Poverty Rate in Iraq
By Paul
“Any discussion of poverty in Iraq must contend with the security situation that has prevailed in the country over the past few years. It is hard to collect truly representative data on poverty when some parts of the country are difficult to visit and when there is substantial ongoing movement of internally displaced people, refugees, and returnees. The best available evidence suggests that Iraq has an incidence of absolute poverty that is between 8 and 10 percent, and an additional 12–15 percent of the population appears to be close enough to the $1 poverty line to be considered vulnerable (World Bank 2005). This puts Iraq at the high end of the range for countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Two notable features of the poverty profile in Iraq are a distinct regional pattern, with the northern Kurdish areas being relatively better off and the southern governorates having much higher poverty incidence rates; and a distinct gender pattern, with female-headed households having median incomes that are 15 –25 percent below comparable male-headed households.”
- Sustaining Gains in Poverty Reduction and Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa
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