Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Poverty in Peru during 2007 decreased by 5.2 percent compared to 2006, from 44.5 to 39.3 percent, stated today the head of the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) Renán Quispe, during a conference to present the country's poverty estimates.

The largest poverty reduction was registered in the urban area, from 31.2 percent in 2006 to 25.7 percent in 2007, while in the rural area it diminished from 69.3 to 64.6 percent.

Meanwhile, extreme poverty was reduced by 2.4 percent over the same period.

Quispe said that the jungle was the region with the largest decrease from 56.6 percent in 2006 to 48.4 percent in 2007, a reduction of 8.2 percent.

In the coast, poverty decreased from 28.7 to 22.6 percent in the same period, while in the mountains, it fell from 63.4 to 60.1 percent.

According to the numbers presented, Loreto showed the largest reduction of poverty at national level with 11.7 percent, followed by Ayacucho which declined 10.2 percent compared to 2006.

Poverty index also decreased in San Martín (9.8 percent), Huanuco (9.7 percent) and La Libertad (9.2 percent).

The departments with the highest rates of poverty in the country are Huancavelica (85.7 percent), Apurimac (69.5 percent), Ayacucho (68.3 percent), Puno (67.2 percent) Huanuco (64.9 percent), Cajamarca ( 64.5 percent) and Pasco (63.4 percent).

He said that in the rural areas, extreme povery fell by 4.2 percent, while in urban areas from 4.9 to 3.5 percent.

Quispe stressed on this poverty estimates were carried out by INEI in the framework of an inter-institutional work with international organism such as the World Bank, the Institute for Research and Development of France and Academic Unit and the Research Center of Peru.

He stated this report will help to optimize Peru’s government spends in order to reduce poverty.

News source: ANDINA