 9 indicate that poverty is a serious challenge despite thecountry rapid economic growth.
NSCB said 19.7percent of the nation’s households lived below the poverty line in 2012,lower than the 20.5 percent three years before, despite the 6.8 percentexpansion of the national economy, which was one of the fastest growthrates in Asia.
The economic officials haveacknowledged that the pace of poverty reduction has remained slow,leading to the Philippines being one of the few countries to miss itsMillennium Development Goals ( MDG ) which requires each country to cutby half its poverty rate by 2015 compared to 1990. In order to meet thegoal, the Philippines must bring the rate down to 17.2 percent.
However, the Philippine government declared they will continue to strive for this goal.
The Philippines is vulnerable from natural disasters and disease,making it more difficult to reduce the poverty rate. Most recently,super typhoon Haiyan hit the island nation on November 8, killing5,796 people, injured 27,000 others and left 1,800 missing, according tostatistics on Dec. 7. Only weeks earlier, a 7.1-magnitude earthquakestruck the central islands of Cebu and Bohol on October 15 and took thelives of more than 220 people.-VNA
