Report: Asia performs outstandingly in poverty reduction

Measured by the international poverty line of $1.90 per person per day, extreme poverty in Asian countries has fallen sharply, absolute poverty is gone on the whole, and trends are positive, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Asia Poverty Reduction Report 2019, released at the Boao Forum for Asia, is based on data for 47 countries running till August 2019.

The report said that the rate of extreme poverty in Asian countries is 1.85 percent and that absolute poverty has generally been eradicated.

"The Asian region has played a very important role in helping the world achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals in 1990-2015," said Li Xiaoyun, professor at the China Agricultural University.

The top three countries for annual poverty reduction are Tajikistan (2.63 percentage points), Turkmenistan (2.45 percentage points) and China (2.33 percentage points), according to the report.

Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere remains a challenge however for the Asian region.

According to the report, the challenges facing Asian countries in poverty reduction fall mainly in three areas: employment directly related to economic growth and poverty reduction; food shortages related to human survival and development; and the provision of infrastructure and services.

Zhou Xiaochuan, vice-chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, said that a country's economic system and whether its leaders attach importance to economic development and the increase of per- capita GDP will greatly affects poverty reduction.

Asian countries have performed outstandingly in formulating their economic systems and development strategies, compared with global peers, he said.