Overview of Poverty
What is Poverty?
Poverty is the pronounced deprivation of well-being. It is not being able to satisfy one's basic needs because one possesses insufficient money to buy services or lacks the access to services. (Leow, Lie, Lim and Tan, 2012)
Absolute poverty refers to the state of severe deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education and information. (Leow, Lie, Lim and Tan, 2012)
Relative poverty refers to as being below some relative income threshold, where this threshold differs for each society or country. One may be relatively poor, without being in the state of absolute poverty; relative poverty is often considered as an indirect measure of income inequality. (Leow, Lie, Lim and Tan, 2012)
Poverty is the pronounced deprivation of well-being. It is not being able to satisfy one's basic needs because one possesses insufficient money to buy services or lacks the access to services. (Leow, Lie, Lim and Tan, 2012)
Absolute poverty refers to the state of severe deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education and information. (Leow, Lie, Lim and Tan, 2012)
Relative poverty refers to as being below some relative income threshold, where this threshold differs for each society or country. One may be relatively poor, without being in the state of absolute poverty; relative poverty is often considered as an indirect measure of income inequality. (Leow, Lie, Lim and Tan, 2012)
Poverty in Pakistan
According to a report done by Karachi’s Social Policy and Development Center (SPDC), the percentage of Pakistan’s population living under the poverty line has increased from 29.76 percent in 2004-05 to 36.79 percent in 2013. 37.31 percent of those living in rural areas live below the poverty line. (Murtaza, 2013)
Pakistan ranks 146th out of the 187 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s 2013 Human Development Index – an index used to measure the standards of living, life expectancy, literacy and education of countries globally. (Rural Poverty in Pakistan, n.d.)
Despite the decline in Pakistan’s poverty rate by approximately 10 percent from 2001 to 2005, there was an increase of almost 10 percent from 2005 to 2013, revealing that there had been little improvement in Pakistan’s poverty rate. Around 60% of Pakistan’s population live just above the national poverty line.(Rural Poverty in Pakistan, n.d.)
According to the Human Development Index, 60.3% of Pakistan's population lives on under $2 a day, and some 22.6% live under $1 a day. (Khan, 2013)
According to a report done by Karachi’s Social Policy and Development Center (SPDC), the percentage of Pakistan’s population living under the poverty line has increased from 29.76 percent in 2004-05 to 36.79 percent in 2013. 37.31 percent of those living in rural areas live below the poverty line. (Murtaza, 2013)
Pakistan ranks 146th out of the 187 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s 2013 Human Development Index – an index used to measure the standards of living, life expectancy, literacy and education of countries globally. (Rural Poverty in Pakistan, n.d.)
Despite the decline in Pakistan’s poverty rate by approximately 10 percent from 2001 to 2005, there was an increase of almost 10 percent from 2005 to 2013, revealing that there had been little improvement in Pakistan’s poverty rate. Around 60% of Pakistan’s population live just above the national poverty line.(Rural Poverty in Pakistan, n.d.)
According to the Human Development Index, 60.3% of Pakistan's population lives on under $2 a day, and some 22.6% live under $1 a day. (Khan, 2013)