A recently released ADB (Asian Development Bank) report said although Asia has made remarkable achievements in economic terms and in fighting poverty, almost 2 billion people, or 60% of developing Asian population, still live on less than $2 a day.

The report, released on 26 August 2004 with the title of 'Poverty in Asia: Measurement, Estimates, and Prospects', tracks the incidence of poverty throughout the region and takes a hard look at the way in which governments and institutions identity who is impoverished.

The report notes that if the $1-a-day poverty line is used, the number of people living in extreme poverty totals about 690 million, or 21.5% of developing Asian population. According to the report, 93% of the extremely poor in developing Asia are in India (357 million), the People's Republic of China (203 million), and other South Asian countries (77 million).

However, despite the large number of poor, the region has made considerable progress in the fight against poverty. At the aggregate level, the report said, the incidence of extreme poverty declined from 34.3% to 21.5% and the number in extreme poverty dropped by 233 million between 1990 and 2002. The People's Republic of China represented almost 174 million, or 75%, of the decline of 233 million in extreme poverty. Southeast Asia witnessed a fall of 48 million poor between 1990 and 2002. Unfortunately, the performance of South Asia in terms of poverty reduction was weaker, the report concluded, with the number of people living on less than $1 a day reduced by only 14 million.

What are Asia's prospects for reducing poverty? The report used the links between growth, distribution, and poverty history to assess the prospects for poverty reduction over the next decade in developing Asia. In the best scenario, it is assumed that most countries will maintain both the per capita gross and domestic product growth rates seen over 1999-2003 in the period up to 2015 and the most favorable distribution of income experienced in the past. In this scenario, the number of people in extreme poverty would decline from almost 690 million in 2002 to 150 million in 2015 in developing Asia, with 140 million of them living in South Asia.

More at http://www.adb.org