Future scenarios in the fight against poverty

Halving the current rates of extreme poverty by 2015 —one of the prime objectives of the Millennium Declaration– will call for a significant, yet feasible, effort on the part of many Latin American countries. Given existing development patterns, economic growth will necessarily play a key role in the fulfilment of this goal, since mean per capita GDP growth of no less than 2.3% per year will be required in order to do so. For the region as a whole, during the 1990s each percentage point of growth lowered the rate of extreme poverty by 1.21%. There was a wide dispersion around this mean value, however since this poverty–reduction effect was much stronger in urban areas than in rural ones and in countries with extreme poverty levels below the regional average than in the least developed nations.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Gender Equality

Reduced Inequalities

Sustainable Cities and Communities