This report on poverty assessment in Sri Lanka establishes that the development story in Sri Lanka is one of mixed success. The country is on par with middle income countries and Millennium Development Goal timetables for universal primary school enrollment, gender parity in primary and...

Cambodia's changing distribution of income-related outcomes is consistent with the process of transition from a planned to an open market economy, and the accompanying growth of incomes. This transformation has promoted better resource reallocation, expanded the spectrum of gainful activities,...

This sector report claims that in the three years between 2002 and 2005 alone, almost 235,000 people have moved out of poverty in Albania. Strong economic growth and large inflow of remittances are at the center of this impressive achievement. However, low productivity of predominantly small...

This report is part of the Armenia Programmatic Poverty Assessment work. It is jointly produced by the National Statistics Service (NSS) of the Republic of Armenia and the World Bank. Armenia has achieved impressive economic growth and poverty reduction since the late 1990s. The country's Gross...

Bolivia faces high levels of persistent poverty and inequality. In 2002, 65 percent of the population was living in poverty and, of that, nearly 40 percent in extreme poverty. There was a decline in poverty in the mid-1990s, however, the rate today remains close to the level of the early 1990s....

This Poverty report is aimed at improving the understanding of poverty in Ukraine, and providing linkages between growth, the evolution of economic sectors, and poverty. The main findings can be summed up as follows: An absolute poverty line and a revised consumption aggregate -- jointly...

Bulgaria's economic progress in recent years has been notable. Since 1997, the country has implemented a range of structural reforms alongside substantive fiscal and sectoral reforms. Measures have included the introduction of a currency board to stabilize the lev and more aggressive...

The present study focuses on four main objectives. First, it presents an update of poverty, and income distribution measures, reported in 1997 by the Bank; second, it looks at deficiencies in social services, and how to improve social services targeted to the poor; third, it considers how trends...

By most indicators the Slovak Republic has achieved a high level of human and social development. Despite the country's generally high living standards and overall level of development, there are families in Slovakia whose living conditions are below what is considered to be socially acceptable....

The study analyzes Chile's strong economic growth, and well directed social programs, a combination that reduced the poverty rate in half, during a period of just eleven years. The previously noted trends in falling poverty, in terms of incidence, depth, and severity, continued into 1998, and...