How many Cambodians are living in poverty? According to the government’s figures, using income as the only indicator, poverty stands at 13.5 percent, a considerable feat given that it was in the realm of 40 percent only two decades ago. It is also something the government regularly boasts about – indeed, the narrative goes that because the ruling party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) led by Hun Sen, which just secured a new term in elections this year, has radically improved living standards, blind eyes should be turned as it becomes more repressive and dictatorial.

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The post Why Cambodia’s Poverty Statistics Dispute Matters first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Thirty-five per cent of Cambodians are still living in poverty, with the rural population making up the majority, according to estimates from the 2018 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) on Thursday. “The recently released MPI reveals that 40 per cent of the rural population is living in multidimensional poverty, compared to seven per cent in urban settings,” said UNDP Country Director Nick Beresford.

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The post UNDP report finds 35% of Cambodians still mired in poverty first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

The number of people in Myanmar living in poverty has decreased from 32 percent of the population in 2004 to 19 percent in 2015, according to a recent report. The World Bank and the Ministry of Planning and Finance analyzed data on living conditions from surveys conducted in Myanmar in 2004-5, 2009-10, and 2015. …

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The post Poverty Decreases, But Rural Areas Slower to Develop: Report first appeared on Open Development Mekong.