East Timor: Poverty “increased significantly” between 2001 - 2007 says World Bank

Dili, East Timor, 27 Nov 2008 – Poverty 'increased significantly,' in East Timor between 2001 and 2007, according to a report presented Wednesday in Dili by the World Bank and the country's Finance Ministry.

The report also concludes that, in those six years, 'the non-oil sector stagnated.'

The report entitled, 'Poverty in a Young Nation' concludes that half the Timorese population is poor, living on the equivalent of less than US$0.80 per day and a third of those poor live in conditions of 'extreme poverty.'

The document is based on the Timor Leste Standard of Living Study (TLSLS) completed in January 2008, carried out by the National Statistics Directorate with the support of the World Bank.

Original source: http://www.macauhub.com.mo/en/news.php?ID=6487

Poverty, which affects 49.9 percent of the population, increased from the 36.3 percent figure pointed to in 2001 by the first TLSLS.

The report shows that East Timor’s Gross National Product (GNP) has 'stagnated' and that, 'this decline is not surprising and is in line with the stagnation of the non-oil sector in the same period,' from 2001 to 2007.

In per capita terms, the 'real' non-oil GNP fell 12 percent in the period, 2even despite income having increased a lot and there having been a rise in Gross National Income.”

Survey taking of 4,447 families began in April 2006, but had to be stopped a few weeks later due to a political and military crisis.

Work was re-started in January 2007 and carried out without interruption up to the start of this year. (macauhub)


Image: East Timor Poverty: Children scramble through the garbage.