Rural extreme poverty rate 5 times higher than urban extreme poverty rate: ADB

ISLAMABAD: The rural extreme poverty rate is five times higher than urban extreme poverty rate in Pakistan, says the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The bank, on Tuesday, released its latest report, "Key indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2021", which also noted that Pakistan has ranked 124 in 2020 out of 180 countries on Corruption Perceptions Index compared to 120 i.e. dropped by four spots.

The report stated that comparing 2020 to 2019, food inflation increased in 29 of the 41 reporting economies, of which 17 posted food inflation of five percent or higher. The largest increases in food price inflation were observed mostly in lower-middle income economies such as Pakistan (11.3 percentage points), Sri Lanka (10.6 percentage points), the Kyrgyz Republic (10.3 percentage points), and Bhutan (7.8 percentage points).

The economies that reported the largest declines in the CPI growth rates from 2019 to 2020 were Myanmar (-5.1 percentage points); Fiji (-4.4 percentage points); Turkmenistan (-3.3 percentage points); Mongolia (-2.9 percentage points); Hong Kong, China (-2.6 percentage points); and Samoa (-2.6 percentage points).

The highest increases were noted in the Kyrgyz Republic (5.2 percentage points); Kiribati (4.3 percentage points); Pakistan (3.4 percentage points); Afghanistan (3.3 percentage points); and Bhutan (2.9 percentage points), the report noted. The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic is threatening the Asia and the Pacific's progress toward critical targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the report.

The pandemic pushed an estimated 75 million to 80 million more people in developing Asia into extreme poverty as of last year, compared with what would have happened without the Covid-19. Assuming that the pandemic has increased inequality, the relative rise in extreme poverty-defined as living on less than $1.90 a day-may be even greater.

Progress has also stalled in areas such as hunger, health, and education, where earlier achievements across the region had been significant, albeit uneven.

According to the report, about 203 million people or 5.2 percent of developing Asia's population lived in extreme poverty as of 2017.

Without the Covid-19, that number would have declined to an estimated 2.6 percent in 2020.

The report estimated gross national income per capita for Pakistan at $1,280 in 2020 compared to $1,410 in 2019.

The GDP per capita is estimated at $1,193 in 2020 compared to $1,202 in 2019.

Growth rate of manufacturing production index is estimated at negative 9.9 percent in 2020 compared to negative 2.3 percent in 2019.

The report estimated government taxes at 11.4 percent of the GDP in 2020 compared to 11.6 percent in 2019.

Government revenue is estimated at 15.9 percent in 2020 compared to 12.7 percent in 2019. The government expenditure is estimated at 23.2 percent in 2020 compared to 21.5 percent in 2019.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021