Poverty Overall Decreases in Pakistan in Last 20 Years
ISLAMABAD: Poverty has declined significantly in Punjab in the last 20 years. It reduced from 61.8 percent population living below the poverty line in 1998-99 to 16.3 percent in 2018-19. Balochistan was on top among the provinces with 40 percent population in clutches of impoverishment in 2018-19 but 20 years back in 1998-99; KP used to assume the top position for having 71 percent population into this trap. These provincial impoverishment estimates have been calculated by economists of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE); affiliate research and degree awarding institution of the Planning Commission of Pakistan.
The impoverishment at the national level stood at 61.6 percent in 1998-99 whereas in Punjab it stood at 61.8 percent, Sindh 57 percent, KP 71 percent, and Balochistan 55.9 percent. The PIDE in its knowledge brief stated that the provincial estimates somehow give a clear picture of poverty across Pakistan at the regional level. This situation defined through different poverty slabs has very serious policy implications as grouping people into different poverty slabs helps in targeted policy initiatives for these groups. The five different levels of the poor defined for this research are Ultra poor people; which are 50 percent below the poverty line, Poor-which is between 50 percent to 75 percent of the impoverishment line.
Percentage of Poverty in Pakistan:
The vulnerable poor group which is between 100 and 125 percent of the poverty line, Quasi poor- people; which are greater than 125 percent and less than 200 percent of the poverty line; finally the Non-Poor which are people above 200 percent of the poverty line. It is a good sign that extremely poor people have decreased over time. Those defined as the vulnerable poor show a mixed trend with the highest percentage at 22.1 percent in 2010-11; lowest at 14.3 percent in 2001-02. Similarly, The percentage has increased from 8.5 percent in 2005-06 to 21.4 percent in 2018-19; which means that non-poor people have almost more than doubled from 2005-06 till 2018-19.
Over 13,000 nurseries established & over 6.3% increase recorded in & land covered by Forests in KP. More dn 500,000 green jobs created under & afforestation project leading to a decrease in & poverty level in KP
10Billion trees wil be planted in whole Pakistan#BillionTreeTsunami pic.twitter.com/rYVnyfu9bU— PTI KP (Official) (@PTIKPOfficial) May 9, 2018
The poverty rate in Pakistan has declined significantly from 1998 to 2019 and also by region urban and rural. The number of non-poor people has increased from 6.7 percent to 21.4 percent. It means that the overall poverty level has reduced, and more people have got access to basic facilities like food; health, education, and employment. These programs include the social safety net programs; including the Ehsaas Strategy BISP, WWF, and Zakat.
